The Boarder Crossing
We spent the night in Aranyaprathet, Thailand so we could cross into Poipet, Cambodia at 7:30 in the morning. There is a large market on the Thai side of the boarder that seemed to flow like organized chaos. When we got to the station to be stamped out of Thailand we arrived just behind a large Korean tour group. I mumbled something about tour groups and Brandon pointed out the line that Cambodians stand in to enter the market across the Thai boarder. The entry is perhaps 3 meters wide with hundreds of people flowing forward as far as we were able to see. The majority of people are completed veiled to protect themselves from the sun leaving only their eyes showing. Those who had already been across and purchased their goods walked right past us. Tiny women carry bundles of 25-30 cauliflowers on their heads, and young boys carry what looks like hundreds of pounds of vegetables on their backs. It was absolutely insane.
The second you step on Cambodian soil there is a bridge you must pass that is the saddest site I have ever seen. Just by the smell you can imagine the horrific scene below. The smell of raw sewage is overpowering, there are piles of littler knee deep and the grass has long since given way to a thick sludge. There were 10 or 15 children scattered about ranging from 2 to 7 or 8 years old. Hundreds of tourists just like Brandon and I walk past this as they enter Cambodia from this boarder crossing every day yet the kids are still there.
We used www.talesofasia.com and the detailed instructions they offer on how to enter Cambodia at this particular boarder crossing. It would have been a stressful day had we not known how to get stamped out of Thailand, purchase a visa from the crooks at the boarder, get stamped into Cambodia, travel to the taxi stand, and get a taxi the 151 KM to Siem Reap. Along the way, we met a group of Irish people traveling our way and made the journey as a group. The official price for a visa is $20.00 USD. The crooks at the boarder charge everyone 1000 Bhat ($25.00 USD). We had assumed we could pay the fee in USD, but they flat out refused our American money and we didn’t have any Baht. They told us to visit their money exchange right across the way where I’m sure we would have given us the worst exchange rate possible, once again padding the pockets of corrupt officials. Luckily for us, there was a man waiting for his visa and on a limb we asked him if we could trade $50.00 USD for 2000 Bhat. To our amazement he said sure and grabbed a thick wad of 1000 Bhat notes from his pocket and peeled 2 bills off. That was a really lucky break on our part.
So the same government that plays an active role in the boarder scam offers tourists a free ride to the taxi stand-- ahhh, the complexity of it all. Okay, we know to take the free ride but ask why it is offered. We are told it is for the safety of tourists-which I don’t doubt is part of the issue- but the main reason quickly became apparent. We knew Poipet is well known as one of the worst spots in Cambodia, if not all of Asia, but in all honestly I was blown away. We were ferried the 15 minutes to the taxi stand to move us as quickly as possible past the most impoverished, destitute people I have even seen.
The Ride
Taxi is the only practical way to make the journey into Siem Riep because of the condition of the non-existent road (government officials in cahoots with airlines). We found a Swedish woman and a Swiss ex-pat to share a $45.00 USD, 151 KM cab with us. It is not a bad deal by western standards but the “Taxi Mafia” has really driven the price up. If we would have booked though our guest house it would have been $30.00 USD. It is not so much extra the money as it is who is getting our money. Now that taxis are “regulated by the government” there are a few fat cats with sticky fingers getting our extra bucks. If all of the money were to go to our cab driver I would have been perfectly fine with the fee. The gentleman who drove us down that road was amazing. The road is uneven, dusty, narrow, has potholes the size of small cars in some places and on and on. I can only imagine how awful the trip would be in the wet season when the road turns into one giant mud bog. The road is traveled by whole families on one motorbike, 25 people in the back of a truck, 4 kids on one huge bicycle, cows, and dogs. Cars rule the road. Our driver was on the horn the whole trip. A honk doesn’t mean please move; it means we are coming though and if you don’t want to end up on the grill get out of the way! I can’t believe people would take a bus down this road. We went across many bridges that I didn’t think would hold up out little Toyota Camry. The trip took us about 3.5 hours and really was a hoot.
The Temples
We bought a 3 day pass for $40 USD and hired a moto driver to take us around for $10.O0 USD a day. On our first day in Siem Reap we were set to explore the temples of Angkor Wat. I was awoken by a buzzing sound. Duh dah duh dah duh dah duh duh da duh da duh da duh da duh…and opened my eyes to find Brandon dancing about the room to the theme of “Indiana Jones” well before our alarm was due to go off.
When we first entered the grounds we saw wild monkeys and thought they were so cool. There was a monkey on the road way and a guy riding his bike with his head down. Guy on the bike! Watch out for the monkey! The guy swerves around the monkey and the thing leaps at the guy on the bike who also happened to have a bundle of bananas on his handle bars. The monkey chased after the poor guy on the bike for a fair distance and we could hear the thing hiss from 15 meters away. Later on that day, passing by the same area we saw an abandoned bike with a monkey digging though a plastic bag. The owner was nowhere to be seen and I wouldn’t be surprised if the poor bastard got eaten by the vicious hissing monkey. Let me tell you-Disney has it all wrong. Monkeys are nasty, nasty creatures.
The temples are such an adventure. Site seeing in Europe really is just seeing a site. You actually get to explore the temples. If it looks structurally sound you can climb it, go in it, or go around it. It is a fantastic experience. I’m not sure how great exploring is for the conservation aspect, but damn it is cool.
A quick rundown of the three main temples:
Angkor Wat is the largest structure that is 1.5 KM by 1.3 Km including the massive moat. There are three levels and the last tier has a very steep incline to reach the top. there is a rickety handrail for assistance, but it was still freaky. When I was waiting to go up a tour group of Korean seniors was coming down. Every time someone got down the whole group cheered. Even the folks with canes didn’t have a problem. It was awesome!
The Bayon is wickedly cool. It looks like a mess of rocks from a distance. When you climb up to the third level there are 54 gothic statues and 216 smiling faces. At any one time you are supposedly able to see 20 faces. Super, super cool.
Ta Prohm was the site used in the filming of “Tomb Raider”. The jungle has basically overtaken crumbling structures. There are massive trees with crazy root systems enveloping whole structures. Moss and creepers cover buildings. Very cool.
For our second day of exploring we decided to try to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. This time of can be particularly amazing because the temple faces West. Unfortunately for us, it was so overcast we weren’t able to see a thing. It did give us a chance to get to some of the further temples before the big tour groups. We were the first people to arrive at the next temple we visited. We walked from the road down the path into the clearing of the jungle where the temple was. Early in the morning the birds were singing away, the sunlight was dappled, and it was freaking scary. I asked Brandon is he could imagine a good conclusion to the sentence “this one time I was walking alone at 6 AM through ancient ruins in the Jungle of Cambodia…” Just as I finished a lizard leapt off a tall column and landed right in front of Brandon and we both screamed at the top of our lungs. Oh gee, now we are going to be all embarrassed when all the people who heard our blood curdling screams come running to our rescue. Okay, perhaps only a few people will come to see what is up. No one! No one could hear us. Oh wait, there is a rustling…oh crap, the rustling is coming from the tree tops. What if it is the vicious hissing monkeys! So I figure I just might play the chivalry card and ask Indiana Brandon how we might solve the situation if we are swarmed by the monkeys. To which my hero replied, “Feed them our tic-tacs” Oh shit! We are going to die!
In all honesty, I can’t put the experience into words. I am really grateful to have had such an amazing experience. If you are ever in the neighbouhood, I highly recommend a trip to the temples.
Kids at the Temples
The kids that you find begging or selling items around the temples really add a whole other dimension to exploring the temples. If you respond to any of their questions a version of the following conversation takes place:
“Hello”
“Hi”
“Where are you from?”
Brandon likes to say, “Cambodia” and the kids laugh and try to talk to us in Khmer to prove that we are in fact not Cambodians.
“Where are you really from?”
“Canada”
Öh, I will be in Vancouver next October”
“Really, well you will need to bring a jacket (and perhaps a pair of shoes!)”
Conversation proceeds into:
“Hey Lady! Want to buy book?”
“No thanks”
“Want to buy post card?”
“No Thanks”
pause for 3 seconds
“Want to buy book now”
“No thanks”
“Want to buy post card now?”
“No thanks”
To Be continued...
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