Hello!
This blog post is going up a little late as we’ve had a hectic few weeks in Cambodia and Vietnam. Having now arrived in the Philippines we are enjoying a return to island life and we now have a little more time on our hands to catch up. Our stay in Cambodia was short but sweet and the following is a run-down of what we got up to.
Siem Reap
We had our reservations about visiting Cambodia. It’s unfortunately well known to be one of the scammier Southeast Asian countries. The border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia is infamous for scams and this was the main reason why we decided to fly from Bangkok instead of getting a bus. Our arrival in Siem Reap was however, one of the smoothest and most relaxing arrivals we’ve ever had. We were greeted at the gate by the happiest Tuk Tuk driver in the world who escorted us sedately to our hotel. The lady at the desk too, was the happiest and most helpful receptionist we’ve ever had. She not only checked us in with great care but was also able to book us two excursions and a bus to Phnom Penh at the end of our visit! Our location in Siem Reap was right near the bustling Pub Street which we could reach by crossing a cute little bridge over the river. Siem Reap is a compact town made famous by its’ proximity to the famous Angkor Wat temples. We loved the town. It was so lively, especially at night when everything was lit up and the streets were rammed with fruit stalls, pancake carts and mini cocktail bars. I have to say that the cocktails were amazing. They averaged out at about £1.50 each and were made with fresh fruit juices. They tasted like Didsbury cocktails but we’re almost a tenth of the price! The beer there too, was cheaper than water, being 38p for the local draught. We don’t usually drink much whilst travelling but we definitely made an exception for Siem Reap!
On our first full day we were delighted to find the same smiling Tuk Tuk driver waiting for us to go on our tour of Angkor Wat. And what a tour it was! We lucked out for half the day as the sky was cloudy and I had to wear leggings and sometimes even a coat to be respectful in the temples. The afternoon however became fiercely hot to the point when we had to eventually throw in the towel and scuttle back to our hotel! The temples are absolutely awesome though. Each one unbelievably intricate and different to the last one. I particularly liked the parts that had been claimed by trees, including Ta Prohm, made famous by the Tomb Raider films. We must have climbed a thousand steps that day but it was totally worth it!
As we’d had no guide for our trip around Angkor Wat, we decided we needed to visit the local museum to learn a bit more about the city. I think the gist of it is that each succeeding King added another temple or two to the complex that was more impressive than the last! Let’s just say the history is quite complex and many of the temples started life as Hindu temples and were converted to Buddhist sanctuaries later on. We left the museum still rather unsure as to why the city was abandoned after so much effort. Perhaps we should have hired a guide after all!
On our last day in Siem Reap we booked to see the ‘floating village’, which is a village built on stilts which floods every year during the rainy season. We were a little disappointed to find that it wasn’t entirely flooded yet, however it did allow us to see how incredibly high the water would get in a few months. We enjoyed wandering through the village and sampled a delicious local sweet pita bread called Nom Heng. We also were taken into the flooded forest on shallow boats which was pretty cool.
Phnom Penh
We took a bus to Phnom Penh which took around six hours. Phnom Penh is a much bigger city than Siem Reap and accommodation was more expensive. This meant that we sadly ended up staying in a room with no windows which was a little depressing. There seemed to be more Tuk tuks than people in the city, which meant that we were constantly badgered everywhere we walked by drivers desperate to earn a fare.
The Killing Fields
We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day to take us to the Killing Fields, one of many sites throughout Cambodia where thousands of innocent Cambodian men, women and children were murdered by soldiers under the rule of Pol Pot nearly 40 years ago. It was a tough morning. We listened to audio guides as we walked around the site, which included the stories of survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. So many people were killed and buried in shallow graves in the area that it was not unusual to see human bones poking out of the soil, exposed by recent rainfall. A huge monument has been built upon the site in memory of the atrocity, lined with the skulls of the victims. To put the genocide into perspective, it is estimated that 25% of the population of Cambodia was killed under the Khmer Rouge regime.
After our sobering morning at the Killing Fields, we asked our Tuk Tuk driver to take us to the Russian Markets in Phnom Penh, where we ate noodles at a food stall in the midst of the bustle and reflected on the horrors that the Cambodian people had faced just a few years ago.
Before visiting Cambodia, both Rich and I had felt a little nervous. Many of the travel blogs we had read had told stories of robberies and scams throughout the country, causing many seasoned travellers to refer to the country as ‘Scambodia’. As it turns out, we really needn’t have worried. By booking transport and tours through our hotels and keeping an eye on our belongings, we never felt vulnerable at any point during our stay. Not only this, but every single person we encountered during our time in Cambodia was helpful, friendly and greeted us with a huge smile. We thoroughly enjoyed our short stay in the country and are both glad that we decided to go despite the warnings of other travellers.
Jess & Rich
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