Pattaya to Siem Reap

[dirtydog]

I have to admit I stole this one from ofbboard.com, this was a trip by Ian Arraton who happens to be Italian but speaks many languages, I have tried to correct his spelling mistakes and have probably made it worse.

Anyway here is Ians great trip report with some great pictures.


I had to think hard before posting this, since the trip reports that normally are best appreciated (due also to the "trend" of the board ) are those full of girls and fun
BUT, after all I decided there was nothing wrong in shareing my experiences of a "tourist trip", that maybe some other boardie would like to read looking for a few "different" days in his/her next LOS holiday.
EuroGF and I decided to take a "road" treip, since we believe that modern airports are killing the thrill of corssing a border and observing two different countries merge one in another, sometimes slowly, sometimes abruptly...I must admit that, being my first road trip in Cambodia, I relied on a local company to organize "custom" transportation and hoter lresrvation: the result was in all senses satisfavctory and at a very reasonable (IMHO) price

So off we go

We leave at 6.00 am ( ) and at first sight the trip seems a luxury one: comfy minivan with AC & Dvd player, professional driver who asks us every hour if we want to stop for a drink (or toilet )
…not for long, mates, not for long….

After about 3 ½ hrs we arrive at Poipet, and have to disembark and cross border with a man-driven cart that carries our suitcases.








On the other side of the corner, a few hotels & casinos are trying to gobble Thai money for the needy Cambodia.





A new car, still in reasonably in good condition, and the road to Siem Reap. Our driver tells us that the first 50 kms are “good road”, then it begins the dirt road. Actually, the fist kms give us already the thrill: huge potholes that the cars try to circumnavigate, all the same proceeding at top speed and horning to the cars/lorries coming in opposite direction.
The dirt road is, in a way, less potholed than the “good one”





The traffic is heavy in both directions and will probably double when the Thai will finish the highway they’re building here (the driver suggests it will take time since in this way most people that wants to go from Thailand to Angkor has now to take Thailand-owned airways… ).
Every few meters, vending stalls are full of bottles of what at first sight seems ice tea…





It’s gasoline: since in Thailand gasoline comes at 26 baht/lt, and in Cambodia at gas stations around 41, people buys gallons & gallons in Thailand & sells it on the street for about 35 baht…I suppose the Financial police looks the other side…. Our driver proceeds as well to refuel sipping from a huge canister
The countryside is extremely dry.





It seems that this year the rain season was nil, and most of the rice fields have not been properly planted. Huge flocks of ducks fill every pond (I send a reverent thought to bird’s flu)





After about 3 hours of rollercoaster, we enter in Siem Reap. The city seems to have expanded since my last visit 2003; traffic is still made mainly of motorbikes & bicycles; and our car swiftly brings us to Rama hotel.
The hotel is not really new, has a "colonial" scent that is fascinating in its way. It seems we are the only customers (season is sort of low); a quick shower & clothes change, and we get in the street to stretch a little our legs after 10 hours of sitting.
We cross the night market & end the evening dining at the Red Piano (tourist venue but still with a great atmosphere) overlooking the square.





In the distance, I glimpse the door of Zanzy Bar, with a girl in microskirt dancing in front of it…Oh, sweet memories…

[dirtydog]

After a day completely devoted to travelling, today is a “quiet” day, to bring EuroGF to get a glimpse of the magic of the ancient capital of the Khmer reals, Angkor Thom.
Graced by the proximity to the ancient site, Siem Reap is a small town of about 30.000 inhabitants, grossly shaped as a cross with an arm stretching W-E (from the airport to the road to Phnom Penh) and another, longer running N-S (from Angkor direction to the road to Tonle Sap) aside to the river Siem Reap (that in this season is nothing more than a tiny, foul smelling creek). It has a royal palace, some temples and three markets (New Market)




The Old Market and Night Market) like most of the towns in SEA; the main part of the buildings is brand new, while the old village is somewhere south from here.

Hotels are mushrooming everywhere, most of them luxury, but there are many dozens of guesthouses (all progressively numbered) ready to offer a lodging to the budget travellers.

Tourists here are mainly Japanese and Koreans. Very little Americans, barely no Italians, some French and Australians…our guide tells us that Russian and Spanish markets are opening so there are many young people who study those “new” languages.





The legend wants that here lived in the 12th century one million persons…most conservative estimates speak of 300.000, which would anyhow make the town bigger in her times than Paris or London…Now it’s the realm of the monkey, the bird, the banian trees…
The Ta Prohm is a vision, the dream of a crazy gardener who planted huge trees in the middle of the walls of the temples (indeed, the seeds were carried by the birds’ dejections )










In the morning we head with our car north, repeating the road that the French H. Mouhot took more than 150 years ago, following the legend heard from some monks that somewhere there was hidden an huge temple complex.
Tourists are not too many, so we are left reasonably alone in rediscovering this enigmatic world.
The site itself is huge (some sources speak of a scattering of temples wide 30 x 30 km), and in one day I know we can only have a few monuments to visit
The first glimpse gives us the idea of what Angkor looked like in those times.

[dirtydog]

In the Bayon, we walk shyly in the shadow of Lord Buddha’s hundred smiles, replicated on every stone.











On the pedestals, thousands of carvings speak us of the glory of the once-powerful Khmer kings.

[dirtydog]

The afternoon runs quickly, and soon it’s time for the most known of the temples, Angkor Wat…




Of course being on all the postcards in the world it is a sort of anticlimax (the “deja-vu” effect), but there is always space for exploring… like climbing a neck-breaking staircase on all fours & looking at the people from up there..








And in a corner of the uppermost cell, an unusual encounter, my reward for the climbing: an old monk, completely hairless and toothless, who has retired to “feel the voice of the world fade” after a life as civil servant. He complains of not being very good in English, and when I speak to him in French he answers fluently in the most perfect and sweetly pronounced French that has ever sounded in SouthEast Asia…Knowing that during the Khmer rouge all people who knew a foreign language were killed (as well as all the teachers, the bespectacled people, the entrepreneurs, etc etc .banghead: ), I feel I understand more deeply his serene and fix stare, his sweetness and gentleness.

Dusk descends on the monuments, EuroGF and I return to the blazing lights of a would-be economic miracle city, the long strip of bars & restaurants that cuts in half Siem Reap.
Late in the evening, sitting in the Barrio restaurant in front of a beef lok lak (the “khmer Burger”, ads they say ), I half close my eyes and still see the old man in his orange robe kneeling in front of a Buddha’s statue and offering me an incense stick…..

[klongmaster]

is there more DD?

it's an interesting read from a different perspective!

[dirtydog]

Thats it so far, not sure if he will do a part 3, foking fantastic pictures though, goes to show that some of us don't get out enough, your wife letting you goto Chang Mai this weekend

[tuferguson]

nice pics. I might put mine up one of these days

[stroller]

The 'highway' to Siem Reap is indeed not what it could be:



But Ankor Wat does make up for the inconvenience:



I was fascinated by the hundreds of stone carvings adorning every temple, many of them depicting 'Apsaras' - mythical angels or sexslaves from the countries the Khmers conquered, who knows?



Well, just a face, this one, I'll have to search my videos for some more.

There was some live music as a backdrop to the Ankor-experience:



and the obligatory sells pitch while having a snack, a girl with books and postcards:

[Butterfly]

went there 2 years ago. I might return. The FCC just opened a fabulous restaurant there, great food. A lot of nice Vietnamese Food. Nice little hotels around the place. And of course 3 days non-stop with my motorbike circling and visiting the temples. Don't go in the early morning because of the chinese and Japanese Tour groups with dozens of big bus. Late mornings and afternoons are more quiet and therefore you can enjoy the temples better.

[stroller]

More pics:

[friscofrankie]

Gee, Guess I gotta go one of these days soon.

[in4zip]

yep Franky me too, da clock is a ticking, louder and louder

[dirtydog]

Part 3;

Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

Today is devoted to the transfer from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh…Last time I took the plane and in an hour I was there, but this year we are on a “overland” trip, so I expect to spend a good part of the day travelling. Since it seems that the ground route is completely untrustworthy and quite in bad conditions, all the guidebooks suggest making the trip on water, taking advantage of the huge Tonle Sap lake.

Do you remember in Thailand, when your have arranged for a car to pick up you, say, at 7.00 AM, normally the room phone rings at 6.15 and the receptionist tells you “there is a car waiting you sir”… …
Well, this is Cambodia, mates…we are supposed to be picked up at 6.00, but at 6.30 we’re still looking out of the hotel in hope…Finally a minivan arrives, and at first sight it’s obvious that something has gone wrong in the calculations…it’s quite full already, and the situation does not improve when we stop at two other hotels collecting other five people…let’s count, the van has place for 13 persons and we are 17 plus the driver…PLUS all the luggage





The driver manages to squeeze us inside, though, and the robust potholes of the road shake us enough to get all the content of the bus a little more settled.
The Tonle Sap is the biggest lake in SEA, and a Nature Wonder…during the rainy season it’s 7000 sqKm wide, and receives the excess water from Mekong, via the Tonle Sap river, that for 6 months in a year flows northbound. During the dry season, the course reverts and the Tonle Sap flows southbound, partially emptying the lake in the Mekong; in this season (now) the surface is halved to 3500 sqKm, which still makes a big pond, but it means that the water does not reach Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, and part of the trip has to be done by car.
We approach the lake’s shore, looking out of the window panel we see that where in rainy season is water now there are fields and animals grazing.






Finally after 30 kms we arrive at the embarcadero…BINGO!!! The water is so low that the supposed “speedboat” that has to carry us is completely stranded.





While a dozen locals try half-heartedly to move the boat from the mud, we are surrounded by sellers who suggest us to buy something to eat since the boat trip will last 6-7 hrs and there is “no bar on board, mister” . We buy a banana cask for 1000 riel, i.e. 20 EuroCents…
In front of us, pass the boats of the kids that go to school…In such a wild (and poor) environment, is like a ray of hope…





Finally the guys decide to board us on a smaller boat, with our entire luggage, and tow the “speedboat” towards the centre of the canal. After a good deal of smoking and pulling (and I look quite concerned the towing cable, which seems on the point of snapping, cutting in two some of us), the boat moves. Hooray, hooray!!! Ten minutes and then the “crew” instructs us to board the bigger boat.
Naturally, as soon we all, plus luggage, are on the boat, it sinks a little and gets stuck again Of course the “captain” does not want to loose face, so instead of trying to unload the boat a little, jumps at the control wheel and gives full gas. The boat trembles, jumps, leaving a long deep groove in the mud…well the captain finally gets some result: the propeller breaks
Enter the “towing boat” again…slowly, VERY slowly we are towed for about 5 kms to a floating village where the lake finally opens..





The sights are quite fascinating, but our attention is captured by the “mechanics” of the village, who bravely proceed to try and repair the propeller…



Actually I could envisage easier ways of dying than arc-welding in the water…but Lord Buddha has finally stretched His hands on Cambodia, and the operation ends without casualties

So finally we’re moving, we’re moving…the banks of the lake, at first close, slowly fade away…






Now we’re heavily behind schedule…so (of course) we’re travelling top speed. One hour, and we ear a “CRUNCH!!” in the engine room, while the boat starts to drift sadly on one side.
Hmm, it seems that the propeller, before breaking, had in some way unscrewed some connections in the engine gear system…Captain and second descend in the engine room and start banging something with what could be a hammer. Meanwhile the all-iron boat has reached a temperature of about 50°, and there is a wild fight to get the few “open air” places.



The only thing that makes us less worried is that the water seems not deeper than two feet, so at the worst we could always wade our way to the civilization (we would only have to worry about water snakes, leeches and mosquitoes )..
After a 20 minutes of hammering, we hear a “CLING” (like a key dropped on the ground). We fear this means that the captain has given up in despair, but instead he jumps to the control wheel again and starts the engine…
We are more and more behind schedule now…so the solution that the captain envisages is NOT to spare his provisionally fixed engine, but to give full gas…not surprisingly, after some time the “CRUNCH” repeats, and the boat stops…
Briefly said, the trip goes on for about eight more hours in this way, with a few pitstops, and we get used to recognize the CLINK of the dropped key as the signal of the successful repair of our engine (until next CRUNCH )
In the middle of the afternoon, finally, we reach a place where it’s clear that there is not enough water for our boat to go further. Soon we are reached by a smaller boat and proceed to board on it. At this time, the spirits of the adventurers have taken a slight turn down…



But this time the distance is not too far, and in about 30 minutes we see the end of our trip (on boat), a village where a bus is waiting us…



Another 2 hours of bus trip, and finally we arrive (ironically) at the pier in Phnom Penh, where during the wet season the boat can arrive directly form the Tonle Sap…Our car is waiting us to bring us at the Now York Hotel.
We are quite hungry, so after a quick shower (our clothes are completely soaked of oil & smoke) we find ourselves in a terrace restaurant overlooking the majestic confluence of Tonle Sap and Mekong



There is good music, the food is delicious, and four waiters in white jacket eye our moves and run to refill our glasses as soon as we empty them…we really feel that we have landed in another continent…

End of pt III

[Marmite the Dog]

One always gets reminded of all the boat accidents when reading stuff like this. Were you worried about the general 'sea worthyness' of the boat, or are you fekkin' 'ard like?

[friscofrankie]

you remember in Thailand, when your have arranged for a car to pick up you, say, at 7.00 AM, normally the room phone rings at 6.15 and the receptionist tells you “there is a car waiting you sir”… …

What part of Thailand has this dude been stayin in?
Great pictures, how difficult is it to take a car across the border (and bring it back)?

[ChiangMai noon]

I have just twigged that it was even possible to drive over the border, i would also be extremely interested in knowing whether or not it was easy as I intend buying a car soon.

[Marmite the Dog]

I intend buying a car soon.

You haven't ridden all your motorbikes yet!

[ChiangMai noon]

I know, but my wife would prefer a car, she thinks they are safer and she is probably right, bitch to park though and they take a great deal of petrol in comparison.
She does really want to go to Cambodia, though god knows why.

[dirtydog]

The car needs to be in your name to take it across the border, although the roads are so bad you really wouldn't want to take your own car, well that is if you buy a sexy red one that is

[friscofrankie]

So A rental isour of the question? Always figured any rental was equivalent to a "down and dirty" four wheeleer

[dirtydog]

Pt IV –Phnom Penh

The New York Hotel is sort of a luxury one, mainly occupied by Japanese people, and opens on a heavy-trafficked road that strengthens in us the impression of being in a modern city.
I remember some friends telling me that they did not “feel safe” here; maybe I’m used to worst places, but EuroGF and I feel reasonably at our ease in walking around, even if suspect that the Khmer suffer of “schadefreude”, in that they seem to like to warn you telling that there is full of danger on the road and everybody is a thief or worse
The city seems to have seen a few years of development, as the economy in the whole; I find noticeable that, while 3 years ago the only money accepted was the US dollar, now a lot of places show the prices in Riel and the Cambodian money is easily available.
To fight the sensation of being in a westerner city, I know only one method: walk to the nearest market…
Here close there is the New Market, built by the French in a futuristic architecture in the 30’s…



Under its vaults the smells and sights quickly bring us back to the SEA reality.

[dirtydog]

After this refreshment, we head to the Royal Palace complex. Nowhere as rich as the Bangkok counterpart, has nevertheless some very pleasant walks & monuments.



One moving sight is close to the exit: there used to be royal (white?) elephants here, but the Khmer rouge killed all of them in the days of the conquest of Phnom Penh…so after the reconstruction the king had some concrete elephants placed here, to show to the young people what they looked like…

[dirtydog]

Close by, there is the National Museum, pleasantly arranged in open patios (again French construction of the “dastardly colonial times”)…I am only worried about the heavy humidity that can aggress all the exhibits without any protection…

[dirtydog]

Next stop, the Phnom temple on a (very small) hill close to the river, the original setting of the beginning of the city and now a quiet garden with monkeys and children (and, sadly, some amputees begging)

[dirtydog]

Finished the “glorious” part of the visit, we return on the river banks for lunch, savouring again the atmosphere of peaceful and relaxed city that Phnom Penh offers us (unbelievably, it reminds me a little about Dresden…and the tragic recent past of the two cities probably contributes to this linkage). After that, we pass to the most “hard” part of the day, the visit to some key places of the past regime.
As I said somewhere else, I don’t want to judge. History is written by the winners, and it’s always the losing side that is depicted as evil and inhuman.
Nevertheless, the tragedy of the single lives is indubitable… So I want to show EuroGF the Tuol Seng prison, where some 17.000 people were kept before being swept to the killing field.
The fact that the building is in the middle of the city gives an icy thrill down the spine...



Inside, the cells and not much more…not much left, but what really catches the mind are the thousands of photos that are exhibited in the rooms. The Khmer took a picture of every prisoner, for their files.
Since “in the world of Communism one must look straight forward”, they used a special chair to assure the correct position in taking the pix.



In the frames, old and young, males and females are looking at you with eyes that know that there will be no tomorrow...



After Tuol Seng, we ask to our driver to bring us to the killing field some 15 kms south.
We arrive there while a storm is gathering.
The gray-black clouds run under a fierce wind, it’s 4.00 and it seems night is falling.
In the middle of a no man’s land, full of hole where the dug out what was left of the corpses, stands solitary a monument...




In the tower, the glass walls let us see the piles and piles of skulls of the victims, of the very same people whose pictures we saw only one hour ago. Now the eyes see no more.




They seem to repeat the accusation written everywhere in the panels here and in the other killing fields. “The world knew and did nothing”. Poor souls and where is the novelty? The world always knew and never did anything, 25 years ago or 50 or 100 or just now. The man will go on killing his similes, while the not interested simply will look the other way…or worse. They blame the ancient Romans, but I tell you, if they would make shows with people eaten by lions right now, there would be a huge queue at the ticket booth. Man is the most revolting of the animals.

The storm is suspended above us, everything is dark and gloomy…and suddenly, we hear the voices of hundred children singing. In the school nearby, they repeat loud their lesson and the wind bring us their voices mixed with laughter. There will always be a tomorrow, after all…

End of Pt IV


Ianaraton