Siem Reap Stories

We spent the long weekend in Siem Reap in Cambodia where the Angkor Wat is located. It was a grueling 13-hour trip, including all the stops. The first three hours were fine, what with the perfectly paved roads of Thailand. But after we crossed the border in Poipet, it was 6 hours of muddy rough roads amidst rice fields and narrow bridges that constantly seemed to be on the brink of breaking down. As we approached one of the bridges, we actually got down and crossed it on foot and then got back on the bus again after we had crossed the bridge. And as night set in, it was all pitch black except for our bus's headlights and some distant lights in the fields and the occasional headlights of oncoming vehicles. I tried to spend the whole duration of the trip in dreamland but you can only get so much sleep, you know.

We arrived in Siam Reap at 9PM. The bus deposited us to a guest house. I read that it is a common gimmick of agents to prolong the trip so that when the bus arrives late at Siam Reap and they bring the tourists to a guest house, the tourists are already too tired and disoriented to want to choose another guest house. In our case though, we were just thankful that the guest house they brought us to was decent and cheap. We paid only US$10/per night for the room, and that included air-conditioning and an en-suite bathroom. The room was quite clean too, and guests weren't allowed to bring their shoes into the building. The moment we arrived, I just wanted to lay down and take a bath. But somehow there was still adrenaline running through my body that I only washed my face and changed my shirt and then I was once more ready for adventure.

We walked our way to what they call Pub St. which is their version of Khao San Road, but it's actually more like Nakpil St. of Manila because the restaurants are fancier than Khao San's. The first word that came to mind when I saw the town of Siem Reap was "warped" coz it really felt like it. You have this totally rural town with unpaved muddy streets and beggars approaching you from all directions, some with amputated arms or legs due to land mines, and yet you see these beautiful French Colonial buildings, now converted to restaurants and hostels, brimming with foreigners. And then you see the prices of goods and services pegged at US Dollars but you can opt to pay in Cambodian Riels and you end up shelling out tens of thousands to pay for a $10 meal.

We chose from one of the bars along Pub St., Temple Bar, and each had a can of beer. The funny thing is they have this brand of beer, Angkor, and then they have another of the same name spelled differently, Anchor. And both come in almost the same packaging and the tastes were no different from each other. That was all we could do for the night and then we headed back to our guest house to get much needed sleep in preparation for the following day's tour.

We woke up at 6:30 the following day and walked down to Pub St. again for our breakfast. We wanted to have breakfast at a nice looking French restaurant we had seen

the previous night but as it turned out they didn't open until 8:00 so we headed to another restaurant. JM had a grand breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled onions and tomatoes and baguettes while I had bacon and eggs with baguettes. I fell in love with the Vietnamese coffee, I ordered a second cup as soon as I had finished the first one and that was enough to keep me on my feet all day.

At 8:00, we met up with our tuk-tuk driver who was going to drive us around Angkor. It was a real experience to ride the tuk-tuk through roads filled with potholes and dust coming right at you. And these Cambodian drivers can really drive like hell! If you think Filipino jeepney drivers are the worst of their kind, forget it. Where else can you find a place where cars can appear from all directions, with no regard for correct lanes and other driving etiquettes. As one website said, they would even try to come at you from the top if they found a way to fly. I saw these two motorbikes almost colliding into each other at an intersection because one just headed right on without looking at the corner. And our tuk-tuk driver squeezed through two buses that were coming from the opposite direction!

Nevertheless, we arrived at our destination in one piece. Our first visit was to the Angkor Thom, Angkor meaning "holy city" and Thom meaning "big". This was the last capital city of the Angkorian Empire. Here, you can find one of the most popular temples of Angkor, which is the Bayon, set at the center of all the other temples. The Bayon is composed of 37 standing towers, most of which have giant carved faces on each side. A lot of the towers are still intact until now and are a grand sight to behold. Another feature of this temple are the carvings on the walls or the bas-reliefs which depict war scenes as well as scenes from daily lives of the Khmers during the time. The temple is best captured in black and white to show the contrasting shades of the stones and bricks.

After that we walked over to the other temples within Angkor Thom, which are the Baphuon and Phimeanakas. These temples are surrounded by the Terrace of the Elephants, a two and a half meter wall featuring carvings of elephants and garudas (Hindu mythical god in the form of an eagle). On the northern end of the wall is the Terrace of the Leper King where one can find more stone carvings and a statue seated atop. There is no definite story as to why this is called as it is. Some say that it's named after the leper king of Khmer legend while others say it's because of the state of the statue when it was discovered, appearing like it had leprosy.

We then went back to Paul, our tuk-tuk driver, who drove us to our next stop, the Ta Prohm. It is a monastic complex in a jungle setting and the most prominent feature are the tree-in-temples which are huge fig and silk-cotton trees growing on top of the towers and corridors. This temple is now more popularly known as the setting for some of the scenes in Tomb Raider I, and that is why it is no surprise to find it overwhelmingly filled with tourists competing to pose for pictures under one of the massive trees. JM and I, on the other hand, enjoyed our own private shooting in the quieter, less crowded areas of the temple.

It was almost 12 by the time we got out of Ta Prohm so we decided to have lunch at one of the many food stalls facing the temple. Yes, even while touring in Cambodia, we couldn't get away from "carinderias". It was quite flattering, though, to hear that we look younger than our age. The waitress/owner of the food stall where we ate was surprised to learn that we are already 28, she thought I was only about 19 while JM would be about 22.

After lunch, we went farther into Angkor to the Pre Rup. This is what they call a temple-mountain as its towers are set high above the ground and one has to climb the narrow steps sideways. Climbing the steps made me wonder about the structure/build of the people during the time - how could there be people with long legs and small feet who could climb such steps? Or did they construct those steps as a challenge for the people? Whatever! The view at the top of the tower was breathtaking, one would have access to a 360 degree view of the Angkor countryside. It literally felt like being on top of the world!

The Neak Pean was our next stop. This is an island temple, which used to be in the middle of a water reservoir but the reservoir had already dried up at this time. This was one of my favorite stops. It reminded me of the Boboli Gardens in Florence where there is a fountain at the end of the walkway and one can sit on the edge of the pool to enjoy the serenity of the place.

We then went to the Preah Khan, which means sacred sword. It was a brief walk from the main road and as we entered we could hear an eerie sound like that of a high pitched horn or flute. The entrance walk was adorned by huge nagas (a Hindu mythological creature in the form of a multiheaded serpent) on each side. It started to rain as we entered the gates and we were stuck inside the temple for almost an hour as we waited for the rain to subside. We spent the time taking pictures of the rain and the ruins. As we went out, the path had turned into pools of mud and some kids were having a grand time swimming in these pools.

Finally, it was time to see the Angkor Wat. We purposely saved it for last as it is said to be best viewed either at sunrise or at sunset to avoid being blinded by the backlighting. Since we couldn't get up early for the sunrise, we decided to catch it at sunset. I thought the Angkor Wat would be just like any other ancient temple I'd seen here in Thailand or anywhere else. But I was mistaken - it is such a magnificent sight! And one can only get more impressed as one gets closer. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with intricate bas-reliefs and carvings. Even the window railings are so elaborately carved, one couldn't get enough of praising them. The temple consists of three levels with a central tower. We didn't even try to climb up to the tower as the sight of it was harrowing enough. It rained again while we were inside the temple so we had to wait out once more. And what a picturesque sight we made as we waited; we found ourselves a niche on a huge window overlooking a courtyard - it was a perfect photo op!

We wanted so badly to see the Angkor Wat against the sunset that, as soon as the rain let up, we decided to hang out at a cafe for a while. When I saw the rays of the sun hitting the towers, we immediately ran out of the cafe. Too bad though, the rain had ruined all hopes of a beautiful sunset. Nevertheless, we were rewarded with a rainbow at the back of the Angkor Wat, the sight was pretty enough. On our way back to the tuk-tuk, I had a heavy feeling in my heart as I took one last look at the Angkor Wat. I wasn't ready to say good-bye just yet, I felt I could gaze at it for the whole day and never get tired.

We decided against watching the traditional Khmer dances during dinner and instead asked Paul to take us straight to the guest house. We were so tired we just wanted to drop on the bed. I actually fell asleep as JM took a bath. And when it was my turn for a bath, I saw that my shoulders and back were burned from the sun - I had forgotten to put on sunblock.

Once again we had dinner at a restaurant along Pub St. The restaurant was named the Red Piano, the guide book says it's one of the most popular restaurants so we decided to go for it. It is located on a corner in a century old French architecture building. The food was so-so and expensive. After dinner, we went to a bar for beer and pizza. We chose a cozy-looking bar this time, Le Tigre de Papier, owned by a French guy and so a lot of the customers were also French.

By 10PM, we were back at the guest house to pack and ready ourselves for another early day and another rough ride home. The owner of our guest house, knocked on our door at 5:50AM to wake us up, JM was already awake and taking a shower by that time. As for me, I had to drag myself out of bed. By 6:15 our breakfast was waiting for us at the terrace. It was a bland breakfast of plain omelettes and banana pancakes. The agency told us they would pick us up at the guest house at 7, but the car arrived at 8! I was really grumbling by that time - what could be worse than having to wake up at an ungodly hour and end up waiting for an hour.

The trip to the border was more pleasant though. Since we were riding a car this time, the trip was shortened to 3 hours and we were with a friendly Canadian couple who'd been on tour around Asia for the past 3 months and from whom we managed to snag a few tips on travelling in Vietnam, our next target vacation spot. It was at the border though that things got on our nerves this time. We waited on a queue for 2 hours at the immigration before we got to the window, that included squeezing in through the rails since there seemed to be no concept of queueing there. And then we had to wait for another hour for our van to leave! We finally arrived in Bangkok at 7PM.

WHAT WE MISSED:

Since we only had one day to really visit Siem Reap, our trip was limited to just seeing the immediate vicinity of the Angkor Wat. Of course, the one major thing we missed was seeing the Angkor Wat in the sunrise as well as the sunset. We also didn't manage to see the farther temples like the Bantay Srey, which is said to be one of the must-see temples as well because of deep and intricate carvings on the walls and the"fairyland" ambiance brought on by the ornate design and the pink sandstone construction. It is located on the Eastern side of the Angkor, about 38km from Siem Reap.

There are also a lot more things to do in Siem Reap apart from visiting the temples, like watching the traditional Khmer dances and shadow puppetry, visiting the Butterfly Garden, Silk Farms, and going on a boat tour at the Tonle Sap lake during the sunset.

TIPS ON TRAVELLING TO SIEM REAP:

1. If coming from Thailand, you can easily book your transportation through one of the agencies in Khao San Road. Normal rate would be 400BHT per person, one-way. You can also book a round trip ticket for about 900BHT.

2. No need to book a package tour, it costs double what you would normally spend if you just book a tuk-tuk or a car when you get to Siem Reap. If you are more adventurous, you can also rent a bike and go in by yourself. Just bring a guide book with you or you can get one for free from most of the establishments there.

3. There are a lot of cheap and decent guest houses in Siem Reap so there is no need to stay at an expensive hotel, which are really way expensive, unless you have the bucks to spend, of course.

4. Do not believe the agent when he says you have to have your dollars or baht changed at the border because the rates there are better. You can just pay for everything in dollars, that way you do not lose anything on the exchange rate.

5. Food is relatively expensive, especially within Angkor. An average unappetizing local meal would cost $3-$4 per person while a so-so international meal would cost $6-$8 per person. Shop around before you settle on a restaurant, they may offer similar food at different prices or another restaurant could offer better food at better prices.

6. Bring a hat and/or umbrella and don't forget to use sunblock. The sun can get really scorching and rain may come unexpected.

7. Be ready for a rough ride!

SOME COMMON SCAMS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

Scam #1: Touts! They will insist that you need their help to obtain a visa. This is not true. They want to charge an extra fee. The visa process is easy, straightforward and do-it-yourself.

Scam #2: Immigration police may try to overcharge 100-300 baht for the visa. Try asking for a receipt.

Scam #3: 50 baht SARS forms. The forms, if necessary at all,, are free.

Scam #4: That you are required to change $100 into Cambodian riel at the border (at a particularly poor exchange rate.) There is no such legal requirement.

Source: http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/srtransp.htm/