| Phnom
Penh...Jan 29 2002
Arrived in Phnom Penh from Bangkok about
8:30am. Kind of hectic at the immigration counter but it made for the
excitement of it all. Essentially there was a line of about 10 immigration
officers and a few others lingering behind watching the process. All of
the officers had to inspect every passport and visa app personally. Everyone
crowded around the far right end of the counter and stuck their arms in
toward the first few officers then waited for their papers and passports
to be taken from their hands. Then you walked to the far left end of the
counter at the end of the inspectors. Eventually the last officer would
hold up your passport, you identify it and hand him $20 US dollars. He
passes your paperwork and passport back to you and you proceed. After
that it was a breeze. Picked up my luggage walked right through customs
and was out the door to the taxi stand. The going set rate is $7 US to
anywhere in Phnom Penh. I picked the Walkabout GH to stay in when I arrived.
Seemed ok, $8 for double bed, fan, hot shower and cable tv. Kind of noisy
late into the night. Has a bar and restaurant downstairs. Seemed like
a lot of prostitution went on there in the bar.
Met my driver for the next dew days, David, outside the GH. There are
quite a few moto drivers hanging around. Nice guy, sort of new to the
Phnom Penh area so he stopped for directions a lot. I didn't mind. We
headed out to The Killing Field at Choeung Ek first. I love the countryside
here. Sugar palms dot the landscape all over. The Killing Field was a
weird place. Hard to believe, all the death that occurred all around the
area and the mass graves that are still covered are right under your feet.
There was a Memorial Stupa set up to house the remains of the few mass
graves that were unearthed there. Saw a few local children playing about
and the landscape around there was beautiful. Next we headed to the Tuel
Sleng Museum or S21 Prison. It was located back in Phnom Penh and went
right along with the Khmer Rouge theme for the day. S21 was a high school
that was converted to a prison during Pol Pots reign of terror in the
mid-late 70's. The original beds were still in some of the rooms. Horrific
pictures lined the walls throughout the museum. Very in your face and
moving. After the Killing Field and Tuel Sleng Museum I was emotionally
drained and headed back to the Walkabout GH for dinner. I watched some
of the school children play soccer from my room. I was on the 3rd floor
with an outside walkway. I had some nice views of the street activity
below. Walked over to the river area for dinner and hit the National Museum
at the perfect time for the bat viewing. Around dusk hundreds of thousands
of bats emerge from the roof of the Museum. It is so cool to watch. It
must have went on for a good solid 10 minutes. (Although when I visited
again 2 weeks later I hardly saw any activity, maybe due to the roof repairs
going on).
Hit the internet afterwards then off to bed for tomorrow. It is really
noisy outside the GH here! But I already love Cambodia.
Jan 30 2002
Woke up at 4am from the activity on the street below. Rolled out of bed
around 7. Had some eggs and coffee downstairs then headed off with my
driver David for the day. Went to the Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda
first. $3 entry and $2 camera fee. Beautiful grounds and structures everywhere.
I walked around the main area for about an hour and thought that I had
seen everything. As I was heading out the guard told me the Silver Pagoda
was on the otherside of a large old looking wall. They were doing some
renovations so I didn't see how to get over there. Finally found it and
glad I did. This area was so different from the other side. Much older
and totally different architecture. There were whole walls covered in
paintings and the Silver Pagoda had silver flooring. Really pretty! It
also housed many Buddhist artifacts from their history.
Next on the list was to head out to Tonle Bati. Located about 40km from
Phnom Penh to the south. I totally loved the motobike ride out there.
No helmets but I didn't fear once. The speeds are not very great due to
the roads. The main attraction at Tonle Bati is Ta Prohm. An Angkor Era
temple built on the site of a 6th century Khmer shrine. I thought the
surroundings here were beautiful. There was a much newer temple a few
hundred meters away and the Tonle Bati Lake also. After walking around
the area for a while we headed over toward the lake. Decided to have lunch
in a floating house on the lake. We ordered then had a boat take us over
to the Wat on the otherside of the lake. The boat owner had his 2 small
sons with him. Not much bigger than a large canoe with a small engine
on the back. The Wat was amazing. Unfortunately I never got the name of
it. A few local children were hanging around and they were very friendly.
Me and David chatted with them and their mother for over an hour. In the
main structure there were these amazing paintings that covered the walls,
ceiling and columns. Such bright colors and almost animated figures. The
place was awesome! After a while we headed back to the floating lunch
spot to eat. Had a whole chicken and an excellent beef dish. I was stuffed
after the meal. We forgot to agree on a price before ordering a the bill
was almost $20 US. I was really shocked but didn't argue because I should
have settled the price before!! Big Rule in Traveling!! Later back in
Phnom Penh I went over to the National Museum again for the bat convoy.
Such a cool thing to watch. On the way back to the GH I got sprayed by
a pesticide truck walking on the sidewalk. They were spraying everywhere.
It was crazy. I have a 6:30 boat to Siem Reap in the morning. Angkor here
I come.
Jan
31 2002, Siem Reap
Was up by 5, showered then headed down for some
coffee and breakfast. Chatted with a man who works in Phnom Penh and grew
up in the Congo. While we were chatting, a prostitute came up and spoke
something in his ear. They both walked out of the place. A few minutes
later the guy was back. He explained to me that he was married to a Cambodian
woman and he spoke Cambodian. All the girls around there knew his wife
and came to him when they were about to go off with a client. I guess
they wanted him to check out the client so they are not in danger. What
a life.
Headed to the boat dock with David and as usual he didn't know the exact
way. We had gone to far up the river and had to cut way back to reach
the dock. Never fear though, we made it in plenty of time. Very nice large
boat and I sat in the bow. Perfect spot for the view. It was a bit cold
until the sun came up. For about the first 3 hours we were on the Tonle
Sap River. Stilt housing all along the banks and fishing boats out on
the water. I loved it. The last 2 hours or so we were on the Tonle Sap
Lake. Upon entering the Siem Reap area we were in a Vietnamese Floating
Village. Lots of activity going on and I also saw some of the largest
birds I have ever seen in the wild.
Exiting the vessel was another issue altogether. You had to walk along
the narrow edge of the boat to the back to get your bags, which were all
put on the roof. After getting your bag and balancing it and you on the
edge, you make your way toward the ramp (piece of 1x8) and balance down
it to the muddy edge. Once there, you are surrounded by all the drivers
from the GH in the area all wanting your business. Grab one and go. The
ride to town is slow and bumpy. I stayed at the Beng Mealea GH and my
driver was coming back at 4 to get me for the sunset at Angkor. $6 room
with 2 double beds, fan, cold shower. Very clean and nice staff. Good
restaurant too. My motodriver AT was there promptly at 4 and off to Angkor
we went. If you buy your pass after 4pm you still have three full days
to visit the sites. I went to Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset. There
were a lot of tourists at the top all fighting for a good spot to snap
a pic of Angkor Wat in the distance. The views were incredible from the
top. The countryside is beautiful here. You could also get an elephant
ride to the top if you so desire. I declined. Lot's of t-shirts and Angkor
books for sale. The books are photocopies of the original and only $2.
If you don't mind B&W then it is a good deal. I met Kira as I was
purchasing a book. She is from Arizona and in the military. Traveling
in Siem Reap and Thailand. After chatting for a while we decided to ask
AT about taking both of us to the jungle temple Beng Mealea tomorrow.
We paid $20 a person and also had to pay off the police near the temple.
$8 and a toothbrush. I keep passing Angkor Wat but haven't had a chance
to inspect closer yet. We head out at 7:30 tomorrow.
Ended the evening with some fried rice and internet. Pretty good restaurant
at the GH.
Feb 1 2002
Well, all 3 of us on 1 motobike. I didn't think
it would work but it was no problem. The roads out there were awful. All
dirt and rocks and holes. The scenery was beautiful. I love seeing dogs,
chickens, cows, pigs, and horses all over the place. In the villages and
in the roads! About halfway there we stopped and ordered some rice to
go so we can eat later at the ruins. Took almost 3 hours to get out there
but I loved every minute of it. Kira seemed to have no problem either.
She loves to ride motorcycles at home so this was up her alley. As we
passed through villages all the children would wave and yell hello at
us. All smiling and jumping. Once there we had to pay off the officer
and give him a toothbrush. The walk up to the main structure was surrounded
by pieces from the once immense structure. It once had a moat and outer
wall. Very similar to Angkor is design. Very Indiana Jones like. You had
to climb and crawl through passages and openings. It was great. You definitely
need a guide once there. There are some locals hanging around that can
help. Land mines are all around the area so stay on the path! This was
probably my favorite place of all I visited. Lunch was next. We ate in
the shade and fed a stray dog our leftovers. The dogs are all so friendly
all over Cambodia. I gave hair combs to the small local children hanging
around. They were pleased and thanked me with a sompiah (traditional greeting).
Headed back toward Siem Reap after lunch. Passed a few election trucks
along the way. They sported speakers on the roof and blasted election
propaganda through the villages. We decided that tomorrow me and Kira
would have AT take us to River of 1000 Lingas and Bantey Srei.
That afternoon I hired crazy man at the GH to take me to Angkor for my
first look. Incredible! I can't put Angkor Wat into words. There is so
much to see there. Such beauty and art. Spent 2 hours and didn't see near
enough of what I wanted to. I will be back tomorrow! That night I went
to town with 2 girls from the GH. One was from LA and heading to Vietnam
and the other from Italy. We walked around the market for a while and
bought some fruit. There were some children begging for food so they got
bananas from us. I saw a huge rat when we cut through a dark alley at
the back of the market. I hit the internet for an hour next then met back
up with the girls and headed back to the GH. After reading for a while
in bed, something made me look up at the ceiling. Glad I did! There was
a huge lizard half in the vent to my room from the outside. It was prob
1 1/2 ft long. I ran out to get some help from the guys at the desk. They
came in and laughed, telling me some story about the lizard clamping on
to womans necks and letting go when they are pregnant. In all the commotion
the lizard left so I was happy.
Feb 2 2002
7:30
am start today. Ate some leeches (small hairy red fruit) for breakfast
then went with AT to get Kira at the Angkor bridge. Our first stop was
to be River of 1000 Lingas. On the way we passed through the Angkor Thom
area and I got a glimpse of The Bayon and the East Gate. Awesome. Had
some good roads today, just the last 1/3 was dirt. To get to the river
you had to walk about a mile uphill along a path. Very nice up there.
There were all sorts of carvings in the river bed and on large river stones.
Also a small waterfall which was nice. Saw a mongoose tied to a post down
where AT was waiting for us. Bantey Srei was the next stop. The carvings
were so detailed at Bantey Srei. A pretty small temple but so ornate.
Also had a moat around it at one time. Made of sandstone the place took
on a pinkish sort of hue. Next was Ta Phrom back in the Angkor complex.
Lots of trees growing out of the ruins here. Not to much restoration has
been done here and the place takes on a jungle type feel. Some passages
are impassable due to large fallen stones in the way. We got there at
the hottest part of the day and there was no one else around. We had the
place to ourselves. Next was The Bayon. Split paths with Kira and exchanged
email addresses. She was going to Angkor for another look then off to
Bangkok in the morning. The Bayon was intense. Huge smiling faces stare
at you wherever you venture there. The face carvings are huge. The place
was empty which made the effect all the better. Wandered around for a
long time there then met AT to head back to the GH. Squared up with AT
as I was going to use another driver for my last day of ruins.
Feb
3 2002
Up at 8 am. Sypo my driver for the day was a great guy. So nice. Went
by the internet in the am before starting the day. Hit The Bayon first
off for another look. What an amazing place. Unfortunately there were
loads of other people around so the effect of the place wasn't like yesterday.
Ran into the 2 girls from the GH and chatted with them for a while before
finding Sypo to head out. The Mine Museum was my next stop. I really wanted
to visit this place. Officially the place is closed down but you can still
go. Mr. Akira actually lives there from what I understand. He has collected
all of what you see there over the last 20 years. The Cambodian Gov is
slowly taking his mines and weapons away as to put them into their own
War Museum. He still goes out and disarms mines in villages around Cambodia.
The place was so interesting. There are still thousands of live mines
still in the Cambodian countryside. The Rolous Group of ruins were next.
These haven't been restored as well as some but I like it that way. Not
many people around and very enjoyable. They are a bit older than Angkor
and different in design. One of the sites we visited had an election area
set up. I tried to check out how the voting process went but couldn't
figure it out. Headed back over to Angkor Wat for a close inspection of
the place. I really took my time and started with the immense and beautiful
bas reliefs. Stories of Heaven and Hell, Khmer life and so much more.
Awesome to see. Chatted with some young monks for a while then proceeded
inside. The carvings are amazing as is this place. No words can describe
it. Spent a few hours there then went back to the GH.
Went to see a traditional dance performance and buffet that night. The
food was excellent. I especially enjoyed the Braised Fish. The dance was
sort of a mix of Indonesian and Thai. Very nice and good music as always.
Feb
4 2002
Slept in this morning till 10:30 and went to town. Hit the photo mart
to get some film developed. $3 per roll. Not bad at all. Walked through
the market and picked up a few pillowcases and scarfs. Did some emailing
then picked up the pictures. Decided to take the bus to Phnom Penh in
the morning. $10.
Feb 5 2002,
Kompong Thom Cambodia
The minibus picked me up at the GH in Siem Reap
about 7:20 am. Only three people at first then we switched buses and it
was filled to the max. Very bumpy, windows rattling and kind of fun. Met
Pauline on the bus. A student doctor from Britain in Cambodia for 2 months.
She was getting off in Kompong Thom. I figured I would do the same as
it was on my list of places to visit in Cambodia. Had a really nice Japanese
guy next to me who didn't speak any English. After 5 hours we made it
to Kompong Thom. The bus stopped there for a break and we headed over
to the Arunas GH across the street. $3 a night. Very clean, double bed,
fan, cable tv, and cold shower. Hardly any tourists around here. Met a
local English teacher who invited us to his class later that evening.
No internet working in this town right now. The English class was fun.
The students were great and had good questions. It felt good to sit and
chat with some locals.
Feb 6 2002
Visited Sambor Prei Kuk temple site today. Older
than Angkor and just now starting to have restoration projects going.
We hit three sites in the area. All are in a woods like setting. Some
carvings were still visible but most were worn away with time. Again,
not many people around at all. Lots of weed growth sprouting out of the
tops of the ruins. We had our motodrivers take us out to the Temple on
the Hill next. It was the opposite way from town but I love the moto rides
so who cares. To get to the top where the temple was you had to climb
806 steps. There were some great views on the way up. Some kids followed
us most of the way up asking for money. I didn't mind, just kept walking.
Nice place although I have seen some better temples up on hills or mtns.
Back at the GH had a great shower. I was a lot dustier and dirtier from
the moto ride than I thought. Met Pauline downstairs and we walked to
the other side of town across the bridge to eat. Walked along the river
for a while. The mosquitos were really bad there. Walked back through
the market area and Pauline had some fresh palm juice. Had some great
Khmer coffee after that. Met with the English class again that night.
Good time again then said our good byes to them. Off to Phnom Penh in
the morning.
FEB 7 2002
This morning the English teacher helped us arrange
transport to Phnom Penh. We took a local minibus for $3. Pretty rough
road for the first hour but it got better as we went along. A lot of roadwork
going on. Bridges going up with the help of the Japanese and Austrailans.
As we got closer to Phnom Penh we saw a lot of neon green rice field that
have not yet been harvested. Passed through Skoun on the way and saw the
Fried Spiders for sale. Once in Phnom Penh I hired a moto driver to take
me to OK GH. He said he knew it but he didn't. He stopped many times to
get directions. $4 at OK GH. Pretty stark room and not so clean. Fan and
cold shower. Good resturaunt downstairs which was nice. Walked over to
the river for a while and checked my email. Before bed I chatted with
a really nice European guy who lives in Bali 6 months out of the year.
He had some great tips on Bali travel.
Feb
8 2002
Moved over to the Royal GH this morning. More money but I wanted to be
able to relax my last week there. $10 for double bed, AC, hot shower and
cable tv. Five minute walk to the river and to the Central Market. Visited
the National Museum today. Great place. So many cool artifacts and statues.
Took me almost 3 hours. I loved it. Walked over to the US Embassy to check
in. Weird place. Not even a wall surrounding it. A waste of time. Next
went over to the Central Market. Everything from housewares to silver
to clothing to bedding can be found. Meat and produce area too. Had dinner
at The Globe. Very good but not on the normal backpacker budget.
Feb
9 2002
Slept in this morning and had some great coffee to wake up. Hired a moto
driver to hit the Russian Market. Pretty big place with lots of bootlegs
and antiques. I wanted to buy so much stuff there. Spent many hours wandering
around the place. On the way back I noticed how funny it is that all the
moto drivers run the street lights. There really are not too many but
all the drivers run them. Saw another moto bike with probably 75 chickens
tied upside down to the back of the bike today. Later I walked down to
the river to relax. Chatted with a university student for a while. The
people are so nice here.
Feb 10-12 2002
During the next few days I did a lot of exploring
on foot. Headed a different direction from the GH each day. Happened upon
all kinds of asian groceries and mobile phone stores. Saw the Lucky Burger
and also walked over to the lake where a lot of GH are. Walked to the
Russian Market and National Monument.
Took an early morning moto ride out to Udong Mountain. Some awesome temples
and structures on top. Again, beautiful views of the countryside from
above. Some of the structures here were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.
Noticed a lot of firecrackers going off all over. The Chinese New Year
festivities have begun. I came across three Lion Dance performances in
celebration of the new year during my walks. Most places were closed down
including the markets during the holiday.
Feb 13 2002
Had to battle a huge roach in my room last night.
The GH was all locked up so I couldn't get any spray. Luckily it went
into a crack so I stuffed the towel so it couldn't get out. I also slept
with the light on. Got some Raid Max at the central market this morning
and fumigated my room with the stuff. Most businesses still closed around
town today. Decided to eat at the FCC. Really good food but pricey. Nice
views of the river and the National Museum from there. Later I walked
over to watch the bats at the National Museum one last time. Unfortunately
the bats weren't coming out. I don't know what was up but no bat action
tonight. Did see a huge rat come right at me at stop in the tuft of weeds
about 3 feet in front of me. Spent the evening watching kung fu movies
on cable. The satellite tv here rocks!
Feb 14 2002
Went over to the Russian market one last time. It
was only partially open due to the holiday. Bought a few more bells and
wandered around for a while. Got a little lost walking back from the market
but eventually found my way. It took me an hour each way walking to get
to the Russian market. I do love the walking though. You can see so much
more on foot and duck into alleys and interesting places whenever you
want. One downfall is if you get lost, it is hard to find a moto driver
to understand where you want to go. Once away from the tourist areas,
you are on your own. Ate at the GH for dinner and caught up on internet
some.
Feb
15 2002
My flight home leaves at 8:30 tonight. I slept in until about 1pm. Had
some lunch then walked over to the river one last time. Sat out there
for about an hour then headed back to the GH. Watched some movies on cable
and got everything in order for the flights home. Just relaxed. Took a
car from the GH to the airport. The flight was fine to Bangkok. Once in
Bangkok I had a 4 hour layover until the flight to Seoul. I met Somai.
She was from Burma and lived in Washington DC. 70 year old woman with
great stories of her life. She was so funny. We stuck together through
all the layovers until we arrived in Washington DC. I had to catch another
flight from there to Atlanta. Such an interesting woman..Home now...Such
a great trip!
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