Monday, 15 March
Today we leave to go back to Kratie and got up at 05H00 to get ready and there was no water! I had to use the purified water to wash my face too. I think they pump water from the lake nearby and only switch it on during the day. When I woke Colin and Dylan at 05H30 there was water. Had breakfast at 06H00 and raced to the bus station on motos and the bus only left at 06H50. This was definitely going to be a more comfortable trip than the mini van. The bus stopped to load some more passengers in small villages and then put some planks in the passage and we thought oh boy, here we go again, but that was the lot. The driver really motored and hooted other small traffic out of the way and we reached Kratie at 12H15. We bought bus tickets to Phnom Penh tomorrow, I think a 5 hour trip and checked in at the Heng Heng hotel again.
We immediately jumped into the shower and washed some clothes and then had the usual noodle and vegetable soup and Coke at the U-Hong restaurant at 14H00. Posted another blog from their PC, I still hope to try and sort out the issue with loading photos. Chatted to a Czech couple who recommend Muine beach in Vietnam. We've been racing through this trip so we have a few days spare. I was thinking of visiting Sihanoukeville and travelling up to the DMZ (demilitarised zone) in Vietnam to see the real Vietcong tunnels at Vinh Moc, which is probably a day's trip from Ho Chi Minh. Everyone says Ho Chi Minh City is not pleasant, just a huge, dirty, busy city.
Went to check on the tiger cub at the Star restaurant and the owner/manager tells me it was killed when some tourists walked in the bathroom where it had been sleeping and stepped on it!!!!! I don't believe it for a minute, but don't know what to think, I'm quite devastated. I had looked up the email address of one of the WWF offices in Cambodia and was going to send them an email with the info and the address of the Star restaurant so they could get involved and collect it. I suspect that they couldn't get it to drink milk or that the milk didn't agree with it and that it died of dehydration or starvation. Colin believes they sold it as it was probably quite valuable. I just can't forgive myself that I didn't do something before we left for Banlung. I can still feel it in my hands and hear it mewling. I went back to my room to carry on with the journal and have a big sobbing cry about the cub. I've come to the conclusion that this is a very unforgiving and merciless country, where all life, particularly that of animals, is very cheap. Dogs roam around and many seem to have homes, but they are extremely filthy, unkempt, scrawny and clearly not cared for, mostly used as watchdogs, full of fleas, not pets as we know them. The females breed uncontrollably and have litter after litter of pups - demonstrated by their long and stretched nipples, which are often 1 cm long. The dogs are mostly small, black or tan or a mixture and often look like Dingos with large ears. I've not seen many cats and the ones we've seen are quite wild, often with pieces of their tails missing and generally ill fed and mangy.
And the people don't have it much better either, if they have jobs, it is menial work or running small shops or selling crafts. The people in cities seem to do slightly better, but the rural people mostly don't have much education and live under terrible conditions in dust and filth, trying to stay alive by growing some crops and making crafts and running small roadside shops and eating places. They collect water from wells and use oil lamps and candles. But cellphone reception is very good as there are loads of transmitters, even in the most remote locations. Joe (American who owns Mekong Crossing in Kampong Cham) had said that corruption is rife and that everyone pays bribes to get things done. I'm starting to miss home and my cats, who will be smothered with love when we get back. I plan to find some Western food in Phnom Penh as the Khmer food - pork/chicken/beef and bits of beg with fried rice or noodles or pork/chicken/beef, veg and noodle soup are becoming very monotonous now. I guess we'll have to try the bugs in Phnom Penh for a change.
When I'd composed myself a bit, we went to the tiny Internet cafe next to U-Hong as they only had one PC free. I wanted to try and upload photos to the blog from the DVD, but the PC only had a CD ROM. Went to U-Hong for supper, I had fried pork spring rolls and French Fries for supper, too much food, I'm actually not used to eating much food now, Dylan finished them. Went back to the guesthouse at 22H00 and Colin and Dylan discovered that between the two of them they'd left their key at the Internet cafe and it was closed. The manager had to open their door, not impressed with them.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Banlung
Sunday, 14 March
UP at 07H00, my eyes are still swollen, but not as much as yesterday, but my legs are still swollen, must be the heat. I decided not to put on make up as we'll just be in the jungle today, will be hot and sticky. Had the usual breakfast, the dogs had some of Dylan's thick and chewy apple pancake. I was under the impression we would be travelling by car, as that's what we were told when we paid $50 for the day. Not so - we got onto the back of a bakkie, together with two French girls and two French guys who were going to stay in the jungle overnight. The moment we hit the dirt road, CLOUDS of red dust enveloped us. The bakkie was kicking up dust and dust was also thrown up by all the passing traffic. At one point we just couldn't breath at all. Dylan got the worst of it, as he was sitting at the furthest point away from the cab. We travelled about 10 kms like that and everyone looked like they had emerged from the Sahara desert when we reached the destination - a piece of open ground next to an open air eating place (definitely not what we would call a restaurant). We dusted ourselves down as best we could and Song set off with the French people in one direction and we followed Riaad and what we gathered was a park ranger (you'd never know, just dressed in old shorts, shirt and slip slops). We walked down the red gravel road for 300 metres, getting covered in dust every time a vehicle went past - the dust is like fine powder, if you stamp your foot or even when you walk, you send up puffs of the powder. Eventually we turned down a path and walked next to a cashew plantation in hot sunshine and after 20 minutes descended quite quickly by about 120 metres and finally found some shade under the jungle vegetation. We followed the ranger along the path and I found it rather frustrating looking at the plants and trees and not knowing what they are. Riaad didn't know. Some were similar to plants they sell in nurseries in South Africa, the bamboo though grows to 3 cm diameter and 6 to 8 meters high. The one palm has thorns on its stems and the one tree has the most beautiful spots on its trunk. We saw lots of evidence of tree felling and cut up planks, ready to be carted away and used to make furniture and build houses and we also came across a fire which was luckily burning very slowly and stretched over a very big area. It seems the fire doesn't get out of control, just the low growing grasses and small shrubs burn and often not entirely. The ranger was completely unperturbed.
We stopped for lunch at 13H00 and sat under the trees on fallen leaves - we were all a bit worried about red ants, all having been bitten by them, but the midges were the only insects bothering us. I was not fast enough to photograph some beautiful large butterflies. Lunch was not great to say the least, small polystyrene containers with lots of cold sticky rice, a few small strips of chewy pork, strips of omelette and a small plastic bag of soya sauce for seasoning. I had a few mouthfuls and closed up the container - I'm sure someone else will eat it. That was washed down with bottled water, I just stay thirsty in this country! We carried on with the jungle trek, I wanted to stop and try and find the birds calling in the trees, but only saw a few small ones, very high up. It was so hot, I was starting to think the expedition would never end. About 1,5 hours later, Dylan was clearly also not enjoying the up and down trek, as his knee was hurting again. The ranger cut each of us a bamboo stick and we started walking faster to get out of there. I asked the ranger to cut me a 2M length of the thicker bamboo, which I hoped to bring back to South Africa and then had to carry that the rest of the way! Dylan was racing to get back, so we all walked fast too and then my head started pounding again! At times like these I really question my sanity on agreeing to such activities. I had just wanted to get into the jungle to look at the flora and fauna - not trek across it in extremely hot temperature!! Both Dylan and I were only too happy to meet up again at the roadside eating place. A Coke and cigarette had never tasted so good! The usual dirty animals were around, brown puppies trying to keep cool under tables, chickens with their chicks and two filthy, dusty ducks, I'm sure with no water in which to swim! Everyone rides scooters and motorbikes in Cambodia, I wanted a 7 year old boy take his 4 year old sister for a ride down the road. We had to wait a while for our pick-up and I was not relishing getting into the back again, but the driver had cargo on the back, so we had to get into a very uncomfortable seat behind the driver, sort of like a double cab without the second set of doors. The driver and his wife didn't bother winding up the windows when other traffic threw up dust clouds, so we still got the treatment, just not as bad.
Back at Lake View, had a refreshing shower and washed my hair, I'm having to wash my hair every day now, thank goodness it's so short. Washed clothes again in the shower, they are always dry in the morning because it's so hot and we hang them in places under the fan. One feels like a million bucks once you've cleaned up. Did some stretches, my lower back and neck are very stiff, I managed to click some vertebrae into place, but I could still do with some physio work. I plan to have a massage in Bangkok before we come home. We will definitely take a large bus back to Kratie, not ever another mini van! Wrote the journal, always seem to stay a day behind.
Chatted to some Dutch tourists at supper, I finally had the batter fried pork and sweet and sour chilli sauce and rice. Dylan had ginger beef and I think Colin had chicken with rice. chatted to Weyne. Dylan went to check on pretty blonde Kelly, who had badly hurt her foot when she pierced the side of it, by standing on a sharp piece of bamboo sticking out of the ground. The doctor had prescribed antibiotics as everyone apparently picks up infections when they hurt themselves badly. Went to sleep at 21H00, very hot! But the fan makes some difference.
UP at 07H00, my eyes are still swollen, but not as much as yesterday, but my legs are still swollen, must be the heat. I decided not to put on make up as we'll just be in the jungle today, will be hot and sticky. Had the usual breakfast, the dogs had some of Dylan's thick and chewy apple pancake. I was under the impression we would be travelling by car, as that's what we were told when we paid $50 for the day. Not so - we got onto the back of a bakkie, together with two French girls and two French guys who were going to stay in the jungle overnight. The moment we hit the dirt road, CLOUDS of red dust enveloped us. The bakkie was kicking up dust and dust was also thrown up by all the passing traffic. At one point we just couldn't breath at all. Dylan got the worst of it, as he was sitting at the furthest point away from the cab. We travelled about 10 kms like that and everyone looked like they had emerged from the Sahara desert when we reached the destination - a piece of open ground next to an open air eating place (definitely not what we would call a restaurant). We dusted ourselves down as best we could and Song set off with the French people in one direction and we followed Riaad and what we gathered was a park ranger (you'd never know, just dressed in old shorts, shirt and slip slops). We walked down the red gravel road for 300 metres, getting covered in dust every time a vehicle went past - the dust is like fine powder, if you stamp your foot or even when you walk, you send up puffs of the powder. Eventually we turned down a path and walked next to a cashew plantation in hot sunshine and after 20 minutes descended quite quickly by about 120 metres and finally found some shade under the jungle vegetation. We followed the ranger along the path and I found it rather frustrating looking at the plants and trees and not knowing what they are. Riaad didn't know. Some were similar to plants they sell in nurseries in South Africa, the bamboo though grows to 3 cm diameter and 6 to 8 meters high. The one palm has thorns on its stems and the one tree has the most beautiful spots on its trunk. We saw lots of evidence of tree felling and cut up planks, ready to be carted away and used to make furniture and build houses and we also came across a fire which was luckily burning very slowly and stretched over a very big area. It seems the fire doesn't get out of control, just the low growing grasses and small shrubs burn and often not entirely. The ranger was completely unperturbed.
We stopped for lunch at 13H00 and sat under the trees on fallen leaves - we were all a bit worried about red ants, all having been bitten by them, but the midges were the only insects bothering us. I was not fast enough to photograph some beautiful large butterflies. Lunch was not great to say the least, small polystyrene containers with lots of cold sticky rice, a few small strips of chewy pork, strips of omelette and a small plastic bag of soya sauce for seasoning. I had a few mouthfuls and closed up the container - I'm sure someone else will eat it. That was washed down with bottled water, I just stay thirsty in this country! We carried on with the jungle trek, I wanted to stop and try and find the birds calling in the trees, but only saw a few small ones, very high up. It was so hot, I was starting to think the expedition would never end. About 1,5 hours later, Dylan was clearly also not enjoying the up and down trek, as his knee was hurting again. The ranger cut each of us a bamboo stick and we started walking faster to get out of there. I asked the ranger to cut me a 2M length of the thicker bamboo, which I hoped to bring back to South Africa and then had to carry that the rest of the way! Dylan was racing to get back, so we all walked fast too and then my head started pounding again! At times like these I really question my sanity on agreeing to such activities. I had just wanted to get into the jungle to look at the flora and fauna - not trek across it in extremely hot temperature!! Both Dylan and I were only too happy to meet up again at the roadside eating place. A Coke and cigarette had never tasted so good! The usual dirty animals were around, brown puppies trying to keep cool under tables, chickens with their chicks and two filthy, dusty ducks, I'm sure with no water in which to swim! Everyone rides scooters and motorbikes in Cambodia, I wanted a 7 year old boy take his 4 year old sister for a ride down the road. We had to wait a while for our pick-up and I was not relishing getting into the back again, but the driver had cargo on the back, so we had to get into a very uncomfortable seat behind the driver, sort of like a double cab without the second set of doors. The driver and his wife didn't bother winding up the windows when other traffic threw up dust clouds, so we still got the treatment, just not as bad.
Back at Lake View, had a refreshing shower and washed my hair, I'm having to wash my hair every day now, thank goodness it's so short. Washed clothes again in the shower, they are always dry in the morning because it's so hot and we hang them in places under the fan. One feels like a million bucks once you've cleaned up. Did some stretches, my lower back and neck are very stiff, I managed to click some vertebrae into place, but I could still do with some physio work. I plan to have a massage in Bangkok before we come home. We will definitely take a large bus back to Kratie, not ever another mini van! Wrote the journal, always seem to stay a day behind.
Chatted to some Dutch tourists at supper, I finally had the batter fried pork and sweet and sour chilli sauce and rice. Dylan had ginger beef and I think Colin had chicken with rice. chatted to Weyne. Dylan went to check on pretty blonde Kelly, who had badly hurt her foot when she pierced the side of it, by standing on a sharp piece of bamboo sticking out of the ground. The doctor had prescribed antibiotics as everyone apparently picks up infections when they hurt themselves badly. Went to sleep at 21H00, very hot! But the fan makes some difference.
Banlung
Saturday, 13 March
My legs are still swollen a lot (swelled up when we got to Bangkok and haven't returned to normal) and now my eyes are too, I look a sight!
After the usual breakfast - me my own coffee, roll, marge, jam, Dylan eggs and roll and Colin roll and cheese, we each got onto a moto at 10H00 and set off with the guide, Song, a 22-year old from the Rattanakiri province, a town 7 kms from Banlung. He had to get a job before finishing school to help support some siblings still at school. Now he's in the process of finishing high school. He took us to the Katiengh waterfall area first (along gravel roads), I was riding with him in front and Dylan and Colin with their moto riders behind, so they all got a bit dusty in our wake, together with dust thrown up by passing cars.
We drove past a rubber and cashew nut plantations. I realised that cashews are a big industry, as I've seen those trees all over. Song said they use the rubber to make roads?? in addition to selling it. Dylan and I then climbed a ladder to sit in a wooden howdah on an elephant called Kampoy. An American guy was on the other one called Kampen. Colin didn't want to ride an elephant and followed us on foot. The handlers sat on the elephants' necks and steered them by pushing on their left or right ear. Our handler also communicated with his elephant by means of grunts. The elephants were allowed to stop and help themselves to banana plants and grass. The pull off the outer banana leaves and strip off the juicy bits. They also like the tender bits of clumps of grass and bamboo shoots. It was very uncomfortable sitting on the howdah, which should have had a cushion. The elephants walk very slowly, often in the blazing sun, so we got very hot. We went back to the entrance after 1,5 hours and I gave the elephant a bamboo leaf and stroked her head. Then we walked to the Katiengh waterfall, which is beautiful with a curtain of water. There was not really anywhere to get comfortable, so we just took some photos, I had a quick wash and left. We saw some Cambodians in traditional garb at the elephants, the guys with the traditional diaper style loincloths over their scants with bows and arrows and Dylan said these were probably part of the "tribal village" experience we would have. We saw them again next to the Katiengh river and I asked whether I could photograph them, then they also wanted to pose for their own photos with us! Turns out they are students from Phnom Penh and it was their first visit to Rattanakiri and the woman who had arranged the trip suggested they put on the outfits and go have fun. The main spokesman was extremely outgoing and charming and well spoken.
It was very comfortable on the moto when we were on tar, but not at all comfortable going over bumps on dirt roads and swerving for ditches and looking away to avoidthe other drivers' dust clouds. It was already about 12H30, so Song took us to a small place to have lunch - the usual fried rice and port, the pork was very chewy, so I fed it to the little mommy cat, who had clearly recently had another litter of kittens. There was another +- one year old cat, probably her offspring, not too friendly. We then bumped up and down some more gravel roads to the next waterfall, the . The back of my head was starting to throw, my spine probably went out of alignment from the bad mini bus trip and now bumping around on the moto. Anyway, we walked down to the waterfall, truly beautiful, some locals were cooling off in the waterfall in their clothes. We walked across the footbridge, took some photos of Weyne who had arrived and which I'll email to him.
Then we rode to a small community where the women weave the traditional material and scarves sold by everyone. Takes them 2 weeks to make a scarf! which they sell for $5. I was really searching for something to buy as I can see how poor the people are, but didn't like any of the designs, which an old woman was busy with. I thought Song said she would have it ready for me tomorrow, but subsequently found out that would not be possible.
We rode up to the Eisey Pracham mountain to see the reclining Buddah which is not too old, built in 1996 by the Vietnamese. Workmen were busy fixing up the platform with tiles, ready for the Prime Minister's visit to open the Triangular Trade Fair between Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Buddah is next to what I think is a Bodhi tree, with the most beautiful blossoms, the Bodhi tree is very significant in Buddhism, the tree must have been planted first, as it quite large already. A woman and her two daughters were collecting the flowers which were on the ground, which they would apparently boil to extract the perfume.
We then went to the Yak Lom crater lake for a swim, $1 entrance, very popular with the locals. It was sublime to rinse off the sweat and cool next to the lake on the wooden platform, the water was not cold, probably about 18 deg C. I had forgotten my swimsuit in Kratie, so wore the long mauve SameSame T-shirt which just covered my maroon panties. Most of the locals jump in in their clothes, or the men put a scarf over their scants. The lake is very deep and I would not have dreamt of just jumping in. I sat on the last wooden step and then went into the water, still holding onto it. It was heavenly. Then Dylan arrived (some locals had asked him to join them for a beer along the way). He and Colin went swimming. Got back to Lake View Lodge at 17H00.
I took headache tablets, had some supper, I wanted Colin's previous night's meal of deep fried pork, but the waitress misunderstood and I ended up with a sickly sweet pork mixture with rice which I couldn't eat, I had two mouthfuls and left the rest for Dylan. I left them chatting to two German travellers and went to sleep.
My legs are still swollen a lot (swelled up when we got to Bangkok and haven't returned to normal) and now my eyes are too, I look a sight!
After the usual breakfast - me my own coffee, roll, marge, jam, Dylan eggs and roll and Colin roll and cheese, we each got onto a moto at 10H00 and set off with the guide, Song, a 22-year old from the Rattanakiri province, a town 7 kms from Banlung. He had to get a job before finishing school to help support some siblings still at school. Now he's in the process of finishing high school. He took us to the Katiengh waterfall area first (along gravel roads), I was riding with him in front and Dylan and Colin with their moto riders behind, so they all got a bit dusty in our wake, together with dust thrown up by passing cars.
We drove past a rubber and cashew nut plantations. I realised that cashews are a big industry, as I've seen those trees all over. Song said they use the rubber to make roads?? in addition to selling it. Dylan and I then climbed a ladder to sit in a wooden howdah on an elephant called Kampoy. An American guy was on the other one called Kampen. Colin didn't want to ride an elephant and followed us on foot. The handlers sat on the elephants' necks and steered them by pushing on their left or right ear. Our handler also communicated with his elephant by means of grunts. The elephants were allowed to stop and help themselves to banana plants and grass. The pull off the outer banana leaves and strip off the juicy bits. They also like the tender bits of clumps of grass and bamboo shoots. It was very uncomfortable sitting on the howdah, which should have had a cushion. The elephants walk very slowly, often in the blazing sun, so we got very hot. We went back to the entrance after 1,5 hours and I gave the elephant a bamboo leaf and stroked her head. Then we walked to the Katiengh waterfall, which is beautiful with a curtain of water. There was not really anywhere to get comfortable, so we just took some photos, I had a quick wash and left. We saw some Cambodians in traditional garb at the elephants, the guys with the traditional diaper style loincloths over their scants with bows and arrows and Dylan said these were probably part of the "tribal village" experience we would have. We saw them again next to the Katiengh river and I asked whether I could photograph them, then they also wanted to pose for their own photos with us! Turns out they are students from Phnom Penh and it was their first visit to Rattanakiri and the woman who had arranged the trip suggested they put on the outfits and go have fun. The main spokesman was extremely outgoing and charming and well spoken.
It was very comfortable on the moto when we were on tar, but not at all comfortable going over bumps on dirt roads and swerving for ditches and looking away to avoidthe other drivers' dust clouds. It was already about 12H30, so Song took us to a small place to have lunch - the usual fried rice and port, the pork was very chewy, so I fed it to the little mommy cat, who had clearly recently had another litter of kittens. There was another +- one year old cat, probably her offspring, not too friendly. We then bumped up and down some more gravel roads to the next waterfall, the . The back of my head was starting to throw, my spine probably went out of alignment from the bad mini bus trip and now bumping around on the moto. Anyway, we walked down to the waterfall, truly beautiful, some locals were cooling off in the waterfall in their clothes. We walked across the footbridge, took some photos of Weyne who had arrived and which I'll email to him.
Then we rode to a small community where the women weave the traditional material and scarves sold by everyone. Takes them 2 weeks to make a scarf! which they sell for $5. I was really searching for something to buy as I can see how poor the people are, but didn't like any of the designs, which an old woman was busy with. I thought Song said she would have it ready for me tomorrow, but subsequently found out that would not be possible.
We rode up to the Eisey Pracham mountain to see the reclining Buddah which is not too old, built in 1996 by the Vietnamese. Workmen were busy fixing up the platform with tiles, ready for the Prime Minister's visit to open the Triangular Trade Fair between Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Buddah is next to what I think is a Bodhi tree, with the most beautiful blossoms, the Bodhi tree is very significant in Buddhism, the tree must have been planted first, as it quite large already. A woman and her two daughters were collecting the flowers which were on the ground, which they would apparently boil to extract the perfume.
We then went to the Yak Lom crater lake for a swim, $1 entrance, very popular with the locals. It was sublime to rinse off the sweat and cool next to the lake on the wooden platform, the water was not cold, probably about 18 deg C. I had forgotten my swimsuit in Kratie, so wore the long mauve SameSame T-shirt which just covered my maroon panties. Most of the locals jump in in their clothes, or the men put a scarf over their scants. The lake is very deep and I would not have dreamt of just jumping in. I sat on the last wooden step and then went into the water, still holding onto it. It was heavenly. Then Dylan arrived (some locals had asked him to join them for a beer along the way). He and Colin went swimming. Got back to Lake View Lodge at 17H00.
I took headache tablets, had some supper, I wanted Colin's previous night's meal of deep fried pork, but the waitress misunderstood and I ended up with a sickly sweet pork mixture with rice which I couldn't eat, I had two mouthfuls and left the rest for Dylan. I left them chatting to two German travellers and went to sleep.
Kratie to Banlung
Friday, 12 March
Got up at 06H00, finished packing, U-Hong for breakfast, roll and jam and made my own coffee with boiling water, Dylan had a roll and scrambled eggs, Colin had a roll and cheese.
Put the backpacks in Heng Heng's lock-up, caught the mini bus to Banlung, poor Dylan was told to move right to the back after they had loaded a whole lot of luggage in the back, strapped other luggage, including our bag on the outside of the back door, fastened a motorbike to the back and packed boxes and bags of produce underneath the seats in the bus and on the floor! Including the driver there were 25 people in the bus, two were small children, this was going to be uncomfortable!
The mini bus left Kratie at 09H30, pit stop at 11H30 for some people to grab a quick bite to eat. We were really crammed in like sardines, but until that point we had been on tar and I had opened the sliding window on my side to get some fresh air. From then on we were on a dusty gravel road and had to close all windows. the suspension on the van and the seats had seen better days! Every now and then the taxi would go over a big bump and come back with a bang and I could hear Dylan moan in agony in the back seat. Eventually I said he should take 2 Panados to dull the pain in his knee and we all snacked on the prawn chips and bottled water. He couldn't lean back in his seat because their backrest had been pushed forward to accommodate the luggage, so he just rested his forehead on his forearms on the backrest of our seats and napped a bit. Thankfully the driver had turned on the aircon slightly when we started on the gravel road otherwise we would all have suffocated or fused together from the sweat! The Cambodian music played nonstop, particularly one CD, with one song, which is obviously a pop hit in Cambodia at the moment, I enjoy it, but Dylan's had enough of it.
There wasn't too much to see along the way, just earthworks as they're trying to widen and grade the road, miles of countryside next to the road that has been stripped of trees and some places where they're replanting forests and the usual small houses on stilts. In the one area they were all painted white - crazy because they get covered in the red dust and then all look cream coloured. The detail over doors and windows as we go north has changed to a triangular pattern, with the wooden planks overlapping each other. All the houses in villages along the road are permanently covered in red dust and probably only get clean when the rain comes.
Finally we reached what looked like the outskirts of a town and it was confirmed that this was Banlung. We were suddenly on a super smart new tarred freeway, but not for long. The driver turned into a side road and from there it was clear that all the other town roads were still sand, but quite smooth. Everything had the red haze from the dust, there are lots of industries, many involving bikes, repairs to bikes and many factories producing the extremely heavy solid wooden furniture we've seen all over Cambodia from the beautiful old trees in the forest. We offloaded some people and the driver pulled into the taxi rank in town. Everyone else got off, but we said we were supposed to be dropped off at our guesthouse, Lake View Lodge. He stopped in the main road where there were lots of guesthouses, but we refused and said he must take us where we want to go. Then he took us to Lake View Lodge, old colonial house which has not been maintained, but which the new? owner is fixing up. Apparently it was the Governor;s house in years gone by. It has a lovely rustic, Colonial, decaying charm, lots of large old trees, solid wooden furniture, beautiful wooden floors, swimming pool on the side with a raised pagoda seating area over one side of the pool, half filled with totally green water. There is an outdoor lapa style restaurant. Rooms are comfortable, but the mosquito screen on my window is completely loose and freestanding, I'm sure the mosquitos know their way into the room. Dylan and Colin have hot water, but I don't, but it doesn't matter in this heat. Chatted to the manager, Riaad (Sophat the owner is in Phnom Penh studying and his wife and Riaad run the place). We arranged a tour of 2 waterfalls, visiting a local tribe and swimming in the Yak Lom crater for $25 per person on 3 motos, which would start at 09H30 tomorrow.
We all showered and changed and Dylan strapped up his knee again, then had supper, Colin: sweet and sour pork and rice, Dylan something with chicken and rice. I didn't want fried rice again, which is invariably quite dry, so had the Thai green curry with pork and steamed rice, totally delicious, lots of sauce.
Dylan went to bed and Colin and I chatted to 73 year old Weyne from Belgium, whose wife passed away a few years ago, so he goes travelling in Southeast Asia every year for a few months, on the cheap.
Got up at 06H00, finished packing, U-Hong for breakfast, roll and jam and made my own coffee with boiling water, Dylan had a roll and scrambled eggs, Colin had a roll and cheese.
Put the backpacks in Heng Heng's lock-up, caught the mini bus to Banlung, poor Dylan was told to move right to the back after they had loaded a whole lot of luggage in the back, strapped other luggage, including our bag on the outside of the back door, fastened a motorbike to the back and packed boxes and bags of produce underneath the seats in the bus and on the floor! Including the driver there were 25 people in the bus, two were small children, this was going to be uncomfortable!
The mini bus left Kratie at 09H30, pit stop at 11H30 for some people to grab a quick bite to eat. We were really crammed in like sardines, but until that point we had been on tar and I had opened the sliding window on my side to get some fresh air. From then on we were on a dusty gravel road and had to close all windows. the suspension on the van and the seats had seen better days! Every now and then the taxi would go over a big bump and come back with a bang and I could hear Dylan moan in agony in the back seat. Eventually I said he should take 2 Panados to dull the pain in his knee and we all snacked on the prawn chips and bottled water. He couldn't lean back in his seat because their backrest had been pushed forward to accommodate the luggage, so he just rested his forehead on his forearms on the backrest of our seats and napped a bit. Thankfully the driver had turned on the aircon slightly when we started on the gravel road otherwise we would all have suffocated or fused together from the sweat! The Cambodian music played nonstop, particularly one CD, with one song, which is obviously a pop hit in Cambodia at the moment, I enjoy it, but Dylan's had enough of it.
There wasn't too much to see along the way, just earthworks as they're trying to widen and grade the road, miles of countryside next to the road that has been stripped of trees and some places where they're replanting forests and the usual small houses on stilts. In the one area they were all painted white - crazy because they get covered in the red dust and then all look cream coloured. The detail over doors and windows as we go north has changed to a triangular pattern, with the wooden planks overlapping each other. All the houses in villages along the road are permanently covered in red dust and probably only get clean when the rain comes.
Finally we reached what looked like the outskirts of a town and it was confirmed that this was Banlung. We were suddenly on a super smart new tarred freeway, but not for long. The driver turned into a side road and from there it was clear that all the other town roads were still sand, but quite smooth. Everything had the red haze from the dust, there are lots of industries, many involving bikes, repairs to bikes and many factories producing the extremely heavy solid wooden furniture we've seen all over Cambodia from the beautiful old trees in the forest. We offloaded some people and the driver pulled into the taxi rank in town. Everyone else got off, but we said we were supposed to be dropped off at our guesthouse, Lake View Lodge. He stopped in the main road where there were lots of guesthouses, but we refused and said he must take us where we want to go. Then he took us to Lake View Lodge, old colonial house which has not been maintained, but which the new? owner is fixing up. Apparently it was the Governor;s house in years gone by. It has a lovely rustic, Colonial, decaying charm, lots of large old trees, solid wooden furniture, beautiful wooden floors, swimming pool on the side with a raised pagoda seating area over one side of the pool, half filled with totally green water. There is an outdoor lapa style restaurant. Rooms are comfortable, but the mosquito screen on my window is completely loose and freestanding, I'm sure the mosquitos know their way into the room. Dylan and Colin have hot water, but I don't, but it doesn't matter in this heat. Chatted to the manager, Riaad (Sophat the owner is in Phnom Penh studying and his wife and Riaad run the place). We arranged a tour of 2 waterfalls, visiting a local tribe and swimming in the Yak Lom crater for $25 per person on 3 motos, which would start at 09H30 tomorrow.
We all showered and changed and Dylan strapped up his knee again, then had supper, Colin: sweet and sour pork and rice, Dylan something with chicken and rice. I didn't want fried rice again, which is invariably quite dry, so had the Thai green curry with pork and steamed rice, totally delicious, lots of sauce.
Dylan went to bed and Colin and I chatted to 73 year old Weyne from Belgium, whose wife passed away a few years ago, so he goes travelling in Southeast Asia every year for a few months, on the cheap.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Kratie
Thursday, 11 March
Didn't have to get up too early, so got out of bed at 07H00, booked the tuk tuk for the dolphin trip later that afternoon, for $10 and went to the Star restaurant for breakfast at 08H00. Had an English breakfast - 2 fried eggs, very crisp bacon, a HUGE hash brown and beans in tomato sauce with a large French breadroll and awful, strong coffee. Dylan fetched my Ellis Brown coffee creamer from the guesthouse, but the coffee remained undrinkable and cold. Dylan was writing his journal and looked up to see the female owner (50 or so), put what first looked like a tiny kitten, sort of like a tabby, on the desk. Then we realised it was more spotted than striped and Dylan thought it looked like an ocelot. We saw they'd put a string around its neck and were angrily talking about this when the woman dunked its face into a saucer of milk and it walked around on the desk, mewling and bewildered. She pulled it back from the edge of the desk with the string and I couldn't stop myself from flying over to the desk and picking it up and cuddling it against my chest and cupping it in my hands, it was tiny! It immediately calmed down. I asked the 35 year old woman, who speaks some English where she'd got it and she said it was not a kitten, but a tiger. I thought she'd misunderstood me, so I asked again and she said it was a tiger and that someone (I think her brother) had found it walking along the road, I'm guessing in a jungle area. I stoked and nuzzled the cub and it started licking its tiny hind legs. I thought it may be 5 days old, but Dylan thought it was 9 days old. I was still not really believing this was a tiger cub, so I asked how big it would get and the 35 year old woman showed to just above her waist. I aksed how long she planned to keep it and what they would do with is. She said they had not decided, but possibly a week or so and she was trying to decide what to do with it, possibly take it to a farm near Phnom Penh or up north. I said they must not let it walk around in the open as it was still tiny and was afraid of all the noise. Someone could carry it around and/or it should be put somewhere quiet in a box with a soft towel and they must give it a lot of milk. The cub was sleeping in my hands so I carefully put it in the nest I'd made in the towel in the box they brought and covered its head. I hated leaving it there.
We went back to the guesthouse. I had taken headache tablets, so I was feeling quite sleepy and had a nap. The tuk tuk driver was waiting for us at 14H00. A young British couple, Mark and Jenny, also came along on their own tuk tuk. We drove to the dolphin watching jetty and paid another $7 to the boatman. He used an engine to get us about 1 km into the river, which has an island on it, 1 km wide, so you can imagine how wide it is at that point. But it is not too deep in places, as the boat sometimes scraped over rocks and sand. We saw dolphins a couple of times,. not sure whether they were the same ones that were swimming around in the area. There were two other boats with people out too. The dolphins would just breach once or twice then disappear underwater, but Dylan and I got two reasonable photos, you actually need at least two hours and lots of patience and we were only there for one hour. It was lovely being on the river, even though the sun was very hot. The boatman battled to start the engine a few times and also lost his rudder once, but we made it back eventually.
The tuk tuk drivers then took us to the Kampi pools, where were not very deep due to the little water this time of year (hot and dry, no rain). The rocks were fairly sharp and very slippery with algae. We got wet, couldn't really swim, still refreshing. It seems the whole community comes here to swim and wash and sit on the reed platforms to have a picnic - quite a bit of rubbish in the water, the Cambodians think nothing of throwing their litter anywhere and everywhere. We left just after sunset at 18H15 and were very touched by the young girl sitting at a table outside the tourist stalls at the entrance, trying to her homework by the light of her cellphone! We rode back in the dark, got back at 18H30, agreed to meet at 19H00 for supper at U-Hong. I was really hungry for a change, had Thai green curry with pork - delicious and tasty and generous helping. Only two PC's were connect to the Internet, so Colin stayed and Dylan and I went back to pack for the trip to Banlung tomorrow in a shared minibus, $7 per seat. We're taking the minimum and packing everything in the yellow togbag - 2 sets of underwear, 3 T-shirts, 1 pr shorts, socks, walking shoes and of course my hairdryer and pillow. Dylan's knee is still hurting, so he's strapping it up.
Didn't have to get up too early, so got out of bed at 07H00, booked the tuk tuk for the dolphin trip later that afternoon, for $10 and went to the Star restaurant for breakfast at 08H00. Had an English breakfast - 2 fried eggs, very crisp bacon, a HUGE hash brown and beans in tomato sauce with a large French breadroll and awful, strong coffee. Dylan fetched my Ellis Brown coffee creamer from the guesthouse, but the coffee remained undrinkable and cold. Dylan was writing his journal and looked up to see the female owner (50 or so), put what first looked like a tiny kitten, sort of like a tabby, on the desk. Then we realised it was more spotted than striped and Dylan thought it looked like an ocelot. We saw they'd put a string around its neck and were angrily talking about this when the woman dunked its face into a saucer of milk and it walked around on the desk, mewling and bewildered. She pulled it back from the edge of the desk with the string and I couldn't stop myself from flying over to the desk and picking it up and cuddling it against my chest and cupping it in my hands, it was tiny! It immediately calmed down. I asked the 35 year old woman, who speaks some English where she'd got it and she said it was not a kitten, but a tiger. I thought she'd misunderstood me, so I asked again and she said it was a tiger and that someone (I think her brother) had found it walking along the road, I'm guessing in a jungle area. I stoked and nuzzled the cub and it started licking its tiny hind legs. I thought it may be 5 days old, but Dylan thought it was 9 days old. I was still not really believing this was a tiger cub, so I asked how big it would get and the 35 year old woman showed to just above her waist. I aksed how long she planned to keep it and what they would do with is. She said they had not decided, but possibly a week or so and she was trying to decide what to do with it, possibly take it to a farm near Phnom Penh or up north. I said they must not let it walk around in the open as it was still tiny and was afraid of all the noise. Someone could carry it around and/or it should be put somewhere quiet in a box with a soft towel and they must give it a lot of milk. The cub was sleeping in my hands so I carefully put it in the nest I'd made in the towel in the box they brought and covered its head. I hated leaving it there.
We went back to the guesthouse. I had taken headache tablets, so I was feeling quite sleepy and had a nap. The tuk tuk driver was waiting for us at 14H00. A young British couple, Mark and Jenny, also came along on their own tuk tuk. We drove to the dolphin watching jetty and paid another $7 to the boatman. He used an engine to get us about 1 km into the river, which has an island on it, 1 km wide, so you can imagine how wide it is at that point. But it is not too deep in places, as the boat sometimes scraped over rocks and sand. We saw dolphins a couple of times,. not sure whether they were the same ones that were swimming around in the area. There were two other boats with people out too. The dolphins would just breach once or twice then disappear underwater, but Dylan and I got two reasonable photos, you actually need at least two hours and lots of patience and we were only there for one hour. It was lovely being on the river, even though the sun was very hot. The boatman battled to start the engine a few times and also lost his rudder once, but we made it back eventually.
The tuk tuk drivers then took us to the Kampi pools, where were not very deep due to the little water this time of year (hot and dry, no rain). The rocks were fairly sharp and very slippery with algae. We got wet, couldn't really swim, still refreshing. It seems the whole community comes here to swim and wash and sit on the reed platforms to have a picnic - quite a bit of rubbish in the water, the Cambodians think nothing of throwing their litter anywhere and everywhere. We left just after sunset at 18H15 and were very touched by the young girl sitting at a table outside the tourist stalls at the entrance, trying to her homework by the light of her cellphone! We rode back in the dark, got back at 18H30, agreed to meet at 19H00 for supper at U-Hong. I was really hungry for a change, had Thai green curry with pork - delicious and tasty and generous helping. Only two PC's were connect to the Internet, so Colin stayed and Dylan and I went back to pack for the trip to Banlung tomorrow in a shared minibus, $7 per seat. We're taking the minimum and packing everything in the yellow togbag - 2 sets of underwear, 3 T-shirts, 1 pr shorts, socks, walking shoes and of course my hairdryer and pillow. Dylan's knee is still hurting, so he's strapping it up.
Kampong Cham to Kratie
Wednesday, 10 March
I was woken up at 05H45 by the Muslim call to prayer and then the group exercise music started on the Promenade at about 06H15. Had my cup of coffee and cigarette on the balcony, watching the pedestrians below and traffic along the Mekong.
Bow, the tuk tuk driver took us to the Thong Lhy bus company embarkation point at their tiny office in a very busy local trading street, lots of traffic, including horse carts and scooters, transporting market goods and produce . We waited there, sitting on plastic stools on the sand pavement for half an hour until the bus got there late at 09H45. They are not yet used to seeing tourists in this part of Cambodia and Dylan certainly attracts attention with his Jose Cuervo cowboy hat! Then it was a bit of a scramble to get on and we found that the driver was not loading luggage in the luggage hold, but that we had to take the backpacks inside the bus. We were amazed to find that the entire length of the floor was already taken up by boxes and bags of fresh produce and luggage and had no alternative but to pack the backpacks on top of the other bags and boxes! Then we had to walk over everything and step into our seats and sit down. To say it was crammed would be an understatement! Dylan was fuming when he sat down, as a woman had held her baby over the steps of the bus while he was trying to climb up and it peed over his foot (not wearing a nappy). At the halfway stop he got off to wash it.
Dylan and I were seated next to each other, 4 rows from the back and Colin behind us. The aircon only blew a bit of cooler air when the bus was stationery, which was not often. I sat next to the window and wrote my journal until my handwriting was so bad, I knew I wouldn't be able to read it. Then I wateched the passing scenery. The bus was really motoring on the very bumpy road, hotting each time it overtook other traffic. Dylan and I were sitting over the rear wheel arches and the floor of the bus flexed every time th ebus went over a bump. The sun started shining through the window and I started getting hot, so I leaned over the seat in front of me to try and pull a curtain in our direction, as all the curtains were bunched up at the front windows. The man sitting two rows in front of, turned around and grabbed the curtain and pulled it back and then tied it to the curtain in front of him. I was furious as that curtain belonged at our window, but was so surprised at his unco-operative behaviour that I didn't get into a scrap with him, as I should have done. Dylan said to let it go and offered to swap seats with me. He nodded off to sleep and woke up half an hour later, when a sudden lurch of the bus moved the floor under his right leg and threw his leg up into the air. With the sudden movement he hurt his knee and had to straighten it over my lap and rest it on the backpack stacked in the passage. Just when he thought he couldn't take the pain anymore, we got to Kratie. As we grabbed the backpacks and moved down the passage, I pointedly looked at the rude Cambodian curtain guy and told him he was a miserable asshole and it was unfortunate I couldn't tell him in his language!
We were offloaded in the River Rd at 13H30 and Colin had decided we should stay at the Star Guesthouse, which is the cheapest and was nearby. A tout wanted to take us to his guesthouse and Dylan had to shout at him to make him go away. We started walking back to 10th St, with Dylan lumping with the two backpacks again. We passed the Santepheap Guesthouse, which we tried, but they were full. We carried on walking in the 35 deg C heat until 10th St and found the Star guesthouse easily. I went up to check the rooms ($6 double) but the rooms and passage were dark and the mattresses didn't look comfortable, so I said we should check out some others.
I went to check the Heng Heng Hotel first and was immediately taken with their neat entrance, desk and wide staircase with huge wooden banister. The double ceiling fan rooms were $7 each and even though the mattresses were quite hard (I've since discovered they're made of latex, not foam), the rooms were very clean and the fans very effective (4 settings). So we decided to stay there. Colin and Dylan shared a room and I had one to myself. We all showered and washed clothes. Colin couldn't get his white T-shirt clean (black at the back from the seat on the bus). Dylan had to wash his swimming trunks as the Tabard cream had leaked onto them. I also had to wash out the sticky peppermints in my daypack which had become wet and started dissolving. We walked to the Star restaurant for lunch at 15H00 and all had spring rolls filled with mined pork and served with small bowls of sweet sauce with a touch of chilli and garlic, very nice. Chatted to Colin, an Australian and Els from Gent in Belguim. Colin had been to Banlung and said it was pleasant, not much to do and the road is bumpy. He had taken a local bus. We walked around the market area a bit and took photos down at the river. It's so hot in the sun, I'm always trying to find any shade possible. Went back to Heng Heng and my camera started warning me that I only had a few frame numbers left, so I thought the memory stick was getting full. I deleted a few bad photos and couldn't understand why I still got the warning. Colin figured out that it was because the camera had not been configured correctly in the shop and the photo numbers had started at 900 or so. The only thing to do was to take all the photos off the memory stick and reconfigure the numbers. My 512 MB flash drive only had about 350 MB available, so I would have to write to a DVD. There was only one shop selling DVD's and providing the service to write to them for $4, but the owner would only be back later. Went to the U-Hong restaurant for supper and to do Internet. Had a Khmer chicken curry and rice, which was so delicious, for $3. I think Colin and Dylan each had noodle soup again. Burned the photos from the camera to the DVD and sorted out the camera. Went back to the guesthouse at about 22H30.
I was woken up at 05H45 by the Muslim call to prayer and then the group exercise music started on the Promenade at about 06H15. Had my cup of coffee and cigarette on the balcony, watching the pedestrians below and traffic along the Mekong.
Bow, the tuk tuk driver took us to the Thong Lhy bus company embarkation point at their tiny office in a very busy local trading street, lots of traffic, including horse carts and scooters, transporting market goods and produce . We waited there, sitting on plastic stools on the sand pavement for half an hour until the bus got there late at 09H45. They are not yet used to seeing tourists in this part of Cambodia and Dylan certainly attracts attention with his Jose Cuervo cowboy hat! Then it was a bit of a scramble to get on and we found that the driver was not loading luggage in the luggage hold, but that we had to take the backpacks inside the bus. We were amazed to find that the entire length of the floor was already taken up by boxes and bags of fresh produce and luggage and had no alternative but to pack the backpacks on top of the other bags and boxes! Then we had to walk over everything and step into our seats and sit down. To say it was crammed would be an understatement! Dylan was fuming when he sat down, as a woman had held her baby over the steps of the bus while he was trying to climb up and it peed over his foot (not wearing a nappy). At the halfway stop he got off to wash it.
Dylan and I were seated next to each other, 4 rows from the back and Colin behind us. The aircon only blew a bit of cooler air when the bus was stationery, which was not often. I sat next to the window and wrote my journal until my handwriting was so bad, I knew I wouldn't be able to read it. Then I wateched the passing scenery. The bus was really motoring on the very bumpy road, hotting each time it overtook other traffic. Dylan and I were sitting over the rear wheel arches and the floor of the bus flexed every time th ebus went over a bump. The sun started shining through the window and I started getting hot, so I leaned over the seat in front of me to try and pull a curtain in our direction, as all the curtains were bunched up at the front windows. The man sitting two rows in front of, turned around and grabbed the curtain and pulled it back and then tied it to the curtain in front of him. I was furious as that curtain belonged at our window, but was so surprised at his unco-operative behaviour that I didn't get into a scrap with him, as I should have done. Dylan said to let it go and offered to swap seats with me. He nodded off to sleep and woke up half an hour later, when a sudden lurch of the bus moved the floor under his right leg and threw his leg up into the air. With the sudden movement he hurt his knee and had to straighten it over my lap and rest it on the backpack stacked in the passage. Just when he thought he couldn't take the pain anymore, we got to Kratie. As we grabbed the backpacks and moved down the passage, I pointedly looked at the rude Cambodian curtain guy and told him he was a miserable asshole and it was unfortunate I couldn't tell him in his language!
We were offloaded in the River Rd at 13H30 and Colin had decided we should stay at the Star Guesthouse, which is the cheapest and was nearby. A tout wanted to take us to his guesthouse and Dylan had to shout at him to make him go away. We started walking back to 10th St, with Dylan lumping with the two backpacks again. We passed the Santepheap Guesthouse, which we tried, but they were full. We carried on walking in the 35 deg C heat until 10th St and found the Star guesthouse easily. I went up to check the rooms ($6 double) but the rooms and passage were dark and the mattresses didn't look comfortable, so I said we should check out some others.
I went to check the Heng Heng Hotel first and was immediately taken with their neat entrance, desk and wide staircase with huge wooden banister. The double ceiling fan rooms were $7 each and even though the mattresses were quite hard (I've since discovered they're made of latex, not foam), the rooms were very clean and the fans very effective (4 settings). So we decided to stay there. Colin and Dylan shared a room and I had one to myself. We all showered and washed clothes. Colin couldn't get his white T-shirt clean (black at the back from the seat on the bus). Dylan had to wash his swimming trunks as the Tabard cream had leaked onto them. I also had to wash out the sticky peppermints in my daypack which had become wet and started dissolving. We walked to the Star restaurant for lunch at 15H00 and all had spring rolls filled with mined pork and served with small bowls of sweet sauce with a touch of chilli and garlic, very nice. Chatted to Colin, an Australian and Els from Gent in Belguim. Colin had been to Banlung and said it was pleasant, not much to do and the road is bumpy. He had taken a local bus. We walked around the market area a bit and took photos down at the river. It's so hot in the sun, I'm always trying to find any shade possible. Went back to Heng Heng and my camera started warning me that I only had a few frame numbers left, so I thought the memory stick was getting full. I deleted a few bad photos and couldn't understand why I still got the warning. Colin figured out that it was because the camera had not been configured correctly in the shop and the photo numbers had started at 900 or so. The only thing to do was to take all the photos off the memory stick and reconfigure the numbers. My 512 MB flash drive only had about 350 MB available, so I would have to write to a DVD. There was only one shop selling DVD's and providing the service to write to them for $4, but the owner would only be back later. Went to the U-Hong restaurant for supper and to do Internet. Had a Khmer chicken curry and rice, which was so delicious, for $3. I think Colin and Dylan each had noodle soup again. Burned the photos from the camera to the DVD and sorted out the camera. Went back to the guesthouse at about 22H30.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Kampong Thom to Kampong Cham
Tuesday, 9 March
Woke up very refreshed in Kampong Thom, mattress was so comfortable. Had another shower, so great having the room to myself! Phone reception for the hot water for coffee and the concierge knocks on the door 3 mins later. I'm still wearing my nighty. Open the door and he's holding a GLASS with the boiling water. I let him in and he quickly puts it down on the dresser. Have my breakfast and cigarette on my balcony, so civilised. Colin and Dylan carry the luggage down, Dylan wants to know what I've packed that makes my pack so heavy. I ask how Dylan's night out was (he was going to take a tuk tuk to some club). He says he decided against it. He and Colin had gone to the 5th floor, seen a small bar in a room playing Cambodian music, gone up to the bar thinking they could order some beers, then noticed the pretty but heavily made up girls, so deduced it was a brothel. A guy came over saying karaoke, but not for them, he ushered them out quickly. The next morning Dylan had questioned the concierge, who also said it was a karaoke bar. The bus arrived promptly at 08H30. I wrote the journal while Dylan slept, we passed through a few villages. The bus driver really motored, hooting every time he passed bicycles, motos, cars and trucks and other buses. The road is good, but quite bumpy and very busy. Cambodian music played non stop, there was even an adaptation of "Summertime". I woke Dylan at 11H00 as I didn't want us to end up missing the town again. I asked the Cambodian guy sitting to my right whether was Kampong Cham. He didn't understand, but I think gestured that this was not Kampong Cham. We got to Kampong Cham at 12H00. Colin and Dylan had decided that the guesthouses we wanted to check out were within walking distance and didn't want to pay a tuk tuk driver. We set off down the road, Dylan carrying his backpack on his back and mine in front, in the blistering sun and it seemed we were heading out of town. Various motos were asking if we wanted a ride and Dylan said no, but good judgement prevailed when I said we should take a tuk tuk. The driver said he would charge $2 to take us to Mittapheap Guesthouse. Unfortunately they only had one double room, so Dylan ran across to Nava on the corner and came back saying we should check the next one. The tuk tuk driver Bow said we could go to the Mekong Hotel, which was $15 or so and we said it must be cheaper. He said there were places along the Mekong for $5, we stopped at one where the rooms were really grotty and dirty, with sagging mattresses. Then we went to the Speanthemey and even though the downstairs reception was basically a garage with a counter and narrow concrete steps up to the 2nd and 3rd floors, the rooms were clean and the mattresses comfortable. The balcony outside had a view of the Mekong to die for. There was a squatting toilet, basin with no drain and hand shower fastened to the wall. A bucket of water with a scoop under the basin caught the water which flowed from the tap whenever the stopcock was opened on the pipe mounted to the wall. Another tap on the pipe fed water to the shower.
Bow had asked whether he could take us on a tour in the afternoon, starting at 14H00, so we dropped the bags in the rooms, didn't bother to shower as we would immediately be hot and sweaty again and set off with him. He first stopped along the Mekong for us to take photos of the Vietnamese boat people, then stopped at a Cham house, where he beckoned us to follow him through bushes. I suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling that we may be walking into a trap, as we were walking off the beaten track with this unknown person and we were carrying all our money. I told Dylan and Colin to be prepared. My suspicion turned out to be unfounded, as he just took us to a spot along the river where they grow lotus flowers. They are absolutely beautiful and fragile. He opened one of the seedpods and told us to peel the seeds inside and eat them. They were so deliciously sweet and tasty. I photographed a guy threshing rice. Then he drove us to an Amica project in a very poor area, where the French assist the Cambodians in setting up small handicraft businesses and they assist in getting their products sold - a big industry is weaving material, tablecloths and cotton and silk scarves. He stopped at a house where an old woman of 86 was rolling cotton onto a large loom and her daughter was weaving a cotton scarf. The old lady is so hunchbacked, I would be surprised if she can walk much. The scarves are woven from quite fine cotton, so it takes a long time to make. Bow said she makes 2 in a day of many hours of work. She asked if we'd like to buy any and clearly one can't refuse, so we went upstairs into her house and it was surprising cool. The floor is made of strips of plaited bamboo, with small gaps, so you can see through and through which air circulates. The house seemed to consist of a fairly large common area and two other rooms further back (I didn't go any further than the living room). I didn't see any evidence of electrical lights, so I guess they use paraffin lamps or candles. There was a language barrier so I couldn't really ask questions. Piles of kramars (scarves) were put on a mat and we sat on the mat looking though them. I didn't like any of the colour combinations. Dylan found one he liked and paid $3, I'm sure we'll find more in Phnom Penh for a lot less, but I guess she needs the money.
Bow then drove us to Wat Nokor, an 8th century temple, beside which a new vihara has been built. The temple is quite well preserved. Quite strange that the new Buddhist temple was built right next to the old one. The last stop was Phnom Bpros, a hill with modern cement pagodas, with hints of Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei. There is a 12M reclining golden Buddha, as well as a shrine with some skulls of Cambodians who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Next to the shrine outside were mounds of sand covering the bones of more people massacred. Some steps led up to the monastry and some small wild monkeys live on the hill.
We got back to the guesthouse at 18H00, had a shower, bought bus tickets to Kratie, then went to the Mekong Crossing for supper. It's owned by two American guys, who motorbiked around Cambodia 5 years ago and decided to stay. We only met Joe, who is short, with piercing green eyes, large Freddie Mercury moustache and broad Pennsylvania accent. He plays the coolest 60's, 70's and 80's American music. The food is good, I was excited to see I could order "Western"food, but my toasted cheese and tomato (green) sandwich was not so successful - they use the local white processed cheese, dairy products are not really available, are imported and are very expensive. We went across the road to an Internet cafe and I continued with the blog for an hour.
We went back to the Mekong Crossing at 23H00 to pick Joe's brains about Banlung and Stung Treng. He said Stung Treng doesn't have anything going for it, but Banlung is nice, very laidback, jungle. He said the only thing worth doing in Kratie is going to see the dolphins and one doesn't even need to take a boat out, you can see them from the jetty. We met 30 year old Dave, who claims to be making a documentary about retrieving the remains of Erroll Flynn's son, Sean, who was killed by the Khmer Rouge 10 years ago. Dave says he works in Saigon in security, is divorced from his Vietnamese wife and has a 2,5 year old daughter. Hetalks non-stop and said he had caught malaria, dengue fever and some other disease and he gets sick when they flare up every now and then.
We went back to the guesthouse at 00H00. I slept surprising well, the fan was so effective I had to cover myself with the blanket during the night.
I apologise for not including any photos, this programme is not allowing me to upload any, will keep on trying ;-)
Woke up very refreshed in Kampong Thom, mattress was so comfortable. Had another shower, so great having the room to myself! Phone reception for the hot water for coffee and the concierge knocks on the door 3 mins later. I'm still wearing my nighty. Open the door and he's holding a GLASS with the boiling water. I let him in and he quickly puts it down on the dresser. Have my breakfast and cigarette on my balcony, so civilised. Colin and Dylan carry the luggage down, Dylan wants to know what I've packed that makes my pack so heavy. I ask how Dylan's night out was (he was going to take a tuk tuk to some club). He says he decided against it. He and Colin had gone to the 5th floor, seen a small bar in a room playing Cambodian music, gone up to the bar thinking they could order some beers, then noticed the pretty but heavily made up girls, so deduced it was a brothel. A guy came over saying karaoke, but not for them, he ushered them out quickly. The next morning Dylan had questioned the concierge, who also said it was a karaoke bar. The bus arrived promptly at 08H30. I wrote the journal while Dylan slept, we passed through a few villages. The bus driver really motored, hooting every time he passed bicycles, motos, cars and trucks and other buses. The road is good, but quite bumpy and very busy. Cambodian music played non stop, there was even an adaptation of "Summertime". I woke Dylan at 11H00 as I didn't want us to end up missing the town again. I asked the Cambodian guy sitting to my right whether was Kampong Cham. He didn't understand, but I think gestured that this was not Kampong Cham. We got to Kampong Cham at 12H00. Colin and Dylan had decided that the guesthouses we wanted to check out were within walking distance and didn't want to pay a tuk tuk driver. We set off down the road, Dylan carrying his backpack on his back and mine in front, in the blistering sun and it seemed we were heading out of town. Various motos were asking if we wanted a ride and Dylan said no, but good judgement prevailed when I said we should take a tuk tuk. The driver said he would charge $2 to take us to Mittapheap Guesthouse. Unfortunately they only had one double room, so Dylan ran across to Nava on the corner and came back saying we should check the next one. The tuk tuk driver Bow said we could go to the Mekong Hotel, which was $15 or so and we said it must be cheaper. He said there were places along the Mekong for $5, we stopped at one where the rooms were really grotty and dirty, with sagging mattresses. Then we went to the Speanthemey and even though the downstairs reception was basically a garage with a counter and narrow concrete steps up to the 2nd and 3rd floors, the rooms were clean and the mattresses comfortable. The balcony outside had a view of the Mekong to die for. There was a squatting toilet, basin with no drain and hand shower fastened to the wall. A bucket of water with a scoop under the basin caught the water which flowed from the tap whenever the stopcock was opened on the pipe mounted to the wall. Another tap on the pipe fed water to the shower.
Bow had asked whether he could take us on a tour in the afternoon, starting at 14H00, so we dropped the bags in the rooms, didn't bother to shower as we would immediately be hot and sweaty again and set off with him. He first stopped along the Mekong for us to take photos of the Vietnamese boat people, then stopped at a Cham house, where he beckoned us to follow him through bushes. I suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling that we may be walking into a trap, as we were walking off the beaten track with this unknown person and we were carrying all our money. I told Dylan and Colin to be prepared. My suspicion turned out to be unfounded, as he just took us to a spot along the river where they grow lotus flowers. They are absolutely beautiful and fragile. He opened one of the seedpods and told us to peel the seeds inside and eat them. They were so deliciously sweet and tasty. I photographed a guy threshing rice. Then he drove us to an Amica project in a very poor area, where the French assist the Cambodians in setting up small handicraft businesses and they assist in getting their products sold - a big industry is weaving material, tablecloths and cotton and silk scarves. He stopped at a house where an old woman of 86 was rolling cotton onto a large loom and her daughter was weaving a cotton scarf. The old lady is so hunchbacked, I would be surprised if she can walk much. The scarves are woven from quite fine cotton, so it takes a long time to make. Bow said she makes 2 in a day of many hours of work. She asked if we'd like to buy any and clearly one can't refuse, so we went upstairs into her house and it was surprising cool. The floor is made of strips of plaited bamboo, with small gaps, so you can see through and through which air circulates. The house seemed to consist of a fairly large common area and two other rooms further back (I didn't go any further than the living room). I didn't see any evidence of electrical lights, so I guess they use paraffin lamps or candles. There was a language barrier so I couldn't really ask questions. Piles of kramars (scarves) were put on a mat and we sat on the mat looking though them. I didn't like any of the colour combinations. Dylan found one he liked and paid $3, I'm sure we'll find more in Phnom Penh for a lot less, but I guess she needs the money.
Bow then drove us to Wat Nokor, an 8th century temple, beside which a new vihara has been built. The temple is quite well preserved. Quite strange that the new Buddhist temple was built right next to the old one. The last stop was Phnom Bpros, a hill with modern cement pagodas, with hints of Angkor Wat and Banteay Srei. There is a 12M reclining golden Buddha, as well as a shrine with some skulls of Cambodians who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. Next to the shrine outside were mounds of sand covering the bones of more people massacred. Some steps led up to the monastry and some small wild monkeys live on the hill.
We got back to the guesthouse at 18H00, had a shower, bought bus tickets to Kratie, then went to the Mekong Crossing for supper. It's owned by two American guys, who motorbiked around Cambodia 5 years ago and decided to stay. We only met Joe, who is short, with piercing green eyes, large Freddie Mercury moustache and broad Pennsylvania accent. He plays the coolest 60's, 70's and 80's American music. The food is good, I was excited to see I could order "Western"food, but my toasted cheese and tomato (green) sandwich was not so successful - they use the local white processed cheese, dairy products are not really available, are imported and are very expensive. We went across the road to an Internet cafe and I continued with the blog for an hour.
We went back to the Mekong Crossing at 23H00 to pick Joe's brains about Banlung and Stung Treng. He said Stung Treng doesn't have anything going for it, but Banlung is nice, very laidback, jungle. He said the only thing worth doing in Kratie is going to see the dolphins and one doesn't even need to take a boat out, you can see them from the jetty. We met 30 year old Dave, who claims to be making a documentary about retrieving the remains of Erroll Flynn's son, Sean, who was killed by the Khmer Rouge 10 years ago. Dave says he works in Saigon in security, is divorced from his Vietnamese wife and has a 2,5 year old daughter. Hetalks non-stop and said he had caught malaria, dengue fever and some other disease and he gets sick when they flare up every now and then.
We went back to the guesthouse at 00H00. I slept surprising well, the fan was so effective I had to cover myself with the blanket during the night.
I apologise for not including any photos, this programme is not allowing me to upload any, will keep on trying ;-)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Siem Reap to Kampong Thom
Monday, 8 March
Up at 06H00, finish packing, thank goodness all washing, including cargo shorts washed yesterday are dry. The rolls Colin and Dylan had bought yesterday afternoon are dry, but I'm happy to have bread. Coffee works well - Stainless cup just the right size, add lots of milk to cool it down, very civilised cafe latte. The bus fetches us at 07H40. Some other tourists on the bus too. We drive around the Wat Bo area, picking up more people from guesthouses. Move over to the proper bus for the trip and leave at 08H45. Start with journal again. Not very interesting countryside, very flat, brown grass and a village every now and then, that looks like all the others. Dylan had asked the driver in Khmer to tell us when we got to Kampong Thom and he'd said he would, he had also checked our tickets twice. When Colin said he thought we were in Kampong Thom at 11H00, Dylan and I said it was too early, as the trip should take 3 hours. As we left the village, Dylan asked the driver whether that was Kampong Thom and he said it was. Dylan flipped and asked why he'd not warned us. The driver stopped the bus along the road and got off like he was going to remove our luggage. He came back on and asked a Cambodian girl to tell us we'd have to take a tuk tuk or moped back into the village. I asked how much it would cost and she said $1 each. Dylan was insisting that the driver pay the tuk tuk driver, but I didn't think that would happen. I wanted him to turn the bus around but he said the bus couldn't turn around! Eventually I said we should just go. There was only one moto driver waiting next to the bus, we discussed our options in the blazing sun when another moto stopped. It was clear we'd each have to get one with the backpacks and day packs. Dylan flagged down another moto and we each got on. Clearly these moto drivers are used to transporting all kinds of things and goods. We weren't sure where we would be staying, but made a choice and were going to have to walk there from where the motos dropped us off. They decided to stop in front of the Arunas Hotel, which Colin said was on the list of recommended guesthouses in the guide, so we went in. The double room for them was $8 and my single was $7. I went up to check the rooms and they were very comfortable with fans. The showers/toilets were in good nick. Only cold water, but that's no problem in this heat.
I'm craving fruit and fruit juice, so buy 2 mangos from a stall downstairs, however, I'm very disappointed to find that they were hard and sour. We find out later that the locals eat them like that, dipped in sugar! Not a taste I could get used to.
We freshen up and meet downstairs to go to the Sambor Prei Kuk complex. The motos are $3 and tuk tuk $15. It was very hot at 12H00, so we decide to take a tuk tuk. Kampong Thom is a small town and there's nothing much to see except the main street with lots of small businesses, a few guesthouses and some small hotels. The road is not tarred, it has lots of bumps, so we get thrown around a bit. We pass lots of houses made of wood, plaited grass on plots of 20 x 30M and 20 x 40M, a few cement ones (one can clearly pick up who is more wealthy here). There are hayricks in some yards and farm animals, chickens, dogs (mostly unkempt, dusty, often mangy and skinny - like the cows), this is a difficult place to live, for people as well as animals - all just eking out an existence. The landscape in between the villages is cream coloured because of the dry grass. There is jungle beyond, obviously cleared here to create the crop fields. Every time a truck or car passes, we are covered in red dust - this happens every 10 minutes. There is a distinct pecking order on the roads: biggest vehicles (trucks, buses, cars) have right of way, they just hoot and everything else gives way, then the tuk tuks, then motos and lastly bicycles (tuk tuks and motos also hoot every time they pass something, so there's a lot of hooting). It is amazing to see what the people fit onto a moto: often 3 people, quite often 4, with the baby right in the front. The things transported on the motos include piles of baskets, 4 piglets in a wide metal cage behind the driver, a large dead pig in a reed sling behind the driver. There are lots of overloaded small trucks. I'm fascinated by the small primitive Chinese tractors with the long handlebars like a chopper. They have wooden platforms in place of a trailer, where the rider and passengers sit and the goods are packed and they transport steel, wood, building materials and bags of provisions. We pass through Alsu village, established in May 1995, the people are very poor and their houses and stalls are so dusty from the traffic passing through.
Sambor Prei Kuk is 30 kms north of Kampong Thom and it takes an hour to get there. We are all disappointed that the sanctuary towers are all so ruined. There are lots of them, we enter from the East at Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk and see 5 towers, at least it's a bit overcast and the sites are in a forest, so quite a bit of shade, still hot because there's no breeze, so very soon we're sweating like pigs again, especially inside the towers. Prasat Tor is also very ruined, as well as Prasat Neak Pean. One can just make out some decorations over the lintels and on a few of the outer walls on some of the towers. We walked around there for 2,5 hours and then decided to go back to the tuk tuk. The towers are in a forest in a big area. Colin had programmed the location of the tuk tuk into his GPS and was confident we were heading in the right direction. After 20 minutes we ended up on the main gravel road, turned left hoping to get back to the entrance. The trucks and vans drove by and we were left in dust clouds. After 5 minutes Dylan said he was sure we were going in the wrong direction. Colin was still trying to get a bearing with the GPS. We turned around and welked back along the gravel road to the path from which we had emerged and carried on and finally got to the entrance where our tuk tuk driver was waiting. We were soaked and very happy to see him. Drove back to the Arunas Hotel, taking lots of photos along the way. Had a welcome shower and washed my hair when we got back.
We walked around the area next to the river before supper, not very pretty I must say and not much happens here. I think mostly local traders and local people come into this village. We had supper in the Arunas restaurant downstairs - Angkor beer, Coke, Dylan had rice and sweet and sour pork, Colin rice and port and bell peppers and I had rice and pork and veg, very tasty. The drinks came from their fridge but were not too cold, so Dylan took some more and put them in the icecream chest freezer, much to the amusement of the Cambodian waitresses. I didn't want to have a late night, so we just walked to the night market which was starting up and bought 3 hard and dry bread rolls for R1 each. Dylan and Colin wanted to go out so I had another shower and started journalling. I was watching the TV in my room while journalling and was fascinated by a Cambodian soap opera where the girls (all gorgeous) mostly spoke in a breathless, gentle sing song style, slightly similar to Chinese. Dylan and Colin came in just before they went out and changed the channel for me (remote didn't work) to AXN. The Amazing Race was nearly finished. I then watched So You Think You Can Dance at 22H00, while writing. Strange being in a foreign country, watching a Western TV show. Went to sleep at 00H00, had to get up at 07H00 the next day. It was most pleasant with the fan blowing over me.
Up at 06H00, finish packing, thank goodness all washing, including cargo shorts washed yesterday are dry. The rolls Colin and Dylan had bought yesterday afternoon are dry, but I'm happy to have bread. Coffee works well - Stainless cup just the right size, add lots of milk to cool it down, very civilised cafe latte. The bus fetches us at 07H40. Some other tourists on the bus too. We drive around the Wat Bo area, picking up more people from guesthouses. Move over to the proper bus for the trip and leave at 08H45. Start with journal again. Not very interesting countryside, very flat, brown grass and a village every now and then, that looks like all the others. Dylan had asked the driver in Khmer to tell us when we got to Kampong Thom and he'd said he would, he had also checked our tickets twice. When Colin said he thought we were in Kampong Thom at 11H00, Dylan and I said it was too early, as the trip should take 3 hours. As we left the village, Dylan asked the driver whether that was Kampong Thom and he said it was. Dylan flipped and asked why he'd not warned us. The driver stopped the bus along the road and got off like he was going to remove our luggage. He came back on and asked a Cambodian girl to tell us we'd have to take a tuk tuk or moped back into the village. I asked how much it would cost and she said $1 each. Dylan was insisting that the driver pay the tuk tuk driver, but I didn't think that would happen. I wanted him to turn the bus around but he said the bus couldn't turn around! Eventually I said we should just go. There was only one moto driver waiting next to the bus, we discussed our options in the blazing sun when another moto stopped. It was clear we'd each have to get one with the backpacks and day packs. Dylan flagged down another moto and we each got on. Clearly these moto drivers are used to transporting all kinds of things and goods. We weren't sure where we would be staying, but made a choice and were going to have to walk there from where the motos dropped us off. They decided to stop in front of the Arunas Hotel, which Colin said was on the list of recommended guesthouses in the guide, so we went in. The double room for them was $8 and my single was $7. I went up to check the rooms and they were very comfortable with fans. The showers/toilets were in good nick. Only cold water, but that's no problem in this heat.
I'm craving fruit and fruit juice, so buy 2 mangos from a stall downstairs, however, I'm very disappointed to find that they were hard and sour. We find out later that the locals eat them like that, dipped in sugar! Not a taste I could get used to.
We freshen up and meet downstairs to go to the Sambor Prei Kuk complex. The motos are $3 and tuk tuk $15. It was very hot at 12H00, so we decide to take a tuk tuk. Kampong Thom is a small town and there's nothing much to see except the main street with lots of small businesses, a few guesthouses and some small hotels. The road is not tarred, it has lots of bumps, so we get thrown around a bit. We pass lots of houses made of wood, plaited grass on plots of 20 x 30M and 20 x 40M, a few cement ones (one can clearly pick up who is more wealthy here). There are hayricks in some yards and farm animals, chickens, dogs (mostly unkempt, dusty, often mangy and skinny - like the cows), this is a difficult place to live, for people as well as animals - all just eking out an existence. The landscape in between the villages is cream coloured because of the dry grass. There is jungle beyond, obviously cleared here to create the crop fields. Every time a truck or car passes, we are covered in red dust - this happens every 10 minutes. There is a distinct pecking order on the roads: biggest vehicles (trucks, buses, cars) have right of way, they just hoot and everything else gives way, then the tuk tuks, then motos and lastly bicycles (tuk tuks and motos also hoot every time they pass something, so there's a lot of hooting). It is amazing to see what the people fit onto a moto: often 3 people, quite often 4, with the baby right in the front. The things transported on the motos include piles of baskets, 4 piglets in a wide metal cage behind the driver, a large dead pig in a reed sling behind the driver. There are lots of overloaded small trucks. I'm fascinated by the small primitive Chinese tractors with the long handlebars like a chopper. They have wooden platforms in place of a trailer, where the rider and passengers sit and the goods are packed and they transport steel, wood, building materials and bags of provisions. We pass through Alsu village, established in May 1995, the people are very poor and their houses and stalls are so dusty from the traffic passing through.
Sambor Prei Kuk is 30 kms north of Kampong Thom and it takes an hour to get there. We are all disappointed that the sanctuary towers are all so ruined. There are lots of them, we enter from the East at Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk and see 5 towers, at least it's a bit overcast and the sites are in a forest, so quite a bit of shade, still hot because there's no breeze, so very soon we're sweating like pigs again, especially inside the towers. Prasat Tor is also very ruined, as well as Prasat Neak Pean. One can just make out some decorations over the lintels and on a few of the outer walls on some of the towers. We walked around there for 2,5 hours and then decided to go back to the tuk tuk. The towers are in a forest in a big area. Colin had programmed the location of the tuk tuk into his GPS and was confident we were heading in the right direction. After 20 minutes we ended up on the main gravel road, turned left hoping to get back to the entrance. The trucks and vans drove by and we were left in dust clouds. After 5 minutes Dylan said he was sure we were going in the wrong direction. Colin was still trying to get a bearing with the GPS. We turned around and welked back along the gravel road to the path from which we had emerged and carried on and finally got to the entrance where our tuk tuk driver was waiting. We were soaked and very happy to see him. Drove back to the Arunas Hotel, taking lots of photos along the way. Had a welcome shower and washed my hair when we got back.
We walked around the area next to the river before supper, not very pretty I must say and not much happens here. I think mostly local traders and local people come into this village. We had supper in the Arunas restaurant downstairs - Angkor beer, Coke, Dylan had rice and sweet and sour pork, Colin rice and port and bell peppers and I had rice and pork and veg, very tasty. The drinks came from their fridge but were not too cold, so Dylan took some more and put them in the icecream chest freezer, much to the amusement of the Cambodian waitresses. I didn't want to have a late night, so we just walked to the night market which was starting up and bought 3 hard and dry bread rolls for R1 each. Dylan and Colin wanted to go out so I had another shower and started journalling. I was watching the TV in my room while journalling and was fascinated by a Cambodian soap opera where the girls (all gorgeous) mostly spoke in a breathless, gentle sing song style, slightly similar to Chinese. Dylan and Colin came in just before they went out and changed the channel for me (remote didn't work) to AXN. The Amazing Race was nearly finished. I then watched So You Think You Can Dance at 22H00, while writing. Strange being in a foreign country, watching a Western TV show. Went to sleep at 00H00, had to get up at 07H00 the next day. It was most pleasant with the fan blowing over me.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Last day in Siem Reap
Sunday, 7 March
Up at 05H30, shower and wash hair. Have sandwiches upstairs, make Nescafe downstairs, but because it's in the Stainless steel mug, it stays piping hot. My hands are again sticky from the coffee creamer. Dylan comes down to find out why I'm taking so long, he's super polite, knowing I'll throw a fit if he has anything to say about the coffee. We carry everything back upstairs, finally get into the tuk tuk at 07H30. We head off to Ta Prohm - the temple I have been most looking forward to seeing. Enormous kapok? trees grow from the terraces and walls, the massive roots clinging to the walls and prising apart giant stones. It was constructed by Jayavarman VII around 1186 and was a Buddhist monastry dedicated to Prajnapormita and would once have housed a statue of this deity in the image of the king's mother. As a working monastry it accommodated 12,000 people who lived and worked in th grounds and another 80,000 people wer employed to service and maintain the complex. The monastry supplied provisions and medicines to the 102 hospitals that Jayavarman built around the kingdom.
It is already getting hot when we get there at 08H00. Pon had said that there is only one room with a tree growing in it, so I'm apprehensive that I'll be disappointed, but I'm not! There ar loads of interesting trees growing through and on walls. Unfortunately lots of other tourists also start arriving and it becomes a situation of everyone waiting to pose with various trees, in addition to trying to find quiet and empty spots to photograph. We pretty much walk through all the doorways into the many different courtyards and take hundreds of photos. Then even more people start arriving and making a lot of noise, which didn't go down well with me. Dylan had gone off on his own. It was getting very hot at about 09H30, so I went back to the entrance, found Dylan and Colin said I wanted to go back in and try and capture the atmosphere of the place, but find it impossible, with the arrival of a large busload of Japanese tourists, all talking at the tops of their voices. I decide to leave and feel robbed that I didn't get the experience I wanted - will just have to relive it through the photographs. Left at 10H00, temperature is soaring.
Get to Ta Som at 10H15, very small Hindu temple, once a Khmer Rouge hideout, it was built by Jayavarman VII in the 12th century and dedicated to his father. It is quite ruined, which makes it seem like a mini Ta Prohm. We leave after half an hour and get to Neak Pean at about 11H30. Just beyond the entrance gate we see two Aussies taking photos of the sky, turns out they were photographing a large spider in a web, so we take some too. Dylan decides he wants his hand in th ephoto to illustrate th size of the spider. I was rather worried it would decide to jump onto is hand! Neak Pean ("entwined serpents") turns out to be a series of 5 pools, dug by hand, joined by walkways with a single tower in the centre of the biggest pool. The most popular theory is that Neak Pean was built to represent Anavatapa, a mythical Himalayan lake whose watrs had miraculous curative powers, it may also have been a spa with pilgrims coming to take the waters.
We are feeling tremendously hot at 12H00 and do our best to walk and sit in any shade there is. Dylan's getting good at telling the kids with the scarves that we're not interested - A-dtay means no. As usual the landmine victims are banging away on their drums, bells, etc, trying to collect money. We leave at 12H15 and get to Preah Khan 15 mins later. While photographing the entrance walkway, Colin shouts to me from 10 metres away that he needs my help now. He's got some red ants on him and they're biting. He had brushed against some leaves on a tree and they'd been on the leaves. We finally get them off and he's not much the worse for wear. Preah Khan was built by Jayavarman VII on the site of an earlier royal city, Jayasri and the king came to live there while he was restoring Angkor Thom after it was sacked by the Cham in 1177. The sacred sword is said to have been a weapon ceremonially passed by Jayavarman II to his heir and Cambodians still belive that whoever possesses this sword also holds the country's throne, a replica of the sword is still believed to be kept under lock and key at the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. The site was used both as a monastry and university for a long time, employing over a thousand teachers and 97,840 ancillary staff. Inscriptions tell of a daily delivery of 10 tons of rice that would feed 10 to 15,000 people. It was consecrated as an interdenominational temple in 1191, catering to worshippers f Buddha, Shiva and Vishnu, plus a furthr 282 gods, the main deity being Lokesvra, made in the image of the king's father and placed in the central Buddhist sanctuary.
We wander around for about 3/4 hr and meet up afterwards at the exit, where we read some info boards. A small boy had collared Colin and Dylan inside and had rattled off a story in perfect English supposedly explaining the temple, which Dylan subsequently discovered was not true. We find Pon in the parking area and he says that's it for the day and he takes us to buy bus tickets to Kampong Thom from a bus company agent. We decide against the VIP tickets for $10. Regular bus tickets are $6, which get bargained down to $5. We say goodbye to Pon at Bun Nath and pay him his $15 for the day. He has to go to the police station tomorrow to report his missing tuk tuk licence, which we thought was a number on the tuk tuk, but then discovered it was his waistcoat with his name and phone number.
We discuss the travel schedule. I don't fee like a hot plate of food, just don't have an appetite in this heat. Colin and Dylan must have food, Dylan gets defensive when I tease him about enjoying the hot food in the hot weather. I have a King Cone for supper (bought previously at the supermarket) and Coke in the foyer while writing the journal. Dylan finishes downloading photos when they get back from lunch. At 20H00 go back out for supper. I'm really enjoying wearing the sarong and vest and slip slops after a hot day's sightseeing. It is just so comfortable. I don't feel like stirfry again, so we go to the restaurant where Colin and Dlan had had lunch, called Bar BBQ and I have a BLT and chips with a difference, the tomatoes being grass green. But it tasted good and th French Fries were soooo tasty. I felt like fruit juice and Colin convinced me to have a pineapple juice. I could taste straight away that it had water in it and ice, so I was worried about drinking it. The waiter said it was clean water, but I just couldn't enjoy it. I don't know whether it was mind over matter, but I started feeling queasy and said we must get outside. It could also be the Malanil malaria tablets I'm taking, together with the heat. Anyway, felt bettr on the walk back.
Wrote up more of the journal, catching up still. Dylan still downloading photos on Facebook downstairs. I finish packing at 22H30, have a shower and am washing clothes in the shower when the power goes off. Finish showering in pitch dark and then the power comes back on, go to sleep with ear plugs, determined to get a good night's sleep.
Second day in Siem Reap
Saturday, 6 March
Up at 05H15, showered and washed my hair. We had home made sandwiches with the bread, marge, strawberry jam and cheese (Dylan made a table by turning a drawer taken from the chest of drawers upside down and we covered it with a plastic shopping bag so there wouldn't be crumbs everywhere). His Swiss army knife came in very handy. Went downstairs with the coffee ingredients. The girl didn't understand at first that I needed boiling water, but I got it eventually. The outside of the Ellis Brown packet is getting quite sticky from the spilt milk powder and I made a bit of a mess trying to pour milk from the small box Colin and Dylan had bought at the shop, so I spent a good few minutes mopping up the table with the tissues used in Cambodia instead of serviettes. Anyway, finally had a small cup of strong coffee (used too much Nescafe, will get it right next time) but really enjoyed it with the cigarette. Pon, our tuk tuk driver met us at 07H15. We had decided to go back to the Angkor Wat entrance to photograph it in the morning light, but the sunlight was on the back of the complex, so drove on to Banteay Srei, 30 km Northeast of Siem Reap. Dylan and Colin were chatting non stop - not what I needed right then! I gazed out at the scenery, especially the early morning light on the Angkor Wat moat and the beautiful reflection of the trees along the edges. I asked Pon to stop so we could take some beautiful photos. Pity we couldn't stop for longer, I'm starting to feel we're on a strict timetable, which was not really the idea with this trip.
Banteay Srei was so pretty and small. Built of fine grained rose-pink sandstone, it's the most elaborately decorated of all the Angkor monuments. The decorations consist of floral motifs and Ramayana scenes. It was built by two local dignatories, Yajnavaraha - trusted guru to the king and his brother. Rajendravarman I granted them the land and permission to consutruct a temple. It was consecrated in 967 to Shiva, but not actually completed until the reign of Jayavarman V. The temple laout is relatively simple - 3 enclosing walls, inner moat and row of 3 sanctually towers at the centre.
There was no shade, the sun was beating down and very hot already at 09H00, also rather difficult to take photos without including other tourists, so we didn't linger too long. We had all walked around on our own. Dylan found me in the temple and I said I was ready to, he said Colin was at the back and I asked whether we could all walk out the front again. He disappeared to the back of the complex and I waited for them, then walked out the front entrance and waited outside some more. Then I thought they'd got involved at the back, so walked through the complex again to the back - they were nowhere to be seen. I followed a path around the complex, in the sun and waited some more, now wondering whether they were inside again, looking for me!!! I decdided to walk back along the main path to the main visitors entrance, thinking I would just wait for them at the tuk tuk - no way was I going to walk into the temple again. By this time I was fuming mad with the two of them. Dylan came running over as I got to the entrance and I went off at him for coming back without me. Colin was also quick to explain that they thought I would make my own way back. This was clearly an example of failure to communicate!
We had told Pon which temples we want to see for the day and he decided in which order to visit them. Next we drove to Kbal Spean, a 30 min ride. Got there at about 11H00, did a 1,5 km walk up through jungle to the western section of the Kulen mountains. Kbal Spean was used by the Khmers as a hillside retreat in the middle 11th century when they carved sacred lingas and Hindu gods into the black bedrock of the rive3r, the water flowing through would thus be blessed by the carvings before reaching Angkor. It took 40 mins to get to the carvings and we were very sweaty when we got there, even though a lot of the walk was in shade, it was very humid. It was so nice and cool next to the river and waterfall, but once again we didn't stay too long, as there were other sites to visit.
Dylan found another friend - can't help himself from befriending everyone he meets - this time French Canadian Pierre, who believes in travelling alone, then the Russian couple we had seen at Phnom Krom. Photographed masses of butterflies feeing on something on the ground.
The next stop was 12 km Northeast of Siem Reap, 30 mins away, the temple Banteay Samre. Got to the complex at 12H00, I wanted to see the temple before eating - just don't feel like eating in this heat and for some strange reason all their food is always hot, right throughout the day! An icecream would have gone down a dream, but sadly not available at the roadside eateries. We all have the usual noodles and beef, pork and chicken respectively. I'm so hot again after eating the meal in 40 deg C heat! the Coke is very welcome though - I'm living on water and fizzy drinks, too scared to have anything else. I'm desperately missing my Liquifruit grapejuice. The usual souvenir vendors try and convince us to buy dresses, T-shirts and scarves. They really are very sweet when they're not trying to sell you stuff. Mara, the eldest is 22 (looks 16) and other two girls sitting at our table were 16 and 8. Mara didn't know where Africa or South Africa are, so we showed her on a map in Colin's pocket diary. She wanted to know how long the flight was, she's obviously never been on a plane. The 8 year old pulled out a 5 kroner coin, asking whether we could change it. We said we couldn't as that was not from our country. Mara also pulled out 20 Norwegian kroner and Colin said it was worth $2.50. Mara didn't want to believe that Dylan is 30, so he showed her his passport. Mara says she went to school, but her family is very poor, so she now sells souvenirs. I asked her when her birthday was and she said they didn't celebrate birthdays as they couldn't afford gifts. I asked whether she has family or friends in Phnom Penh and she said no. Dylan said she should try and go to a city and get a bettr job, even it proved to be difficult. But I think she can't even comprehend ever being able to do that, so girls like her invariably live in one village all their lives, scraping a living and have too many children, or they make it to a city and often end up in the sex trade. Her mother had 9 children, her one sister already has 3 children, another has 2. She says she has 20 nieces.
It is very very, very hot by the time we walk across the road to Banteay Samre. Even though it's 40 deg C plus, it's quite pleasant walking around the site, as there aren't many tourists brave enough for this temperature, just a few backpackers. No inscriptions have been found to date the temple which was named after the Samres, a tride who lived in the vicinity of Phnom Khulen. The style of architecture places its construction in the middle of the 12th century, around the same time as Angkor Wat. Tales from teh Ramayana are depictred on various carvings, the sieve of Lanka, fight between Rama and Ravana and Rama mounted on Hanuman.
We move onto to East Mebon, which is a temple erected in 953 for Rajendravarman, designed by a Buddhist architect and consecrated to Shiva. The temple would only have been accessible by boat - the terraces were landing stages, now it's marooned in rice fields. The elephant statues were placed as guardians and all face outwards. Steep steps lead up to a terrace with the elephant statues. We don't hand around after East Mebon as it's so hot.
Drive to Pre Rup, the last temple of the day, get there at 15H30. Pre Rup means "turning the body" cremation ritual. It was consecrated to Shiva around 962, this state temple of Rajendravarman II was built primarily of laterite and brick (laterite being like solid koffieklip with holes like we have in Durbanville!). We take the obligatory photos and find some shade on the terrace to soak up the atmosphere, not too many tourists thank goodness.
We get back to Bun Nath at 16H00, have a refreshing shower, wash clothes, incl sweat soaked cargo shorts. Dylan and Colin have a beer downstairs, so I have the room to myself. Dress in sarong and vest - just the right clothes for this temperature. Start writing the journal in the foyer under the fan, about 4 days behind. Have to check some facts with Dylan. They come down after a shower and get onto the Internet. I log onto Facebook and start replying to people, as well as replying on Hotmail and get very confused about where to find messages to the different people. I had decided to create a journal on Facebook rather than send lots of emails and also because I didn't have everyone's email address. I also find I can't get onto Ning.com to correspond with my old schoolfriends because I had changed the Hotmail address to my work address and now the website can't verify my authority. So I askDylan to help me start the blog on Facebook and he keeps telling me to load my photos and write captions, which is what he does instead of writing a story. I say I don't want to load hundreds of photos, I want to write a story about the trip for everyone to read and will include a few photos. We have quite a row and Colin steps in and suggests that I start a blog on blogspot. At first I was negative because that meant registering on yet another system, but he registered it for me very quickly and uploaded a photo and I could see that it would work fine. Just typed an intial 2 paragraphs, replied to another 2 messages on Facebook, chatted to Illona and Michael Sparks on Facebook and then we go for supper later at 20H00, Dylan is clearly6 dead on his feet after only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before. Stop at the supermarket on the way to check out the sction and decide to go back after supper. Back to the usual eating place for stir fried meals, beer and Coke for me. Buy some water, ham for sandwiches for breakfast, a packet of plastic spoons and a Stainless steel mug for me for coffee. I am determined to find a way of having a good cup of coffee in the mornings! Have another shower back at Bun Nath at 22H00 as I'm soaked again. Dylan and Colin start watching the WP/Sharks rugby match on Supersport, but Dylan only stays awake for 5 mins.
Up at 05H15, showered and washed my hair. We had home made sandwiches with the bread, marge, strawberry jam and cheese (Dylan made a table by turning a drawer taken from the chest of drawers upside down and we covered it with a plastic shopping bag so there wouldn't be crumbs everywhere). His Swiss army knife came in very handy. Went downstairs with the coffee ingredients. The girl didn't understand at first that I needed boiling water, but I got it eventually. The outside of the Ellis Brown packet is getting quite sticky from the spilt milk powder and I made a bit of a mess trying to pour milk from the small box Colin and Dylan had bought at the shop, so I spent a good few minutes mopping up the table with the tissues used in Cambodia instead of serviettes. Anyway, finally had a small cup of strong coffee (used too much Nescafe, will get it right next time) but really enjoyed it with the cigarette. Pon, our tuk tuk driver met us at 07H15. We had decided to go back to the Angkor Wat entrance to photograph it in the morning light, but the sunlight was on the back of the complex, so drove on to Banteay Srei, 30 km Northeast of Siem Reap. Dylan and Colin were chatting non stop - not what I needed right then! I gazed out at the scenery, especially the early morning light on the Angkor Wat moat and the beautiful reflection of the trees along the edges. I asked Pon to stop so we could take some beautiful photos. Pity we couldn't stop for longer, I'm starting to feel we're on a strict timetable, which was not really the idea with this trip.
Banteay Srei was so pretty and small. Built of fine grained rose-pink sandstone, it's the most elaborately decorated of all the Angkor monuments. The decorations consist of floral motifs and Ramayana scenes. It was built by two local dignatories, Yajnavaraha - trusted guru to the king and his brother. Rajendravarman I granted them the land and permission to consutruct a temple. It was consecrated in 967 to Shiva, but not actually completed until the reign of Jayavarman V. The temple laout is relatively simple - 3 enclosing walls, inner moat and row of 3 sanctually towers at the centre.
There was no shade, the sun was beating down and very hot already at 09H00, also rather difficult to take photos without including other tourists, so we didn't linger too long. We had all walked around on our own. Dylan found me in the temple and I said I was ready to, he said Colin was at the back and I asked whether we could all walk out the front again. He disappeared to the back of the complex and I waited for them, then walked out the front entrance and waited outside some more. Then I thought they'd got involved at the back, so walked through the complex again to the back - they were nowhere to be seen. I followed a path around the complex, in the sun and waited some more, now wondering whether they were inside again, looking for me!!! I decdided to walk back along the main path to the main visitors entrance, thinking I would just wait for them at the tuk tuk - no way was I going to walk into the temple again. By this time I was fuming mad with the two of them. Dylan came running over as I got to the entrance and I went off at him for coming back without me. Colin was also quick to explain that they thought I would make my own way back. This was clearly an example of failure to communicate!
We had told Pon which temples we want to see for the day and he decided in which order to visit them. Next we drove to Kbal Spean, a 30 min ride. Got there at about 11H00, did a 1,5 km walk up through jungle to the western section of the Kulen mountains. Kbal Spean was used by the Khmers as a hillside retreat in the middle 11th century when they carved sacred lingas and Hindu gods into the black bedrock of the rive3r, the water flowing through would thus be blessed by the carvings before reaching Angkor. It took 40 mins to get to the carvings and we were very sweaty when we got there, even though a lot of the walk was in shade, it was very humid. It was so nice and cool next to the river and waterfall, but once again we didn't stay too long, as there were other sites to visit.
Dylan found another friend - can't help himself from befriending everyone he meets - this time French Canadian Pierre, who believes in travelling alone, then the Russian couple we had seen at Phnom Krom. Photographed masses of butterflies feeing on something on the ground.
The next stop was 12 km Northeast of Siem Reap, 30 mins away, the temple Banteay Samre. Got to the complex at 12H00, I wanted to see the temple before eating - just don't feel like eating in this heat and for some strange reason all their food is always hot, right throughout the day! An icecream would have gone down a dream, but sadly not available at the roadside eateries. We all have the usual noodles and beef, pork and chicken respectively. I'm so hot again after eating the meal in 40 deg C heat! the Coke is very welcome though - I'm living on water and fizzy drinks, too scared to have anything else. I'm desperately missing my Liquifruit grapejuice. The usual souvenir vendors try and convince us to buy dresses, T-shirts and scarves. They really are very sweet when they're not trying to sell you stuff. Mara, the eldest is 22 (looks 16) and other two girls sitting at our table were 16 and 8. Mara didn't know where Africa or South Africa are, so we showed her on a map in Colin's pocket diary. She wanted to know how long the flight was, she's obviously never been on a plane. The 8 year old pulled out a 5 kroner coin, asking whether we could change it. We said we couldn't as that was not from our country. Mara also pulled out 20 Norwegian kroner and Colin said it was worth $2.50. Mara didn't want to believe that Dylan is 30, so he showed her his passport. Mara says she went to school, but her family is very poor, so she now sells souvenirs. I asked her when her birthday was and she said they didn't celebrate birthdays as they couldn't afford gifts. I asked whether she has family or friends in Phnom Penh and she said no. Dylan said she should try and go to a city and get a bettr job, even it proved to be difficult. But I think she can't even comprehend ever being able to do that, so girls like her invariably live in one village all their lives, scraping a living and have too many children, or they make it to a city and often end up in the sex trade. Her mother had 9 children, her one sister already has 3 children, another has 2. She says she has 20 nieces.
It is very very, very hot by the time we walk across the road to Banteay Samre. Even though it's 40 deg C plus, it's quite pleasant walking around the site, as there aren't many tourists brave enough for this temperature, just a few backpackers. No inscriptions have been found to date the temple which was named after the Samres, a tride who lived in the vicinity of Phnom Khulen. The style of architecture places its construction in the middle of the 12th century, around the same time as Angkor Wat. Tales from teh Ramayana are depictred on various carvings, the sieve of Lanka, fight between Rama and Ravana and Rama mounted on Hanuman.
We move onto to East Mebon, which is a temple erected in 953 for Rajendravarman, designed by a Buddhist architect and consecrated to Shiva. The temple would only have been accessible by boat - the terraces were landing stages, now it's marooned in rice fields. The elephant statues were placed as guardians and all face outwards. Steep steps lead up to a terrace with the elephant statues. We don't hand around after East Mebon as it's so hot.
Drive to Pre Rup, the last temple of the day, get there at 15H30. Pre Rup means "turning the body" cremation ritual. It was consecrated to Shiva around 962, this state temple of Rajendravarman II was built primarily of laterite and brick (laterite being like solid koffieklip with holes like we have in Durbanville!). We take the obligatory photos and find some shade on the terrace to soak up the atmosphere, not too many tourists thank goodness.
We get back to Bun Nath at 16H00, have a refreshing shower, wash clothes, incl sweat soaked cargo shorts. Dylan and Colin have a beer downstairs, so I have the room to myself. Dress in sarong and vest - just the right clothes for this temperature. Start writing the journal in the foyer under the fan, about 4 days behind. Have to check some facts with Dylan. They come down after a shower and get onto the Internet. I log onto Facebook and start replying to people, as well as replying on Hotmail and get very confused about where to find messages to the different people. I had decided to create a journal on Facebook rather than send lots of emails and also because I didn't have everyone's email address. I also find I can't get onto Ning.com to correspond with my old schoolfriends because I had changed the Hotmail address to my work address and now the website can't verify my authority. So I askDylan to help me start the blog on Facebook and he keeps telling me to load my photos and write captions, which is what he does instead of writing a story. I say I don't want to load hundreds of photos, I want to write a story about the trip for everyone to read and will include a few photos. We have quite a row and Colin steps in and suggests that I start a blog on blogspot. At first I was negative because that meant registering on yet another system, but he registered it for me very quickly and uploaded a photo and I could see that it would work fine. Just typed an intial 2 paragraphs, replied to another 2 messages on Facebook, chatted to Illona and Michael Sparks on Facebook and then we go for supper later at 20H00, Dylan is clearly6 dead on his feet after only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before. Stop at the supermarket on the way to check out the sction and decide to go back after supper. Back to the usual eating place for stir fried meals, beer and Coke for me. Buy some water, ham for sandwiches for breakfast, a packet of plastic spoons and a Stainless steel mug for me for coffee. I am determined to find a way of having a good cup of coffee in the mornings! Have another shower back at Bun Nath at 22H00 as I'm soaked again. Dylan and Colin start watching the WP/Sharks rugby match on Supersport, but Dylan only stays awake for 5 mins.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat
Friday, 5 March
Up at 06H00, had another shower, washed all the dirty clothes in the tiny washbasin. Dylan's breakfast was an apple pancake and a can of sweetened Ideal type milk which he really didn't enjoy. I had a roll and jam - no marge - and a small cup of the most awful, cold, strong espresso type of coffee with a tiny amount of canned milk, quite undrinkable so I fetched the 2 Milk Maid containers of airline milk and added Ellis Brown coffee creamer which I'd brought with me, still undrinkable.
Found a tuk tuk driver called Pon and Colin negotiated a fee of $10 for the3 day.
Dylan and I had previously felt we should leave Angkor Wat for the last day, but Colin convinced us to do it on the first day in case the weather changed. Went to Angkor Thom first, 09H00 and already extremely hot, 32 deg C or so. They took photos at the entrance and printed our 3-day passes for $40 each.
Angkor Thom was amazing and in magnificent condition and stretched out in an area of 3 square km. It was established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, who was a Mahayana Buddhist. We spent 1,5 hours investigating the Bayon - official state temple of King Jayavarman VII. The Bayon rooms and carvings on the walls and doorframes are spectacular - definitely Buddhist. The number of tourists really bothered me, as it was difficult to take photos without including strangers. Dylan and I took at least 70 photos each, Colin took about 40. I couldn't find a quiet space to sit and reflect on the place.
When Colin and I walked to the elephant terrace at 10H30 it was scorchingly hot, at least 40 deg C and I was trying to move from any shaded area I could find to the next - not much available. The terraces form two sides of the perimeter wall of the Phimeanakas . Elephants adorn the whole length of the terrace and there is another one called the terrace of the Leper King, which we didn't walk to, as it was just too hot in the sun. The scarf vendors are as persistent as the vendors in Egypt, just with a sing-song begging tone, so Dylan and I bought 3 silk scarves for $5 - I'm sure we'll find more in Phnom Penh for less. We turned to the temple mountain, Phimeanakas (pyramid of steps on 4 sides). Dylan and Colin climbed the pyramid and I sat and waited on a chair in the shade. We walked to some trees and sat there for half an hour, drinking warm bottled water and trying to cool down. Colin bought some etchings of the carvings.
At all the major sites and particularly this one, there are always informal restaurants - each selling exactly the same meals at the same prices, usually for $3 to $4, but generally discounted, this time for $2. Colin had shrimp/veg and noodle stirfry, Dylan had chicken. It was so hot I didn't feel like eating a lot, so had chicken and bread, which I thought would be a piece of dry chicken on a piece of bread, but turned out to be chicken/veg stirfry on a roll, delicious. Dylan suddenly got up and disappeared round the back and came back 10 mins later, saying he'd just been sick, so we firstl thought he'd picked up a stomach bug, but then Colin said it could have been his malaria medication, which he'd taken on an empty stomach.
After lunch Colin and I walked to the Baphuon - a Buddhist shrine with a modern 20M seated Buddha on an ancient platform. Some Buddhist nuns were seated on mats and beckoned to me to go up. Colin and I wanted to put $5 in a Red Cross collection box, but the nuns asked us to give them the money. Then they gave me incense sticks to put in a bowl of sand behind the Buddha after I had bowed 3 times. Another nun called me over to her mat, tied some pieces of red wool around my right wrist, chanted an incantation, cut the tied ends and produced another reed plate with $2 in it, obviously requesting that I also put $2 in the plate. I couldn't help feeling I had been scammed just a bit. Then I decided that they obviously need the $7 more than I do.
We got to Angkor Wat at about 14H00 (not far away). It was very, very, very HOT - I'm sure over 40 deg C and all three of us were sweating like pigs. Angkor Wat is extremely impressive and much smaller than the Angkor Thom area, only 1 square km, including a very large moat on all 4 sides. The carvings are spectacular, but there were too many people to really absorb the atmosphere. Our tuk tuk driver later explained that this is not the busy season and the numbers of tourists are normally far greater! Angkor Wat was built for King Suriyavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. It's the only temple to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation - first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then later converted to a Buddhist monastry. The temple consists of steps up to the Terrace of Honour, which is the gateway to the Gallery of Bas Reliefs, a covered corridor along all 4 sides of the first level, open on the one side.
On the Eastern side is the most famous carving called the Churning of the Ocean of the Milk - unfortunately closed for restoration - which tells the story of the Hindu creation myth. We did see another gallery of Haluman's army of monkey warriors fighting his enemies. Colin and I climbed the steps to the second level, the walls on that level are carved with numerous apsaras (celestial nymphs). We were surprised to find people queueing to go up to the 3rd level, as the guide books said it was closed. Thank goodness I had worn the Johnny Depp T-shirt instead of my usual vest. Now that I think about it, many people had stared at the T-shirt during the day, I think Johnny has many fans. We climbed the steep steps up and down, passing through 4 small Buddhist shrines around a central shrine with a reclining Buddha about twice normal size.
Found Dylan afterwards, chatting to two pretty Argentinian sisters, who were unfortunately leaving Siem Reap the next morning.
We had decided to drive directly to Phnom Krom, 20 kms to the south to see the sunset over Tonle Sap lake, so went there at 16H30, we were so hot and sweaty, it was ridiculous, I only sweated more in the jungle at Tambopata in Peru. We experienced many interesting views of Cambodian life and some rotten smells along the Siem Reap river which runs into the lake - the road follows the river. We got to the base of Phnom Krom (a hill +- 30M high) just after 17H00, climbed at least 300 steps, still in 40 deg C heat and +- 80% humidity, so we got to the top of the steps with seat pouring down, to find that we'd have to ascend a steep concrete road which wound around the hill. Halfway up we thought we'd reached the top when we saw a large Cambodian signboard, but then realised it was only a viewing point. We continued up the hill until we finally got the top at 18H15, Dylan and I totally exhausted and Colin saying he was happy to have been able to stretch his legs (he was sweating too!).
We sat down and had quite a few gulps of very warm bottled water. Colin went off to explore the buildings at the top, which consisted of a modern Buddhist monastry and Dylan followed. When I went after them, I couldn't find them. I didn't realise that this was a working monastry and surprised a monk with a towel around his waist - he was about to have a wash outside by scooping up water from a trough with a bowl. I smiled and bowed my head and walked past, then another monk in orange approached me in their sandy courtyard and produced a book in which I clearly was expected to write my name and value of donation - so I made another $5 donation for the day. I hope to get some good kharma! Another few steps led up to the top, where Dylan and Colin were waiting. Another 3 tourist couples joined us later. The view over the countryside was beautiful, hundreds of squares of postage sized different shades of green, depicting different crops in various stages of growth. We could just make out a small piece of Tonle Sap to the right, this is the dry season, in the rainy season the lake is much larger. The sunset was a disappointment, but we took photos of the countryside anyway.
We got back to the guesthouse at about 20H00, didn't feel like joining Dylan and Colin for supper They bought bread, marge and jam at the Star Mart, so we could have our own breakfast in the morning and I will ask the guesthouse people to give me some boiling water, so I can make my own coffee with the Nescafe, Ellis Brown creamer and sugar which I'd brought from South Africa. This is becoming the search for a good cup of coffee in Cambodia. Colin keeps telling me to adapt to what the locals do, which is drink lemongrass leaf tea, but I'm determined to start my day as it suits me! They had Asahi Japanese beer when they got back and watched highlights of some Super 14 rugby games. Colin and Dylan went off to Pub St at about 22H00 and it was great to have the room to myself. Colin got back just after 00H00 and Dylan got back at 03H00 (and suffered the next day, as he had to get up again at 06H00!).
So that was the end of the first day's sightseeing in Siem Reap.
(It's 20H25 now, probably 26 deg C, we're in Kratie now, about to have supper at U-Hong restaurant after doing the Internet thing. We're arranging a trip tomorrow to see the Irrawaddy dolphins and a Wat on the hill and a swim in the Kampi pools)
So, cheers for now, I'm sure I'll write some more tomorrow, seeing that we finally have time to relax a bit.
Luv
Tammy
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Now 8.20 pm on Tuesday, 11 March in Kompong Cham, staying in a really interesting and challenging place right on the Mekong river.
The Internet Cafe will close at 9.00 pm, will have to type really fast and try and get as much news in as possible, wish I'd been more organised and had written more often. So much happens on trips like these, it took days just to catch up with handwritten journal.
Tuesday, 2 March, arrived Bangkok 5.30 am. Took a taxi to Sukhumvit Guesthouse, very nice, all three of us sharing a room, it has an aircon and fan! Very hot, thank God for the aircon and fan. We found the BTS (their metro train), went to the MBK mall and bought myself mens cargo shorts and some T-shirts, as I had been determined not too pack too much. Dylan, likewise needed walking shoes and we walked into lots of shops, but the shoes were all as expensive as in South Africa. I bought a Fuji digital camera and 8 GB memory card, now I'm ready to take lots of photos! Found a Tesco for potato chips, towel for Colin and bottles of water. Still couldn't find Dylan some shoes at the night market, I bought 2 T-shirts for R35, Dylan had lovely beef noodle soup called pho, R7, I had pork rice and bokchoi R8 and Coke.
As expected, the pillows were rock hard, so I was soooo pleased I had brought the mini down pillow, arranged it inside Chantal's pink travelling cushion and put it all inside a pillowcase, very comfortable.
Wednesday, 3 March
Up at 9.10 am, breakfast of toast and jam, VERY strong coffee, thank goodness I had kept some of the airline Milk Maid milk and coffee creamer. Bought bus tickets to Arunyaprathet, R50 each, will take 4 hours. More shops for shoes, expensive Paragon dept store has an Imax and will be showing Alice in Wonderland in 3D, must see that when we get back. More shops looking for Dylan's shoes, another mall, back to MBK mall, finally found shoes. Had a great meal in a local eating place - phad tai seafood for BHT 50 (R14).
Thursday, 4 March
Taxi to bus station. Got to Arunyaprathet border town at 12.30 pm, very impressed that the trip had only taken 4 hours, apparently the buses often break down. Tuk tuk drivers were waiting, asked a tout to get one to take us to Poipet border. After 5 mins the female tuk tuk driver turned off the main road into a driveway and stopped in front of a patio where tourists were being assisted with completing a visa entry form and health declaration by extremely helpful "officials". I said I'd never come across such a friendly reception by order officials. Then they asked that we pay them THB1,200. I said I didn't have enough Baht and that we were supposed to pay in Dollars ($25). They insisted we must pay them in Baht. Dylan walked around the corner and disappeared. I asked Colin to ask the official for his ID card, which was tucked into his pocket, Colin said he was apparently an agent. Our "official" flashed a passport with a Cambodian visa in front of us and said it was an official visa. Dylan came back and told us to gather the rucksacks and follow him to the Cambodian Consulate next door. The Cambodian consulate employee still wanted Baht, this time THB1,000, which we scratched together (just), as we'd not expected to have to pay in Baht. The tuk tuk driver (whom we had paid when we got to the "Visa Centre"was still waiting for us, very honest I must say. We walked back to where the tuk tuk was parked and those guys just wanted us out of the way ASAP, Dylan still wanted to warn the other tourists who were arriving, that this was a scam, but Colin said it would get ugly, so we left.
Extremely hot! Must be at least 38 deg C. Waited in a large room with about 5 Thai officials stamping out about 100 people, we were melting, it was so hot. Then walked a few meters in the boiling sun in Poipet to the Cambodian border office. Poipet is really a one horse town, with some very flashy hotels and a casino for people who mistime their arrival at the border and are forced to stay over. It's very dusty!
Then waited in a stiflingly hot room with about 50 other people to get stamped into Cambodia by 3 officials. Dylan always makes friends and found Swedish Philip to join us in a taxi ($20 - $30) to Siem Reap. When we left the building Colin said there was a free bus to take us to the bus station, where we could find a taxi. Wanted until the 30 seater bus filled up, a very chatty 25 or so year old stood cracking jokes in broken English and charming people until we got to a brand new building, about 8 mins out of town. Thought this was strange until we realised that they had brought us to their private bus station, for people taking the International buses!!! Another scam. Turned out that a seat on their bus was $9 and a seat in a taxi would cost $12, so we refused to give them any more money than was necessary and got onto the bus, which they promised would leave at 3.00 pm, but of course we had to wait another 30 mins for the bus to fill up, in a stiflingly hot bus!! I thought I was so organised, had packed the purple fleece jacket into my daypack in case the aircon got turned up and I got cold, fat chance! We were all quite hungry by now, ate the packets of potato chips, Dylan had the peanuts I had kept from the plane and drank LOTS of bottled water. We would from now on be carrying around lots of bottles every day.
Got to Siem Reap at 7.00 pm as the sun was starting to go down. Tuk tuk drivers were waiting at the depot and we chose one to take us to Bun Nath Guesthouse and if we didn't like it, we would find another one. We were furious when we discovered it would cost 5,000 Riel EACH to get into town. The tuk tuk was only geared to carry 2 people, but all 3 of us squeazed in, with the rucksacks and daypacks. Passed many very expensive hotels in National Rd before arriving at Bun Nath. Dylan and I checked the room, fabulous, aircon and fan, TV, bar fridge, lovely tiled floors, magnificent wooden banister going up to 4 floors. The bathroom was a wet room as usual, so if one showers the whole floor and toilet gets wet - no separate shower. Dylan found Supersport 1 and 2 on TV and found the highlights of the Twenty20 cricket, Cobras vs the Warriors, surreal.
Marvellous to have a cold shower, it's so hot one can't imagine having a hot shower - totally unlike me. After we'd all showered and changed into fresh clothes, shorts and T-shirts, we walked out and found Pub Street easily and checked out the restaurants before deciding on a small place on the corner where most meals of pho noodle broth with pork, beef, chicken or seafood or fried noodles and veg and pork/beef/chicken/seafood cost $1. Dylan and Colin had Lao beer and I had Coke, then moved to another pub and each had a draught beer for $0.50.
Will have to carry on tomorrow maybe, heading off to Kratie tomorrow morning at 9.00 am and hope to see lots of Irrawaddy dolphins there and try and chill after all the running around in Siem Reap.
I apologise for the blog being so disjointed, will get it into shape in the next few days.
Luv
Tammy
The Internet Cafe will close at 9.00 pm, will have to type really fast and try and get as much news in as possible, wish I'd been more organised and had written more often. So much happens on trips like these, it took days just to catch up with handwritten journal.
Tuesday, 2 March, arrived Bangkok 5.30 am. Took a taxi to Sukhumvit Guesthouse, very nice, all three of us sharing a room, it has an aircon and fan! Very hot, thank God for the aircon and fan. We found the BTS (their metro train), went to the MBK mall and bought myself mens cargo shorts and some T-shirts, as I had been determined not too pack too much. Dylan, likewise needed walking shoes and we walked into lots of shops, but the shoes were all as expensive as in South Africa. I bought a Fuji digital camera and 8 GB memory card, now I'm ready to take lots of photos! Found a Tesco for potato chips, towel for Colin and bottles of water. Still couldn't find Dylan some shoes at the night market, I bought 2 T-shirts for R35, Dylan had lovely beef noodle soup called pho, R7, I had pork rice and bokchoi R8 and Coke.
As expected, the pillows were rock hard, so I was soooo pleased I had brought the mini down pillow, arranged it inside Chantal's pink travelling cushion and put it all inside a pillowcase, very comfortable.
Wednesday, 3 March
Up at 9.10 am, breakfast of toast and jam, VERY strong coffee, thank goodness I had kept some of the airline Milk Maid milk and coffee creamer. Bought bus tickets to Arunyaprathet, R50 each, will take 4 hours. More shops for shoes, expensive Paragon dept store has an Imax and will be showing Alice in Wonderland in 3D, must see that when we get back. More shops looking for Dylan's shoes, another mall, back to MBK mall, finally found shoes. Had a great meal in a local eating place - phad tai seafood for BHT 50 (R14).
Thursday, 4 March
Taxi to bus station. Got to Arunyaprathet border town at 12.30 pm, very impressed that the trip had only taken 4 hours, apparently the buses often break down. Tuk tuk drivers were waiting, asked a tout to get one to take us to Poipet border. After 5 mins the female tuk tuk driver turned off the main road into a driveway and stopped in front of a patio where tourists were being assisted with completing a visa entry form and health declaration by extremely helpful "officials". I said I'd never come across such a friendly reception by order officials. Then they asked that we pay them THB1,200. I said I didn't have enough Baht and that we were supposed to pay in Dollars ($25). They insisted we must pay them in Baht. Dylan walked around the corner and disappeared. I asked Colin to ask the official for his ID card, which was tucked into his pocket, Colin said he was apparently an agent. Our "official" flashed a passport with a Cambodian visa in front of us and said it was an official visa. Dylan came back and told us to gather the rucksacks and follow him to the Cambodian Consulate next door. The Cambodian consulate employee still wanted Baht, this time THB1,000, which we scratched together (just), as we'd not expected to have to pay in Baht. The tuk tuk driver (whom we had paid when we got to the "Visa Centre"was still waiting for us, very honest I must say. We walked back to where the tuk tuk was parked and those guys just wanted us out of the way ASAP, Dylan still wanted to warn the other tourists who were arriving, that this was a scam, but Colin said it would get ugly, so we left.
Extremely hot! Must be at least 38 deg C. Waited in a large room with about 5 Thai officials stamping out about 100 people, we were melting, it was so hot. Then walked a few meters in the boiling sun in Poipet to the Cambodian border office. Poipet is really a one horse town, with some very flashy hotels and a casino for people who mistime their arrival at the border and are forced to stay over. It's very dusty!
Then waited in a stiflingly hot room with about 50 other people to get stamped into Cambodia by 3 officials. Dylan always makes friends and found Swedish Philip to join us in a taxi ($20 - $30) to Siem Reap. When we left the building Colin said there was a free bus to take us to the bus station, where we could find a taxi. Wanted until the 30 seater bus filled up, a very chatty 25 or so year old stood cracking jokes in broken English and charming people until we got to a brand new building, about 8 mins out of town. Thought this was strange until we realised that they had brought us to their private bus station, for people taking the International buses!!! Another scam. Turned out that a seat on their bus was $9 and a seat in a taxi would cost $12, so we refused to give them any more money than was necessary and got onto the bus, which they promised would leave at 3.00 pm, but of course we had to wait another 30 mins for the bus to fill up, in a stiflingly hot bus!! I thought I was so organised, had packed the purple fleece jacket into my daypack in case the aircon got turned up and I got cold, fat chance! We were all quite hungry by now, ate the packets of potato chips, Dylan had the peanuts I had kept from the plane and drank LOTS of bottled water. We would from now on be carrying around lots of bottles every day.
Got to Siem Reap at 7.00 pm as the sun was starting to go down. Tuk tuk drivers were waiting at the depot and we chose one to take us to Bun Nath Guesthouse and if we didn't like it, we would find another one. We were furious when we discovered it would cost 5,000 Riel EACH to get into town. The tuk tuk was only geared to carry 2 people, but all 3 of us squeazed in, with the rucksacks and daypacks. Passed many very expensive hotels in National Rd before arriving at Bun Nath. Dylan and I checked the room, fabulous, aircon and fan, TV, bar fridge, lovely tiled floors, magnificent wooden banister going up to 4 floors. The bathroom was a wet room as usual, so if one showers the whole floor and toilet gets wet - no separate shower. Dylan found Supersport 1 and 2 on TV and found the highlights of the Twenty20 cricket, Cobras vs the Warriors, surreal.
Marvellous to have a cold shower, it's so hot one can't imagine having a hot shower - totally unlike me. After we'd all showered and changed into fresh clothes, shorts and T-shirts, we walked out and found Pub Street easily and checked out the restaurants before deciding on a small place on the corner where most meals of pho noodle broth with pork, beef, chicken or seafood or fried noodles and veg and pork/beef/chicken/seafood cost $1. Dylan and Colin had Lao beer and I had Coke, then moved to another pub and each had a draught beer for $0.50.
Will have to carry on tomorrow maybe, heading off to Kratie tomorrow morning at 9.00 am and hope to see lots of Irrawaddy dolphins there and try and chill after all the running around in Siem Reap.
I apologise for the blog being so disjointed, will get it into shape in the next few days.
Luv
Tammy
Saturday, March 6, 2010
First attempt, the blog is still under construction
Hi everyone
This is just a quick hello from Siem Reap, it's taking a while to get to know how Facebook works, I've spent ages now replying to individual messages and it looks like they weren't sent and are lost in space! So my cousin, Colin set up this blog for me and I think it will work just fine. That's Dylan and me in a tuk tuk in Siem.
It's now 19H25 in a very warm Siem Reap, about to get some supper, probably pork and vegetable stirfry with noodles, my favourite, for $1. Must be up again at 06H00 tomorrow to visit more Angkor temples. Angkor Thom was splendid, Angkor Wat was huge and splendid, but just too full of other tourists to really enjoy.
Lots of luv
Tammy
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