Cambodia

Monday 11th July 2016 – After only 3 hours sleep…so glad the Euro football is over and we can get a proper nights sleep from now on…we vacated our room. Slouching wearily over our breakfast with the thought of waiting around until 6.00pm for our bus…a nine hour laborious wait…we decided to book our room again for the day to sleep, shower and recover our wits. It was an inspired idea and we awoke refreshed and ready for a long trip. We were picked up at 6.30pm and taken to our overnight bus. There we slept on and off as our bus slowly headed back to Bangkok.

Tuesday 12th July 2016 – Woken abruptly at 5.30am to shouts of, ‘Get out…get out!’ We had arrived in Bangkok. Drivers really are not my favourite people and just want you on or off the bus as quickly as possible…no hanging around for them! We staggered off the bus…blinking in the new day and spied an oasis…a McDonalds just across the street. We were delighted to have somewhere to sit, have breakfast and reorient ourselves. Next we hailed a taxi. Unusually the driver was friendly and full of banter, chatting animatedly to us about the ASEAN community…and the 10 country members belonging to it from Asia. He also told Aaron that he should come back to Thailand on his own to get ‘many girlfriends’ but to be careful I didn’t box his ears for it! We soon arrived at Chatuchak Bus Station and booked our tickets to Siem Reap, Cambodia for 750 baht each. In no time at all we were on our way to Cambodia. At noon we arrived at the border…I had heard that at every step of the way a bribe is asked in order to get your visa…having read up about it I knew to calmly state that we only had our $30 each. It worked and eventually we were issued our Cambodian visas, had them stamped and located our coach for our onward journey. As we drove I felt that Cambodia had more in common with Myanmar than Thailand…grazing oxen were plentiful and roads were more primitive and basic than in Thailand. We arrived in Siem Reap at 5.30pm and headed to the ‘Backpacker Hostel’. Once settled we wandered into town…walked along the canal front…stopped to look in night markets and ate alfresco to the sound of a bustling city all around.

Wednesday 13th July 2016 – What a wonderful sleep…hopefully all the beds in Cambodia would be as comfy as this one…and the pillows, so soft…not one lump in sight. When you’re travelling you really do appreciate the simple things done well and getting a good nights sleep in a cosy, snug bed is at the top of my list! While having brunch at a local restaurant we noticed a funeral procession passing by. Everyone was dressed in white and the women had pretty, purple fans and flowers in their hands. The coffin was in an ornate golden and red casket which in turn was carried along in a red float…it was such a colourful sight to behold. As you walk the streets of Siem Reap you notice many cats with short, crooked or almost no tails at all. Some people believe it is a recessive gene that causes this…others say it originates from the Japanese bob tails when the Buddhist monks brought them in to protect their religious scrolls from rodents…or maybe there is a different explanation…nobody really knows for sure and I have certainly never seen cats like this anywhere else before. Later as we looked for a new guest house for a few days we met New Zealander Scott who was the new owner of ‘My Home Tropical Garden Villa’. We liked him immediately plus his place had a fab pool so we decided to move there in a few days time for a bit of luxury living. That evening we had a scrumptious dinner in an Italian restaurant and then hit ‘Pub Street’…and yes it is full of pubs! It was there that we met Paul from Manchester who had been living abroad for 14 years and had been in Cambodia for 3. He was a lovely chap and we were all enjoying our night out when ten or more policemen came rushing around the corner of a side street…we all wondered what was going on…they disappeared from view for a few minutes then returned to the main stretch of road where we were sitting. As they marched along the street they looked carefully at all the bars as though they were looking for someone in particular. Suddenly they stopped outside our bar and all crowded around a mobile phone presumably looking at a picture of their target. What happened next left Aaron and myself speechless. They came over to Paul…’Mr Paul’…they said, ‘please come with us to the police station.’ Paul went as white as a sheet and looked shocked and surprised but calmly went with them. We looked on…helpless as 10 Cambodian police escorted him away.

Thursday 14th July 2016 – Today we had booked a tuk tuk for the day to see the temples of Angkor. Mouse…our driver arrived promptly at 8.00am…I was so excited, Angkor Wat is one of the most famous and beautiful temples in the world…and here we were to bask in its splendour and glory. We whizzed off to purchase our tickets and then headed for the largest religious monument in the world! Excitement swept through me…Aaron had been here before 15 years prior…but for me it was my first time to see such magnificence. As we approached we sighted the moat framing and surrounding the rectangular outer wall. On entering the complex we saw carvings of heavenly nymphs adorning the historical archways and paths. The grandeur and harmony of the architecture was awe inspiring. Angkor Wat is the heart and soul of Cambodia and a source of fierce national pride. History states that it was originally constructed as a Hindu temple of the Khmer Empire and gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th Century. It became a symbol of Cambodia even appearing on its national flag and the country’s prime attraction for visitors. I could see why this was so as we continued towards the central complex. There before us stood the ultimate expression of Khmer genius…a temple stunning for both its grand scale and its incredible detail. At the centre of the temple stood a quincunx of towers. It was made up of 3 stories. The sun enveloped us as we climbed…for the final storey your upper arms and legs need to be covered…out came Aaron’s waterproofs…better known as his ‘hornet outfit’ and with sweat pouring from me upwards we climbed…wicked giggling coming from my partner in crime as he revelled in my discomfort. It was worth all the pain of severe perspiration as we surveyed the view…my eyes holding onto its resplendence before me. Our second temple was Bayon…an enigmatic and unusual temple…almost alive with the sublime, melancholy faces embellishing it. Next we visited Baphoun temple and the Royal Palace…yellow, buttercup coloured butterflies glided around the entirety of this temple. After lunch we climbed the steep original steps of Ta Tanei temple…again all this done in Aaron’s hornet outfit…I so wished someone had warned me about the dress code before setting off this morning! Penultimately we arrived at Aaron’s favourite shrine…Ta Prohm. This temple has been left for nature to mould with it…it was extraordinarily beautiful. Silver like trees grow in, around and on the architecture…an authentic union of natural and man made exquisiteness…my eyes feasted on this perfect picture. Our last temple was Banteay Kdei…such a contrast to the others, so quiet, peaceful and serene. What a glorious sight seeing day we had experienced and to top it all off wild capuchin monkeys appeared as we exited this truly spiritual site.