Cambodia; Siem Reap and the Ladies of Doom

SIEM REAP, APRIL 23rd-26th

Margaux, Emily, Emilie and I got up at sunrise and headed for the Central Bus station in Phnom Penh. On the way there the sun was like a big ball of fire hanging over the early birds exercising in the park. They have an open air aerobics session at 5 am here…before it gets too warm. At the station we were pleased to discover our bus was already there (which is rare in Cambodia as things take a loooong time because people seem to have all the time in the world). The bus ride to Siem Reap was no way near as horrible as the one to Ratanakiri. The 5 hours’s ride seemed more like 3 and when we got off the bus in Siem Reap we were harassed by moto and tuktuk drivers fighting to take us to our guesthouse. We arrived at Popular Guesthouse around 1pm and booked our rooms which were 6USD/night. Of course it was not luxury but it was so much better than the room we had in Ratanakiri. We then discovered the roof garden bar and restaurant in which we spent a lot of time during the stay. The terrace was really nice and comfortable and the food and drinks were cheap and good. Winner combo.
After lunch we decided to go and see the Floating Villages on the Tonle Sap Lake and also experience the sunset which supposedly is beautiful.

Some sights on the way there:

Kids playing with the water in front of their shacks

A real moment...

Some of the shacks seen on the way

After about 25 minutes in our tuktuk and the passing of very frail and poor-looking huts on long wooden posts, we arrived at the river bank where a lot of boats were waiting for us. The weather seemed to have changed a bit and it had got more cloudy and the sky was darker…but we were there so we might as well get on the boat and see the village. We got a boat for the 4 of us with a friendly self-taught multilingual Cambodian guy who lived on the same boat we were riding.

Our boat

Some "houses" seen from the river

Throughout the trip out to the village, he kept explaining stuff about the river but most of the time his voice was covered by the engine sounds and we could not make out what he was saying. What I understood was that the river rose about 10 meters during the rainy season and that the forest that we could see around us was totally flooded. However I also learned that during the dry season, that very same forest was snake infested and dangerous to venture into. Since the water is so shallow, the boats have a hard time navigating on the small river which opens up into the lake (I mean it is a river during the dry season, because in the wet season it becomes part of the lake) and quite a few times we got stuck, the engine leaving a sort of mocha explosion behind it.

Mocha anyone?

When we finally arrived to the opening we could see the village in the distance…and also the storm clouds and the rain, threatening our sunset experience. The driver of the boat spoke again signaling that the people on the lake rely heavily on fishing and also catch snakes (especially cobras) to make good money out of them, he also said it was a very dangerous place to live...really??? As the sky was growing darker and more threatening he also mentioned that the lake was infested with crocodiles…lovely.





We passed by the floating church, a floating school and loads of boat houses.

The floating church

We arrived at the boat restaurant and « zoo ». Getting off our boat I see kids with snakes around their necks approaching us by pirogi.

A normal pet on the lake...


Hello snakies


Lady, you buy banana?

I want to hold one so I end up having two nice « little » pythons around my neck. It was not scary as I knew they were not poisonous. They seemed a bit groggy for some reason. But I probably would not have attempted the snake kiss with a cobra…
After seeing some mean looking crocodiles and huge fish, we also got to see the huge storm coming right at us.

This kid lost her bowl after that...it blew away


People trying to get to "land"

The wind was strong and we decided it was time to leave. Bad idea. After getting far enough from the restaurant boat, thunder and lightening started around us. Wind was blowing the water inside of the boat so we took the side tarps down to protect us...when the rain started, the tarps started flying in all directions and it was really hard to hold them down.

The wind was so strong and we had a good laugh when I was trying to hold them down

The boat got stuck, the storm was not getting any better. Great, we were in the middle of nowhere in a storm, on a boat in crocodile infested waters…needless to say that us girls were slightly scared.

The boat drivers were having quite some trouble

We finally made it into land, both cold and wet. Getting off the boat we all laughed in relief. Some kids came over to us to sell us something…wait was that a plate with our face on ????? Yes it was, they had taken a picture of us boarding the boat and stuck our face on a plate. Normal.
On our way back into town we could see the devastation the storm had caused, ripping down trees and the frail-looking houses. People were standing on the road, too afraid to be inside their perched houses, in case they collapsed.

A tree on the road

It was sad to see that those who have so little had nothing left. Their houses lying about 5 meters down from where they originally were. Getting back to town it seemed as if nothing had happened, no rain, no storm. After a shower and new clean clothes we met up for a well deserved and much needed beer at the terrace, We were all exhausted but we wanted to go and eat at this butterfly garden restaurant, which donates its profits to various causes and also has 1000 butterflies flapping around. Well…not when we got there, they release the butterflies only for 30 minutes in the morning…so much for the show. Then that day was over…do I need to mention we did not see a sunset???
Day two we were ready to go at 4.55AM to go and see the sunrise at the Angkor temples. We were like little kids going to Disneyland, so excited. Even the light drizzle could not crush our spirits…Come on, we were going to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, one of the most wonderful works of architecture in the world ! We got there when it was still dark, the great dark towers looming in the distance we entered the realm of Ankgor Wat. Getting closer to one of the ponds to take a nice spot for the sunrise we were a bit disappointed to discover that a part of the temple was being restored…I know it needs to be done, but couldn’t they wait until I had seen it without the scaffolding ??? It kind of took away from the majesty of the place. Oh well, the sunrise would certainly be worth it.

Angkor Wat at 5.30am

Waiting for the sun that never came...

6.15 AM, normal sunrise time…no sun. Aren’t we the lucky ones ? It was so nice and CLOUDY! They wouldn’t budge, so we moved on and into the temple. It was huge, but we were done in an hour and 15 minutes. The detail and carvings in the temple are fascinating, very intricate and they are everywhere.

Apsara dancers

The never ending corridor

The walls all have mythological scenes depicted and stretch throughout the never ending galleries

Walking through the never ending galleries we wondered about how it must have been in its times of glory.

Lost in time

It was great but we had a lot more temples to see and we needed some breakfast. Settling down near the temple in a little restaurant we ordered some food and avidly discussed the next temples to see. Margaux got some stylishly star shaped pancakes which were delicious...But suddenly our luck struck again and we were stranded because the sky opened its dams. So it rained heavily for about 20 minutes and we couldn’t go anywhere. We just sat there and half laughed at our misfortune.

Stylish...Lagerfeld himself could not do better

After getting ourselves some stylish condom-looking anoraks, we were ready for the next temple on the list : Bantei Kdey.

Bantei Kdey entrance

Of all the temples we saw that day I think this was one of my favorites. We had it almost all to ourselves and its ruins looking on the verge of collapse were impressive and maze-like.

Wooden posts were everywhere holding up the collapsing structures

The next temple was Ta Prom, which has let nature play a part in its dramatic and majestic features.

Ta Prom

Giant trees and their roots are growing over the ruins, making the place look eerie and mysterious.

A mysterious looking wall...maybe a secret entrance?

I look like a hobbit in this picture...

However the wonder soon disappeared when we saw that half this temple was closed to the public due to restoration ! Great. Ok fine we dealt with it and moved on out to the other side where our driver was waiting for us in a cafe and where we tried to relax a bit before the next temple. The vendors kept pushing goods in our faces, shouting prices and : « Hello lady, you want cold drink ? You want eat ?"
"You want bracelet lady ? Ok 5 for one dolla lady"
« No thanks »
"Ok lady, 6 bracelets one dolla, ok lady, you buy from me ?"
No thanks
"Ok 7 !"
NO!!!!
"Ok 10 !"
But I don’t want bracelets, leave me alone !

It was quite exhausting having to repeat ourselves everywhere we went to the same questions and it becomes hard to remain polite at the end. I know that it's their job and also the way they are but they do they really need to stand next to you while you are having a drink and a breather? Kind of makes you uncomfortable. In the beginning you joke around with them but at the end of the day you know they all want your money and you have no energy left to be polite and bargain and hold up a conversation.
Next temple was Ta Keo, a really cool one with very steep stairs and narrow steps.

Ta Keo

The narrow and high steps...tough stuff!

Almost there, Don't look down...or else...

I made it to the top! Took me some time to get down though...

It was quite a challenge to get up and especially down these, but we had a good laugh and by that time the sun was sort of saying good morning.
By the time we arrived at the next temples, both small and similar looking to the rest we were tired and hungry and just wanted to see the Bayon temple. It was noon and we had been up since 4.30am. There was no way we would manage to stay throughout the day to see the sunset at Bayon (and of course by that time the sun was out and the sunset probably happened). We briefly looked around the temples and were like, OK now they are starting to just look all the same, all rocks. Let’s go to Bayon and go back to the hotel. We walked around near the Bayon site and finally saw it. The huge towers with the 4 faces on them, each facing one of the cardinal directions. It was a beautiful temple.

Bayon

My new man...Biiiig man (not little man Emily)

Intricate carvings on a frieze at Bayon


Apsara dancers (they are everywhere)

There were many things to marvel at that morning but also things to react to, like the color of the temples, most of them are now black due to the Indians who tried to restore them using chemical products…thanks dudes. Next was how badly eroded these temples were and seeing the contrast with replaced parts after restoration which kind of makes it look like a mismatched puzzle.

The mismatched piece...

And of course scaffolding and green and blue tarps never looks good on old monuments, it takes away from the mystery around them.



Back for lunch at the guesthouse we were all pretty exhausted (and I was catching a nice little cold because of the previous day’s wet experience) so we ate and took a nap and got ready for our usual drink at 6 on the terrace. We then walked over to Pub Street and ate at this place called the Temple where they had a free Apsara show. The waiters were very friendly and cheering for their dancers...or so I thought. They were just really happy about a football outcome that they were watching on TV from afar...Then we crossed the street to have a beer at Angkor What ? A pub with a charming philosophy (Promoting illegal drinking since 1998…and "This is a not a tourist information center, so shut up and drink !")
The next day we got up a bit later and went to see a silk farm. There we saw the processes from start to finish, from the silk worms to the silk they produce.

The cocoons form in there and can be easily extracted

The grazing and growing baby worms (Mulberry leafs)


Silky, my new pet worm...

A silk thread from a worm

Cooking the cocoons

The weavers

It was interesting and best of all it was free ! After that Emily and I went for a massage, pedicure and manicure. A nice lunch and rest and then headed for the Old Market and bought some souvenirs.
That night we had dinner in a side street from Pub Street that looked a bit like a South of France side street with trendy shops and small cafes and trendy restaurants. Then over to Angkor What? And after a few drinks, Margaux and Emilie wanted to go home. So Emily and I went to get a fish massage and then back to Angkor What ? for a night cap.
This whole trip was generally a nice one which we can laugh about now. It was my last trip, and this week is my last in Cambodia. I came home feeling sick and am now trying to recover so I can enjoy my last few days at the orphanage and not leave them with my germs.