Siem Reap (Cambodia)
Arriving at Siem Reap, there's something mystical in the air. Cambodia has a long history of both magnificence and horror - however, Siem Reap is tightly connected to the magnificent part and home to some of its greatest temples and the national pride - Angkor Wat.
The immigration process, despite all that has been said, was the smoothest ever. There's a visa on arrival but 20 USD and a passport photo are all that you need and you will be done with the whole thing in less than 10 minutes. The tuk tuk driver (tuk tuk is probably the most common means of transportation in Southeast Asia and consists of a small carriage pulled by a motorbike) was supposed to be outside waiting but... nothing! I call the hostel that I booked in advance and he tells that he should be there... 30 minutes later, still nothing and I call again: "He should be there, he told me that he is there". Well, there are about 5 people standing outside so he could hardly miss me... 10 minutes later and still nothing! I am starting to think that it's all a bit of a joke but the driver finally shows up and apologizes for the delay and takes us to the hostel.
The ride is short, some 20 minutes and the road is nicely paved. As we drive into the city, I see nothing but the fanciest of hotels on the way, some of them actually charge up to 1000 USD (that is right, one thousand) a night. I wonder who in its right mind comes all the way to Cambodia to stay in such hotels... there is plenty of choice here, every other house in Siem Reap is a guest house or a ho(s)tel... there are also no traffic rules here. People just follow their paths, always at the same speed and it all just works. The city is small but cosy, with different restaurants, bars, everything for the delight of tourists. Happy hours are everywhere, and prices for beer go as low as 0.40 USD during that time.
The first feeling I get is that (sadly) Siem Reap has been set up to explore foreign money. Western style restaurants, happy hours, 'the pub street', I see it all on the way to the hostel. As we arrive, we're lead up to the (most likely) nicest and cheapest room we have stayed in so far. The room is actually equipped with 2 single beds but... they are huge (probably a meter wide each) so no need to find another room :)
Although I doubt it that I will spend more than a full day visiting the temples, the booking is for 3 nights so that there's some time to relax as well...
The day is uneventful as I needed to recover from a sleepless night spent at the airport but there's always time/space for some good food :) We try to look around and look for some authentic Khmer food, in a Khmer(cambodian) managed place (not that easy of a task, trust me) and we finally settle for one a few minutes away from the main center and tourist trap. Amok and Lok lak... hmmmm, you will have to google for this, amazingly tasty food! We stay about an hour in the restaurant and talk to the staff about why we came to Siem Reap, a bit about Cambodia and then I head back to the room to get some rest...
Day 2 starts rather late (about 11am) and already too late to visit the temples. I talk with a guy who is sitting outside and he suggests that the sunset in the mountain temple is the best start for the tour and it's free (as long as you have a ticket for the following day) so I decide to take his advice and just chill for the rest of the day and walk around town a little more.
We knew that the owner of the hostel we were staying at had some kind of arrangement with another hotel with a pool so we asked about it... he promptly tells us that it's just around back and that they 'might' ask us to have a drink or something but they shouldn't. As soon as we arrive at the pool I told them which hostel I was staying at and they call the manager who is swift to tell me: "We have no such deal with Mark, he has to stop telling people that we have an agreement". Great, deceiving publicity... he even mentions it on the website! They are nice enough to let us stay there, as long as we have a drink.
Later it's time to head out to my favorite restaurant, one of the few in town with no foreigners in sight. Whenever I am traveling, I try as much as possible to help the local economy, try to shop around in small commercial areas, local owned restaurants and where the atmosphere is as authentic as possible. People wave as they see us coming and this way I make sure I eat local food, not some western style food cooked "just like home". As I said before, it's not easy to try and mingle with locals in Siem Reap, everything is directed towards foreigners: all those bars and happy hours places, not a single khmer eats or drinks is these restaurants and this makes it so different from Malaysia or the Philippines where there were only few places were no locals went to. The people in the restaurant speak absolutely no English so we just agree on food making use of body language. Once again, tasty-tasty food and a unique plus which is the surrounding ambience.
Before going to sleep we rent the bicycles and then head to bed, the following day will be long so... lights out!
It's 4.30am and the alarm rings, time to get up! Sunrise is at 6am and we still need to grab some food and ride to the temples which are a few kilometers out and there's no light so... might take a while :)
As I cycle in the pitch dark morning with a flashlight on my head, several tuk-tuk's, taxis, buses, mini-vans go next to me honking at times. They are not bothered or disturbed, they simply want to let me know that there's someone driving by. That is how it usually happens in Southeast Asia by the way - people use their hunk all the time, it definitely does not mean that they are mad or upset!
45 minutes later and Angkor Wat stands in front of me. Hordes of people move to its interior to get the best place to watch the sunrise: in front of a small pond facing the towers at the end, where the sun slowly comes up and lights it from the east reflecting the whole structure on the water and causing a breathtaking view... however...
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