Before arriving in poipet, I was a mess of jumbled nerves after reading sketchy accounts of the numerous unsavories that eek out their livelihood by badgering the living hell out of newly arriving tourists. That combined with well meaning family members constantly reminding me how gravely concerned they were for my safety and how they were going to do whatever possible to get me safely across by calling in favors to their cambodian contacts, it was a miracle I didn’t literally die from a massive panic attack. I tell ya though it wasn’t easy, I damn near did after all the paranoia they were fed me. By the time I said goodbye to my cousin my stomach was in such tangled knots I seriously thought I would throw up. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly half as bad as I thought it was going to be. In preparation for my journey I did some internet research and found a great website that detailed exactly what to expect once across the border, listing concise instructions to where to find the touts and the different transportation choices available, even going as far as providing an illustrated map of where to go on the other side. The website talesofasia.com coincidentally is maintained by an american expat who ran the guesthouse right next the guesthouse I ended up staying at. They had free wireless and although I didn’t stay there I did end up going to the café a few times to make use of their wifi. If you should ever end up taking the same route I took to siem reap, I highly recommend giving the site a once over. The information was accurate and if you’re looking for a second opinion I’d also say skip the buses, you’re better off getting a share taxi even if it slightly more expensive. It’s not hard finding fellow travelers to split the costs with and you get there much faster than taking the bus since sometimes the drivers like to delay the traveler as much as 6 hours just to get you there after dark and take you to their guesthouse of choice ensuring themselves a commission. But also realize, even though everyone is trying to make a commission off of you, it’s not necessarily all a bad thing since a lot of times the guesthouses are adequate and fair in price. In the end I’d rather save an hour of my time rather than tow a heavy pack around town to save myself a buck or 2. Definitely NOT worth it.
When you make it to the other side you can’t walk 20 meters without immediately being pounced on with a what-is-your-name and where-are-you-going spiel. Eventually after standing around looking every bit the tourist I was, I resigned to the bleakness of my situation and broke down and talked to a guy who was a liason for an associate driving a share taxi. With my somewhat shitty thai, I managed to get him to down to the low low price of $29.99 for not a 3, not a 4, BUT a 5! hour car ride on a dirt highway to siem reap with 2 other americans I met in the passport line by asking if they wanted to split a taxi to our destination.Having assumed that cambodia would be exactly the same as thailand it was crazy to witness the landscape change from somewhat lush green to red dustbowl in a matter of 30km as we motored through the border.
Lots of dust as we drove past overcrowded pickup trucks and wooden stilt homes along the main highway. Cambodians as a whole relies heavily on farming for their sustenance.
Not once did I see a petrol station along the road. Instead these cars are outfitted to used compressed gas. Don’t ask me how much or how efficient the fuel is. I wouldn’t have a clue but it definitely have to be a lot cheaper than what we pay in the states.
A rest stop along the way.
For $6 a night you can get a great fan-only room with a private bathroom. Also, most guesthouses in cambodia require their guests to remove their shoes outside the front lobby reception.
The guy to the left worked at the hotel, the guy to right was our hired tuk tuk driver for 2 days. It wasn’t actually a tuk-tuk though. It was a motobike rigged with a cart.
Our first day towards the ruins. This is the main road that leads to angkor wat. 
At every temple ruin there are throngs of kids trying to sell you books, beads, postcards, water, whatever it is they can convince you to buy. For the most part they are harmless but be ready for some serious persistence even AFTER you break down and buy something. they ask you to buy more but understand that due to strict laws govern the area, this is their only way they make their money so don’t turn your nose up at them. 
Our initiation to the temples.
Interior Bas relief.
temple #2: banteay kdei
This was the site for the temple ruins they used in tombraider. (Ta Prohm) Mostly because these ruins is of the ones that were left the most intact with jungle overgrowth. These days it’s been cleaned up and restored a lot but it gives you an idea of how it was found over 700 years later by french explorer Henri Mouhot.
this guy was ultra friendly. with a fucked up leg and bad limp he led me off the beaten path to photo op areas that he thought were worth photographing. it was all things he found beautiful. so endearing.
he even told me to get into the tree for a pic.
You saw these ensembles everywhere. they are landmine victims who no longer can work and depend on donations as musicians.
While heading to the bathroom, I noticed a kid whacking a tree branch with a big stick collecting ants and their eggs. Not sure how they were going to be prepared but I know it was for consumption.
it was a scary climb to the top.
heading to wat thom compound.
banyon was the exquisite centerpiece of the compound.
after 8 straight hours of temples we decided to call it a day and that we would save angkor wat for sunrise. That evening we spent the sunset at banyon.
Never got to try them.
All across asia I saw these bottles with whole cobras clamping on the tails of huge scorpion in their mouths. Drink it and you become powerful like He-man.
for some reason walking around asia at night reminded me of nights at burning man. maybe that’s where the inspirations for some of the camps came from.
yep I made it up after much persuasion from leighton and amanda, the american friends I ended up hanging out with in siem reap and phnom penh.
I wasn’t prepared for the beauty of angkor wat but I was really thankful we had waited til the next day. it definitely earned it’s reputation as the crowning glory of the temples.
Interior courtyard.
The dark parts is from the oils of peoples hands touching the bas reliefs. shame on everyone! Admittedly i wanted to touch it too.
The kids were always curious and friendly. At first it started off with the little guy and the rest just followed suit.
while I was walking out, there was a crowd of people waiting to get their picture taken in what looked like a traditional Cambodian cowboy outfit. 
this monkey was just moseying down the walkway like he was on a mission. once he was teased by this kid and the monkey lunged at him. moral of the story: don’t mess with monkeys. ps. you have no clue how many monkey horror stories there are out there.
We were just about to head home when amanda noticed the long procession of monks and decided that she wanted to stay and take photographs. I’m glad we did, it was quite the scene. Did I mention that she’s a professional photographer? And a good one at that!
Tired of temples yet? yea now you know how i felt after a day.
In SE asia, 3 is NOT a crowd.
on the way to phnom penh. stay tuned for part II!
1 comment:
So dusty! I can imagine my contacts bugging me the whole time. Cool ruins though! Scary monkey.
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