Siem Reap

19-21 January 2006

6 February 2006

After a very short flight from Saigon, we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Unlike in Vietnam where you are bombarded with drivers and then you have to bargain a fare, there was a taxi stand with set prices.  Our driver was very nice and could speak English pretty well.  On the way to our hotel he offered to find us a tour guide for visiting all the temples in the area and he would be our driver for $30 Thursday (since it was already after noon) and $50 for Friday and Saturday.  We found out upon checking in at the hotel that his prices were comparable to what everyone would have charged, so we said we'd take him up on it if he'd do it for $45.  He agreed and went to pick up the guide while we got settled in.  We spent about an hour in a beautiful pool with a waterfall and overflowing water (it was filled all the way to the top at all times).  It was so refreshing as the weather was blistering hot in Cambodia.

 

Our driver came back to pick us up and we were on our way to see some amazing sites.  The temples were huge and, despite being over a thousand years old, remained in pretty good condition.  Some of them had to be restored by various countries (primarily the French and Japanese), but all of them had such intricate detail carved into the stones depicting various Buddhist and Hindu gods, kings, and wars.  Our guide was a wealth of knowledge, pointing out things we never would have noticed on our own.  The most interesting thing was that the Hindus tried to get rid of all the images of Buddha, so there were a lot of blank spaces where he was carved out.  The steps leading to the tops of the temples were pretty treacherous, too.  They were so steep, it was more like climbing a ladder than stairs.  Each of the temples were also surrounded by high walls (also very intricately engraved) and a huge moat. 

 

We decided to enjoy the sunset from a hot air balloon from which we could also get a great view of all the temples in the area.  It was just a quick 10 minute ride straight up and back down, but it was well worth it.  We asked our guide where we should have dinner that evening and they recommended a restaurant that offered a buffet as well as a show comprising of traditional Khmer dances.  We figured they'd just drop us off at the hotel, but they were going to wait for us to shower and then take us to dinner.  We decided to just go straight to dinner instead.  The food was pretty good....very similar to Vietnamese and Thai dishes and the show was entertaining.....a great deal considering it was just $12.  The show ended at 830 and the driver was waiting for us outside.  He offered to take us out on the town, but we were tired.  Plus, we felt like we had taken too much of his time as it was.  To wind down, Shawn spent the evening writing post cards by the pool while I got a massage.   

 

The next morning we were picked up at 9 and set off to visit Angkor Wat, the biggest temple of them all.  We spent hours upon hours trying to soak it all in.  Amazing as everything was, we were beginning to get "templed out".  The combination of the heat and being on our feet all day started to wear us down.  We started to skim over stuff just so we could see everything.  We got back to our hotel around 6 and went straight to the pool to unwind.  Shawn threw back a few beers and then we walked downtown for dinner.  We were starving and ordered way too much food and Shawn had a couple scotch and waters.  We ate so much that we could barely walk afterwards, but we managed to stumble into a couple of the bars where Shawn had a few more drinks.  By the following morning he'd be paying for it.

 

Again we left the hotel at 9 for our last day of siteseeing.  Shawn had an upset stomach all day, complicated with fever.  We weren't sure if he had caught bird flu from eating eggs or if he just couldn't handle his liquor.  Maybe he had ulcers or appendicitis (we couldn't remember which side of the body the appendix is on).  We took it easy and ended our tour at around 2, visiting a few wood and stone carving workshops on the way back.  We went out again that evening, but this time Shawn had nothing to eat or drink. 

 

I took my malaria pill right before breakfast the next morning and I soon regretted doing that (you're supposed to take it with food).  I felt ill on the ride to the airport and as soon as I got out of the cab, I puked 3 times in the bushes.  Shawn thought that I had caught whatever he had, but I think it was from the malaria pill.  In any case, we were glad he was feeling better and that we would soon be on the beaches of Phuket, Thailand.....

 

Pics to come...