I am back on the Thai side already after 5 days bouncing around ancient Angkorian temples and not-so ancient crappy Cambodian roads. The trip was not so epic as I had dreamed but I did end up saving some money. In the end the guy I was going to go with on the really big trip backed out... Sucks but I've moved on.
On the way to Siem Reap and back you are offered up a constant reminder - you aren't in Kansas no more Toto(for that matter, you're not in Thailand anymore). After catching a taxi from the border city of Poipet(a haven of sleaze, casinos, and various illicities that can be carried out in the border areas but no where else) you hit the road. The taxis are mostly used toyotas that have been imported from surrounding countries(as any kind of native machinery is pretty hard to come by in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia). I'll be honest, my next car - hmmmm, probably a Toyota. These things are champions. You can hit a wall of gravel and you'll still pop up without loosing anything vital. I know because we did - there AND back... The car we were in was 16 years old and running pretty damn strong. We were passed on the way there by an 11 year old model which was considered a "nice" car.
So - I don't care anymore. Step aside FUBAR-Ford, I'm buying into the Tough-ass-Toyota Revolution
(term copyright).When it seemed apparent we would survive the trip I relaxed and started asking(more like pestering) the driver a bunch of questions in broken Thai about the Khmer language. He was a nice guy. I tipped him well (50 cents).
Siem Reap(the town that exists ~10km from Ankor Wat) is a nice-ish place. It wouldn't exist even remotely in the same fashion if Angkor Wat weren't a few stones throws up the road. Its pretty big with a lot of bars and some nice places to sit and "hav a cuppa Teeeea" after a long day at the Angkorian Temples. I'm not the only one who was suprised to see that the secret, ancient, deserted, temples of Angkor well there not so secret or deserted anymore. 24 hours a day there seemed to me a constant flow of tourists travling in and out of the main Temple(the one in all the pictures). If you go a little bit farther afeild you can get to some places (my favorites) where you may be one of only 10 or 15 people exploring the temples.
There is a lot of archeological stuff going on at the temples which is nice to see. I got to see some of it going on.
Oh we also got to see the biggest lake in the Greater Mekong Subregion. Its called the Tonle Sap Lake. Its huge. It looks like an ocean and actually the Thais call it 'Talay Sap' and 'Talay' is Thai for ocean. That was a fantastic experience I wont forget. As you travel from the town of Siem Reap south to the lake the land changes from dried up and dead brown-yellow to a pleasant light green color to a water-soaked, vivid and gripping green.
You really get to soak it in slowly... as you climb (20 minutes) up the big ass mountain weazing and begging the mountain for mercy. When you get to the top, you are hansomely rewarded(as is so often the case). A sunset over the Tonle Sap is a moment of zen waiting to happen.
Despite the tourists I highly recommend Angkor. Its not very hard to get there or stay there as long as you are willing to sacrifice a few comforts(like balance and your perception of where is up and down). But it is expensive in the city itself. When I ventured with my travling companion, Josh Phelps this time, outside of the city, away from the farang(westerners), I felt my body relax, my comfort level rise and I automatically was treated better by the locals. We asked our tuk-tuk driver to take us where he eats out and he did. It was cheap, clean and filling. Thats life.
A couple of days in cambodia and I was ready to "get the hell out". I liked Cambodia, and will go back to visit my friend the Tuk-tuk driver named "Buun-san", but I missed Thailand. Whenever I leave this country I miss it. The people, the food, the weather, the culture, you can't get much better. I'm sure if I went back to the post when I came back from Malaysia I would find (at least) the same tone of love and admiration for my adopted country.
100% positive - I will miss it all come March 20th.
In about a week I will be finished up with my travels (seeing and saying goodbye to friends all around Thailand) and I will be heading back to the south to say goodbye to the family that has loved me as a son.
Wish me continued luck!
