1/16-1/20
Our trip back into Cambodia began one of the more fascinating legs of the tour 'round SE Asia. It was another early morning bus ride, this one taking about 13 hours in total, and there were several stops along the way. One of which was for border control, where we had to pay another $20 to get into the country, since our previous visas were only single-entry and at that point invalid. Another harsh lesson in Cambodia's bureaucratic avarice. Along the way, we got to see a lot of the countryside, mostly made up of small wooden houses on stilts and children selling fruit by the roadside. We got into Siem Reap pretty late at night, exhausted, and ready to throw our stuff down. The bus company hooked us up with a tuk tuk driver free of charge, but they gave us the winking and nudging "maybe you could use our driver for a tour of the temples." The first place we tried was all booked up, and the second was pretty full, but they did manage to find us a room on the fifth floor with no air-conditioning or curtains. It was only $6 a night, so we happily took it.
With its requisite and blatant allusion to the historical site, the "King Angkor" Hotel proved to be more than suitable, having an attached outdoor restaurant and a massage parlor. I did not partake of the latter, but it was nice to know the option was there. After dropping us off, the driver immediately dropped the question, "So you want to go to the temples tomorrow?" The last thing we wanted to do at that moment was commit to a driver and itinerary for the weekend, and we were definitely in no mood to bargain. But he was rather insistent. So we told him we'd do a one-day tour for $20. He showed up early the next morning, and we were on our way.
Angkor Wat is just one of many ancient temples outside the city, but it's definitely the most impressive. They're spread out over a large area about 4 miles away, so most people rent bikes or take a tuk tuk. You can't possibly see all of it in one day. We bought a three-day pass for $40, I think. When you first get there, you have to take a land bridge across a large lake, and then a long stone path to the temple itself. The ancient Khmer kings really had a flare for the dramatic. On the way in, there were monkeys, a couple of elephants, and a whole lot of swarming children selling stuff I didn't need: postcards, bracelets, flutes, bottles of water--those were actually pretty useful, since it gets remarkably hot in the winter months. I imagine the height of summer to be one of the lower circles of hell. Approaching Angkor Wat, we could see some of the scaffolding where the restoration/preservation work is being done, as well as some of the monks who still inhabit the place. I believe they were Buddhist. Several times I was offered some incense as a form of worship, only to be hit up for a donation shortly after.
We made our way from one temple to the next, and each time our driver gave us an hour or two to wander and take pictures. A lot of the original carvings are still visible, which was nice. The endless corridors and staircases proved to be photogenic, as well. I'll let the online gallery paint the picture for you. We had a map that was sort of helping us through, and at one point we even had a surprise tour guide. He jumped out at us and starting spouting information about one of the facades, and we tried dodging him, but it was no use. When he was finished, I gave him some riel, and when that didn't satisfy him, he was content to relieve me of my can of Coke.
We concluded our tour with a climb up one of the taller temples. We reached the top as the sun was getting close to the horizon, and it was one hell of a view. Pretty peaceful, too, until everyone else started showing up. We even recognized a few people from our bus ride the day before. The summit was soon awash with cameras and cell phones, one of them playing a vaguely familiar Chinese pop ballad, but the sunset was still really cool. When we got back to the hotel, we were sweaty and dirty and determined to let our driver dowm easy. We had said all along that we wanted one day of service, since we had planned to walk or bike after that, but he wasn't convinced. Asking us if we thought he overcharged, he looked as if we had just thrown his dog out of a speeding tuk tuk. We did our best to be reassuring and eventually just said goodnight.
We spent the next day resting, taking in the city, walking down by the river, that sort of thing. We found another market and made a couple of snack runs to the gas station. I'm still amazed at how plentiful things like Pepperidge Farm and Dr. Pepper were, given their extreme scarcity in China. I'm told it's all about supply chains and whatnot, but it seemed really random at the time. I didn't take pictures of the city, since there really wasn't much to see. The dusty, two-story town seems to have been built ad hoc, serving the millions of tourists that pass through year-round. We had a nice chat with one of those millions, an Englishman who had made a long career out of teaching overseas. A bit of an odd guy, but most foreign teachers are.
Definitely one of the coolest parts of the whole trip came the next morning. I managed to convince Cori that it was a good idea to walk to Angkor Wat in time for sunrise, so we set out on foot at about 3:30 in the morning. The road is well-lit most of the way, with the final stretch being well-traveled, so I felt plenty safe. Once we got close enough, the road became nearly pitch-black, and we were very careful not to get hit by a passing motorist. You could say the only danger came from within, as Cori lost track of the rood and went down in a heap on the dirt. She wasn't badly injured. There was a little moonlight, and the sky was so clear that it actually had recognizable constellations. That was certainly a highlight. Sunrise was tired, but it was really cool to see the temple in all its silhouetted glory. Once again, we were joined by a couple hundred of our closest photographer friends, but there was plenty of room for all.
We got back to the hotel and took a nice, long nap as other guests looked on. I mentioned earlier that there were no curtains, and the only window happened to face the stairs, so everyone on the fifth floor must've gotten a free show at some point. We didn't really mind; some of the other guests thought it was pretty funny. Later, we had some Mexican food, which was exciting, and we took off the next morning. We had arranged a tuk tuk to the airport, but they upgraded us to a car for a little more money. And if that wasn't enough, we were not allowed into the gate area until we had paid the $25 service fee. Apparently, no one is allowed to fly out of Cambodia until they've paid the fee. Which is bull$#@%.
Next stop: Kuala Lumpur. Now, click for pictures:
I'm sure you're wondering what Ho Chi Minh City (also still called Saigon) is like. Well, I'll tell you. It was very nice. The weather was pleasantly warm, and the city felt like a real city. There were buildings taller than a few stories, there were parks and promenades to walk through, and we weren't hassled every second by motorcycle chauffeurs. We did get our fair share of offers, this time from bikers and rickshaw drivers. Still, we chose to walk. I did marvel at the constant flow of motorbikes pulsing through the intersections, and I think I can say they even had China beat in terms of sheer volume. A lot of foreigners around, which made me think the city was worth visiting. We really had no plan, after all, our only thought was "Let's hop over to Vietnam and see what's goin' on."
Trying to find a place to stay was fun. We got off the bus and started checking prices. Many of these hotels have narrow fronts, with the lobby on the second floor and a travel agency on the first. A pretty convenient design, if you're just passing through. At one hotel, they said rooms were $35; we said we could pay $10. They said, "I think we have a room for you." As you'll see from the pictures, we had to crouch when entering the room and bathroom, and we could touch the floor, ceiling, and opposite walls all at once. But despite this, or maybe because of this, it was my favorite of the trip. It also had a TV, fridge, fans, and hot shower. I can't remember if we paid for it in dollars, but most places only took dong. I even had trouble exchanging my Chinese yuan, which is absurd, given the size of China's economy, but with all the lingering animosity between countries, it's not surprising.
We spent most of our days just walking around the city, taking in the local flavor and such. We saw the Saigon River, watched a traditional Chinese Dragon Dance, took pictures of the Reunification Palace from beyond the gate, and wandered into a pretty cool open-air market. As I remember, every city we went to had one of these markets. They're full of many of the same kinds of crafts and trinkets, and most of them will probably never be touched by tourist hands, let alone bought. As we walked through parks, we saw people out getting exercise, and we even got to watch a pretty intense game of hackey-sack volleyball. We finished up the first night with a sampling of the local brews, and it was agreed that Saigon Red was the best. The others aren't really worth your time. Especially Zorok.
Overall, a fairly uneventful few days, and that was just fine by us. Questions? Comments? Click for pictures: