When we last left off we were all in Sikanaville, Cambodia about to board a plane to Siem Reap where we spent a week checking out the town, how the people live in the country side, and the amazing thousand year old temples (or Wats). The highest concentration of Wats in Cambodia are just outside the town of Siem Reap which has been built up to accommodate the tens of thousands of daily tourists. Everyone in the group bought a 3 day pass to the Angkor Wat ‘park,’ which was 7 square kilometers so we required tuk tuks to get from site to site. The first Wat we visited was called Bayon and ended up being our favorite overall. The site had a dozen or more towers each with four massive Buddha heads facing in each direction. There were doorways, hallways, and stairs all over the place making it feel like a labyrinth. Almost every square inch of stone in the massive complex was covered in intricate and ornate designs. The next site we went to was a large steep pyramid style temple where we found out that some sites containing ‘reclining Buddha’s’ have a modesty dress code. There were two girls checking people on the way in and would not allow Jim, Tom, or Marisa in because their knees were showing (and Marisa’s shoulders). Jim and Tom were eventually allowed in after sagging their shorts (which was probably a first for them), but Marisa had to sit this one out L The original steps of the temples were extremely steep and narrow, so wooden steps (which were still very steep) have been constructed over the top of the originals for the tourists. With all the walking up and down stairs in the 100 degree heat and 100 percent humidity; our group never made it close to a full day of temple viewing. After a cold drink and lunch underneath a ceiling fan everyone was more interested in the pool and air conditioning at the Shining Angkor Boutique Hotel then going back out into the heat of the day. So the next day we tried to head out at 6am to beat the heat, but our English speaking guide was a little late and we didn’t make it out until after 7am. Our guides name was Sim (like “sim card” he told us) and we was extremely knowledgeable about Cambodian history, culture, and the temples. The women in our group picked his brain to the fullest and learned a lot, while the men silently wished he would speed things up a little bit. Overall it was great to have our guide as he told us all the facts and showed us the best photo ops of Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm, two of the most popular temples. We went back to Angkor Wat one more time by to see the sunrise over the temple at 5:45am. We rented bikes and rode them to the temple in the dark. Unfortunately, everyone who went agreed it was rather anticlimactic because even though the sun wasn’t yet in sight, it was still very bright outside. Also there were probably 5,000 people in the park at the time… not exactly an intimate experience. Besides the temples, Siem Reap was an interesting town packed with restaurants, street vendors, outdoor markets, bars on ‘Pub Street,’ and English speakers all catering to the droves of tourists who come to see Angkor Wat. On the fifth day in Siem Reap we said goodbye to the 6 other travelers who we had spend the last two or three weeks with (see our farewell post) and we were all on our own forced to decide what to do next. We spent two more nights at U-Dara Inn Guest House closer to the center of town to figure out our next move.
All the guide books recommended a scenic boat ride to Battambang, the second largest city in Cambodia. We liked Phnom Penh the capital so much we figured we’d like the second biggest city as well. The boat ride turned out to be quite the experience: open aired (occasionally we got wet), hard wooden benches, overcrowded with more locals joining throughout the trip, extremely loud and smelly diesel engine in the center of the boat, and nine hours long with only a quick 10 minute stop for gas and toilet(which was just a whole into the river...). Some positives of the boat ride included seeing the largest lake in Cambodia, traveling through floating villages for hours, witnessing the different fishing methods employed by the locals, and having hundreds of the cutest local children wave and smile at us when our boat passed. We when finally arrived in Battambang we were both tired and eager to find a place to stay. The first hostel was disgusting and overpriced, but the second hotel Seng Hout was only $15, clean, had amenities, and a great 360 degree rooftop view of the city. Overall we were not very impressed by Battambang or the nearby things to do so we only stayed two nights and planned on heading to our third country of the trip… Thailand!
It was a rude awakening to discover we’d only be granted a 15 day visa exemption at the border (we’ll have to do our research further in advance next time.) Yesterday we spent another 12 hours traveling from Battambang, Cambodia to the laid back island of Koh Chang, Thailand. We left our hotel at 8:30am and walked to the part of town we’d seen all the bus depots and taxis the day before. Just as we realized we were lost and didn’t have a map with us, a tuk tuk driver from our hotel recognized us and pulled over to ask what we were doing. We told him our plan of going to the border and heading for Koh Chang and laughed a little and he told us we were heading to the wrong crossing and that the roads were no good. He made a few phone calls for us and had his neighbor (who happened to be a taxi driver) pick us up and take us to the Poipet crossing in a ‘shared local taxi’ for 5 dollars each. By shared they meant we’d be cramming as many people and luggage into a Toyota Camry as possibly (meaning up to 3 people in the front and 4 in the back, with the trunk stuffed and held close with rope). We started off with only 4 passengers and Denton had the front seat, but he offered it to a lady who we picked up halfway so Marisa would not have to cram in the back with 3 locals by herself. It was only uncomfortable for about an hour before the two others in the back were dropped off and we had our own seats. About 30 minutes before the Thai border the car pulled over to a roadside stand and the woman in the passenger seat bought a bag full of crickets and beetles with salt and chilis. It seemed to be a local snack. She offered them to us but we were scared until we saw her and the driver snacking away on them in the front seat and we asked her to try them. They actually weren’t too bad tasting like beef jerky, but you just had to chew them up and swallow them without thinking too much about what you were eating. The border crossing went smoothly besides being immediately approached by people wanting to overcharge us for taking us to our destination. Luckily, Marisa knew better than to talk to them until we got across the border and started to bargain hard with the few transport companies just on the other side. She ended up reducing the price from 1,200 baht to 800 baht (300 baht = ~$10USD) for both of us including a ferry to the island of Koh Chang. Unfortunately, we waited almost two hours for our van to leave and we had the worst seats in the in the van. Denton was crammed in the back row with Marisa and two other, broad shouldered Dutch guys. Our driver drove like a maniac swerving to avoid pot holes, braking to miss cars, and then quickly accelerating again (We speculate if he was under the influence of drugs, or practicing to be a race-car driver). It didn’t take long for Denton to get nauseous and he spent most of the 4 hour drive trying not to lose his breakfast. The best part of the drive was making friends with 3 other young Dutch travelers who spoke good English. One of them, Corey, traveled with us from the border to our hostel; Paradise Cottages on Lonely Beach on Koh Chang. We met back up with her for breakfast and spent the afternoon on the beach together. We’ve gotten to know her fairly well and have talked about everything from travel, differences in European and American viewpoints/lifestyles, and world politics. She will be returning to her ‘normal life’ to finish up her PhD in Germany after her 4 weeks of holiday are over in a few days, but we look forward to making lots of friends like her during the rest of our trip. After 2 nights at Paradise Cottages, we moved to Siam Hut because the bungalows were less expensive and our hut is RIGHT on the beach. From Paradise Cottages,we had to walk 10-15 minutes to the beach and cut through several resorts and properties, so we were happy for a change. Unfortunately are bungalows don't have hot water and aren't secure from mosquitos, so we have to use mosquito nettings over our bed.
Koh Chang is a really beautiful island with great beaches surrounding and steep mountainous jungles in the center. We are looking forward to spending the next week or so here relaxing, snorkeling, and maybe even riding some elephants through the jungle to a waterfall.
Thank you everyone for reading and following along in our travels. We love getting comments, emails, and suggestions of what sites we should not miss – so keep them coming!
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