Cambodian Chaos

I left the ladies on the 29th of January to try and get to Siem Reap, Cambodia in order to see the Angkor Wat temples. I was on the bus to Vientienne and decided to stay over night. I quickly dropped my bags off in a hostel and ran to the bus station to get my next ticket. Silly, silly me, I forget, in my haste, to grab a business card. Uh oh. On the way back to the hostel (which is MAYBE 6 blocks away) I got painfully lost, in the dark, and couldn't even remember the name of the guest house! After walking around for a while, I ended up crying to the reception desk of some hotel. I knew that if I could find the same map I could find the place...no dice. Somehow, after three people, along with myself, stared at another map for 20 minutes I figured out where I thought the hostel might be. The pointed me in the right direction and I somehow found the place after about two hours. Phew. Highlight to the evening; upon my return I realized my room had air conditioning AND cable...WITH HBO!

The next day I took a series of three buses; starting at 7:30 am, I went from Vientiane to Khon Kaen, then to Kolas, Thailand and finally to Aranya Pratthet. The final bus basically brought me to the Cambodian border and dropped me off on a dark street at 10 pm. Luckily, a bunch of Thais also got off and one spoke enough English to help me find somewhere nearby to sleep; he carried my bag, got my room, and everything. I've found that the locals really are extremely helpful to lost tourists; lucky for me, eh? I got up at 8 am in order to get to the boarded when it opened at nine. This entire day was so shady. I sat in the "Cambodian consulate" to get my visa which was basically a tent over some picnic tables. he didn't rip me off, though, which i was sure was going to happen, and I got through the border so it must've been legit. My options to get to Siem reap were either a bus at 2 pm or a taxi for three dollars more with three strangers that were supposedly waiting. i went with the driver to the Thai departure and then we had to walk across a bridge and through a market to get through the Cambodian arrivals. This took about forty-five minutes. I stupidly paid up front for the taxi--luckily, he was true to his word and was waiting or me outside. Then, I had to get on a bus to the main station and there I waited for about an hour for the three others that were supposedly waiting. i got a little frustrated with the driver, so he stopped playing Mr. Nice guy and put me in a cab with another driver who was leaving "right away" but had to go pick up someone. We went back to the boarder and as soon as the old driver was dropped off the car died. Great. He got it started again and we were off to pick up his sister, after which, we sat at a mechanic for 45 minutes. I thought this was one of those bus scams that i read about in Lonely Plant where they make your trip as long and uncomfortable as possible in order to make you stay in their guesthouse of choice and make some money. However, his sister was getting angry impatient, as well, so turns out these problems were legit. We finally got on our way, but, after a half hour the car started bucking again, so we pulled off and he paid another cab driver to take us. I piled into a cab with two Thai women, a Thai guy, and a monk (sounds like the start of a bad joke, doesn't it?) for a two hour ride down the bumpiest dirt road I've ever seen. Bumpy doesn't even begin to describe it--massive dirt mounts is more like it. Drivers here also don't care too much about staying on the correct side of the road or passing when there's no oncoming traffic--its like they're constantly playing chicken. everyone is always honking and no one is phased.

On the way, I talked to the original driver's sister because she had had three years of English in school. She is 25 and went to University in Siem Reap to be an accountant, but now lives in Poipet (the Cambodian Boarder) with her family because her dad won't let her move. She almost started crying when she told me that all she does is cook and clean and go to the market--she doesn't go out or have any friends. She asked me for my e-mail address so she could write me and practice her English--of course! It's hard for me to understand what it would be like to not be able to do what i wanted--if my parents said I couldn't move (which they wouldn't) I'd laugh and keep moving without any problems. I wonder what that says about our culture? The move from family to individualism...

When we finally got to SR, the cab driver tried to drop me off in some random corner of town where about eight Tuk Tuk drivers started yelling at me through the windows to get into their ride. I refused. I yelled at the driver to leave my bag.

I paid you a lot of money! I don't have any more you have to bring me to this hostel! You brought everyone else where they wanted to go; bring me there. I'm not moving.

I sat with my arms crossed while the driver walked around smoking a cigarette. Once he had finally finished, he got back into the cab and drove me to my desired location. The hostel only had one room which was located in the attic; I had to walk through a storage room to get to it and there was no window--sold. I really didn't care at this point.

I only had one full day in Siem Reap in order to see the Angkor Wat Temples. I had met three Irish people the night before that were willing to share their Tuk Tuk guide with me so i wouldn't have to pay 15 dollars on my own. Unfortunately, my alarm didn't go off and I woke up an hour late :(. This turned out to be a blessing disguise because I wouldn't have been able to ride with them anyway, the driver refused, and I decided to rent a bike for two dollars like I originally wanted. I watched the sunrise while biking which was relaxing. I had a bit of trouble getting there, however, damn sense of direction. I was told to go straight...straight turns into a dead end! I go back a few Kilometers and find out I was supposed to turn left at the roundabout. I knew I was supposed to buy a pass before I got to the temples and that it would be "obvious"..not at 7 am, my friends. I got all the way to Angkor Wat and hat to turn around, halfway back the way I came on another road, to get the pass. I started crying, again,, to the security guard and he was trying to cheer me up. How emotional I've been the last few days! Finally, 20 dollars later, I get to the temple and can actually enjoy it. They were absolutely stunning. Massive concrete temples with moats and gates that are over grown with trees and grass and are half crumbled. I first went to Angkor Wat, the main and more famous temple. The entire structure, which looks almost like a castle, is completely symmetrical. I probably spent the most time wondering around the internal buildings and aisles. After, I biked around to a few more temples, Bayon being my favorite, which is covered in stone faces. Pictures, here, are a better description than my words, so make sure you check out my flickr page to see the 117 pictures I took during the day :)

Every time I stopped to lock up my bike, I was surrounded by children trying to see me water, food, bracelets, and books. They are all adorable, intelligent, and incredibly difficult to say no to. However, if you give in, you're going to empty out your wallet. It's hard to be patient after a long day of biking in the sweltering heat and humidity, but you have to remember that they are doing what their families have told them to do in order to make a living.