I think I'm all WAT-TED out. Just spent the last 3 days exploring some of the temples Angkor has to offer. Cambodia is an amazing country - the story behind these gorgeous, massive, and majestic ruins is so rich! Many kings reigned this forgotten corner of the world... the temples are located in a rural setting, rainforest like, with many parts close to rice farms. There are lots of children selling souvenirs and it is a really big reality check to see the living conditions of some of the locals. Siem Reap is such a booming place though, I think quality of life has really improved in the past few years.
Don't have time right now to upload any pics...but check out this gallery that I saw at a store here...the temples are amazing!!
http://www.asiaphotos.net/gallery/Angkor/
I'm staying at nice (AIR CONDITIONED!) Red Piano guesthouse ...the restaurant by the same name was superb. Awesome atmosphere, tasty food, and best of all, the tomb raider cocktail! LOL. Angelina and gang were filming some sequences at Ta Promh, one of the most amazing sites with trees growing out of the ruins all over the place. We spent our first and last day exploring the temples by Tuk-tuk (3 wheeled carts)...but the second day, we rode bikes!! Man, these things were rented for US$2 (everything is in US dollars!) and they were sketch. LOL, Doi's bike got a flat right in the morning, and my back tire also busted by the late afternoon. After toughing it out, we deserved some khmer massages, no? Ya...the massage was pretty relaxing.
Getting here was another story. The bus ride from Bangkok to Siem Reap was utterly RIDICULOUS. After being herded around like sheep for an hour, we finally boarded a bus, then were taken near the Cambodian/Thai border. Then we waited 2 hours for our visas at this pre-designated restaurant, and crammed in the back of a service truck to get to the border. Next, it was a HOT affair lining up at the Thai and Cambodian border crossing. Then, a tuk-tuk to a bus waiting area, which was another hour... the worst was yet to come. A 10 hour CRAZY bumpy ride on the worst roads that SE asia has to offer in the wet season. And the A/C minibus. Ya, nope...it was broken. Open windows! Argh. Ha ha, then we were shipped off to this guesthouse in Siem Reap. It was dirt cheap, but the rooms that DIDN'T smell like mold, had no A/C. doh!
But all of this didn't come as a surprise since I was staying on Khao San Rd in Bangkok, which incidently, is where I bought the bus ticket. Eep, for like 7.5 Canadian. Can't expect more than what I paid for!
Bangkok was a pretty dazzling, glitzy place compared to the clean serenity of Singapore. I was there for about a week - Doi and I visited lots of awesome temples (world's largest gold buddha, reclining buddah 45 meters long, etc...), the floating market (touristy, but they sell fruit/veggies/meat/anything...on these teeny boats!), the weekend market (largest in Thailand, 300 000 people every weekend...WHOA), and I also took a trip to Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand. Staying on Khao San (yep, from "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio) was pretty cheap, but loud, and only mildly sketchy. No bugs! Horray! But no A/C either. :)
Yikes...Singapore was amazing too. But i'll recount that later...my hour of cheapo internet is almost up. :)
2 comments:
That's awesome! I'm so jealous! What's the next stop? I just got back from Las Vegas, they have an M&M World there! Yay!
Hat's off to you, Mary. I wouldn't have endured that kind of travelling. If I hadn't died of shock, my travel companion would have finished me off 'cos I whined too much.
Don't eat chicken - or anything that resembles chicken. Wait, you're still a vegetarian, right?!
When in doubt, wear a mask!
You're probably saying that I worry too much - yup, 'cos I've survived that young and stupid phase of my life.
Take care, sweetie. Looking for more sequels to your adventure.
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