Siem Reap (14.03.22 - 21.03.22)
Monday 14th March 2022
Wow, that was a journey I really don’t care to repeat. 7 hours in a minivan for 12 with 12 adults and 6 children, it was packed to brim, even under the seats and the aisle were packed with luggage, cool boxes, crates of bananas and god knows what else. We had to climb out over everything for the one break we had. And I really pissed myself off – I gave the lady 23000 riel for a tube of pringles, it should have been 5000, I gave over 20000 thinking it was 2000, it was only when I got back on the van that I remembered there is no 2000 note, I so wanted to cry, I really thought I had the money situation under control ☹ I got the van driver to drop me off within walking distance of the Sweet Dreams Guest house so I saved on tuk-tuk fairs and then to cheer me up a little more, not only is there a swimming pool but there is also a place round the corner where I got a banana smoothie for $1 and a pad thai for $2.50. Anyway, my financial loss has been made up, the hotel owner, Min, has upgraded me to a $8 room, it’s still a private twin bed room but instead of a shared bathroom (for which I paid $5 a night) I have a private one, Min is lovely and keeps saying ‘lovely jumbly’ to me, which he learnt when he was tuk-tuk driver – lol. I think my stay here is going to reasonable financially wise and from the little I have seen Siem Reap looks exciting, and for a change I am not around the corner from the red light area. One last note on the journey – the lady sitting next to me, her little girl who must have about a year old was so cute, but blind, and the lady kept breast feeding her and feeding her corn on the cob to shut her up – I so wanted to hold her (the baby), but refrained from asking, not only do I not have the words to ask but I also felt it wasn’t appropriate, after all the girl could not even see me so to have a stranger hold her may have been a bit freaky. I should go for a walk but I don’t have the want or energy, instead I think I will just sit here and watch the kids playing in the street and then have an early night with my book. PS – I got a merit for my assignment C, so I am hoping that my overall grade will be a merit as I got a pass and distinction on the other two assignments😊
Tuesday 15th March 2022
I can defo vouch for the fact that the hot season is upon Cambodia, I thought last month was hot but this month is ridiculously hot and it’s not even the hottest month yet, which is April. As I just read on the net the heat is oppressive and it’s only just gone midday. I’m going to stay in the shelter of the hostel until 4pm then go for another walk. Due to the heat and the temp in my room this morning I was up early and had had breakfast by 9.30am, I then went for a stroll to see if I could find one of the 3 vape shops that the town supposedly has, but it was not there. All I found was a building site, in fact Siem reap must have had a recent injection of money because there seems to be building work going on in every street. So true to form, reluctant to get my phone out and use Google Maps I strolled aimlessly in the direct of what I thought was my hostel, lol, I need to stop thinking, I was going the exact opposite way, but it was meant to be because I passed a mini mart and what did I see in the window – vape juice – hip hip hooray – probably the only place in the whole of Cambodia, and I found it. Unfortunately I was not walking with enough money so I will go back later and purchase – this time I will be more daring and take the thing through customs as I can’t keep doing this in every country I visit and I desperately need to keep off the fags – I am so happy and to top it off have walked over 11000 steps already, I haven’t done that many since leaving Thailand.
I went for another walk this evening, this time with enough money to buy an e-cigarette. I walked along the Siem River to the third bridge before turning right into town and I am pleased to say I did not get lost. On the way back I stopped for some dinner, chicken noodles and a lime juice all for $2.50, it is so cheap here, what a shame the rest of Cambodia is so much more expensive. The walk back was delightful, it was dark by then and all the street lights were on and Pub Road looked awesome, yes a road full of bars, I will take some photos next time, but am very hesitant in getting my phone out after Michaela told me how her phone was snatched out of her hand while she was in a tuk-tuk in Phnom Penh. I didn’t stop at any of the bars as I have to get up at 4am tomorrow to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat – it better be worth it.
Friday 18th March 2022
Happy birthday to Alice and Izy – it was so lovely to video call them before they went to school this morning (my afternoon).
I am so exhausted today, the furthest I’ve been is round the corner, first for a late breakfast/lunch and then to drop of my laundry. I’ve also had a dicky belly so have not wanted to be too far from a trusted toilet! I was supposed to be going to Tonle Sap with a young guy, Sol (from Dover, kent), but much to my relief he was not up for it as he had a dicky belly yesterday, so we will be going tomorrow instead.
Angkor Wat and all the other temples were absolutely amazing. Over two days (the 16th & 17th) I think I visited 16 of them, 8 on each day. The first day we left early, Map, my private tuk-tuk driver first took me to get my ticket. It was quite eye opening to see how busy Siem Reap is at 4:30 in the morning – markets and street food shops all open, but then the temperature at that time of day, although still hot is much more bearable than the afternoon. At Angkor wat I paid for a guide, the only one I got across the 2 days, and went to watch a very disappointing sunrise, then he took me round the Wat and filled me in on all the history. For example, the wat has three entrances, one for the king and queen, one for the priests and one for the elephants and it took 37 years to build and there are 37 stairs going up to the main turret, which is 65 meters high from ground level. After that we went to Bayan temple, which is the one with all the faces and we also went to one were the trees were growing over the ruins – it was so awesome to see how nature conquers man made buildings when left to its own devices. It was here that i saw a most beautiful purple butterfly, it reminded me of Danie and her mum, may she RIP, and i did wonder for a moment if her spirit crossed my path. By the time we got to 5th temple I was exhausted and could have easily gone home but I’m glad I kept going as the final one we saw that day was the one where the Tomb Raider film was made – I must make a point of watching the film before I leave Cambodia. Once we back to the hostel all I could was jump in the pool and drink vodka before I fell into an early and well needed slumber.
I took over 200 photos today – so here is a rather large selection of them! Due to there being so many i have added them as thumbnails, but they will come up large if you click on them.
The second day (yesterday) we left later so the day was not as exhausting, but to be honest I didn’t appreciate the temples as much as I had seen too many and I also got really depressed and kept thinking about the negative aspects of the last year, back in England, that I’ve had to deal with – I cried for a lot of the day which wasn’t noticed due to the tears merging with my sweat.
Yesterday I bought Map breakfast which I was happy to do as both meals only came to $5, I was going to buy him lunch today but the place we stopped at was so expensive that, after seeing what he ordered, I chose the cheapest thing on the menu – garlic bread for $5. After eating I went to the loo and by the time I got back Map had paid for his own lunch – I think he realized that I don’t have as much money as the typical tourist and in the evening he told me where to find a few good cheap places to eat – bless him. Anyway, last night I sat on the balcony with Sol, Nick (a guy from Australia who didn’t stop talking), Map and another guy from Ireland, I didn’t catch his name – we drank so much beer it was truly disgusting – the lady in the shop across the road even delivered it and by the time I got to bed I was a happy puppy again – lol. I woke this morning feeling a little hung over and am not going to touch any alcohol tonight, all I want to do today is download Tomb Raider and watch it in bed.
Sunday 20th March 2022
Today was awesome – Sol was finally well enough to do the Tonle Sap trip. Looking back on it I’m glad he wasn’t yesterday as it poured with rain in the afternoon, so I watched Tomb Raider. In the evening Map called me down and we (me, Map, Nick and John – a Swedish alcoholic guy we got locked down here during covid and still hasn’t gone back home) spent the evening drinking Ganzburg beer, which is the strongest I’ve had out here so far, and eating an array of delicious Cambodian food. I staggered the 20 steps to my room and woke at 5pm with hangover! Nick was a star and went to the ATM cash-in machine with me this morning and deposited 2 ripped $20 bills, which I had been given as change so cannot use – ripped $ are not acceptable here, they have to be in a perfect state – and then gave me $20 worth of Riel. Tonle Sap was amazing, not only is it a huge lake but the houses built on it are on wooden stilts, meters of the ground. As it’s now the hot dry season the water level was low so we could see the structure of the stilts but in the wet season the water level rises above the trees and the only means of getting about is by boat. In this season there is enough land for the residents to walk, bike and drive on, so one part of the river we went down looked like a boat graveyard, I think the lack of tourists also had a lot to play in that too. From the river we went out on the lake where there were several floating restaurants and had an expensive lunch, I had fish and it was mega delicious. On the way back Map’s chain came of his bike, he did manage to get it back on, but we stopped at a bike store and got it replaced, the parts and labour came to a whopping £7.50! Then we went to a crocodile farm, OMG, it was really quite scary even though when we first saw them they were so stationary that they looked like statues. This little boy kept following us with a bag of meat which Map finally explained he wanted us to buy it from him, so we did. The crocs soon came alive when we threw the meat in for them – no human would stand a chance if they fell in! It was quite amazing. Tomorrow I’m leaving here and off to Battambang, as I haven’t taken any photos of Siem Reap town Sol and I are going to walk in and grab a couple of beers while I take a few, which will also make a nice change from getting pissed here at the hostel every evening.
Monday 21st March 2022
We invited John along last night, wish we hadn’t, first of all I can hardly understand his pissed English and then second of all, after going to a bar in Pub Street and having a succulent burger and chips (naughty but nice) he took us to his favourite bar, put on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and chatted in Swedish to his mate. I am sure they were chatting about me and Sol, but even if they weren’t, I didn’t feel very comfortable at all and I really couldn’t wait to get away. When he suggested moving on to another of his fav bars I left them to it and got a tuk-tuk back to the hostel.