4 - 7 April
Leaving our paradise in Sihanoukville was damn hard, but it had to be done so I could see the incredible temples in Siem Reap. Sam had seen them all 6yrs ago and was willing to do it all over again for me. I have the most amazing boyfriend don't I?
We got a sleeper bus that left Serendipity beach at 8pm and drove wildly into the night. I had heard about the dangers of Cambodia night driving, but after our snail experience from Phnom Penh to Siahnoukville I thought nothing of it. Boy did I have no idea. Our driver was going so fast that I didn't get a wink of sleep. We had these seat type beds that came up at the head but the rest of your body was lying down so really I should have slept fine. I could not. The roads in Cambodia are so bad that you can really feel when you're going fast as you fly over potholes and broken parts of the road. I felt the driver skid out and lose control so many times that I couldn't keep count. While Sam slept beside me I prayed that we would arrive safely to live another day. My prayers were answered :)
The tuk tuk driver that took us from the bus station to our guesthouse managed to convince us to hire him for our 3days around the temples. Sam remembered doing them in 3days last time so we were basing it off that. Our first day was the longest, we were up at 4am to be ready by 5am for sunrise at Angkor Watt. I was hoping to get a great shot but sadly we had no idea where to go for that great shot and their were so many people that by the time we realized in front of the pond was the best spot because of the reflections, there wasn't a single centimeter of space. This pissed me off as I grumbled to Sam about coming here again tomorrow even earlier now that we knew. We never did though - I couldn't be bothered.
The day was long and damn hot as we went from temple to temple. Each one blew me away even more then the last. Even though we started bright and early to beat the heat, we still died. I don't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in my life. It felt just like hottest and most humid day in Darwin, except we were out in it walking in full sun, climbing many stairs and clambering all over the ruined temples. The sweat was dripping off every inch of us and our clothes were soaking wet. We had to constantly stop and sit in the shade to try and cool down - but as my fellow Darwinite's would know, you cannot escape the humidity in the shade! We drank litres and litres of water to keep up with the fluids we were losing. I reckon we drank 10 litres each but it still did not stop the heat affecting us as Sam got sick a few days later with a high temperature and I got massive headaches from dehydration. I don't think I could have kept myself anymore hydrated! I guess that's what you get for exploring the Cambodian temples in their hottest time of year - the build up - as the wet season starts in May.
Still I loved every minute we were out there in it. These temples are like nothing I've ever seen before. I thought the temples of Bagan were impressive but they have nothing on Angkor. Bagan was cool because of the sheer amount of them spread out over the dusty plain and the views up high of their tips poking out was incredible, but at Siem Reap you really feel the history and how ancient these temples are as you walk through the ruins of rubble leftover from the bombs and the statue heads cut off during the war. Not too mention the famous temple from Tomb Raider with trees growing through the walls, floor and ceiling. We all know how many years it takes for a tree to grow it's full size and these trees are well passed that. My photos do not do the place justice as hard as I tried, you really need to see this place in person and soon before too much construction goes in to repairing the temples and destroying their ancient feel. Construction was already underway while there and Sam was really shocked at how much they had changed since he was there. Stairs and walkways built in, instead of clambering all over it on your hands and knees, scaling the walls and risking your life. I guess they had to make them safer as the tourism there exploded. I can't imagine elderly people clambering up the walls!
We only really needed that first day as the second day was over by midday. Apparently we had seen them all even though there are ones Sam recalls that our tuk tuk driver never passed. We think we got ripped off by him as he said we would go all day both days and had to pay $15 to hire him each day. Somehow paying $15 from sunrise to sunset does not match up with 8am-midday being also $15. Sam wasn't feeling so good anyway so we took that opportunity to go back early and have an afternoon nap. We both had been worn out since we left Sihanouville as we hadn't caught up on sleep yet.
Our last day we decided to try out a new putt putt golf place with miniature replicas of all the temples. The place was being run by a husband and wife who had two little small ones running around. The husband picked us up from our guesthouse and was very interested in how his advertising has worked as it's been a hard year trying to set the business up. The place was dead so we had the run of it to ourselves and we soon understood why. There wasn't an ounce of shade and in that kind of heat and humidity you practically die. Most people come after the sun is down when it's much cooler. Sam and I played two games, I won both but not by much. I got a whole in one in the second game which resulted in a free beer from the owners.
The next day we were off bright and early for our hectic 16hr trip to Si Phon Don, Laos!
Leaving our paradise in Sihanoukville was damn hard, but it had to be done so I could see the incredible temples in Siem Reap. Sam had seen them all 6yrs ago and was willing to do it all over again for me. I have the most amazing boyfriend don't I?
We got a sleeper bus that left Serendipity beach at 8pm and drove wildly into the night. I had heard about the dangers of Cambodia night driving, but after our snail experience from Phnom Penh to Siahnoukville I thought nothing of it. Boy did I have no idea. Our driver was going so fast that I didn't get a wink of sleep. We had these seat type beds that came up at the head but the rest of your body was lying down so really I should have slept fine. I could not. The roads in Cambodia are so bad that you can really feel when you're going fast as you fly over potholes and broken parts of the road. I felt the driver skid out and lose control so many times that I couldn't keep count. While Sam slept beside me I prayed that we would arrive safely to live another day. My prayers were answered :)
The tuk tuk driver that took us from the bus station to our guesthouse managed to convince us to hire him for our 3days around the temples. Sam remembered doing them in 3days last time so we were basing it off that. Our first day was the longest, we were up at 4am to be ready by 5am for sunrise at Angkor Watt. I was hoping to get a great shot but sadly we had no idea where to go for that great shot and their were so many people that by the time we realized in front of the pond was the best spot because of the reflections, there wasn't a single centimeter of space. This pissed me off as I grumbled to Sam about coming here again tomorrow even earlier now that we knew. We never did though - I couldn't be bothered.
 |
| The entrance to Angkor Watt |
The day was long and damn hot as we went from temple to temple. Each one blew me away even more then the last. Even though we started bright and early to beat the heat, we still died. I don't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable in my life. It felt just like hottest and most humid day in Darwin, except we were out in it walking in full sun, climbing many stairs and clambering all over the ruined temples. The sweat was dripping off every inch of us and our clothes were soaking wet. We had to constantly stop and sit in the shade to try and cool down - but as my fellow Darwinite's would know, you cannot escape the humidity in the shade! We drank litres and litres of water to keep up with the fluids we were losing. I reckon we drank 10 litres each but it still did not stop the heat affecting us as Sam got sick a few days later with a high temperature and I got massive headaches from dehydration. I don't think I could have kept myself anymore hydrated! I guess that's what you get for exploring the Cambodian temples in their hottest time of year - the build up - as the wet season starts in May.
Still I loved every minute we were out there in it. These temples are like nothing I've ever seen before. I thought the temples of Bagan were impressive but they have nothing on Angkor. Bagan was cool because of the sheer amount of them spread out over the dusty plain and the views up high of their tips poking out was incredible, but at Siem Reap you really feel the history and how ancient these temples are as you walk through the ruins of rubble leftover from the bombs and the statue heads cut off during the war. Not too mention the famous temple from Tomb Raider with trees growing through the walls, floor and ceiling. We all know how many years it takes for a tree to grow it's full size and these trees are well passed that. My photos do not do the place justice as hard as I tried, you really need to see this place in person and soon before too much construction goes in to repairing the temples and destroying their ancient feel. Construction was already underway while there and Sam was really shocked at how much they had changed since he was there. Stairs and walkways built in, instead of clambering all over it on your hands and knees, scaling the walls and risking your life. I guess they had to make them safer as the tourism there exploded. I can't imagine elderly people clambering up the walls!
We only really needed that first day as the second day was over by midday. Apparently we had seen them all even though there are ones Sam recalls that our tuk tuk driver never passed. We think we got ripped off by him as he said we would go all day both days and had to pay $15 to hire him each day. Somehow paying $15 from sunrise to sunset does not match up with 8am-midday being also $15. Sam wasn't feeling so good anyway so we took that opportunity to go back early and have an afternoon nap. We both had been worn out since we left Sihanouville as we hadn't caught up on sleep yet.
Our last day we decided to try out a new putt putt golf place with miniature replicas of all the temples. The place was being run by a husband and wife who had two little small ones running around. The husband picked us up from our guesthouse and was very interested in how his advertising has worked as it's been a hard year trying to set the business up. The place was dead so we had the run of it to ourselves and we soon understood why. There wasn't an ounce of shade and in that kind of heat and humidity you practically die. Most people come after the sun is down when it's much cooler. Sam and I played two games, I won both but not by much. I got a whole in one in the second game which resulted in a free beer from the owners.
The next day we were off bright and early for our hectic 16hr trip to Si Phon Don, Laos!
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