Here we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia (home to Angkor Wat) after 3 full days of seeing temples that are more then 1000 years old. Its pretty mind-blowing and I still really can't believe these things. I will expound on them more in a few.
Just to backtrack a bit, the last part of our journey through Laos was just heaven. I loved it so much down in the islands that when leaving Don Det, I cried when the boat sailed away! I knew what we had ahead of us entering a new country. Cambodia has been through hell and back and it shows everywhere. The countryside is absolutely beautiful and the cities are charming, but its the people that break your heart.
The trip from Laos to finally arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia consisted of 2 boat rides and at least 4-5 minivan changes and stops which in total took 15 hours. We were warned that getting your visa at the border, they try to get more money out of you, (this country is filled with corruption everywhere), but we stuck to our guns and paid exactly what we were told - $20 (plus $1 to pay for the paper?). So when they asked us for more, we said we had no more money. They let us go. It really wasn't a lie (except for that $1000 Baht we had stashed away), we seriously used up almost every cent while we were in Laos. Laos only has ATM's in Vietianne, the capital city. We started our journey in Laos in Huay Xai with the Gibbon X and had brought lots of money with us to hopefully get us through til Vietianne. Again, we had to take out enough money in Vietianne to get us through the 4,000 islands. We ran out of Kip and had to start exchanging our Baht and travelers checks which luckily they were able to do for us down there. Otherwise, Don Det wouldn't have been the paradise we found! Waking up in our bungalow on the Mekong every morning was truly heaven. I read 2 books while there, as well as played countless games of spades with our friends Brad and Auri.
I think one of the most special aspects to traveling through Laos for me were all the people we met and traveled with for extended periods of time. We had our Gibbon crew for a bit, then just Brad, then a new crew we met on the way to the islands and then Brad again. It really changed the way Chris and I had been traveling before. Thailand was pretty much just us - we met tons of people who we continued to run into throughout our journey, but none we actually spent time with for days and days. We knew the next part of our trip we'd be going solo again, so we really savored what we had when we were down there in paradise. Just a bunch of friends playing cards, riding bikes, laying in hammocks, watching sunsets, enjoying meals together. It really doesn't get better then that. But this trip was not just about lying in a hammock. We were here to soak up the culture and really experience this part of the world. So while it was a difficult move, we knew we had to do it.
So now, here we are in Siem Reap, a town full of landmine victims, homelessness and street kids all begging for something from you. The kids I just can't resist. I'm not sure the best way to deal with them, but they all speak English and just love to show you what they know. They ask where you are from, then promptly tell you the capital. They all know every capital of every state in the US and country in the world. They can count in like 10 languages and really all have the same schtick. And this goes for 4 yr olds all the way up to about 12 yr olds. They hound you at all the temples to buy their postcards, flutes, toys and they walk around the town of Siam Reap all dirty and holding babies littler then them. Its heartbreaking and so difficult to chat them up and not give them money. But they all know this and that's what makes it a little easier to say no. Which we do about 1,000 times a day. They just don't take no for an answer and just continue to hound you and they are relentless. I did buy postcards the first night, thinking wow, this kid is brilliant! Little did I know that they all have been brainwashed somewhere to charm the pants off of the tourists. Its insane. The adults are not much better. They all scream at you to buy their water, scarves, tshirts, food at their stall, you name it. The tuk tuk drivers are by far the worst. We are waiting for the moment that a tuk tuk driver says "need a tuk tuk?" while we are in one!!! We've seriously been surrounded by like 5 people all trying to win us over. It gets tiresome and challenging and is extremely emotional. I can't say we hadn't been warned, but being in the middle of it is just plain difficult. Oh, and another thing that's crazy is the town of Siam Reap is full of 5 star extravagant resorts and hotels. Unbelievable!! This is definitely the most touristy of all places we've been. But that's understandable, I mean, look what's here. And photos do not do it justice. We just loved being able to take our time and explore the mazes that are these temples. I think Preah Khan was both of our favorites because it once housed over 1000 teachers and may have been a Buddhist university. It was the coolest one we went to. We brought our tuk tuk driver Mee into that one with us - he hadn't even seen any of the temples before!!! We also took him into Angkor Wat with us. He got lost in there for like an hour - it was so awesome to see how happy he was to have been able to see that.
So today Chris woke up not feeling too well, so I went off with Mee on my own. We took a moto instead since it was only me (and Mee!). It was a fun day, but not the same being without Chris. I bought Mee a t-shirt today - he was so happy! Most people hire a tuk tuk driver to take them around to all the temples for the time that they are here. We bought a 3-day pass so Mee (who picked us up at the bus station and brought us to our guesthouse) has been taking us around. He doesn't have parents (we assume lost them to the Khmer Rouge) and really has absolutely nothing so we have been trying to take good care of him (buying him lunch, water, icecream, etc). But it still very difficult knowing what we have and what he does not. I feel like we just can't do enough. His story is a sad one which only makes it all so much harder.
So tomorrow we are leaving for Phnom Pehn again. We only were there for a day before we took off for Siem Reap. We have loads to see there - The Killing Fields, Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, National Museum. Hopefully we can get it all done in a day. We also are thinking of going to spend some time at an orphanage. The problem is that our Vietnam visa expires on Nov 3 so we'd like to get there before then and get an extension. We got our visa way back when thought we'd already have been in Vietnam by now!!! So there we plan to continue our path of following the Mekong and going to Phou Quoc island and then the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we'll have time to go up north a bit before we have to head back to Bangkok. But I can't think about that yet. And so the journey continues...Stay tuned!
Just to backtrack a bit, the last part of our journey through Laos was just heaven. I loved it so much down in the islands that when leaving Don Det, I cried when the boat sailed away! I knew what we had ahead of us entering a new country. Cambodia has been through hell and back and it shows everywhere. The countryside is absolutely beautiful and the cities are charming, but its the people that break your heart.
The trip from Laos to finally arrive in Phnom Penh, Cambodia consisted of 2 boat rides and at least 4-5 minivan changes and stops which in total took 15 hours. We were warned that getting your visa at the border, they try to get more money out of you, (this country is filled with corruption everywhere), but we stuck to our guns and paid exactly what we were told - $20 (plus $1 to pay for the paper?). So when they asked us for more, we said we had no more money. They let us go. It really wasn't a lie (except for that $1000 Baht we had stashed away), we seriously used up almost every cent while we were in Laos. Laos only has ATM's in Vietianne, the capital city. We started our journey in Laos in Huay Xai with the Gibbon X and had brought lots of money with us to hopefully get us through til Vietianne. Again, we had to take out enough money in Vietianne to get us through the 4,000 islands. We ran out of Kip and had to start exchanging our Baht and travelers checks which luckily they were able to do for us down there. Otherwise, Don Det wouldn't have been the paradise we found! Waking up in our bungalow on the Mekong every morning was truly heaven. I read 2 books while there, as well as played countless games of spades with our friends Brad and Auri.
I think one of the most special aspects to traveling through Laos for me were all the people we met and traveled with for extended periods of time. We had our Gibbon crew for a bit, then just Brad, then a new crew we met on the way to the islands and then Brad again. It really changed the way Chris and I had been traveling before. Thailand was pretty much just us - we met tons of people who we continued to run into throughout our journey, but none we actually spent time with for days and days. We knew the next part of our trip we'd be going solo again, so we really savored what we had when we were down there in paradise. Just a bunch of friends playing cards, riding bikes, laying in hammocks, watching sunsets, enjoying meals together. It really doesn't get better then that. But this trip was not just about lying in a hammock. We were here to soak up the culture and really experience this part of the world. So while it was a difficult move, we knew we had to do it.
So now, here we are in Siem Reap, a town full of landmine victims, homelessness and street kids all begging for something from you. The kids I just can't resist. I'm not sure the best way to deal with them, but they all speak English and just love to show you what they know. They ask where you are from, then promptly tell you the capital. They all know every capital of every state in the US and country in the world. They can count in like 10 languages and really all have the same schtick. And this goes for 4 yr olds all the way up to about 12 yr olds. They hound you at all the temples to buy their postcards, flutes, toys and they walk around the town of Siam Reap all dirty and holding babies littler then them. Its heartbreaking and so difficult to chat them up and not give them money. But they all know this and that's what makes it a little easier to say no. Which we do about 1,000 times a day. They just don't take no for an answer and just continue to hound you and they are relentless. I did buy postcards the first night, thinking wow, this kid is brilliant! Little did I know that they all have been brainwashed somewhere to charm the pants off of the tourists. Its insane. The adults are not much better. They all scream at you to buy their water, scarves, tshirts, food at their stall, you name it. The tuk tuk drivers are by far the worst. We are waiting for the moment that a tuk tuk driver says "need a tuk tuk?" while we are in one!!! We've seriously been surrounded by like 5 people all trying to win us over. It gets tiresome and challenging and is extremely emotional. I can't say we hadn't been warned, but being in the middle of it is just plain difficult. Oh, and another thing that's crazy is the town of Siam Reap is full of 5 star extravagant resorts and hotels. Unbelievable!! This is definitely the most touristy of all places we've been. But that's understandable, I mean, look what's here. And photos do not do it justice. We just loved being able to take our time and explore the mazes that are these temples. I think Preah Khan was both of our favorites because it once housed over 1000 teachers and may have been a Buddhist university. It was the coolest one we went to. We brought our tuk tuk driver Mee into that one with us - he hadn't even seen any of the temples before!!! We also took him into Angkor Wat with us. He got lost in there for like an hour - it was so awesome to see how happy he was to have been able to see that.
So today Chris woke up not feeling too well, so I went off with Mee on my own. We took a moto instead since it was only me (and Mee!). It was a fun day, but not the same being without Chris. I bought Mee a t-shirt today - he was so happy! Most people hire a tuk tuk driver to take them around to all the temples for the time that they are here. We bought a 3-day pass so Mee (who picked us up at the bus station and brought us to our guesthouse) has been taking us around. He doesn't have parents (we assume lost them to the Khmer Rouge) and really has absolutely nothing so we have been trying to take good care of him (buying him lunch, water, icecream, etc). But it still very difficult knowing what we have and what he does not. I feel like we just can't do enough. His story is a sad one which only makes it all so much harder.
So tomorrow we are leaving for Phnom Pehn again. We only were there for a day before we took off for Siem Reap. We have loads to see there - The Killing Fields, Royal Palace & Silver Pagoda, National Museum. Hopefully we can get it all done in a day. We also are thinking of going to spend some time at an orphanage. The problem is that our Vietnam visa expires on Nov 3 so we'd like to get there before then and get an extension. We got our visa way back when thought we'd already have been in Vietnam by now!!! So there we plan to continue our path of following the Mekong and going to Phou Quoc island and then the Mekong Delta. Hopefully we'll have time to go up north a bit before we have to head back to Bangkok. But I can't think about that yet. And so the journey continues...Stay tuned!
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