Battambang
Our journey took us to Battambang next. Where we stayed at the Emerald Hotel, just 5 minutes walk from the town and main street. The hotel offered a free pick up from the bus station which was fantastic. Our poor driver had waited 2 hours for our bus to arrive though, poor guy. His name was Sam and he was to be our kind of tour guide whilst in Battambang. On our first morning we shared a bowl of muesli and some toast at the hotel's restaurant and discovered the 'Battambang Traveller' newsletter. A cute little publication and a great touch, informing visitors of local activities, restaurants, cafes and events. It even included a section in the back with key Khemer phrases! Or Koon! (Thank you!)
We had a good feeling from this town already and the fun was yet to begin. Sam picked us up in his tuk tuk, and we met up with our new friend Melissa, who we met the previous night on the bus and we all set off to get the Bamboo Train! A quirky, if not a little dangerous set up - they have created bamboo platforms which sit on two sets of bearings/wheels - n ot sure what they're called but its basic and it fits onto the train track - so simply that when another bamboo train or better yet, a REAL train comes along, they lift the platform and two sets of wheels off the track in a matter of seconds to let it pass. It was $5 each, bumpy but fun - a definite must do!
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| Bamboo Train, Battambang |
Then strolled around the town, enjoyed a spot of street food and a tasty coffee before heading to the circus! Phare Ponleu Selpak as it is called, is a school which teaches all ages, performing arts and circus performance! So it was a fantastic opportunity to be able to go to the school and see for ourselves the great things they are doing. It was a steeper price than expected, $14 each, but well worth it, especially when they are offering free education and therefore opportunity, to hundreds of children every year.
Siem Reap
Our last stop in Cambodia was the energetic town of Siem Reap. Many flock there purely for the ancient temples and the chance to become a 'tomb raider' for a day, but I had a great feeling from this busy town from the moment we arrived. Full of tourists and imploring tuk tuk drivers, yes and yes, but it just felt different. There was a fantastic buzz and atmosphere.
The 'Old Market' street, 'Pub Street' and the 'Night Market' are all created for the tourist of course but they've done them well, with plenty of choice whether fancy a 'trendy' cafe with a proper coffee, cakes, a cheap bite or a indulgent dinner, there's something for everyone, all surrounded with market stalls and a sprinkle of locals on top for good measure.
There are lots of options for your visit to the great Angkor Wat; firstly of which circuit you want to do, the smaller is the most popular and the second Grand Circuit, you can buy single day and multi day entry tickets, and then there are the tours. The 'cheap' option, and we're talking $13 each for transport and a tour guide for a day, and then there are the pricier options like $90 for a tour guide all day. We opted for the first, cheaper option, all too well knowing that with the $3 price tag, that our guide may not be the 'most qualified' or fluent in English.
The result? We were right to an extent; Sophip was a perfectly nice man, it definitely sounded like he knew what he was talking about, except we didn't fully understand him and he didn't always understand our questions, so not the greatest tour I've ever done, but certainly value for money. On top of the tour price you pay for your day ($20 each day) or multi-day ($40 x 3 days) ticket. We decided to go for a 3 day pass because we knew we definitely wanted to return for at least another day and do sunrise at Angkor Wat - the biggest and most famous temple of them all and at least then we'd have our ticket ready for that alarming 5am start.
So our first day at Angkor Wat had been busy, we hadn't fully understood the tour but we were up for going back and seeing more of this amazing Wonder of the World!
We had a rest the next day, actually we indulged but as cheaply as possible. We got a tuk tuk to the Nivatu Dreams Resort just on the edge of town. Here you can pay to use the 4/5 star hotel on a budget. They charge all day guests $8 to use the pool, but you can use this as credit towards either a spa treatment, food or to pay for a yoga class. We did the yoga, which was a lovely little touch to the day. We chilled beside their beautiful pools, had a bite to eat in their bar/restaurant (sharing a mezze plate and enjoying 2 juices for a more wallet friendly/healthy lunch) and enjoyed a day of being on 'holiday' rather than travellers. It was bliss!
The following day we set the alarm for 3.50am, which was physically painful to do, and we readied our heads to get up at this utterly unreasonable time that we had arranged with a smiley tuk tuk driver the night before. Later we did learn that the only reason he'd said so early for a sunrise that would only appear at 6am, was a lack of communication as he'd thought we had no entry tickets. Doh! Oh well, we got there nice and early, grabbed a coffee from one of the many vendors and took our place at the 'pond' in front of the great Angkor Wat. The crowds kept arriving, squeezing, taking their places, and before we knew it we were surrounded by tripods, go pro sticks over-head and people were even stood in the water with desperation to get 'the shot' of this intriguing ancient place.
Ok, so sunrise eventually arrived at 5.45 and as beautiful as it was, the romance had been a little lost in the crowds and due to the shocking loss of people's manners. I mean people literally threw the rule book about personal space out of the window - if you have a camera, you CAN fight your way to the front, even if that means wriggling inbetween our shoulders whilst muttering meanlingless apologies. Quite hilarious at 6am! Anyway, sunrise was in fact lovely and what worked best is that we were now there at a reasonable time and this meant that by doing the slightly less popular circuit we didn't have to share the temples with hundreds. Instead, the first few temples were delightfully quiet.
The morning light was truly magical - dappled and warm seeping through the ancient walls and exposing powerful roots claiming their temple; whilst birds sang and the jungle awoke, it was truly mystical and just how you would have wanted to experience these Wonders, and with just a handful of people. Despite these not being the biggest and most famous of the temples, these were my absolute favourite - I felt that these smaller, temples leading you through their hundreds of doorways seemed less disturbed, more peaceful and therefore more magical. An absolute MUST DO!
On our last day in Siem Reap Tom decided to release his inner-adventurer and head out on a dirt bike day tour to Kulen Mountain. So he headed off for a day of mud, sand and sweat, whereas I opted for a slightly quieter day. I went to a spa! I found Lemongrass Garden on Tripadvisor, it was #2 or #3 of spas in Siem Reap but the prices were reasonable too. So off I went, after a spot of yoga in the hotel room, to find some deep relaxation. My therapist didn't speak much English but she was very sweet and I felt relaxed from the moment I went in. I chose a foot scrub and a full body aromatherapy massage. Both were delightful and just $25 for 1hr 30 minutes of bliss!
I then strolled into the main street and popped into Central Cafe for a bite to eat, choosing a delicious watermelon, mint and cucumber juice and a Mezze Plate with olives, hummus, pita bread and babaganoush. Delish! What an indulgent day!
We left Siem Reap that night on a 'hotel bus' - what seemed a great idea at the time, soon became a long night of travel and discomfort. I would highly reccommend opting for a bus with reclining chairs and not a 'double' bed hotel bus because the beds are rather tiny, there are no toilets and we ended up changing buses anyway at 5:30am in Pnom Penh. So next time we will opt for the more comfortable individual reclining seated bus and stay well clear of these so called 'luxury hotel buses'.
So that was Cambodia, in a long rather detailed nutshell. I liked our time there very much although I never felt that pull or pang to stay. It was not a country that captured my heart and actually found myself forever thinking of the next place to visit. I had issues with having a disability in this country, with staring and pointing too come to think of it, so I certainly have fond memories, but I look forward to discovering Vietnam and continuing the travels of this big, challenging and sometimes confronting oyster of mine.
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