Siem Reap, Cambodia

Last weekend we went to Siem Reap, in the north of Cambodia. Siem Reap is small charming gateway town to the world famous UNESCO World Heritage sites which comprises a mind-boggling 292 ancient temples . There is no way you can see all of these temples and ruins in 2 days, so we had to cram in as much as possible in our short visit.

After an early morning flight that departed at (an excruciating) 6am from Singapore, we arrived in Cambodia at 7:10am and had to endure the longest customs/immigration process ever. You get a visa-upon-arrival at the airport for which you have to stand in line with your papers, passport and $20 US per person. Then your passport is scrutinized by 9 different officials by handing it down a line. Then you have to stand in a line and wait for you name to be called out (Darin's name had to be called 3 times, because we didn't realise the official was calling Darin when he kept yelling "Deh-REAM"). Then you h ave to wait in line to go through the actual customs, where a picture of you is taken with an outdated web camera. What surprised us the most was that all the computers and monitors were Dell. The entire process took more than an hour.

We were then taken to the Bed and Breakfast called Journeys Within, owned and run by a very young couple from California. The rooms were very spacious and comfortable, overlooking a salt-water sparkling pool. We organized a driver and a guide through the B&B and they were waiting for us when we arrived. Our guide, named "Kong", could speak english quite well but had a very hard-to-understand accent and at times I had no idea what he was saying, but just smiled and nodded. He must have thought we were very stupid. He talked a lot!

The temples are awe-inspiring - all of them are exquisite in their own right - some have very detailed carvings, some are so vast in size (Angkor Wat), and one (Ta Prohm) is being swallowed (literally) by the jungle with gigantic banyan trees growing over the ruins. This is also where the film Tomb Raider was shot. Other highlights included a ride on elephants around Angkor Thom, eating at a Khmer restaurant where they served delicious food at incredible prices ($3USD for an entire meal of green curry, rice and soup) and $2USD for a large bottle of beer. We also visited the town of Siem Reap which has an old market that sells everything from fabrics, t-shirts to bottles filled with unknowd brown liquids and unrefridgerated eggs. We saw a grisly sight of a woman washing/sloshing dishes around on the ground in a muck bucket filled with brown liquid and lumps of food floating around. They also eat everything from frogs (on virtually every menu), and snakes - amongs other things.

But Cambodia was the country that has touched me the most out of any other country we have travelled to. After many years of war and genocide this country seems to be able to move past their tragic past without ever forgetting it. Given the relatively recent trials and tribulations the country suffered, it is absolutely staggering just how friendly everyone is, even to Westerners.There were many children around the temples trying to sell their wares (usually books or bracelets made from grass) and most of them could on say one sentence in english: "Only wan dollah, meddim". It was heart-wrenching to say no to them. We also saw several landmine victims, some blind and some with lost limbs, making music on home-made instruments. We bought a cd from them, and they were genuinely thankful.

One night, we took a tuk-tuk (an auto rickshaw or cabin motorcycle) to a local restaurant called Madame Butterfly. Owned by an old French guy, this restaurant offered exquisite French/Khmer fusion cuisine that was very reasonable (nowhere in the US, or anywhere else in the world, have I had exquisite French food for a reasonable price). Our tuk-tuk driver (who's name was "Wet") patiently waited for us outside the restaurant to take us back to the hotel. When we arrived at the B&B, I asked him how much, and he said "whatever price you think, madam". I gave him $6 and his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. Apparently, $1 would have been enough (I found out later from the B&B staff). And considering that most of the farm workers in Cambodia earn about $1.25 PER DAY, Wet got his annual bonus that night. I am glad I paid him $6. Because he wetted outside for us. Hehe (sorry, couldn't resist).

Poverty-stricken, delapidated houses, road-side cooking on open fires, dusty dirt roads, people riding on bicycles with their faces covered - these are all sights that reminded me so much of South Africa.

Siem Reap, Cambodia