Wow, what to say? This place is just unbelievable, somehow unreal. Why? Just a few keywords:
- Giant temples hundreds of years old that must have required unbelievable efforts to build
- Very rich and very poor right next to each other – just the (dust) street in between
Siem Reap somehow is a striking place. I don’t know how you felt about it Roman and Doris and also Christian and Lupo. I was first quite shocked with those two worlds coexisting next to each other. So how to behave in such a situation, what to do as a „rich Barang“ from abroad (although I wouldn’t count myself as rich in our terms)? Seeing all this puts things in a different perspective.
As for the temples themselves: If I come back I take more time for them. Not only to take really good pictures, but also to see all of them and have a much better explanation. There is a reason, why they sell 3- and 7-day-passes here.
Travelling to Siem Reap
The flight from Chiang Mai via Bangkok to Siem Reap was quite OK. In fact, it was more than that. In Bangkok, the ground staff did really make an effort to get me on my next plane, like taking me to a transfer bus that was set en route just for me, picking me up at the check-in in the next terminal, nearly bringing me right to my gate. I guess that is as close to VIP-Service as it gets in economy class.
Having arrived in Siem Reap, border control was like what I already saw somewhere else. First you pay 20.- USD for a Visa (2 people working there), then your passport is passed on, some meters down the queue you get it back with the Visa. Then it’s on to border control, also very modern with Webcams, taking your picture.
After that you are officially in Cambodia, first steps to the bank, changing traveller checks for money – the going currency here is USD. Then you get to the booth where they arrange for the transport into town. „Are you alone?“ – „Yes“ – „You can have a taxi, that is 5 USD, but you can also go on Moto, that is 1 USD“. I took the moto, and my driver, who spoke some english, just took my big backpack between his legs, me on the rear set, my second backpack on my back and off we went.
Traffic signs or traffic lights are at best a suggestion and still you feel perfectly safe with your driver – amazing! Driving yourself here would be an impossible thing I guess.
Of course the driver didn’t take me to the guesthouse I wanted – during the drive we were talking so much that he „forgot“ and then it would have been quite a way back to my first priority. Anyway, the hotel he recommended (I guess it belonged to some friends of him) was OK, much closer to downtown, although I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody.
Cambodia Landmine Museum and Relief Center
And then I started to see the town and Angkor Wat. First afternoon only Aki Ra’s Landmine Museum. Not much more than a few sheds with victims living there, being personal testimonial of the cruel effects mines have. As they said there: 5 USD to buy one, 500 to get rid of it again. Shocking and striking, also if you read about Aki Ra’s personal history. I bought a DVD, so whoever is interested in this is welcome to have a video night with me after being back.
Temple days
Next day I saw the three major temples (including Angkor Wat), together with a tour guide I was recommend by someone I met in Chiang Mai. Best decision I could do. Without the guide and his moto, I would have seen and understood much less. It was just a great day out, and even in the evening, when we agreed to have dinner at some place with Apsara dance and then he finally took me to a place, where the locals hang out, away from the tourists.
The next day I was to spent with my first driver (the one who took me from the airport). It seems he had a drink (or two) too many the night before, because he sent a replacement to take me around. Although that guy also talked some english, it was more or less just a driver taking me around, but giving not much of a further explanation. Forgive me not going more into details, it’s just to much to describe everything here. But have my personal conclusio:
- Take at least three days of time for this place
- Take a good guide to show you around – it’s well worth
Culture shock
So what about the difference between rich and poor? Imagine all the luxury hotels you know from TV (and maybe personal experience) being here at this place. Imagine dust roads with landmine victims, horrendeous traffic, kind of run-down places just across the hotel on the other side of the street.
Or imagine „Pub Street“: One bar or restaurant next to the other. All would easily go as absolute hip and in places in every single major town of the world. Here you find them all in one street. And then, right at the backside of the very same buildings, it’s where the locals have their places: markets and food stalls at a fraction of the price, of course by far not that comfortable or luxurious – just plastic seats, at best.
I didn’t find it easy to react in the appropriate way here. What do you do, if a nine or ten year old kid comes up to you and want to sell you some postcards for 1 USD? (Believe me, there is a lot of those kids). What do you do, if you buy a bottle of water and they ask for 2000 riel (50 cent) and you know the going price actually is only 500, maybe 1000 at best? I don’t know – I didn’t feel good with paying 2000 because I had the feeling of being ripped off as a tourist. But I also didn’t feel well negotiating a price for a bottle of water, because in our currency the difference is really neglectable.