The Wonders of Siem Reap, Cambodia :-)

[ by Stian ]

Siem Reap is said to be a fantastic place, though since we did not have a very good start to begin with, entering Cambodia, it was all bound to go upwards from here on. Positive thinking is the way to go they say, although I at a snap had been turned into a paranoid Norwegian who'd become distrustful of everyone around him, haha. Thankfully I was to be proven that I didn't need to be skeptical, as long as one is really cautious about ones surroundings:)

Superslow Morning Thereafter

The next morning I was rested and ready for new impressions, though the same couldn't be said for the girls and Kjetil, who went out drinking the evening before. As expected we therefore did not get to do very much the first day, since the girls were really hung over. We did not complain though, cause in the morning we got to change room to the original Jasmin Family Hostel, so the whole first part of the day we got to spend relaxing and by the pool, which was very very nice, cause it was a very very hot day!!!! During breakfast I got into chat with two other girls that were leaving Siem Reap for Bangkok. They could assure me that not all Cambodians were scammers, so I had nothing to worry about as long as I took precautions;)

Jasmin Family Hostel

Jasmin Family Hostel is a really nice hostel. The only let down is the location which is in a shabby street with almost nothing to see or to do. Even restaurants were hard to find. I, Kenneth and Kjetil shared room which was OK, while the girls shared their own room. The staff at the hostel seemed very friendly, though we had several miscommunications during our stay – mostly related to paying the bills, haha. At least the food from the hostel restaurant was very very good. We ended up eating a lot of chicken burgers while here at least. I even bought two at a time, since I preferred to stay away from the French fries;) It wasn't only the burgers that tasted really good. I did try a chicken and ginger course as well which was very very very delicious. I have just really fallen in love with ginger while here in Asia – it really elevates any meal to unexpected tasteful heights;)

Flooded Forest / Floating Village – Tour

Even though it was very nice to relax we did choose to try to get to do something even this day. Sissel had found a brochure at the reception and had a chat with the staff at the hostel as well, and we ended up booking a tour for the afternoon to the «flooded forest» and the Kampong Phluk village. The mangrove forest by the lake is a stunning sight when flooded, but we were soon to discover it was not like we expected it to be.

We were picked up at our hotel by a couple of Tuk Tuk's and taken to the boats which then would take us past the village and to the Tonlé Sap – The Great Lake in Cambodia, which is the largest fresh water lake in South-East Asia. The Tuk Tuk ride was OK, but dry season of course causes a lot of road dust and it can make it very uncomfortable to breathe. Luckily I had purchased a gag for protection, which most people actually do wear here in South East Asia;) When we finally arrived at the boats we were instructed to enter one of the boats that were cramped in between many other boats. Usually this would not have been a problem if there hadn't been for the lack of water in the river. During the dry season the river dries out. There were literally barely water in the river, so our boat struggled to get out, and it seemed like the propeller got stuck in the shallow mud at times as well. After some maneuvering we did get going though.

Kampong Phluk

The Kampong Phluk is a «floating» village and really is an astonishing sight to be honest. The name of the village translates to «harbor of the Tusks». All the houses are supported by 10 meter tall poles. At first this looks a bit strange, but there is a reason why this area is referred to as the flooded forest village. Most of the year the Tonlé Sap is only about 1 meter, though during monsoon-season the level of the water rises immensely, up to as much as 8 meters. The lake itself expands five times it's size surface-wise during the monsoon – from around 2 700 square km to 15 000 square km. In other words, this village really does turn into a floating village, though we did not get to experience this at this time. We still got a lot of photos taken and I think that the lack of water gave us the option of having many many interesting photos taken which we would not have been able to catch if the area had been flooded, so we were contempt. We even passed a boat with a 6 year old boy driving it and holding a cigarette, obviously smoking, and he gave us a very confident nod to greet us. This whole picture was so wrong in our eyes, but we have to keep reminding us that we are in a different world and that things work very differently here. Though for all we know the boy might have been 16 – it really really is hard to tell the age of people in this part of the world ;)

Approximately 1.2 million people living in the greater Tonlé Sap make their living by fishing on the local waters. Cambodia produces about 400,000 tonnes of freshwater fish per year, the majority of which comes from Tonlé Sap. These fisheries account for 16 percent of national GDP, making the fish industry not only essential to the diet of local populations but to the Cambodian economy as a whole.

The ride through the very curvy and shallow river to the Tonlé Sap was a bit challenging for our driver at times, but we got through. He then took us to a floating restaurant located in the lake where we got off. We believed that we were to have lunch here so we sat down and ordered from the menu, but then realized that we were not supposed to eat at all – only to drop by, well well. We had already ordered and felt sorry for the driver who now had to wait for us, so we decided to treat him with dinner as well to make up for our guilt. We also requested to get the food in doggy bags so that we could eat on the way back and therefore not take up even more of the drivers time, especially since it was about to become dark as well. So we had to drive the same way back to get to our Tuk Tuk's who were waiting for us. At one point our boat DID get stuck and the driver had to jump into the riverside and tried to release the boat by force. He didn't even ask for help, but he did not have to. So both I and Kjetil helped trying to get the boat released by pushing an oar towards the riverside, and in the end we finally did get the boat on the right course again:)

Especially the girls felt guilty for us having let both the boat driver and the Tuk Tuk drivers wait for us – so we agreed to tip them a bit extra. We of course ended up tipping a lot, and probably way over the normal level. So we were still spending way to much money than what we were supposed to. Well well... no chance of saving any money yet, not when traveling with «fresh» travelers who have not adapted to the standard of costs at least;) haha.

Angkor Wat

The following day we decided to get up early to catch the sunrise at the magnificent Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by a king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

«Justin Bieber»

The sunrise at the temple complex was very very nice. Of course we were not the only ones who had thought of this idea since the place was cropped with tourists, and of course of locals trying to do their business selling us stuff and getting us to eat breakfast at their stand. We were almost immediately approached by a kid, who called himself Justin Bieber, who really was on us to have breakfast at his stand. So we promised him that we would look for it after sunrise. He regularly came over to us reminding us the number of his stand, so that we would not forget. He actually managed to charm us so much that we decided that we definitely would go to have breakfast at «his». Though he were not the only celebrity we met at this place. We were also approached by Rambo, and probably some others that I don't remember right now. When at the breakfast stand Justin Bieber was very happy to see us. We had our breakfast which was good, and Justin even sat down next to us for a chat. It turned out that he was 10 years old, but wow his English skills were good, and he was extremely quick minded, having a quick response for everything we asked about. Like when I asked him where he knew English from he without hesitating replied «school of tourism». He also asked me if I had a girlfriend, and when I said no, he immediately told me that he could fix me one, EASILY. He is probably one of the cutest and most confident 10 year olds I have ever met, so I bet he could probably have fixed me 10 girlfriends easily for sure.

Marion was approached by a very very very cute girl, also 10 of age, which she totally fell in love with. Of course she was selling postcards and both I and Marion got some. The girl, as well, stuck by us while we were eating. She even gave Marion a present, a hair scrunchy, stating that she liked sharing with her friends... aaaaawwww – sweetest gesture ever. Though she did admit afterwards that she had whole bags of hair scrunchies so she probably have MANY friends to share with to get her postcards sold, haha. She eventually got another boy to come to our table as well, who was 7 years old. He seemed way less confident and we suspect that he had just gotten into this souvenir business. The girl tried to explain to him how to approach people but he was so shy and she just shook her head in despair. She actually seemed to be his boss in a way, haha. Wow, an image you would never get to see in Norway. So cute, and so wrong in every way to be honest.

Exploring the temple site was very interesting. The temples are indeed extremely beautiful. There has been major preservations of the site for the last 3 decades and the final restoration work is to be completed in 2013. Especially Kjetil seemed to have an out of his body spiritual experience while here. I guess places like this might have this kind of effect on some people. As of 2012 it was decided that the Angkor Wat site in Cambodia and the Borobudur site in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, will be sister sites – and we have gotten to see both during our trip:-) Wiiii!!!!

Ta Prohm Temple

Our next stop for the day was Ta Prohm Temple, more known as the Tomb Raider Temple for a lot of people today since it was used as a location for the first Tomb Raider movie, haha. Ta Prohm is the modern name of the temple, it was originally called Rajavihara. The temple is built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The location of this temple is approximately one kilometer east of Angkor Thom.. It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.As well as Angkor Wat, UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in the Angkor region in Cambodia.

Because of the decision of keeping this temple site pretty much in the same condition as when found, this temple is by far the most interesting temple I have ever visited. The way it has partly emerged with the surrounding jungle is amazing. Almost every corner of it makes a great photo opportunity so of course we had many many photos taken :)

The Bayon Temple

The last stop of the day was at the Bayon Temple, and the Elephant Terrace. We did not spend very long time here since the girls and Kenneth were pretty much fed up with temples at this point. I guess the heat had a little to do with it as well, cause it was becoming an extremely hot day at this point.

The Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor, built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the center of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences.

The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. The temple is described as "the most striking expression of the baroque style" of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat. Because of this The Bayon is the last temple to complete the top 3 of must visit temples in the Angkor region. Though this temple was not as interesting as the others since, well as stated already – the same motif is repeating itself all over the temple. The girls and Kenneth didn't even care to enter the upper gallery of the temple, but I and Kjetil did some exploring on our own, though we did not spend much time here.

The Terrace of the Elephants

We then headed towards the place were we had agreed to meet our designated Tuk Tuk drivers for the day. On our way we passed the Terrace of the Elephants. The Terrace of the Elephants is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom. The 350 m-long terrace was used by Angkor's king Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army. It was also used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall. It was attached to the palace of Phimeanakas, of which only a few ruins remain. Most of the original structure was made of organic material and has long since disappeared. Most of what remains are the foundation platforms of the complex. The terrace is named for the carvings of elephants on its eastern face. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life size Garuda and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of elephants complete with their Khmer mahouts.

Amazone Angkor Restaurant.

Back at the hostel we decided relax for a while before heading for dinner later in the evening. This night we chose to go to Amazone Angkor Restaurant which offered a HUGE buffet as well as traditional Cambodian entertainment during the meal. Compared to the experience we had at the Karaweik in Yangon, Myanmar, this was not anything to brag about. The hall was cropped with tourists and everybody was speaking loudly so we did not get to enjoy much of the entertainment, which was not that entertaining either really. The food was great though.

Enni & Vesa from Finland:)

The next day we did not do anything at all really. We were just slacking at the hotel most of the day. In the evening I got in touch with a Finnish couple, Enni and Vesa, who're traveling around for eight months or something. I joined them for exploring the night market in Siem Reap city center. The different night markets were really nice, but I preferred the one named Angkor Night Market though I did not buy anything, haha. I was very strict on saving money just after having been scammed so I didn't feel like spending anything. Enni and Vesa were really nice and it was really interesting hearing about their travels. They actually managed to have a daily budget of ONLY 30 US dollars, so they were shocked when I told them that I in average have not been able to keep my budget under 100 US dollars a day during my trip so far... but then again – Australia and New Zealand did take it's share of money, and traveling as extensively as we do is very expensive, even in Asia. For them it was Myanmar that became the most expensive part of their tour.

Some few more words about Siem Reap

I only got to see Siem Reap city center once, at night – and it seemed like a very nice place, with many cafés, pubs and restaurants. What makes Siem Reap special is of course the Angkor Wat temple complex and all the other surrounding temples. We ended up staying an extra day as we didn't feel like rushing, which was very nice. The people at the hostel seemed very friendly and helpful, but their English was not very good at times. We eventually learned that the better their English is - the more likely it is they are trying to do a scam on you; well besides «Justin Bieber» that is;) I can definitely recommend people to go to Siem Reap, as long as they are very cautious about the scammers.

PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Our Way to "Flooded forest + Village"