Siem Reap, Cambodia- Red Mud and Grey Skies

Cambodia is one of the more difficult countries to travel, physically and psychologically... especially during the rainy season. Border crossings are especially stressful, and seem to draw the most dishonest and cheeky part of the populous who's main goal is to extract as much from the unwary traveler as possible. Prices for transport, money exchange rates, and other services, are rarely posted. And when they are, hardly anything turns out to be as advertised. In the end, everything is negotiable, and that's stressful when one doesn't know the lay of the land.

These pictures show a slice of Cambodia road travel... it seems that a truck full of bricks got stuck in the mud at the river's bridge. This resulted in about a 3 hour delay, nonsensical driving tactics that caused gridlock, and and a very interesting and varied reaction. Military police and bulldozers were called out, many of the locals bailed on foot with their wildly assorted packages, the people living nearby sold snacks and cold drinks, children fished and played in the river, locals and tourists stared at each other (mostly in good humor and a common bond), and eventually we were all on our way again.


It took several days traveling overland on busses, barges, minivans, tuk tuks, cabs, and electric skytrains, to reach the Siem Reap... land of the famous Angkor Wat temples. I went from Bangkok > Trat, Thailand > Phenom Penn, Cambodia > Siem Reap. I took a couple of days to rest up in Phenom Penn, and revelled in seeing absolutely nothing but lilly pads and one expensive if incredible Kmer restaurant.

I arrived in Siem Reap just in time for a the afternoon downpour. This after 10 hours on the "8 hr" bus, that had to take detours and stop for traffic jams because of bad roads and the aforementioned road repair following a brick laden truck getting stuck in the sticky red. It's seems the "improved" roads are still a problem.

Hell broke loose as soon as I stepped off the bus onto Siem Reap's downtown. Lovina on steroids is how the transport drivers and accommodation hawkers struck me. They were incredibly aggressive, and wouldn't stop trying to talk me out of my plans when repeatedly I made it clear that I already had an accommodation in mind and would be getting a free ride. I'd lost track of the girls that I'd ridden the bus down with. I finally lost my cool and yelled at them. They were rather shocked, and temporarily backed off. Some were even apologetic when I explained how stressful it was to have all of them screaming at me at once. Unfortunately, a couple of them insulted me and acted like I was the bad guy when I took the free transpo to my hotel of choice and refused to go to the hotel that some guy with a signboard (with my name mispelled on it) said I had a reservation at. Apparently, a worker at Phnom Penn's Grand View Hotel, took it upon himself to "arrange a reservation" after he gave me a business card to his family's hotel in Siem Reap. I DID say I'd take a look, but talk about high pressure tactics!

Anyway, the Red Piano Hotel, which came highly recommended by a Dutch guy that lives in Phnom Penn and does tours worldwide, was closed for renovations. It took 3 more soggy visits during a downpour to find an available and decent accommodation.

Unfortunately, the weather and technology gods seem to have conspired to joke at my expense!

I'm very disappointed by the rain and clouds during the mornings and sunset, since this is exactly the only time when dramatic lighting and shadows are photo worthy at the nearby Angkor Wat temples. At least the temps in the shade are cool in Siem Reap.

Disaster has befallen my plans, as my CD/DVD burner stopped working. It will be much more of a hassle and expensive to archive my photos. This all just before I embark on the my most photo-intensive field trips thus far (visits to Angkor Wat)!

Ah well... sometimes it's good to be thrown off course for awhile. It's then that one has an opportunity to notice special and wonderful things one didn't realize existed. For example, less temple time means I had more time to wander and observe eveyday life in Cambodia. Some moments were magical... like following the sound of Balinese style music and discovering an inspiring flag raising large Buddhist ceremony at the source.

Despite my complaining, I'm very happy I'm here. It all feels surreal, and I'll be glad to catch up on my sleep and give my bod a break from the constant travel!