Vientiane Day 70 27/11/2014

For the next leg of our journey we're heading to Vientaine in Laos.  Getting there by bus looks long and tiring so we opted to fly albeit we had to go via Pakse in Laos.  We left the Rose Apple after breakfast.  We've had lots of 'firsts' so far on our travels and arriving at Siem Reap airport in a tuk tuk will be another to add to the list.  The airport looked very new (in fact it was still being built) and was very quiet.  Air side was like any other airport with shops, restaurants and cafes.  Our plane was a small prop engine and like the airport appeared very new.  The flight to Pakse, north east of Siem Reap takes just over an hour.  It seemed quite strange flying after weeks of buses, trains and boats and we both felt that we were missing out on something by not going overland.  We were the only plane on the tarmac when we arrived.  Despite being in transit we had to go through visa administration and immigration.  It was surprisingly straightforward if somewhat bureaucratic.  There were five desks in total each with their individually assigned task.  Desk one checked our visa application form, stabled our photo to the form and wrote details in a long row in a book.  Desk two issued the visa.  Desk three took the $35 payment.  Desk four checked the visa (we think - not really sure).  Desk five checked and stamped our arrivals card.  We then had to check in for the onward flight to Vientiane and go through departure immigrations (not sure what they did).  By now a few more flights had arrived with passengers waiting from onward flights to Bangkok, Siem Reap and like us Vientiane.  We think we actually got back on the same plane that we came from Siem Reap on, it was certainly the same crew.  Another short flight and we landed in Vientiane.  We'd arranged for a lift with hotel but didn't they hadn't turned up so decided to get a taxi.  It was all a bit confusing as the one we paid for then took two Chinese girls so we had to go back to the desk to work out what was happening and ensure we didn't pay twice.  Another taxi driver then drove us c5km to the hotel, Aroon Residence which is just north of the main drag.  We checked in (the manager was very apologetic for not picking us up and offered to reimburse the taxi fare), sorted travel for Saturday to Vang Vieng and the owner phoned a b&b in Huay Xai in north Laos that we would like to stay at but isn't on any booking sites and we couldn't find an email address for them.  We then wandered into town to see what we should do over next few days here, in Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang.  In need of refreshment we headed to a 3rd floor bar overlooking the Mekong River and across to Thailand, enjoying our first Beer Lao as we watched the sunset.  We had dinner at traditional Laos restaurant, very tasty and fresh if a little spicy, before heading back to the hotel.

Our transport to Pakse

Enjoying our first Beer Lao 

Sunset over the Mekong 

Reflections of Cambodia

• Architecture changes immediately as you cross the border with a proliferation of Buddhist temples lining the road
• The landscape is green and lush (just after the rainy season).  There's lots of stunning flora with a riot of different colours
• Whilst there are lots of bugs, we didn't get bitten too much; air conditioning certainly helps combat the blighters!
• The Mekong River is a massive source of food - starts in China and crosses through Laos and Thailand before reaching Cambodia
• Atrocities of Khmer Rouge are still evident - like Vietnam the people have moved on despite their recent suffering
• Angkor Wat has to be the highlight.  Whilst you come expecting to be amazed even we didn't realise how truly magical and impressive it is.  Up there with Petra and Taj Mahal in that respect
• Don't be put off by Phnom Penh's reputation as a sleazy joint; we were and regretted only staying one night (and therefore only had half a day there)
• The Royal Palace in PP is stunning especially in the late afternoon sunshine
• Battambang was a mix of a frontier town, old colonial town and strong Thai influence.  It is starting to undergo massive reinvestment and suspect, especially when the railway opens next year (to add to the newly opened airport) it may change quite a bit
• It was fascinating to see the different people living by the river from Battenbang to Siem Reap. Whilst some houses were little more than hovels others looked more habitable.  However couldn't help feeling a surge of high water would wash most of the stilt houses away
• The people were so friendly and helpful.  Whilst English was spoken by most of the hotel owners, tuk tuk drivers etc for those that didn't a smile goes a long way and was usually rewarded with a huge smile in return from them
• The children were very cute and the amount of laughter we heard when they were swimming, in the streets and going past schools was really evident.  They don't have a lot but that doesn't stop them enjoying themselves (maybe something kids in the western world have forgotten in these materialist times)
• Everywhere was really cheap (similar prices as Vietnam).  The only exception was Siem Reap but a good quality meal out for 2 was still only c£15 so still very reasonable
• The bus and boat journeys are slow and took us a day each for the three we did as we only averaged c40kph with many stops to deliver and pick up various goods.  However it is a great way to see the country and get a slight glimpse into the day to day lives of the Khmer people

Day 69 26/11/2014

We had planned to go to Phnom Kulen today, a sacred mountain north east of Siem Reap.  After doing a bit more researched and taking account of the cost of the taxi journey (it's too far to go by tuk tuk and there is no local bus) and entrance fees (which don't go to support any restoration or conservation work) we decided against it.  We are on a budget after all which Diane is tasked with managing!  Instead we had a leisurely start to the day and then borrowed bikes from the hotel.  We still had one day left on our pass for Angkor and thought we should make use of it.  It was glorious sunshine as we set off  and although the slight breeze helped to avoid overheating you could feel the intensity of the sun.  The plan was to visit the 9 gates of Angkor Thorm (we'd seen a few over the past two days but not all).  We entered via the South Gate and soon realised that our plan was flawed as there was no road to go west to the Preah Chrung South West Gate and the bikes certainly weren't up for off road.  Clearly the white lines are the map do not represent roads!  Instead we headed north passing Bayon and then west along a rough but accessible track to visit the West Gate, similar to the South but in need of restoration.  We had to retrace our steps from here back to Bayon and then headed north again to the North Gate.  No road east from there so we retraced our steps again to Bayon and headed east but were unable to reach Deads Gate.  By now the sky had started to darken and it wasn't long before the rain came.  We settled under the trees at the roadside which didn't function particularly well as an umbrella.  Simon wondered why he'd taken Diane's advice and left the ponchos at the hotel.  The rain eased off so we headed off again only to get less than 50m before we were in the trees again.  This time we had a tropical downpour and got absolutely drenched!  Feeling slightly deflated we decided to head back to town (plus the bikes weren't great and we'd both got very painful posteriors by now).  We arrived looking a bit bedraggled and feeling slightly out of place still extremely wet - it hadn't rained one drop in Siem Reap!  Despite this is was good to get out and you do see a different perspective from a bicycle.  We had lunch at a local bar and then headed back to our hotel to dry off and enjoy a dip in the pool.  Later we packed ready for our onward journey tomorrow and had dinner at the hotel which has a lovely restaurant setting overlooking the pool with an open plan kitchen area.  Definitely a place we'd recommend and one that is going to be hard to beat.

North Gate of Angkor Thorm

Elephants guarding the gate 

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara 

Before the rain

Back at the Rose Apple still feeling slightly damp 

The view from the restaurant 

And the upper terrace 

Day 68 25/11/2014

We left our hotel at 4.45am and set off to see dawn over Angkor Wat.  Diane was modelling the pants she'd bought the previous day from a street seller for $3 dollars (which was the same price as the Pringle's Simon bought the day before - hoping the pants will last longer!).  Along with the slightly off white colouring of some of our clothes we are starting to acquire the look of 'travellers'!  Angkor Wat is apparently the world's largest religious building, know as the Mt Olympus of the Hindu faith and home of ancient gods.  The national symbol of the Khmer's and a source of fierce national pride.  Unlike other temples in Angkor it has been in virtually continuous use since it was built.  It's surrounded by a moat forming a huge rectangle around the central temple.  It was still pitch black when we arrived and we had to use the light from Simon's iPhone to help find the way (we'd left our head torches back at the hotel).  We weren't alone in our early morning visit but thanks to Polin's speedy driving we got a great position at the lake edge and watched the stunning views as dawn broke.  From here we walked around the outside of the central temple complex which is 800m in length with numerous bas-reliefs, a number of which have been restored.  We then climbed the very steep stairs to the upper level of the central tower which has great views across the surrounding landscape.  Next we went to Phnom Bakheng which was designed to represent a mythical mountain with views across to Angkor Wat and apparently draws the crowds at sunset.  The temple itself is under major reconstruction and access is closed.  We'd taken our breakfast with us and sat at the top eating it and enjoying the peace and tranquility.  Then on to Bayon which has 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara carved amongst 54 towers.  It's a fascinating if not slightly crazy place.   Unfortunately we'd arrive just at the same time as several large groups and the place was heaving with tourists.  Bayon is part of the Angkor Thorm complex of temples which was the great capital of the Khmer empire.  We walked from Bayon a short distance to Bauphon and entered across the walkway before climbing the steep steps to the top level.  From here we passed the Terrace of Elephants, a 350m long structure used as a viewing stand for public ceremonies, and the Terrace of The Leper King, a 7m high platform believed to be topped with a statue of Yama, the god of death.   By now we're seriously starting to flag as a result of the early start and heat of the day.  After a quick chat with Polin we agreed to visit Thommanon, Chau Say Tevoda and To Keo before heading back.  Thommanon is dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu and thanks to restoration efforts is in good condition.  Across the road Chau Say Tevoda is a twin temple and in similar good condition.  To Keo is a stark and plain temple by comparison to others we'd visited.  The central tower is almost 50m high surrounded by fo ur lower towers.  Apparently it was never completed which may explain it's lack of decoration.  By now we we re completely templed out and headed back to Siem Reap for lunch.  We spent the rest of the day chilling out by the pool at our hotel, enjoying a swim in it's cool waters, and starting to plan our trip from North Loas onwards into Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.  In the evening we walked into town and had dinner at a local Italian restaurant before heading back for a night cap and an early night.

Dawn at Angkor Wat    

The outer towers 

View from the upper level

 

Bayon 

One of 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara 

Bauphon

The Terrace of Elephants

Thommanon 

   

Day 67 24/11/2014

We've planned to stay in Siem Reap for 3 days so after a bit of research and help from the staff at the Rose Apple, including a National Geographic documentary of the some of the ongoing restoration, we've roughly planned where we'd like to go.  The complex of temples at Angkor, the eighth wonder of the world, is massive.  Apparently there is no greater concentration of architectural riches anywhere in the world and it's up there with Petra and Macchu Picchu.  We were conscious that we could easily become 'templed out' or simply exhausted if we attempted to see too much each day.  We had originally planned to cycle around the complex but decided that the distances and heat would be too much so we hired our tuk tuk driver, Polin, for the day and set off just after 8am.  The plan for today was to visit some of the smaller temples leaving the 'big hitters' for tomorrow and a trip to Phnom Kulen, a sacred mountian, on Thursday.  After stopping to buy our pass on the road from Siem Reap to Angkor ($40 each for 3 days) we drove through the North Gate of Angkor Thorm.  The gate is flanked by  statues depicting the Churning of the Ocean Milk with 54 demons and 54 gods in a major tug of war and the faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara looming from the tower.  From here we went to visit Preah Khan, one of the largest complexes which is thought to have housed over 1000 teachers and possibly a university.  It's a maze of vaulted corridors, cavings and lichen clad stonework all within an outer wall of 700m by 800m.  Preah Neak Poan was next up.  A Buddhist temple of much smaller scale with a large square pool surrounded by four smaller pools with a circular island in the middle.  It was a very tranquil setting even without the water that once flowed through the pools.  After a short ride we reached Ta Som.  Mostly in a ruinous state it did have a very impressive tree overwhelming the east gate.  From here we went on to Eastern Mebon, a Hindu temple which originally was sited on an islet in the middle of the Eastern Baray reservoir but is now on dry land.  The temple is topped with a quintet of towers and guarded on four corners by carved stone figures of elephants.  Not far from here is Pre Rup, a pyramid shaped temple mountain with three tiers.  The temple is thought of have served as an early royal crematorium.  From here we went to see one of the 'big three', Ta Prohm, a Mahayanna Buddhist temple which has been engulfed by the jungle.  Centuries old trees encase the temple with their roots like webs over the stone work and moss, creeping plants and shrubs everywhere.  It's a mass of towers, courtyards and narrow corridors, a number of which are closed due to the destruction caused by the jungle.  Several scenes of Tomb Raider with Lara Croft, where filmed here and other locations around Angkor.  To finish the day we visited Banteay Kdei, a massive Buddhist monastery apparently never completed and on to Sra Srang, a body of water measuring 800m by 400m reserved for the king and his consorts.  As we headed back to Siem Reap for a late lunch we reflected on what a fascinating place this is.  It's hard to believe there was once a city living here with more than one million residents (at the time London had a population of c50,000).  Being built of stone the temples have survived whilst all other buildings constructed of wood have perished.  Back at the Rose Apple we had a very enjoyable dip in the pool and spent a few hours chilling out before sunset.  In the evening we went to a restaurant recommended by the owner here, The Touich Restaurant Bar.  It's on the outskirts of Siem Reap so we hired Polin to drop us off and pick us up.  We were glad we had as it's down a long unlit road which we don't think we'd have ventured down on our own.  The food was Cambodian and the drinks menu included some rather fine red wine at reasonable prices.  Simon had a huge salted flat fish, Red Snapper, which was delicious.  Diane didn't do so well with her choice of pork with egg plant which was bland with a texture of stewed rhubarb but this didn't spoil a very enjoyable evening.  A great way to end a fantastic day.

North Gate of Angkor Thorm 

Preah Khan 

The security guard took this shot - and charged us $1 for the privilege!  

Ta Som East Gate

The central towers of Preah Khan 

Preah Neak Poan 

Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider) 

The jungle engulfing the temples (didn't spot Lara Croft!)  

The restored walkway 

Top tier at Pre Rup 

Banteay Kdei 

Siem Reap Day 66 23/11/2014

After two long bus journeys we opted to get the boat from Battambang to Siem Reap.  It's a much longer and more expensive journey but, from what we'd read, sounded like a great way to travel and see the countryside around the river, and to be honest we needed a break from buses!  The boat departs at 7am so it was another early start.  Nani gave us a lift to where the boat leaves from and we were provided with a pack up for breakfast and lunch from the Sangkor.  The trip is described in the reviews we'd read as 'an experience'.  It certainly was!  Clearly some people thought they were off for a cruise down the Thames.  This couldn't have been further from the truth.  It's scheduled to take between five and nine hours dependent on the water level.  The start of the journey as we left Battambang is a good reminder that Cambodia is a third world country with shacks, filth and squalor dominating the river bank.  The boat regularly slows to avoid capsizing local fisherman with it's wake and snagging fishing nets.  As we travelled further from Battambang the landscape became more rural.  The river is clearly a major source of food and alongside small fishing boats were some impressive constructions made of bamboo to catch and lift fish from the river.  Although clearly still a very poor area, poverty in rural areas some how looks less extreme than in towns and cities.  After a couple of hours we hit sand banks and headed left to squeeze down a narrow waterway with tree branches bashing into the boat and the motor catching on the river bottom.  Everyone moved to sit in the middle to avoid being whipped.  We then reached clearer water and a large floating village with a stop for refreshments and delivery of more goods that the boat was carrying.  We headed off down a wide clear river with fish jumping and lots of bird life.  Every now and again a small boat would pull up alongside to allow one of the local passengers to disembark or off load more goods (and money on one occasion - interestingly at the floating police station).  After c6.5 hours we reached lake Tonle Bati and after crossing sailed down another waterway to reach the outskirts of Siem Reap.  All in all the journey took 7.5 (bum numbing) hours.  As soon as we moored the boat was invaded by tuk tuk drivers.  Whilst they weren't aggressive by any means it was slightly off putting and made it very difficult to  disembark.  Our hotel, the Rose Apple, had arranged for a tuk tuk driver to collect us and we were pleased to see him with a sign with Simon's name on.  The mooring is about 11km out of town and there is no local bus service so it's moped, tuk tuk or taxi.   We had a very welcome greeting at the Rose Apple with cold towels and refreshing lemon juice, despite a rather frustratating American chap who kept interrupting Dara who was telling us about the hotel, the town and importantly Angkor, the reason why we've come here.  After a few days on the go we decided to chill out and eat at the hotel in the evening giving us time to plan what we wanted to do over the next few days.

 

Our boat 

Life along the River Sangkor 

 

Rural life along the river banks 

Impressive fishing contraptions 

 Squeezing through narrow waterways 

Entering the floating village 

Local police station

Lake Tonle Bati 

Loading up with goods for delivery

Battambang Day 65 22/11/14

Another early start, quick breakfast and then on the bus to travel to Battambang.  It was full of locals again plus there were two other Westerners as well.  The 5.5 hour journey turned into 7 mainly due to the regular practice of delivering goods on the way.  Whilst the journey was long and at times slow due to the traffic, we enjoyed the views out the window as we travelled through Cambodia.  It is a very green and lush land with people mainly working in the fields.  It is also looks very tranquil (the Khmer people are renowned for being very friendly) which is at odds with their recent past, namely the nutter Pol Pot, who led the Khmer Rouge from 1975, through his regime's overthrow in 1979, until his death, still a fugitive, near the Thai border in 1998.  It is inconceivable that this is a place that at least 3.5 million people were butchered by the Khmer Rouge, nearly 15% of the population (remember the film the Killing Fields).  As we looked out there did not seem to be many people over 60.  We arrived in Battambang just after 3pm, grateful we had accepted our guesthouse's kind offer of a free tuk tuk pick up to take us from the bus station which was someway out of town.  After checking in and finding out the best sights to see by the French owners we jumped into the same tuk tuk for a tour around the town.  We saw the local deity, a Black Buddha, the Governers Residence, originally built by the Thai's in the early 20th century when they owned the country before the French repatriated it for Cambodia in 1909.  After that we went to the town's main memorial which was in the shape of a large cobra snake and when we went closer we saw if was made of parts of broken machine guns as a symbol of peace.  We then visited the railway station which is still closed as some of the line from Phnom Penh is damaged and/or mined courtesy of the Khmer Rouge.  However it will be cleared and open again for business next year funded by the Chinese, Koreans and Japanese.  After a quick tour around the delightful French quarter which is full of colonial style buildings we stopped by the riverfront for a meal. Our guide and tuk tuk driver was a very friendly fellow called Nani, a big Man Utd fan (his only blemish) and he had a backrest which was a bear which he aptly named Rooney.  We went back to our guesthouse and chatted to the French couple, who gave up life in Paris 2 months ago to buy a guesthouse here and are loving it.  Whilst there are a lot of French here, both visiting and living we thought they were very brave noting their son is 5 years old and daughter is only 1.  And we thought we were adventurous!

Our bus on route to Battambang 

Black Buddha 

Peace Memorial 

Outside the Governor's Residence 

Entrance to Wat Kandal temple 

Our hotel for the night - the Sangkor Villa 

Rooney!

Phnom Penh Day 64 21/11/2014

After commenting on the number of westerners in Vietnam we were the only ones on the bus to Phomn Penh!  We had an early start catching the Sapaco bus at 0745 (actually left 0820!) but as the bus station was just around the corner managed to to get some breakfast and got lunch from a decent bakery.  The journey through Vietnam was fairly uneventful and after 3 hours we arrived at the Cambodian border (Moc Bai/Bavet).  We had already paid extra for our Cambodian visa with the bus conductor ($34 instead of c$25) to help speed up our crossing.  However it was chaos at the Vietnamese checkpoint with bus loads of people just waiting for their conductors to get all their passports in front of the border guards noses.  Simon couldn't help think we had paid a premium for a much slower service than if we had just done it ourselves.  At the Cambodian side it was fairly quick to get our visas mainly as the bus was full of Cambodians so we were only 5 people (inc us) that needed them.  After arriving in Cambodia we thought we were settling down for the 2 hours drive to Phnom Penh, only to be told we had a 45 minute lunch break at one of the bus company's restaurants.  Once back on the road we initially made good timing, primarily as there must be no speed limit in Cambodia noting the driver was driving really fast compared to the speed he was doing in Vietnam. To be fair he was in the middle of the road following a fleet of around half a dozen cars all with their hazard lights on doing the same. When they pulled in we saw them joined by a picked up of police officers all in combat outfits including balaclavas; we reckoned they must have been escorting an important person (maybe it was the King of Cambodia?). Anyway we soon slowed down due to the amount of traffic on the road and this lesser speed and numerous stops to drop of various items to people on the way (they must act like a delivery service too) and a ferry crossing (although very speedy embarkment and disembarkment) meant we didn't arrive in PP until after 3pm.  As we wanted to maximise the last 3 hours of light, on arrival at the bus station we jumped in a tuk tuk to get a lift to our hotel, quickly checked in and then "tuk tuked" to the Royal Palace which was 10 minutes away.  We were really glad we did as it was very beautiful, all golden and red and the clear, afternoon sun, really made it look very magical.  Afterwards we headed to the riverfront and went to the Foreign Correspondents Club, which was a famous hang out and safety retreat for all the journalists reporting on the Khmer Rouge's madness and had a very welcome beer, watching the sun go down. We then headed off and walked to a restaurant, which was featured in the Lonely Planet guide to have a tasty Cambodian meal sat on the floor, which not surprisingly is a mix of Vietnamese and Thai.  We walked the dark but what felt safe streets of PP a short distance to our lovely villa hotel, which looked beautiful with its lit pool, but one we hadn't been able to enjoy due to this been a whistle stop here. The delights and mysteries of Battambang await tomorrow but not until we've had the "pleasure" of a another 6 hour (ish!) bus journey.

Organised chaos at the Vietnam boarder

Lunch stop - we stuck to coke!

Not to sure what this lady was selling 

Royal Palace Phochan Pavillion  

Victory gate 

Throne Hall 

Temple of the Emerald Buddha 

King's Stupa 

Spot the monkey... they could be twins  

River view from the FCC