siem reap
Thank goodness that journey from Battambang came to an end. The final icing on the cake was being charged for the motorcycle journey from the boat landing to Siem Reap centre. It was included in the price of the ticket from Battambang. No use arguing...have your dough, sw*nehund!!
I'd like to talk a little about the literal translation of the name 'Siem Reap'. It commemorates a famous victory of the Cambodians over their long time enemy, Thailand (Their other principal enemy being Vietnam) It means 'Thailand Defeated'. How cool is that? Imagine if Coventry changed its name to 'Germany Defeated' after WWII!
Stuart was intent on staying at a hotel with a swimming pool which given the heat was a cool idea. That was until we heard the price! So we moved a few metres down the road to a guesthouse run by a British couple. It was a nice place. In fact in Siem Reap there are many nice places. There's an excellent Irish boozer owned by a girl from Cahir. Very tastefully kitted out. Stuart, who had been in Siem Reap before, brought me to one place that is a joy to look at in terms of its interior. Full of multi-tiered platforms, little canals, fountains. There was so much to look at that I failed to bother noticing some stepping stones over a little man-made stream which was a about a foot deep. Come to think of it, I didn't even notice the stream and with profound stupidity walked straight into it. All I could do was say 'Sh*t" and smile as everyone stared at me with their lips trembling to laugh!
The temples of Angkor are an absolute wonder. The centre piece is Angkor Wat which is said to be the largest religious monument in the world. An awe inspiring sculpture of stone on a massive scale. For the unitiated, think Tomb Raider. It was the location of the film if you were bored enough to see Angelina Jolie running around pouting and adopting babies. The whole stone temple complex was built between the 8th and 13th century. The site was the ancient capital of the Khmer empire. At its height the city had a population of one million whereas London had a mere 50,000 at the same time. With the decline of Khmer power it was abandoned save for some monks. It was not until 1860 that it was 'discovered' by a French explorer. It really is an overwhelming experience.
I was transported around by my singing tuk-tuk driver; Luck. The complex covers a large area and with the heat it would have been just too taxing on travel by foot. I explored it over three days and during the hottest part of the day too. There is a reason for this choice - all the package tours head back to Siem Reap for lunch. I was mostly alone apart from the police. One tried to sell his police badge to me! Other officials complained to me about their poor pay and asked for some dough. The street urchins peddled bamboo flutes, beads and all. These young kids spoke perfect English. Their technique involved asking where I am from and then telling me the population, capital city, famous football players and colour of the flag of Ireland. When asked the question as to where I am from by one little bruiser I replied Ireland and he said 'No! you are from your Mother and your Father'. On leaving a temple, one was besieged by calls from numerous stall holders 'Mister, you wanna drink?, etc'. It was all good fun.
Now that my time in Cambodia, a country I truly love, was coming to an end I had to decide on how I would get to Laos. The border crossing seemed too uncertain and the use of words like 'tentively open' didn't reassure me. So I figured it would be best to fly to the capital Vientiane. I bought a ticket and merrily left the agent only to think ' Hang on, aren't Lao Airlines one of the worst airlines in the world? Were they not struck off by the EU and by other international authorities?'. I suppose I'll have to take my chances.
I'd like to talk a little about the literal translation of the name 'Siem Reap'. It commemorates a famous victory of the Cambodians over their long time enemy, Thailand (Their other principal enemy being Vietnam) It means 'Thailand Defeated'. How cool is that? Imagine if Coventry changed its name to 'Germany Defeated' after WWII!
Stuart was intent on staying at a hotel with a swimming pool which given the heat was a cool idea. That was until we heard the price! So we moved a few metres down the road to a guesthouse run by a British couple. It was a nice place. In fact in Siem Reap there are many nice places. There's an excellent Irish boozer owned by a girl from Cahir. Very tastefully kitted out. Stuart, who had been in Siem Reap before, brought me to one place that is a joy to look at in terms of its interior. Full of multi-tiered platforms, little canals, fountains. There was so much to look at that I failed to bother noticing some stepping stones over a little man-made stream which was a about a foot deep. Come to think of it, I didn't even notice the stream and with profound stupidity walked straight into it. All I could do was say 'Sh*t" and smile as everyone stared at me with their lips trembling to laugh!
The temples of Angkor are an absolute wonder. The centre piece is Angkor Wat which is said to be the largest religious monument in the world. An awe inspiring sculpture of stone on a massive scale. For the unitiated, think Tomb Raider. It was the location of the film if you were bored enough to see Angelina Jolie running around pouting and adopting babies. The whole stone temple complex was built between the 8th and 13th century. The site was the ancient capital of the Khmer empire. At its height the city had a population of one million whereas London had a mere 50,000 at the same time. With the decline of Khmer power it was abandoned save for some monks. It was not until 1860 that it was 'discovered' by a French explorer. It really is an overwhelming experience.
I was transported around by my singing tuk-tuk driver; Luck. The complex covers a large area and with the heat it would have been just too taxing on travel by foot. I explored it over three days and during the hottest part of the day too. There is a reason for this choice - all the package tours head back to Siem Reap for lunch. I was mostly alone apart from the police. One tried to sell his police badge to me! Other officials complained to me about their poor pay and asked for some dough. The street urchins peddled bamboo flutes, beads and all. These young kids spoke perfect English. Their technique involved asking where I am from and then telling me the population, capital city, famous football players and colour of the flag of Ireland. When asked the question as to where I am from by one little bruiser I replied Ireland and he said 'No! you are from your Mother and your Father'. On leaving a temple, one was besieged by calls from numerous stall holders 'Mister, you wanna drink?, etc'. It was all good fun.
Now that my time in Cambodia, a country I truly love, was coming to an end I had to decide on how I would get to Laos. The border crossing seemed too uncertain and the use of words like 'tentively open' didn't reassure me. So I figured it would be best to fly to the capital Vientiane. I bought a ticket and merrily left the agent only to think ' Hang on, aren't Lao Airlines one of the worst airlines in the world? Were they not struck off by the EU and by other international authorities?'. I suppose I'll have to take my chances.
posted by Ciarán at 9:04 a.m.
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