Cambodia -- Life around Siem Reap beyond the Temples

Thanks to Rum, we also gained some insights of life beyond the temple tour circuit..  Cambodia is a beautiful country that seems to be slowly recovering from the wars and political upheaval.  Unfortunately, I never did get my picture of a pig in a basket on a motorcycle

 The "Japanese water buffalo"

Every one needs to stay plugged in.  I thought that these were for fans or lights, but then discovered that this was how the restaurant employees were keeping their smartphones charged.

Wesley fell in love with this double swing at the wood working shop -- but too much money to buy and ship, and where would we put it?!  It was pretty neat.

Relaxing at the hotel

Breakfast of Cambodian rice soup -- delicious!

Wesley trying to recover from eating a chili pepper!

The garden at Pavillion d'Orient

Wesley and Rum relaxing after lunch.

Cambodia -- the Temple Tour

We are behind on our posts but that was because we were busy seeing interesting sights and catching up with friends.  We had a great visit to Cambodia.  Our guide Rum was super.  He did a fantastic job of keeping Wesley interested and engaged as we went to see "another temple!"  Our hotel, Pavillon d'Orient was also great (another big thanks to Rick and Lara for that recommendation).  Staff was very friendly and helpful.

Angkor Wat is still amazing, but so crowded!  When I visited it with my sister for the first time in December 1997, we were often the only group in the temple.  That is definitely not the case any longer.  We could also climb all over anywhere we wanted to go in the temple.  Now there are barriers and ropes directing "the way of the visit" and keeping you from those up close views of the carvings.  Still this should be included on everyone's bucket list.  We brought the rain with us from Thailand.  Rum said that they hadn't had enough rain this season, but it rained every day that we were there.  Fortunately, none of the rain interfered with our touring although it did mean that we didn't get a nice clear sunrise over Angkor Wat (which we got out of bed at 4:00 a.,m. to see!).

We ran down the batteries on three cameras taking photos on the day that we toured Angkor Wat!

Beng Melea -- a temple outside the main Angkor complex that has yet to be restored.

Angkor Wat (including a shot of the throngs of people who joined us to see the sunrise)

Banteay Srey -- the "Pink Lady" or the "LadyTemple," a miniature temple complex (when compared to the immense scale of Angkor Wat, the stone has a slight pinkish tone to it)

Ta Prohm -- also known as the Tomb Raider temple because part of the movie was filmed here.

Angkor Thom complex at Bayon -- known for the towers with the four faces

Plus one extra face now!

Final thoughts on Bangkok and Thailand

Amanda:  A lot has changed and mostly for the better (SkyTrain, MRT from the airport to downtown, new construction, more convenient location for Rajah's), but I still saw a lot of the Bangkok that I remember and love from my first visit (genuinely friendly and helpful people, juxtaposition of old and new in every corner, great food and fruit).  One thing that I noticed more of this time is an increased military/police presence in public places.  I'm guessing that part of that is in response to the recent bombing, but I wonder if part of it is due to the most recent change in government.  To be honest, I never expected to see a military government return to Thailand.  I hope that it is short-lived.  None of that changes the fact that Bangkok is a city that is constantly moving and full of life.  I find an excitement and joy about walking along streets, watching the traffic and the people, even when you feel as though you are covered in so much sweat that it will take 15 minutes in the shower to make you feel clean again.  I love the fact that among all of the hub bub, noise and smells, all of a sudden you'll notice a spirit house, or a small shrine, or a tiny corner of the city that is calm and tranquil, or at least projects those states.  My main thought is that Thailand is just as wonderful as I remember it and I wish that we could have spent more time here.

L.D.:  Very friendly people, generally happy and accepting.  I felt very comfortable there.  Great places to visit and great country.  I have to back before another 17 years passes.

Wesley:  it was hot and rained all the time.  The people only smiled when they were hired to.  It's called the Land of Smiles, but most of the people on the street were always frowning.  I saw a lot of old rundown buildings next to a lot of fancy buildings.

Bangkok traffic about 10:15 a.m.

More of those tasty fruits that I discovered in Thailand:  mangosteen -- the Queen of Fruits (which Wesley really liked) and rambuttans uncovered

Bangkok at night where at least by the river on the 20th floor, at around midnight, the city was quiet.

In the drive to the Thai border at Aranyaprathet

Holiday in Cambodia

We didn't see many "people dress in black," but we were prepared to "brace" ourselves and as hot as it was, "right guard" didn't "help us here." {Dead Kennedy reference for some of you old timers!} 

Border crossing went smoothly. Janney/Rum our guide in Siem Reap has arranged for his fixer to meet us in "no man's land" and walk us through Cambodian immigration, which was a great help.  An even bigger help was an extra person to help carry out bags since we are up a bag due to LD's purchases from Rajah's.  Here's a couple more photos from that part of the trip.

Rum is great _ very personable, plenty of information to answer our questions, very accommodating. You can't help but like this farmer-turned tour guide (Thanks Rick for the great recommendation!)  He had cold water and cold towels waiting for us in the car.  Even Wesley was happy to see the cold towels.  He loved they way that they smelled.

Here are some photos from the drive from Poipet to Siem Reap.

It's election season in Cambodia too!

Rice fields, although Rum said that they haven't had much rain this year so they don't expect the rice crop to be very good.

And here's the best one ...

(And yes, those are chickens hanging upside down, and yes, they are all alive!)  Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the pig being carried on its back lying on the motorcyclist's lap!

For dinner we want to the Khmer Bar-b-que for great food and a mini-show of Khmer court and traditional dancing.   Wesley fell asleep on the table during the last dance but was able to walk to the tuk-uk to go back to the hotel.