November 2010 - Holiday - Thailand and Cambodia

A trip report to accompany my photos, which can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=304422&id=618910497&l=0a7a03980e

If I look back on various holidays I've been on I have very definite images and vibes. California, Christmas 1997 - seeing reindeer on the golf course on Christmas Eve, sunbathing on New Year's Day and beautiful coastal scenery; Climbing in Sardinia - camping on a pebbly campsite, picture perfect turquoise blue sea and pocketed grey rock; Climbing in Red Rocks - the consistency of the routes over many pitches, the spring-like weather although throat-hacking dusty dry air, and the craziness of Las Vegas. I've only been back from Cambodia a couple of weeks and already I have a vivid memory of the place in my mind - the continuous stretches of lush paddy fields and rural houses on stilts, with extended families, cattle and chickens wandering around the front yard, clay ovens and plentiful fresh fruit. And in the city the constant offerings from tuk-tuks and market vendors, and everywhere the way the people are so helpful and you only have to smile at someone to find them smile back and you’ve made a connection. It's a beautiful place. It's a world away from UK, but I felt very at home there, and very safe, and by the end of the week I even felt like I was getting a little used to the heat and humidity.

It's hard to define when our holiday began, as there were various stages involved in actually getting to Cambodia, but that was all part of the experience so all part of the holiday too. On Thursday 11th November, Mo picked me up after work and we headed to my parents house for a lovely dinner. An early start on Friday saw us at Heathrow for our 17 hour flight to Bangkok, changing at Mumbai. We flew with Jet airways with whom I was very impressed: personal entertainment consoles giving you the option to choose your own film from a sizeable list (although unfortunately unchanged on the way home), very nice authentic Indian food especially breakfast (curry in a bread roll), and helpful staff and crew who actually bothered to tell you whenever there was turbulence. The security in India were a little scary with rifles slung over their shoulders, and everybody was being frisked despite only transferring flights. They didn’t tell us we got our boarding cards stamped as proof we had been searched so had to sheepishly go and dig them out of our bags once they'd been scanned, and there was minor chaos when they started searching people who had seemingly already gone through. I was happy though when they were unfazed by the presence of knitting needles in my bag, and we relaxed a little then and swung by the noodle bar to grab some food. Which we were still waiting for when we realised our flight was boarding. We panicked until the food was ready, then ran to the gate, then sat on the floor scoffing our snack while the queue rapidly decreased, then it turned out we were allowed to take it onto the fight anyway, and they also fed us soon afterwards!

The approach to the water taxi port

We arrived at Bangkok in the early hours of Saturday 13th, and took the BTS (elevated rail link) to Phaya Thai station, and jumped in a taxi to our hotel. We were instantly struck by the craziness of the Asian traffic that I've heard so much about - mopedders with monks riding side saddle on the back or children hanging on the front and hardly anybody wearing a helmet, vying for space with the ubiquitous 'taxi-meter' or tuk-tuk. But somehow it seems to work and it doesn't seem quite as dangerous as you expect it to. We dumped our bags next to a stack of backpacker rucksacks in the 'too early to check in but leave kit here' room, grabbed a taxi to the station as a test run for the next morning, then started our exploration of the city. Bangkok is a real assault on the senses - sounds, sights and smells. There are always toots of horns, and aromas wafting around from the ever present market vendors. It's a mixture of old and new, run down and modern. There are people sleeping in the street (presumably homeless, although it's hard to be sure without the mass of warm blankets you expect in the UK), and every new building seems to be built next to a dilapidated old one. We headed off down the canal, crossing arched bridges without edges, passing hanging creepers, and eventually made it to a river-taxi port in spite of one man's advice and thanks to two others (everybody wants to help). The boat took us to a naval restaurant where we had dinner for 65 baht each (about £1.20), and checked out the market. We viewed the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha from the road as weren't suitably attired for visiting temples (you have to have your shoulders covered and we didn't fancy borrowing the clothes on offer), then risked our lives crossing a couple of major roads (there are pedestrian crossing, but they might as well not be there), and walked back to the hotel for a super early night with the air-conditioning blasting.

We arose around 3am and took a taxi to the station in time for its opening at 4am. We managed to avoid minibus touts and purchased two train tickets at £1 each, and carefully selected seats on the 5:55am, 3rd class only train for our impending 6 hour ride to Aranyaprathet. We then proceeded to spend the next 6 hours staring out the window transfixed by the scenery - first the shanty towns that cram up against the railway line which were coming alive with spicy food being cooked on woks, and then paddy fields, and birds, and butterflies, and people working in the fields, and buffalo, and irrigation channels, and more mopeds. It could be straight out of a film, and it’s very picturesque.

From Aranyaprathet we made our way with a little confusion to Poipet, kept our heads down to avoid any scams and almost walked straight past the customs official (cue more sheepishness), and queued in the apathying heat to be stamped across the border. From there it was a free shuttle bus to the transport depot, then some very helpful government officials sorted us out with a taxi to Siem Reap. 2 1/2 hours later we were at the edge of Siem Reap, then in a free tuk-tuk to what we thought was the correct address for our hostel, then walking 1km down the road towards the actual location of our hostel (Aqua) in the dying light (6pm), then finally jumping in another tuk-tuk for what turned out to be the remaining 100m. John the owner showed us the way through the dark fern fronds and decking to our room, and then to the bar. Mo headed to bed shortly after that but I found the beer was going down supremely well and since that's unusual for me I decided to capitalise on it, which meant I was still about when Jess unexpectedly appeared. Catching up with old friends is always nice but it has an added significance when it's been 6 years and you're a long way from home.

On Monday morning we arose with the heat at around 6:15 am (Aqua is a Cambodia style hostel without western conveniences like air-con or warm shower/water) to became well acquainted with the place as it turned out we were locked in and it was the only morning John has slept in in years, so had to wait 2 1/2 hours to escape. By the time we made it to town we were desperate for food and found a nice little Khmer place where we had fruit shakes (very refreshing in the heat) and an omelette baguette (their national bread has a rather French influence). We spent the rest of the day exploring Siem Reap city and running away from tuk-tuk drivers and market vendors who persistently offered to show us their wares. Back at Aqua later on we cooled off in the pool and giggled at ourselves doing pull ups on and traversing the bar, then sheltered from a bit of a monsoon under straw umbrellas, then headed to Red Chilli for dinner with Jess and John. Jess whooped me at pool just like the old days, although I claim mitigating circumstances since the pool queue stuck to my hot clammy hand.

Bayon

On Tuesday we began our assault on the temples with Angkor Thom ('Great City', 1100s). Jess hooked us up with a tuk-tuk driver for the week, the quiet but helpful Teewon (sp). Bayon was first, with its many towering, smiling faces and extensive bas reliefs. What a place, everywhere you stand you are surrounded by levels of steps and corridors and giant carved faces, it's very absorbing. The next stop, Baphuon, was also captivating - a temple that was taken to pieces then all the records destroyed so the EFEO have been reassembling it by guesswork since 1995. We were wilting in the heat by this point and possibly led by our subconscious or some other force, we found ourselves wandering off the beaten track under trees to a shady hidden temple called Preah Prahilay. There was not a soul around and we clambered up the fallen rubble into the inner sanctum to momentarily enjoy the serenity. We then headed back out to the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King before heading back to Teewon, and were confounded by the signs marking 'no exit' and 'way of visit', becoming rather hot and bothered again. We'd finished our tour of Angkor Thom's main temples quite early, so decided to move on to Ta Phrom, the temple returning to nature and smothered by strangler fig trees (also where part of Tomb Raider was filmed). I have seen pictures of this place before but it didn't lessen the impact - the trees are immense and entwine round the masonry in an almost symbiotic way, one depending on the other, integrally linked.

Ta Prohm, with its strangler fig trees

Wednesday morning dawned in a rather disturbing way. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that what had been a small, innocuous mess of brown tissue on the bathroom wall the night before, had grown exponentially into a crucifix of brown eggs expanding in all four directions like some rapidly spawning monster, like in Godzilla where all those thousands of eggs are poised about to hatch. We left a note for the staff and quickly scarpered off to Angkor Wat, dreading a mass of scurrying creatures on our return. We'd arisen pre-dawn to watch the sunrise over the temple which is a very popular thing to do (although for good reason), and soon we were in a queue of tuk-tuks up to the west gate. Most temples face East but Angkor Wat (one of the seven wonders of the world) faces West which has left scholars to believe it was built as a tomb. That means you get a view of the sun rising over it, and if you stand by the north pool (which we didn't, as it was rammed), you get to see it all doubled up with the reflection in the water. Once the day had dawned we explored parts of the 1km of bas relief, not all as we were a little saturated from the day before but the 'Churning of Ocean Milk' was worthwhile – this is a representation of the mythical scene where demigods (devas) and demons (asuras) pull alternately on Vasuki (the kind of serpents), who is wrapped round Mount Mandaranchal which is in the ocean supported by Vishnu in his turtle form. The resultant churning produced the nectar of immortality (Amrita). We also had a look around the central temple (Bakon), and the grounds of the neighbouring Wat where there were many butterflies, and children playing the drums and raising money for the orphanage. Teewon was a little miffed that it had taken us 5 hours to return, but we elected not to go anywhere else that day, and returned to town for a coconut shake and to try out one of the many ‘fish foot massage’ tanks where the fish nibble the dead skin off your feet. I didn’t get on with it and just squealed whenever their rough lips grazed against my skin, but Mo admirably sat for the full 10 minutes with hundreds of fish swarming round her. Back at Aqua the eggs were still there (thankfully unhatched) so we watched with disgust as Romania squidged them with a finger then washed them off, before heading to the butterfly restaurant for dinner, although hadn't considered that, being after sunset, the butterflies would be sleeping. Back at Aqua we dozed off listening to the countless frogs croaking in the thrall of another atmospheric downpour.

People working in the fields

Thursday was the final day of our three day temple pass, so we headed further out of town to Kbal Spean and Banteay Srei. Once more we were fascinated by the ride itself and the beautiful countryside, and even got to meet a couple of the country folk when Teewon's moped overheated and needed a breather. Kbal Spean is a series of riverbed carvings 2km up a hill 25km from the main Angkor group, that I wanted to go and see after having the idea put in my head by a friend. The carvings were made to fertilise the water of the East Baray (a now-dry artificial body of water near Angkor Wat) and irrigate the rice fields in Cambodia, and there are reckoned to be 1000 carved Lingas (fertility symbols) here. We were struggling to work out which carving was which when a guide popped up and welcomely reeled us in by pointing out a dangerous snake (live not carved). He led us round rocks and across the river showing us carvings of Vishnu (a god), Shiva (another god), Yonis (ladies genitalia), Lingas, a crocodile (a carved one this time), a bull and a frog. It's inspiring that this kind of thing lies hidden away in the middle of nowhere, the carvings seemingly as clear as the day they were carved. Banteay Srei is a small but intricate temple carved by women. The temple dates from the late 8th century, but they think the carvings were more recent as temples were often stripped and re-done. It was another wiltingly hot day so we had a little wander around the shaded outer perimeter as well, then hopped back in the tuk-tuk and enjoyed the 30mph breeze. Our final stop on the way back was the landmine museum, which is a bit of an eye opener, not least because it hits you how crucial it is for a member of society to have 4 working limbs, because as soon as they lose that they cannot earn their keep and are cast into a life as a beggar. Thankfully things are changing and the museum provides awareness, as well as a home for injured children to provide them a better life.

Pulling up water at Kompong Phluk

Unfortunately on Friday Mo was feeling quite poorly with suspected food poisoning, so we took a divide and conquer approach where she would hold the fort at Aqua and ensure that nobody stole the beds or the wooden bench loungers, while I'd go and check out the floating villages on Tonlé Sap lake. Tonlé Sap provides fish to most of South East Asia, so floating villages have sprung up all along the edge of the lake. Whether it was because I was on my own, or because there were no vendors, or because the villages are quite off the beaten track with the access being down a skiddy mud road, or because the boatman didn't speak any English, or because I was laughed at as I was the only one in a boat for 10, or whether a combination of all of that, I found the floating villages a very eerie place. I expected them to be colourful and vibrant, and some of the houses are (my photos are mostly of those ones), but mostly it was a dark and almost forbidding place. It was fascinating to travel past on the boat and just watch - children no more than 3 climbing steep wooden ladders up from the water with the rungs as far apart as the length of their legs, boats passing laden with fresh fruit, people extracting fish from fishing nets, pigs (and possibly crocodiles) in floating cages, young girls lowering pales to bring up water and villagers sitting on boards underneath their houses extracting fish from nets. Kombong Phluk isn't truly floating like Chong Kneas (which I didn't get to) as the houses are on stilts, but it was the end of the rainy season and the water levels are still high. The guide books tells how they embalm their dead bodies in the rainy season and store them in trees until they can give them a land burial, and I wonder if the prongs I saw sticking out of a couple of trees was one of the places they store them. I had dinner in a floating restaurant then jumped back on the boat, I didn't quite see the sunset over the water as planned, but I was quite happy to finish the boat ride and the muddy tuk-tuk ride before darkness really struck. Thankfully Mo was still alive on my return, although still bedridden so I headed out to the ex-pat-run quiz night (in aid of a local orphanage) with John where we came 3rd out of 7, no thanks to me.

Boat races at the water festival in Siem Reap

I'd hoped to go to Phnom Penh today to see the genocide museum and the water festival, but logistically it wasn't looking possible (expensive to reach and slower than normal due to the festival), so I stayed in Siem Reap to view their local celebrations instead. Mo was feeling up to joining me on Saturday morning so we started the day with another omelette baguette, then had an hour long traditional Khmer style full body massage for the grand total of $3.30 each. The massage wasn't particularly soothing, but the general vibe of it had me intoxicated - a darkened room, the unfamiliar clothes they get you to change into and a young girl sitting on me and manipulating my various limbs and saying "sleep lady". Once again like something plucked from a film. We tried the butterfly restaurant again for lunch and sure enough the butterflies were awake this time but in a rather sorry state - some bedraggled and missing part of a wing, and the odd crumpled specimen on the floor, slightly sorrowful. The festival provided a welcome distraction at 3pm, with boats racing in heats, manned by the staff of local businesses and restaurants. Market vendors selling an even wider variety of fresh produce than usual were out in force (so I braved a few, the soya beans really didn’t go down well), and residents were out in their pyjamas, their Sunday best. We experienced a slightly different view of Cambodia here, with the beggars that we had been informed about but not until then seen. One elderly lady was holding out a tin, and a stick with which she poked two young children along so that they could collect the money. On the other side of the coin, a pleasant lad with very good English came to speak to us about how he is at the University and wants to go abroad to study so he can come back and help his country. The trip out had exhausted a nutrition-deficient Mo so after returning with her to Aqua and having a cool off swim (32 lengths this time to work off my gluttony, rather than the daily 10 I had been doing as a token nod to exercise), I headed back in to town for my final meal in Siem Reap, this time the local speciality of Amok fish in a spicy coconut sauce with rice. I found a nice little Khmer place to eat at, and also worked my way through three more coconut shakes (which we had become quite partial to by now, an effective way to cool down). Before heading back I had a quick wander round the night market to complete my tour of the town. By now I had mastered the art of 'Ot te Or Kun' (no thank you) with eye contact and a smile to dispel the various vendors, so could wander round in peace. The traffic was starting to make sense too - it works because the majority of the transport is slow (tuk-tuks, mopeds and bicycles), and they don't bib because they're angry (I didn't see a single angry Cambodian) but to alert people in front of their presence lest they swerve to avoid a pothole.

Sunday morning we packed up our stuff with a mixture of regret and relief. It's amazing place, but there becomes a point on holiday where you would be relieved to return to the familiarity of your own country, house and bed. We stood outside to await a tuk-tuk and of course when you want one there are none around and we waited an amazing 15 minutes for one to materialise, perhaps they didn't want us to leave. Siem Reap airport is sweet and efficient and more importantly air-conditioned, and the flight back to Bangkok was lightning quick at 40 minutes - as soon as we'd gained altitude we began to descend again. We checked back in to our friendly hotel Penpark Place, then went for a wander to find Khao San road, having missed it on the way back. It's a perturbing mix of various influences, seeming neither natural nor like it would belong anywhere else. To fit in with the vibe I had pizza at an Italian restaurant while Mo had a few chips, and we watched the ladies in traditional headdresses trying to sell the same wooden croaking frogs that you see in the discover shop over here. On the way back to the hotel we took a little deviation and snuck into a riverside restaurant to see more water festival celebrations - fireworks, ferris wheels and floating lanterns, before having a much welcome warm shower (or unbearably hot for Mo just because she could), then hitting the sack... and proceeding to sleep not a wink due to all the crashes and bangs, which woke Mo up, who then moved, which woke me up (we were sharing a double bed as they'd run out of twin rooms that also had air-con and a private bathroom). The air-con was actually a mixed blessing as we woke with sore throats which turned into phlegmy colds (made worse by the long plane journeys).

Monday was a long day, but an insignificant one in my memory as it was just a necessity of a taxi ride followed two flights (the knitting needles once again made it through without event), then a quick reunitement with Mum and Dad who sent us away with a gorgeous packed dinner for the tiring final car journey home.

Coming back to the UK was odd in that it was spookily familiar but everything was momentarily odd as you rediscovered it, all the things you usually take for granted are suddenly significant - the crisp air on your skin, the taste of your mum's cooking, English roads with their rules and anger, the feeling of a cosy winter duvet weighing down on you, the click of a key in your own door, and not feeling the need to check under the toilet seat for dangerous spiders before sitting on it. I woke in the middle of the night feeling that I had just woken up in a strange ramshackle building in Asia, feeling alarmed that I'd been tired enough to fall asleep in such a place. The light was dim (and blurry, as I'd taken my contact lenses out!), but I scanned the perimeter of the room to assess whether I was in any danger from people or animals, before allowing myself to panic. Slowly the room took on familiar dimensions and became my own, and I settled back into deep sleep again.