On to Cambodia and Angkor Wat
After a quick flight from Phuket to Bangkok and another to Siem Reap, we arrived at the airport around 8pm and though it was dark out I (Anthony writing now) could already see that this was not the same Cambodia that I had experienced nearly 8 years ago.
Instead of one grumpy and not overly helpful immigration officer processing entry visas with a worn out ink stamp, there was a neat bright clean desk with several friendly, smiling, joking immigration officers helping the many tourists get through the airport quickly. And there were many many more tourists than 8 years ago. I guess not having riots in the streets being show on CNN after an election can have that affect on tourism.
We got our bags and arranged for a taxi driver to take us to find a hotel. His name was “Bunny” (pronounced Boo-nee) and he spoke some English and was very polite so after settling into our hotel I arranged for him to drive us around the famous Angkor temples for the next 3 days at $25/day. He was waiting eagarly for us the next morning and when we got in his car he showed me that his car stereo had been stolen overnight and was instead replaced by a big piece of tape covering the hole. I thought it was a bit odd that there was no damage to the car particularly around the area of the stereo but didn’t give it too much thought as I was more focused on what we were about to see and the fact that I would be playing tourguide.
We were unable to hire a guide due to the high tourist season so I volunteered to play tour guide and Bill, always wanting to set a good example, bought several guidebooks from the children around the temples who displayed the best sales skills while also selling their postcards, Buddha statues, t-shirts, fresh coconuts, hammocks, and just about anything else you could and couldn’t want. 8 years ago the children would start to lure you into a potential sale by asking you “where are you from”. If you told them and then asked them where they were from they usually looked at you dumbfounded and didn’t know how to answer. Now, most kids replied, “from my mother, where do you think?” Much has changed indeed.
Bunny was a great driver who kept us well supplied with cold water and fresh towlettes and we all enjoyed spending 3 days walking through the many temples while I read out loud from the guidebooks, and when we were lucky we snuck into and tagged along to other tour groups to listen to their professional guides explain a variety of interesting historical, religious, and mythical stories related to the temples and their incredibly detailed carvings. Of course we took many photos and Bill in particular enjoyed taking time to line up each shot perfectly.
After our first day Bunny recommended a restaurant for dinner that had a large, good buffet of traditional food and included a performance of traditional music and dance. Bill and Elsie enjoyed it so much that they asked that we be taken there the 2nd night as well. Bunny really enjoyed this because it was pretty clear by his interaction with the manager that he got a nice commission for bringing us there 2 nights in a row. And since Shan and I didn’t have to pay for it we enjoyed it too. The highlight of the dinners was after the show on the 2nd night when the dancers invited audience members to come up on stage to take pictures with the elaborately costumed dancers and Bill and Elsie went up and struck a “unique” Shiva-like pose next to a dancer much to the shock and amusement of some Japanese toursists next to them.
We ended our 3rd day of templing a bit early as we were a bit tired and decided to reward ourselves for our hard work and lots of walking with Khmer massages. Given the popularity of Swedish, Thai, and any other similarly named massages it was little surprise that in Cambodia there were plenty of opportunities to receive what they call a Khmer massage. I didn’t notice a big difference from other styles of massage but for $6/hour it was one of the best massages ever for the price.
Siem Reap has changed much in 8 years and fortunately it seems like for the better. The New York Times ran an article a short while ago talking about the increase in high-end tourists from all over the world who come to see the temples of Angkor and the luxury hotels that have been built up to cater to them, and I must say it was nice to see that more jobs have been created and there seemed to be fewer beggars on the streets. More people, especially younger people, speak English and seem to have benefited from more education, stability in their country, and interaction with the outside world. All is not perfect of course, as there are complaints that much of the money is being made by foreigners who have invested in the luxury hotels and therefore the profits aren’t staying in the local area. But in my opinion, if you compare Siem Reap today to what it was 8 years ago the situation for the local people has improved quite a bit.
Oh yeah, and on the morning of the day we left, Bunny ‘surprisingly’ had been able to buy a new car stereo that looked exactly like his old one and it was installed and looked like new as he drove us to the airport. Just in time to pick up a new batch of customers, what a coincidence.
For pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlovesphotos/sets/72057594071976462/
– Anthony
Tags: Angkor, Cambodia, SE Asia, Siem Reap, Southeast Asia, Travel
Shan
April 10th, 2006 at 6:34 am
Hey Shan + Anthony,
I’m planning a trip to Cambodia for the end of May. Please pass on any advice you have. You just motivated me to skip an organized tour and find a ‘Bunny’ instead.
Here is where I want to stay: http://www.shintamani.com. I am lured by the cute boutique style with a community service story behind it (and a cooking school). -Amy
April 10th, 2006 at 8:11 am
Sounds like you guys are having fun!
Stay safe!
The Barbers