Siem Reap...Angkor Wat, the 8th wonder of the world!

After our 7 hour bus ride, we arrived in a muddy dirt parking lot in Siem Reap. We were supposed to be picked up, with a tuk-tuk driver waiting for us, but again we fought through hoards of tuk-tuk drivers trying to overcharge us and to take us to a good hostel! As a side note, Phnom Penh and the rest of Cambodia officially have riel as their currency, however with inflation and an unstable country everything is sold on American dollars. We settled into a hotel, that surprisingly had a pool! It was quite nice and rather cheap as it was across the river about 5 minutes from the city center.

Tropical paradise at the Angkor ruins

We went for a walk, and instantly appreciated the slow, easy life of Siem Reap (well, compared to Phnom Penh anyways). The town is a tourist haven and caters to the tourists. There are many, many streets filled with massage parlours, western-quality restaurants an just about anything you may need. We always love to run into a town like this every now and again.

More ruins!

The next morning we were up at 4:30 in the morning to meet our driver to complete the “small loop” of Angkor Wat. We arrived for sunrise and were instantly greeted by the vendors trying to sell us guide books, water, bracelets and many other trinkets. Chad talked to the first guy trying to sell a guide book to the ruins for a few minutes, and he offered the book to us for $15 US, sticker price on the book was just over $22. We said no, and went into Angkor Wat. As we were leaving a couple of hours later, he remembered us, although now Chad was “Jim” and said “I remember you! Canada! You buy now!” Chad said no and we got into our Tuk-Tuk. Suddenly the price was dropped. A lot. Now he was offering the book for only $1 and so the hassling began and continued throughout our tour of the ruins. Everyone wants you buy something, even the ‘monks’, who sit inside the temples and get you to make incense offerings to Buddha. Of course the incense sticks are practically free they are so cheap, but the monks expect $1 or $0.5 at least for one. After the first couple of offerings we caught on that we would have to spend a fortune to make offerings at all the shrines. We even noticed once that one of the incense vendors re-sold our offering to another group once we had left!

More ruins!

The hardest part is the children who are trying to sell small items, or are begging. They often speak decent English and have learned key facts about your country. So, when you tell them that you are from Canada, they’ll say “Canada, speaks English and French, Capital Ottawa, major cities Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver Calgary, population 33 million.” There are so many children and they often come in groups. However, despite what it may seem, we’ve been told the best thing to do is not buy anything from the children. If they can earn money selling things then it will keep them out of school. It is better to always if you are going to buy or to give to do so with Adults only.

More ruins!

Our two days touring the ruins were amazing. There are so many and they are all unique and wonderful. It is easy to see how this ancient site ranks as one of the wonders of the world. We could spend ages talking about all the interesting details of the ruins, but rather than try to do them justice we suggest going yourself! Or, if that’s not possible, at least check out our pics, or others online! Our last night touring the ruins we went to Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset. Apparently this is the thing to do at night and the mountaintop ruin was filled with people. The view was amazing, even despite the huge crowds.

Angkor Wat, well one of the ruins there anyways...see our flickr account for the real location :)

Our last day in Siem Reap we slept in a little, and spent the day around the town, swimming in the hotel pool and relaxing. At night we ended up at “The Temple” restaurant which had a 2 hour traditional Khmer dance show. The show was really interesting and great entertainment. In traditional style the dancers attempt to show no emotion on their faces. Half of the dances were slow and ceremonious and the other half were fast paced and almost tribal. Siem Reap was also the first place where we were able to easily spot the sex-industry. Many call girls were walking the streets, blatantly trying to pick up men and we even watched a few who were successful, sneak away to a Tuk-Tuk and disappear down the street. Another first for us was the fish massage where you put your feet into knee deep water filled with small fish. The fish then nibble away at your feet and ‘eat the dead skin’ from your feet. We didn’t try it this time, but apparently it is a huge thing in Thailand as well, so we’ll be looking out for it there! The next day we were off on our early morning flight to Bangkok!

Sunset at One of the Angkor Wat ruins

written by

ECRadventure on November 5, 2009 from Siem Reap, Cambodia

from the travel blog: ECRadventure's Travel Blog

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