Pati and Beebee arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia at about noon on Friday, 22 March. They were met at the airport by their guide Chhay (pronounced "Chai" as in Thai tea) and driver Mr. Thom. Chhay was born in 1977 when Pol Pot was in power (readers of this blog might want to review that history). When he was 22, he became a Buddhist priest for seven years. Then he became a tour guide for the next seven years. He is married, with one child aged six. Mr. Thom is actually a medical doctor and practices medicine at a hospital when he is not driving a taxi. He hopes to "break into" the tourist industry by driving a taxi.
After the long drive from the airport, they checked in at their hotel and were soon off again for touring that lasted until 8:30 pm.
During this time, they visited Angkor Thom during the (hot!) daylight. They climbed to the top of one tower (40 very steep steps) and found a policeman there who acted as guide and helped Pati and Beebee with their photos. When they were ready to climb down, the policeman wanted to sell them a medalian of some sort. Pati negotiated a price with the policeman (he really didn't want the medalian but the policeman had been very nice) and made the purchase. Later, Pati saw other policemen and realized he had purchased the friendly policeman's badge.
Later, Pati and Beebee climbed to the top of a tall steep hill and watched the sun set on Ankor Wat's towers. On the way down, Chhay told them "Too bad it is cloudy, sometimes this is very nice." After this, they were driven back to the hotel and had 15 minutes for a quick shower before going to a "dinner show" which was a buffet of many delicious Cambodian foods (most of which they didn't even get to try, being too full) followed by a one hour cultural show. Leaving the restaurant at 8:30 pm, they were finally back to the hotel and in bed by 10 pm, planning to leave again at 5 am in order to view sunrise over Angkok Wat.
They left the hotel at 5 am on Saturday and drove to Angkor Wat, where they settled in on a ledge of a library (where the sacred book was kept) to await sunrise. At about 6 am, the sun began to rise behind the towers, and Chhay took them from spot to spot to get the best photos. Coincidentally, one of the best shots was possible because it was March 23, when the sun rises directly above one tall spire.
(Indelible memory: sitting on a ledge of a library at Angkor Wat, waiting for the sun to rise, listening to a serious discussion by a former Buddhist priest about farting as a symptom of the body being out-of-balance)
Pati and Beebee had gotten a boxed breakfast from the hotel ("toast" with jelly and about half of a dragon fruit). Mr. Thom and Chhay drove them to a restaurant where they ate most of this plus ordered an omelet and tea from the restaurant.
After breakfast, they continued their visit of Angkor Wat, as well as visiting Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, and Banteay Samre. (interested blog readers can Google these places.)
Each time they got out of the car, they were quickly drenched in sweat in the 90+ degree heat and high humidity. Each time they got back in the car, the driver had a cold damp washcloth and a chilled bottle of water for each of them.
Finishing up their touring, they went back to the hotel, had a cooling swim in the hotel's pool, ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant, and went to bed.
On Sunday, fhey slept in until 7 am, had breakfast at the hotel, and were picked up at 9 am. On this day, they finished visiting Angkor Wat, seeing Prah Khan, Neak Poan, Ta Son, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Ta Nei, and Ta Promh. (Interested readers can Google these...). As the day before, they went back to the hotel (at about 3 pm this day) and had a cooling swim. Then they used the hotel's free (except for tip) tuk-tuk to go to Pub Street in Siem Reap, which is a "hip" street with lots of restaurants and shopping, and back to the hotel. They had pizza for dinner, wanting some food that was more bland than the Cambodian food they had been eating.
Several times since arriving in Siem Reap, Pati and Beebee have seen a band playing at various venues. The members of this band (there seem to be many such bands) have all been maimed by landmines set during their civil war. Their purpose is to call attention to these injuries and to raise money to treat those who have been injured.
Another frequent sight is small children selling postcards and other trinkets to tourists. They have learned how to count to 10 in many languages, and flip through their sets of postcards naming all the sights. They are much more endearing than the adult male Egyptian touts. But they too are persistent to the point of harrassing tourists: tourists cannot look in peace at what they have paid to see and have traveled many miles to see. (Tourists pay a large fee to see the ruins, while Cambodian citizens can enter for free.)
Tomorrow Pati and Beebee will be touring outside Siem Reap; this may become a later post.
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| Chhay |
After the long drive from the airport, they checked in at their hotel and were soon off again for touring that lasted until 8:30 pm.
During this time, they visited Angkor Thom during the (hot!) daylight. They climbed to the top of one tower (40 very steep steps) and found a policeman there who acted as guide and helped Pati and Beebee with their photos. When they were ready to climb down, the policeman wanted to sell them a medalian of some sort. Pati negotiated a price with the policeman (he really didn't want the medalian but the policeman had been very nice) and made the purchase. Later, Pati saw other policemen and realized he had purchased the friendly policeman's badge.
Later, Pati and Beebee climbed to the top of a tall steep hill and watched the sun set on Ankor Wat's towers. On the way down, Chhay told them "Too bad it is cloudy, sometimes this is very nice." After this, they were driven back to the hotel and had 15 minutes for a quick shower before going to a "dinner show" which was a buffet of many delicious Cambodian foods (most of which they didn't even get to try, being too full) followed by a one hour cultural show. Leaving the restaurant at 8:30 pm, they were finally back to the hotel and in bed by 10 pm, planning to leave again at 5 am in order to view sunrise over Angkok Wat.
They left the hotel at 5 am on Saturday and drove to Angkor Wat, where they settled in on a ledge of a library (where the sacred book was kept) to await sunrise. At about 6 am, the sun began to rise behind the towers, and Chhay took them from spot to spot to get the best photos. Coincidentally, one of the best shots was possible because it was March 23, when the sun rises directly above one tall spire.
(Indelible memory: sitting on a ledge of a library at Angkor Wat, waiting for the sun to rise, listening to a serious discussion by a former Buddhist priest about farting as a symptom of the body being out-of-balance)
Pati and Beebee had gotten a boxed breakfast from the hotel ("toast" with jelly and about half of a dragon fruit). Mr. Thom and Chhay drove them to a restaurant where they ate most of this plus ordered an omelet and tea from the restaurant.
After breakfast, they continued their visit of Angkor Wat, as well as visiting Banteay Srei, Kbal Spean, and Banteay Samre. (interested blog readers can Google these places.)
Each time they got out of the car, they were quickly drenched in sweat in the 90+ degree heat and high humidity. Each time they got back in the car, the driver had a cold damp washcloth and a chilled bottle of water for each of them.
Finishing up their touring, they went back to the hotel, had a cooling swim in the hotel's pool, ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant, and went to bed.
On Sunday, fhey slept in until 7 am, had breakfast at the hotel, and were picked up at 9 am. On this day, they finished visiting Angkor Wat, seeing Prah Khan, Neak Poan, Ta Son, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Ta Nei, and Ta Promh. (Interested readers can Google these...). As the day before, they went back to the hotel (at about 3 pm this day) and had a cooling swim. Then they used the hotel's free (except for tip) tuk-tuk to go to Pub Street in Siem Reap, which is a "hip" street with lots of restaurants and shopping, and back to the hotel. They had pizza for dinner, wanting some food that was more bland than the Cambodian food they had been eating.
Several times since arriving in Siem Reap, Pati and Beebee have seen a band playing at various venues. The members of this band (there seem to be many such bands) have all been maimed by landmines set during their civil war. Their purpose is to call attention to these injuries and to raise money to treat those who have been injured.
Another frequent sight is small children selling postcards and other trinkets to tourists. They have learned how to count to 10 in many languages, and flip through their sets of postcards naming all the sights. They are much more endearing than the adult male Egyptian touts. But they too are persistent to the point of harrassing tourists: tourists cannot look in peace at what they have paid to see and have traveled many miles to see. (Tourists pay a large fee to see the ruins, while Cambodian citizens can enter for free.)
Tomorrow Pati and Beebee will be touring outside Siem Reap; this may become a later post.
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