Once you cross over the first thing you come across are about 10 casinos. Anyone old enough to remember Melbourne before the pokies or Crown were allowed to operate will remember old age pensioners who used to take day trips to Albury in NSW so that they could lose money at the RSL pokies. The Cambodians use this same theory, as gambling is illegal in Thailand but they are mad punters. So they have built casinos all along the border that Thais can come and lose their hard earned. In fact most casinos are built before the Cambodian immigration control so that Thais don’t have to bother getting there passports stamped. Had lunch at one called the “Crowne” which upon entering informed me that I couldn’t take photos, wear thongs, bring in pets or guns (just like the Melbourne Crown Casino).
After lunch my tour group (which only consisted of me and one other, low season) were handed over to a local Cambodian tour guide who immediately apologised for the tour despite it not having started. Cambodians must think that their country is so poor that anyone visiting it will be offended once they have crossed the border (that would be the Yanks). Our guide did have a point though, from here we started the journey to Siem Reap about 2 ½ hours from the border on the porridge road (see earlier post). This road is just a dirt road that becomes a nightmare during the (current) raining season, all sludge and pot holes. Hoped to sneak in a sleep on the way, but rather then being sleep deprived by the end of the drive I was required to be placed into traction. The photo below is about halfway at a village and is quite a good section of the road. The driver actually decided to get a car wash here (money would have been better spent on massage therapy).
Got to Siem Reap and was dropped off at the Angkor Hotel which was by far the best hotel I have stayed in on the trip. By Cambodian standards it is 5-star which means you can keep in your room your gun/grenades rather then checking them with security. Nice room, comfortable bed, cable TV (with the Australia Network channel, watched the footy!! Yeah!!) and huge pool. Later I was to discover that I could have chosen a lesser hotel and thus saved a bit of money but the Thai travel agent decided to relieve me of this burden of choice (bless her). Can’t complain as the bed was very much appreciated after the road trip. The hotel was so flash that they had a little kid playing a traditional instrument like a xylophone in the lobby. I was somewhat disturbed that the same kid was playing it when I checked in, came down for dinner and again the next morning (but the little trooper smiled all the same). Out of concern asked her if she went to school and she tried to answer but stuffed up the song she was playing (believe management beat her later, this photo was 'googled' from the hotel website to give the reader an idea of the instrument and to help Amnesty International locate the girl).
Siem Reap according to the guide (whose name was Widget (this is not funny, that was his name)) has about million people and is the 2nd biggest city after the capital Phnom Penh. Pretty much all of its growth is built out of the tourist business stemming from the Angkor temples. It is a pretty town built on the Siem Reap River with a lot of old French architecture, the King’s Royal Villa (his version of a caravan site at Rosebud) with a lot of new development of tourist hotels/restaurants/bars. Can hire a bicycle to ride around the town and to the temples (ha, as if that was going to happen). Stopped at the Widows market were I was sadly informed that I couldn’t pick up a cheap ex-wife but that widows make up most of the stall holders. Due to Cambodia’s sad and violent history (over a million people were killed when the Khmer Rouge ran the country and there have been continuing conflicts and coups ever since) the population’s average age dropped to around 20 years of age. There hardly seems to be a local who doesn’t have a father, mother or relative who hasn’t met some grisly ending. I felt somewhat guilty haggling with a cheerful widow who had also lost a leg from a land mine over a t-shirt purchase but I still beat her down to US$2 a piece. Thought I spied a familiar sight, a McDonald's store but it is a fake cashing in on the fact none exists here. The other photo below is a local mum dropping the kids off at soccer practice near the market.
First night was taken to a Cambodian version of theatre restaurant for dinner. Smorgasbord spread which included Cambodian rice, Cambodian noodles, Cambodian meat skewers (which don’t seem a lot different to Thai rice, Thai noodles and Thai meat skewers). Included a show of traditional Cambodian (or Khmer) dancing, again a lot like Thai which I ignorantly suggested to our guide. Widget proceeded to advise me of the superiority of Khmer dancing, the subtle movement of the body, the more graceful use of hands and narrative of everyday Khmer people rather then Thai legends. All this talk of culture, plus the bus trip and a gutful of food, made me fall asleep into my bowl of Tom Yum (sorry, Cambodian prawn soup). Have included an artist's digital impression of what I will look like aged 50 if I keep eating at this rate. Next day we had an early start so the group (me and the other bloke Cameron) decided for an early night.
Up next morning earlier then I normally would have, in fact the sun is well and truly up by 5.00am. Cambodians traditionally get up at this time and perform a lot of tasks before heading off to work or school (this place is not for me). Off to the Angkor temples. To be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment