Crossing over from Laos into Cambodia was really no hassle at all. One guy at the border even wanted a picture with my brother, probably to showoff to his family that he is hard working 😉 38 USD later and we had a visa for 30 days.
We wanted to get a bit off the too beaten trek and visit the Virachey NP, somehow promising that it’s a bit cooler in the mountains. We arrived late in Banlung and went straight to the NP office. Holy shit, they are not at all prepared for tourists and it was hard to get good information out of the guy. Like a friend of mine says “I didn’t feel the love” of the place.
In contrast, the guesthouse we stayed was nice and we booked a 3-day-trek with them. I really don’t know why I always book jungle treks. I mean, it is hot, humind and you see shit with all the jungle around. As a bonus, this time I got diarrhea really bad and it’s no fun hiking several hours in the heat with that. The places we stayed for the night were pretty cool though, alongside rivers and rapids.
At some places along the Mekong river you can see dolphins, river dolphins obviously. The best place to see them is Kratie, or so we were told. We only stayed one night and at the same day we arrived, we took a boat out. But they are very evasive. Only surfacing a very short time. And I don’t blame them. I guess the motor engine is not a great sound for them.
I am surprised by the bad state of combodian roads. I mean, we were on the main road from Laos to Phnom Penh (PP) and the road was shit. Therefore, arriving at PP took a long time. It’s a big city, what else is there to say? Tons of monasteries, of course! Bars, restaurants and everything in between.
But the interesting part is in its history. During the Khmer rouge regime all people living in cities were relocated (to work in the fields). It is estimated that around 2.5 million Cambodians (and some foreigners) died in those faithful years. We visited the S21, which was the interrogation site in PP. It reminded me on a similar institution (Hohenschönhausen) in Berlin. People were tortured just short off murdered on-site. That was done elsewhere. When the time came people were told they were going to their new homes just to end up in the killing fields. And not only grown-ups. Even babies were killed, smashed against a tree. Who the fuck comes up with that idea? And who the fuck has zero emotions to do that? It shouldn’t surprise me but it does. Maybe key is to put humans into categories and defining one lower than yours and that gives you all the right. I have no faith in humanity. We are still doing those autocracies.
Two days later we boarded another bus that brought us within 6 hours to Siem Reap. THE site in Cambodia because here lies Angkor Wat. However, Angkor Wat is only a small part of the whole Angkor complex with tons of temples. Just to imagine the complexity, size and time this was built is breathtaking. We are talking about the 10th to 12th century, when Europe was in the dark ages. This city might have occupied around 100,000 people (London had 30,000). Other estimates go up to a million.
A 3 day ticket gives you plenty of time to visit the most beautiful ones. Also, because it is wise to avoid the midday heat.
I will only name 2 temples. My top and least favorite one. I truly enjoyed the Ta Prohm temple, which was also featured in the movie Tomb Raider. The combination of restored building while besides lay rumble and trees grow out of buildings gives it a surreal feeling. If you happen to be there when there are not many people you get how it must have been for the first French guy seeing those temples again after laying dorment for 500 years.
The least one for me is the most famous one: Angkor Wat. Yes, it is big. And yes, it is well-preserved (or rather restored) but it lacks spirit.
Unfortunately, while paying the hotel bill, I was made aware by the hotel receptionist, that my four 100 USD bills are fake. I was outraged as I just got them from the ATM in PP. So I went to the branch in Siem Reap and they filled out the claim form. While he asked me what happened and if I had the money under observation all the time a small doubt built up in my mind. I did go to a massage place right afterwards and it felt strange that the woman insisted that I place my trousers on the shelf and not bed. And while she pondered on my back I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to steal something while I cannot hear anything. And afterwards she was really keen on me leaving, almost pushing me out. I didn’t tell the bank clerk that. I didn’t want to intervene with any of his investigations
For 2 nights we went to Battambang. Upon entering I was not sure why. Lonely planet said it has a very nice French colonial architecture but I failed to see it. We did see how they make rice paper, which is used for spring rolls. And the tasting on-site was just delicious. We rode a bamboo train that can be disassembled within minutes. And about 15 minutes outside of town is a cave where every day after dawn millions of bats leave into the darkening sky. Wow!
It was also the place where our joined travel ended. I already thought since a few weeks that I would like to do the south of Cambodia instead of jumping on a plane and go to Thailand (although, at the last moment this was exactly what I wanted to do). Also, I felt it would do me good to travel alone for some time.
So, within a couple of hours I jumped on the 12 hour bus to Kep (via Phnom Penh) and my brother left the next day to Phuket.
Love,
Matthias