After finishing up two physically exhausting days at Kampot, several of us went by public bus to Phnom Penh.  When I say public bus, I would like to emphasize the fact that it’s a public bus…traveling on dirt roads….in the middle of a 3rd world country.  I’m sure you all know what I’m trying to get at….but in case you don’t, buses in the third world are notorious for being poorly maintained and have a reputation for breaking down frequently.  My trip was definitely NOT the exception.

The bus brokedown 1 hour into the drive

We got the bus to restart, went about 6km, then stopped again after the engine caught fire

At this point, we emptied out the bus

AND…

That’s right!  We pushed!  The bus blocked the road so we had to move it out of the way (and for clarification… by “we” I mean other people)

So the bus stood on the side of the road…fuming and crackling.  Everyone emptied out of the bus and found shade wherever they could. One hour passes, then two, then three.  The driver promised us that another bus was on route, but after four hours, we realized that was probably a lie.  There was no bathroom nearby, the sun was beating down, and everyone was exhausted.  If it wasn’t for the local shop owners who gave us shelter, I think we all would have burned and become completely dehydrated.  Some people slept, others listened to their ipods.  I went to the shop owner who gave us some chairs and shade and rocked his kid to sleep on a hammock for an hour or so (I can’t nap during the day anyway…and the wife and husband of the child found it amusing). When enough became enough however, and we realized that no one was going to come, we decided to flag down any car we could.  First car that comes up…a cattle truck.  Despite the language barrier, we were able to get a ride to Phnom Penh (I now realize that when you hold up $50 cash money in your hand in Cambodia (about a month’s worth of pay), language barriers dissolve quickly).  So we hopped on the back of the cattle truck, threw our luggage underneath, and along with the sand, dirt, manuer, and whatever else cows excrete in the back of a truck, we road on bumpy roads in a baby blue, beat-up cattle truck til we reached Phnom Penh.

Bumpy roads and bruised bottoms…no wonder TV puts haystacks in the back of their trucks for hitchhikers

And if you think the broke down bus, the waiting, the lack of bathrooms, and the Cambodian sun wasn’t enough…

About 15 minutes before we got to Phnom Penh, the clouds opened up and let the rain pour out.  My suitcase, clothes, bags…EVERYTHING was completely soaked.

After a night In Phnom Penh, I finished off my trip by spontaneously deciding to head into Laos to go tubing in Vang Vieng (left my camera at home…call it paranoia after my little camera got wet). Video to follow thanks to “MrNordie”

And that’s exactly what the atmosphere is like in Vang Vieng (note: No single ladies or dramatic dance moves were used in the making of this video)

You don’t see the tubes in the video, but you basically float on these tubes along the river and these bars aligned on the shore pull you in with huge sticks.  There are ropes and lots of platforms to go diving off of…a little dangerous, but fun to watch.  Overall, it was a little more laid back in Laos which I definitely appreciated, but after a day, I headed back to Bangkok and then hopped on a plane for my 18-hr trip back home.

Looking back on the trip…especially when I was frustrated and tired on that broken down bus…For a moment, I wish I had paid the extra money for a Limousine Bus (like the one from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville).  But then I realized I never would have had met the shop owner on the side of the road, road in the back of a cattle truck with locals laughing and smiling as we lived a glimpse of the Cambodian life, or even gotten completely soaked in the rain and still had the heart to smile at the end of the day.  Most importantly, I never would have had this amazing adventure…nor all the memories and snapshots of life from a world that I only hope to visit once again.

Here’s some footage of the Thailand and Cambodian countryside (note: may induce nausea and slight seasickness)

After the relaxing two days at Sihanoukville, the next destination up on the list was Kampot–a small town similar to Batambang but with more outdoor activities. This was probably the most strenuous part of the trip. Biking for 3 hours, hiking for 3 hours, cave exploring…all in the hot hot heat of the Cambodian sun.

Wish I had this kind of balance

Guerilla photography from my bik

Barbed wire everywhere…all leftover from the war

On my hike

Made it to the top

Some cave exploration

Didn’t realize that there were bats and spiders in those dark caves…thank you for your gift Mr Spider

Ended the day on a relaxing boat ride along Kampot River and caught the sunset

Set out from Phnom Penh by public bus today to get to Sihanoukville–a small little beach town lined with rows and rows of restaurants positioned 10 feet away from the ocean. It’s time to finally relax! I left my camera at home, went swimming, and played with fireworks at the beach. As great as the shots would have been, I figured it would defeat the purpose if I had my camera around my neck everywhere, especially with all the thefts that happen in Sihanoukville. Here are a couple of timelapses with the little camera that ended up getting ruined.  Goodbye SD-1000.

Took a break from temples to visit the floating village of Tonle Sap today.

The first officer taking us out on the lake

The countryside from the lake

Floating homes

Just the realities of Cambodia

Pulled over to see the lily fields on the way back from Tonle Sap

Lily fields weren’t the only thing I stopped for

Preah Kahn is definitely my favorite temple

Underexposed, but saved it the best I could.  Notice my totally rad shower sandals

My favorite of the day

One of the few shots of me at Preah Kahn (credit: Chrissy)

A close second favorite

This was just awesome

Awesomeness (in color)

Me standing next to the awesomeness

After another pretty packed day, I think my favorite out of all the temples is Preah Kahn.  It’s huge, full of greenery, and has this magical feel to it (especially when you go during non-peak hours). I had a tendency to try and explore either early (after the sunrise) or late in the afternoon (right before closing).  It definitely gives you the best light and allows you to do some exploring alone.

I was too tired to catch the sunset today, but headed over to “Temple Club” to watch an Aspara show and to have some dinner.  Lonely planet, every other tour book, as as well as my incredibly knowledgeable tour guide told me toget the Khmer Curry here, so I did.  Verdict?  5 stars.  If you’re ever on pub street in Siem Reap, get the Khmer curry from Temple Club.  I absolutely loved it (and just for reference, I hate eating all types of curry…so you know it’s got to be good).

It’s not everyday that you get to marvel at what’s considered to be one of the new seven wonders of the world.  Today, was my day.  Angkor Wat and the rest of the temples that make up the highlights of my SE Asian adventure was everything I expected it to be and more.  From the masterpiece of witnessing the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the monumental size of Angkor Thom, the overgrowth and destruction at Ta Prohm, and the majesty of Bayon, the experience was nothing less than ethereal, and has mesmerized me for days on end–from sunrise to sunset.  Of all the goals I had set for myself before embarking on my trip, none was more important to me than seeing the sunrise over Angkor Wat.  It’s listed on many people’s “bucket lists”–a list of things people would like to do before they die.  Well…I guess you can cross that one off my list because not only did I see the sunrise, I went three days in a row! It was that amazing. Starting at about 4:30am, I got up, got ready, packed my gear, and hopped on a tuk tuk to see the sunrise.  It was tiring of course, but it was worth it to see Angkor from a different perspective every morning.  In a way, it inspired me differently each and everyday, and I wanted to share a piece of that here.  It’s nowhere near as amazing as seeing it in person, but I tried to capture it the best I could on this time lapse.

Video: Time Lapse of Angkor Wat Sunrise

After the sunrise, went to explore Angkor Wat itself, which is sort of like the gate/entrance to all the other temples.  Following that, I visited Angkor Thom (which includes Bayon, Leaper King, Baphuon (stone reclining Buddha), Elephant terrace) Ta Prohm, Neak Pean (the king’s swimming pool), Ta Som, and went to Pre Rup for the sunset.  I saw a lot, but I think I could have done so many more if the heat hadn’t been so bad (104 degrees today).

The gate to Angkor Thom

Courtyard

One of the locals who came to the temple for Cambodian New Year

Onward to Bayon

Bayon is the temple of faces…lots and lots of faces

Faces, faces, everywhere

A local hanging out at the temples

The triple threat

Lucy…too cool for school

Chrissy striking a pose

The exit gate of Angkor Thom

Ta Prohm, where tomb raider was filmed

Coming to pray

Some more Ta Prohm action

I LOVE this place…it’s basically a jungle in the middle of the city

Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm

Monk

This was my favorite of all the trees at Ta Prohm

Some incense burning at Ta Som

Light on the road from this morning

My tuk tuk driver…always sleeping on the job

Racing some monks on the way out of Angkor Thom

It was a full day, but still found the time to enjoy the sunset from the top of Pre Rup…too bad it rained before I could get a good shot in.

It was an exhausting day but totally worth it.  We headed over to Khmer Kitchen for dinner tonight (not that great), but since it was owned by locals, I was happy to spend my money there to support the local economy.  If you’re on vacation in Cambodia, might as well eat what the Cambodians do! Spent the rest of the night on Pub Road in Siem Reap (total touristy hang out) and basically replied to the 56 neglected emails that I had awaiting me in my inbox and  swapped stories with other travelers who were around.  Up next, some more temples and Tonle Sap tomorrow!

So I’m still a little jet-lagged and have been waking up at about 4am everyday.  I’ve been doing some wandering, writing, and picture taking while I’m awake early in the morning (figured I’d make use of the time).  I’d be on the computer, but internet is so horrible here.

My morning stroll:

An abandoned bike

I think he was a ruff ryder in the a past life. Smoking while exercising…the ultimate gangster.

*Note:  couldn’t find anyone sleeping on the streets/benches here in Battambang…will search again tomorrow

Took another motorbike tour this morning and visited some fruit plantations and rode on the bamboo train.  I wanted to do the bamboo train just so I can get as many different methods of travel under my belt.  List so far:  Bus, Plane, Taxi, Train, Foot.  Up next, the bamboo train. The “Bamboo Train” is part Khmer ingenuity, part Khmer necessity. It is pure Cambodian and one of the coolest rides that I have ever been on, though it got a little long at the end (no leather seats).

Assembled with a wooden frame, bamboo planking, a gas-powered Honda engine, and reused military tank wheels and axles, the Bamboo Trains haul passengers and freight up and down Battambang.  These contraptions putt-putt up and down the tracks.

Some of the locals before I boarded the train…the people here really love hanging out with tourists

To the Japanese, this means “peace.” To the Cambodians, this means “two dollars for one picture”

My conductor and the first officer on a bamboo train

The bamboo cheerleaders (aka…some of the coolest people I met on my travels)

The motorbike ride and train ride this morning took about 3hours, so I rushed back to the hotel so I could catch the bus up to Siem Reap. The “bamboo cheerleaders” and I ate at Gecko Cafe, then headed up to Siem Reap for a 3-day tour of Angkor Wat.  We hit the night market in Siem Reap and learned how to bargain, “fed the fish”, and learned to navigate Siem Reap.

Took this shot on the way to Siem Reap of a cattle truck carrying kids…(foreshadowing?  stay tuned…)

In Siem Reap:

Phil took us to “feed the fish” which is actually a place called “Dr. Fish”…these guys nibble on your feet and eat away all the dead skin

Looks like Phil has lots of food…and funk apparently

Lucy, Chrissy, Sam…so fresh and so clean

My ugly mug…those fish are just so tingly

Chrissy and Lucy having a good time

Lan trying on some dresses. She tried using her feminine wiles to get the dress for “one dolla”… didn’t work =(

And Sophie?  Well…she disappeared for the night. I’m sure she’ll turn up somewhere…

Night market is a fun place. It’s crowded, full of odd knick knacks, but also gives you a sense of how things work in Cambodia.  Albeit, the sales people were a little aggressive, but I learned how to handle myself and did my best not to get ripped off.  I did that by not buying anything.  =)  I’m sure they’ll still find a way to rip me off anyway.  In any case, after night market, I called it an early night and took off back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow.  I’m anticipating a great morning and have high expectations for what will undoubtedly be an awesome sunrise over Angkor Wat.  Game time – 4:30am.  Get ready for excellence!

So I hit the road for Battambang, Cambodia, a French-influenced riverside town in southern Cambodia.  The bus ride to the border between Thailand and Cambodia took 4 hrs.  I wasn’t quite sure how the Visa thing worked in Cambodia, but apparently, if you cross at the Poipet checkpoint, E-Visa’s from the Cambodian government aren’t valid, so you have to pay about 200baht (~60 bucks) for Visas.  The line was long and it took forever to cross, but I finally entered the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Border of Cambodia and Thailand (Shots from the SD1000)

Shortly thereafter, I hopped on a bus and spent 4hrs on the road to get to Battambang.  It was an exhausting trip, but not as bumpy/rough as I thought.  Most of the roads are paved and I had A/C on the bus…I was living the high life! When I arrived, I dropped my stuff off at the hotel and took a motorbike tour of the little town. Here are some  shots from Battambang:

That’s how they roll in Cambo (from the SD1000)

Scooterville (SD1000 on automatic)

Motorbikes!

To my surprise, they celebrate new year in Cambodia the same time as Thailand.  Here’s Lucy doused with water and flour (SD1000 on automatic)

Fish market (SD1000)

Noodle making (SD1000)

River-boats in Battambang (SD1000)

Didn’t do much tonight.  It was such an exhausting day of traveling that I just crashed after eating dinner at the Smoking Pot.  I was a little adventurous and ordered some Cambodian (Khmer) food tonight.  I wasn’t expecting it to be all that great, but…. well, no “buts.”  It wasn’t that good…I’m just glad my stomach held up.  Had some Beef Lok lok, Fried rice, and garlic chicken.  After that, I headed over to Scoot Bar in some dodgy (I learned that word from some Brits!) alley and had half of a drink (yes…i’m weaksauce) and had some good conversation.  Plan for tomorrow, some more exploring in Battambang, then off to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat.

Note:  British phrases learned today – “lou” = toilet, “pitch” = field, “Mum” = mom, “Cobb” = bread (not corn!)…and I also learned today (or was brainwashed into thinking) that Manchester United sucks and that soccer (football) is the best sport ever.  Period!