Siem Reap

Trip Start Dec 01, 2004

Trip End Apr 08, 2005

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Flag of Cambodia Siem Reap, Cambodia
Wednesday, January 26, 2005

With the company of our fellow Canadians, we arrived in Siem Reap by bus. From the bus station we hired a couple of tuk tuks to bring us to some guest houses. These tuk tuks were different than the others. They were actually trailers on the back of regular motos as opposed to one built on a single chassis. The driver said we'd have a ride for only 500 riel, which was unusually cheap. While looking at the second guest house, Alain told me he thought the prices were expensive because maybe the tuk tuk drivers were owed a commission by the guest house. We decided to pay off the tuk tuk drivers and find a guest house on foot. Just as we parted with our drivers, an older Australian man approached us. He and his younger Thai wife owned a guest house nearby, and discreetly offered us lodgings at a reasonable price. He confirmed Alain's suspicions about the room prices being directly related to the tuk tuk's commissions. We walked toward his guest house and he met us up the road on his moto

01 - "Welcome to the Wat..."

. He explained that the town was corrupt and could have his throat cut if he was seen soliciting us around the other businesses. Anyways, we found his rooms acceptable and checked in. There were two crocodile farms, one on each side of our guest house. We could look down on them from the second floor balcony. They probably threw guests who didn't pay their bills, over the walls on either side.

Later that night, after dinner within 2 seconds of walking into our room I heard a noise to my right. It seemed to be coming from the garbage. I focused on the plastic bag inside the garbage and once again heard the rustling noise accompanied by the moving bag inside. Tobi ran for her life to the lobby to get someone. I covered the can with an upside down stool to trap the intruder. Some employees came, took the pail away and brought it back empty. It turned out to be just a little mouse. Later Tobi saw another employee scolding the guest house cat for not catching the mouse.

Our first full day in Siem Reap began with a 6 km bike ride to the biggest and most famous temple, Angkor Wat. We spent 2 or 3 hours exploring this impressive structure and examining the detailed carvings. The rest of the day and the next, we spent doing the same thing at many other temples in the Angkor area

02 - Gino's money shot

. At times the amount of other tourists, especially big tour groups, were very annoying and spoiled the atmosphere. I waited 45 min to take one picture with nobody in it. When we were out of the area I tried to look at the picture, but it wasn't there. I screwed up with the new camera. As Tobi wasn't up for walking back, due to the mild concussion she sustained while forgetting to duck through a small opening, I went all the way back to that spot and waited...again. One hour and 20 min passed until I could take that same picture. I took 2 this time - the "money shot".

We also visited a place in Siem Reap called Artisans D'Angkor. It is a school where young Cambodian students are trained in the arts of their fore fathers. Stone and wood carvings, pottery, and silk works are the main focus here. These workshops put out high quality pieces at pretty high prices. Beautiful stuff, but way out of our budget.

The land mine museum was our last real sight seeing endevour, just outside of Siem Reap. Unfortunately our friends Alain and Renee had to move on without us, off to Thailand before heading to India. Bon chance. The museum was started by a man named Aki Ra. At the age of 5 years old he was recruited by the Khmer Rouge and was taught to set land mines

03 - Artisans D'Angkor

. Now, in his 30's he works alone removing mines and UXO's (unexploded ordinance). He brings them back to his museum to provide awareness about the land mine problem in Cambodia. Along with thousands of disarmed explosives, the museum also houses many children who have been maimed by mines. The museum doubles as an orphanage. The kids here are fed, sheltered and educated all by Aki Ra. Cambodia was the most heavily mined country in the world until Iraq recently topped them. Kids being naturally curious make up the majority of victims of land mines. Ultimately, this was the place that brought tears to my eyes.

After experiencing the land mine museum Tobi and I relaxed the rest of the day before our trip the next morning to Kampong Cham.