It
seems to me that time in Cambodia follows its very own rules.
Sometimes it disappears before you're able to notice it and sometimes
hours stretch magically giving you the fealing each of them is longer
than any other you lived through before. The second option is quite
common on public transport. Getting to Cambodia and travelling
anywhere around it takes time. A lot of time. The roads are bad and
the buses are often only slightly better, turning each small trip
into a day long journey. Last time we tried, we have spent over 8
hours to cover a distance of 300 km. But the tickets cost nothing and
it all gives you an unique opportunity to observe local people on the
way. And trust me, there is enough to see to keep yourself occupied
even for 8 long hours.
I
can still remember the moment we have arrived in Phnom Penh. The
first thing that hit us after getting out of our air conditioned bus
was the wave of hot air, that didn't leave us even long after the sun
went down. But before we were even able to register it, we were
forced to face the real Cambodian plague, which was sticking to us
ever since, no matter where we went: the tuk-tuk drivers. I didn't
even manage to get a breath before I was totally surrounded. “Lady
where you go”, “Lady I take you best hotel”, “ Lady come with
me”, “Please I take you to center”. It all came at me with such
an amazing speed that it took a moment before I realized what was
going on. Fortunately we had decided to stay in a hotel near to the
station, so that we could simply walk there. But the drivers all
along the way never stopped trying. They were hitting the breaks in
the middle of the street, sometimes even nearly driving us over, just
to try to convince us to take a ride instead of walking. At least we
had a chance to get used to it quickly, since we had to face it every
single day since we crossed the border. Going to the nearest
supermarket which is really just around the corner usually meant
getting at least 3 tuk-tuk offers. And they are standing on every
corner and seem to have nothing better to do than to wait for their
next victim. Don't get me wrong, they are very friendly and
fortunately, not really persistent, but still having to answer “no,
thank you, I don't need a tuk-tuk” 30 times a day can get pretty
annoying. And it's not that we haven't been offered a tuk-tuk in the
other countries neither, but trust me when I say it, the Cambodian
drivers take this experience to a whole new level. Funny enough, we
haven't used a tuk-tuk even once in this country. Maybe it was our
private protest or maybe we were just lucky enough never to need one.
Phnom
Penh is not really a fascinating city. It's mostly just big, dirty
and smelly, but it does have a spot or two, which makes it worth
visiting. The first thing we headed for was the palace. We were not
quite sure if we really want to spend our precious 7 dollars each on
the ticket, but the problem was solved for us before we had time to
think it through. They would simply not let me in. It was not my
first sightseeing trip and no matter what I'm wearing I am always
prepared to cover myself as I'm required to. And so I was this time
too, but that didn't seem enough. It turns out, that no scarfs are
allowed at the palace and there is only one right way to cover
yourself: buying an ugly, overpriced official t-shirt. I honestly do
try to respect all the rules in the countries we visit, but I have my
limits. Since the t-shirt would not cover any single spot that was
not already covered by my own clothes it was simply another way to
get some money out of my pocket. If it was about respect or culture,
they would simply lend me one free of charge as many other places do.
Well anyway we left the place in no time, deciding to rather invest
the money in lunch. I am convinced it was a great idea, since
Cambodian cuisine is definitely the best thing this country has to
offer. They have some magnificent ruins too, but if you try a really
well done fish or chicken amok, you will forget each single building
you've seen, only praying for the meal to last forever. And it's just
the beginning of the menu!
The
reason we really wanted to see the capital was it's history. A huge
genocide that happened not so long ago, but long after the whole
world promised never to let anything like that happen again. Well
they definitely failed in this point and many places in Cambodia are
a living proof of it. The worst thing is, many of the people
responsible for all the tortures and killings are still alive, some
even still enjoying their lives in freedom, just because it takes
forever to file a case against them. Unfortunately the museum we have
visited was only vague about the reasons for this situation, saying
there were many obstacles inside and outside the country, so we will
have to read into it a bit more to even try to understand why it can
take 30 years to punish the criminals, when there are so many proofs
of their crimes (they documented it quite detailed themselves). But
still we wanted to see one of the places where it all happened, even
if it did not really set us in happy moods. This recent history had
obviously a huge impact on Cambodia and you can not understand the
country or its people without trying to learn about it.
Our
second stop was the famous Siem Reap, where we wanted to spend 3 days
before heading back to Thailand to use our few remaining days to
swim, relax and finally get some sun. You would not believe it, but
we hardly had any chances to unpack our swimsuits since Kyrgyzstan!
That is why we decided to have some proper holidays before heading
back home. But first we wanted to do our last real sightseeing in one
of the most famous tourist spots in the world, the temples of Angkor.
As usual in such places the first thing we did was renting a bike and
once again it turned out the best way to visit. It simply is a
perfect biking spot. The road is good and flat and the trees offer
enough shadow to keep you from overheating. Of course you may also
rent a tuk-tuk for a day, to drive you from one temple to another,
deciding for you what the next stop should be, but I don't really see
where's the fun about it then.
We
are not really huge temple lovers. We like visiting them, but we are
far from studying every single detail, so we decided we do not need a
three day ticket, as we will definitely not need so much time to see
what we wanted. And since a day entry already costs 20 USD, we
decided to make the best of it and try to do it all at once. We were
not naive, we knew it would take us time and we'd probably be dead on
our feet before evening, but we decided to try anyway. We set the
alarm clock somewhere after 5 o'clock, got on our bikes without
wasting time for breakfast and set off. The air was cool and fresh
and riding a bike felt great, just until we bought our tickets. It
this very moment the heaven decided to open and let down enough water
to organize 3 or 4 huge storms in Germany. Here it all came at once,
making us wet from top to the bottom in no time. It could have been
the moment for us to regret not taking a tuk-tuk, but one glance at
the passing tuk-tuks showed us that it was no good neither. The rain
and wind were both so strong, that nothing but a waterproof car could
stand a chance. There was no way to escape. But before you start
pitying us (if you have some pity left for people, who didn't have to
work for the last 9 months) I have to tell you all in all it was not
such a bad thing. Normally the biggest problem in this place is the
heat, which makes a whole day sightseeing a real extreme experience.
But the rain cooled everything down and the temperatures stayed low
for the rest of the day, offering us a pleasant 25 degrees instead of
the usual 40, so we were not really complaining.
Angkor
was just as impressive as we expected it to be, magnificent,
beautiful and surprisingly well preserved. Unfortunately also full of
tourist. I thought I have seen it all, but it turns out I was wrong.
Taking a picture without any strangers in it was close to impossible
and huge lines were building before most famous attractions. But
seeing all those magnificent temples you can not really blame
people for wanting to be there. We were definitely glad we have
included Siem Reap in our plans. Thanks to the temperatures we
managed to see all we wanted in one day, though I admit we were dog
tired when we came back to our hotel in the late evening.
We
have chosen a really nice hotel to stay in. We even thought it will
be a waste, since we were planning to spend most time sightseeing,
but we decided a pretty room and a pool will be a nice place to come
back to after a tiring day. We did not yet know what a good choice it
was. Since we were done with Angkor, we spend the second day
sunbathing and swimming, enjoying the beautiful pool area of Mom's
Guesthouse. And we decided to leave for Thailand a day after.
Unfortunately, we didn't make it, since I got really sick before the
evening came. There was no way to travel anywhere. I was hardly able
to sit in bed, not to mention spending 10 hours on a Cambodian bus.
That was out of the question. It took me a few days to get better and
though we still had time to visit some Thai beach and get some
holiday at the seaside we decided against it. We liked Siem Reap. We
had a great hotel, the city was nice and we did enjoy Cambodian food
a lot. We though we have spent enough time in Thailand and it
wouldn't be fair to leave Cambodia so quickly. We were in for a long
stay and I guess we are not the only ones who ended up sending much
more time in this country than they ever planned to. That is just
what this place does to you. But we were really glad we did it, as a
day later David got some bad back ache and this time he was the one
not leaving the bed. I can say that being sick sucks no matter where
you are, but it does feel slightly better if you can handle it in
beautiful surroundings and no matter the sickness, we both had really
nice time. We might have stayed a bit longer if it wasn't for the
fact, that we had to fly back home in a few days. So ready or not, we
had to get back to Bangkok. Fortunately the ride turned out to be
quite pleasant, since although we have bought a standard bus ticket,
we were offered a taxi instead. The ride was not only much nicer, but
also quicker, so that when we changed the vehicle at the Thai side of
the border we caught up with people who left Siem Reap 3,5 hours
before us with a morning bus (they were not really happy to hear that
though).
Being
back in Bangkok felt good, though it was a stressful stay, since we
decided to spend it shopping. And I guess it's good we didn't have
more time, as I am not sure we could have handled it any longer.
Bangkok has the biggest markets and shopping centres I have seen in
my life. One next to another, each at least 6 or 7 floors, they are a
real labyrinth. We came back to our hotel in the evening more tired
than ever with quite a few bags in our hands, which created some
serious packing problem on the next morning. But we have managed to
squeeze it all in, hoping our precious shopping trophies would
survive the long flight back home without getting lost or damaged.
I
was always wondering how it would feel like to be going back home
after a journey like this one. I imagined I would be sad, maybe even
crying, that something as special and beautiful was coming to an end.
That I would not be really willing to go back to my old routines, to
my well known reality. I would have never thought I would be actually
so happy and excited. I could hardly wait for our pick up to come!
Don't get me wrong, doing this journey was one of the best decisions
in our life and we never regretted it, not even for a single day.
Moreover, we enjoyed it more than we ever could have hoped to. But in
some funny way, all those experiences made us appreciate our good old
everyday life in a completely new way, making us miss home awfully.
That is why when we entered the plane in Bangkok there was not place
for tears, but a glass of red wine to celebrate the happy homecoming.