Siem Reap 13 - 19 May

During our Cambodia trip, we had been thinking; “I wonder where all the tourists are.” Well it turns out they all seem to be in Siem Reap. With the temples of the Angkor Wat archaeological park and the infamous pub street, I don’t think we had seen so many tourists since……well maybe ever.

The town itself has obviously benefitted from the crowds and the dollars they bring with them, with an attractive tree lined river side and a number of NGO-run restaurants and shops. Having such a large tourist population however has resulted in an even larger population of tuk tuks, and you really get sick of being asked for one every two steps. That said, we enjoyed hanging out in Siem Reap, it was an easy town to get around (we used bikes from our hotel) and it was just a nice place to be with a nice atmosphere.

While in Siem Reap, we of course went to Angkor Wat, spending about two and a half days visiting different temples. There were certainly some stunning ones; from the majestic Angkor Wat to jungle-covered Ta Prohm. Many of the temples have international teams working to restore or preserve certain sections, so often some areas were closed off.

We soon found out that clambering around and up and down temples in the heat is quite exhausting. The park itself covers a huge area, and there are different routes you can do. We did both the small and the big circuit, although missed the odd temple, and then went back to spots we had missed. Being at Angkor Wat for sunrise is a popular thing to do, so we thought we’d do that too. Unfortunately this meant leaving our hotel at the ungodly hour of 5am. The sunrise was nice, and we got some good shots, although I’m not sure I’d do it again.

Being the rainy season, our temple visits or plans for visiting sites around the city were affected a little by sudden downpours. We saw people biking between temples who were caught out in the rain and drenched in seconds – didn’t look very pleasant, although at least you cool down. Luckily we had arranged a tuk tuk through our hotel which took us from temple to temple, and our driver met us with icy cold water after each temple. While we enjoyed visiting these amazing archaeological sites, at the end of Siem Reap, we were a bit templed-out.

The rain about to pour down

Battambang 10-11th May

We arrived in Battambang from Phnom Penh and after being dropped at the bus stop we turned up at our guesthouse, named ‘bus stop’ – very confusing. An Australian-owned place that advertises “the coldest beer in town” – what is it with Australians and their beers needing to be the coldest?

The next day we turned up at the bamboo train locally known as a norry, BattamBang is one of the only places left in Cambodia that has these. During the 80’s and 90’s there were hundreds if not thousands of these things whizzing around the country. Of course before the Khmer rouge shutdown the railways in the 70’s these tracks were for actual trains and as the country recovers and repairs the seriously neglected tracks the bamboo trains become more scarce. In construction they are simply a steel frame sitting on steel wheels and covered with a bamboo base powered by what seems to be a go cart or scooter engine, which propels them down the tracks at speeds up to 40 km/h

40 km/h doesn’t seem that fast but with the low centre of gravity, the lack of suspension, sound deadening, walls, and by the looks of it nothing but a bit of wood for brakes it soon gets more exciting than you’d expect.

When another “train” is met coming the other way they both stop and one helps the other to lift their train off the tracks drives past and then puts it back on again.

moving out of the way for oncoming traffic

At the other end of the track we arrived at a small village full of eager locals for you to get out of the heat and enjoy a drink. Children create animals from flax and proudly show you around their village (of course for a small fee)

She was taking pictures of me so I got to take one back

When we got back we found an evening cooking class which involved a market tour, which along with the normal fare of meat/veges/ fruit also had fried crickets and cockroaches.
We sat in the kitchen of a family run restaurant and chopped and bashed under the supervision of the husband, while the wife and children attended to the patrons. We created a fish amok which is a yellow fish curry that is steamed in banana leaves, a sour soup and popular Lok Lak which is diced beef done with black ground pepper topped with a fried egg served with rice.

Sour Soup

Beef Lok Lak

It was nice to be out of the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh and see local life that doesn’t revolve around tourism.

The next day we left for Siem Reap.

Phnom Penh, 6 - 9 May

Arriving into bustling Phnom Penh was a shock to the system after chilled out Kratie and Si Phan Don. We adjusted to the new pace and noise however, and enjoyed exploring the city.

The Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda were great to see. The bits we were allowed to see in the palace weren’t as lavish as you might have expected. The Silver Pagoda however and its multitude of heavily adorned Buddha images were quite extravagant.

We also visited the Killing Fields and S-21; the former was one of many places where ‘enemies’ to the Khmer Rouge were taken to be executed; while the latter was used as a prison during the same time. Both of these museums were harrowing – especially as you remind yourself that all of these horrible events took place a mere few decades ago.

We were surprised at the amount of NGOs in Phnom Penh (actually, in the rest of Cambodia as well). From restaurants or cafes offering employment and training to women previously in the sex industry, or former street kids, to retail shops selling products made by people with disabilities, or illnesses. The amount of organisations out there to help people disadvantaged in some way and who don’t receive the support they need from the government is amazing. Being able to patronise these businesses also makes you feel like you’re helping in some way, while sipping on your coffee or buying a t-shirt. Interestingly however, talking to an NGO worker a few weeks later he told us that around 10% of the NGOs working in Cambodia left last year, as they were sick of dealing with the corruption prevalent at all levels of organisations and government departments.

It was nice wandering around the waterfront, and easy to navigate central Phnom Penh on foot.

As we were in Phnom Penh, the rainy season was just beginning, and it was our first introduction to the impressive downpours and pandemonium this creates in the city. A few times we were caught out and had to shelter inside wherever was close.

Walking on water in the Royal Palace grounds

Cambodia: Kratie, 4-6 May

After crossing the border into Cambodia, our first stop was Kratie, further down the Mekong from Si Phan Don. We took a tuktuk tour around some key sights in and around Kratie with a friendly local driver. This included some impressive temples, one of which was the 100 pillar temple.                                                                                                 

We also stopped to look at a floating village nearby. The village is populated by poor Vietnamese people who, owning no land back in Vietnam, erected their homes in the river and made a living from here. When the wet season comes, they take down their homes and rebuild further around the corner as the level of the river rises.

On our way to see the floating village, we stopped in a local village, much to the delight of the children, who swarmed into the tuktuk with us and came along for a bit of a ride. Some of them took turns taking running jumps on and off the tuktuk as it made its way through the village. Every village we passed through on our trip we encountered gorgeous smiling kids waving and shouting out ‘hello’ at us, which was quite endearing.

Other stops including watching and talking to some women planting the rice paddy fields, and trying local palm sugar juice (not such a fan of this). Then we went to cool off at the local swimming hole. Turns out this was actually a set of quite strong rapids. Bamboo platforms are erected over the rapids for hanging out, picnicking, hammocking, and also to
cling onto so you don’t get swept off down the river.

In the late afternoon, we headed out on a boat to spot Irrawaddy Dolphins. These dolphins are quite rare and pods can be found in the Mekong around Kratie, as well as near Si Phan Don. Previously, they had been hunted. Although protected now, their numbers are still quite small. We did manage to spot quite a few as they briefly came up for air before slipping under the surface again. It was also a beautiful sight with the sun setting across the river.

Although our tour had officially finished, our tuktuk driver wanted to take us to his friend’s school to help the kids with their English. We went along and were stood up in front of the class, telling them about where we came from, etc. The kids were far too shy to interact with us, but it was a funny experience with thirty or so enthralled faces staring up at us and occasionally giggling about the way we looked, talked, or did something or another.

Goodbye Laos - a few reflections

In the end we spent a total of five weeks in Laos, and really enjoyed our time here. To follow; a few reflections on Laos.

Laos was more expensive than we expected – more so than Thailand for instance – particularly in terms of food (although of course still cheap by western standards).

Laos is really on a timeframe all of its own, and is commonly referred to as ‘Laos PDR – please don’t rush.’ This is something that takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while, you do adjust to Lao time.

Laos is one of the poorest countries in the world, and a lot of people live in real poverty, yet despite this we only encountered one or two beggars during our entire time there.  Also, even the most basic of bamboo huts have massive satellite dishes attached.

We spent a lot of time in hammocks, which was fantastic.

Laos has some truly stunning scenery.

The food wasn’t particularly exciting, however beerlao was great.

Pi mai Lao, or Lao New Year, is a fantastic celebration, and a brilliant excuse for the whole country to let their hair down for a few days.

Bumpy, windy roads; and many a long bus journey. Oddly, for some reason, all the bus stations in Laos seem to be very far of town, often 5 or more kms out. Often the smallest towns have more than one bus station as well. Perhaps this is so that tuk tuk drivers can then ferry people to and fro and gain an income this way.

Lao pop music was ubiquitous; many a long bus ride was spent with this blaring loudly from the speakers. The music seems to have only the one tune. This could have something to do with the fact that it hasn’t been around long; apparently prior to 2003, it was illegal to make pop music in Laos.

Laos is changing at an amazing rate. Development is often being prompted by investments from countries such as China, which in turn has an influence on the country, with some of Laos’ natural resources being provided to China.

Much of this development is bemoaned by tourists and others for the detrimental effects on Laos’ environment. However it’s important to remember that much of this development is welcomed by the Lao people, as it often increases access to medical services, education, and more. How to continue development while still preserving the environment is perhaps Laos’ million dollar question.  

Si Phan Don, 28 April - 4 May

Our next and final stop in Laos was Si Phan Don, or 4000 islands. This is right at the southern tip of Laos, where the Mekong is quite wide (up to 12km in the wet season), and scattered with many islands, both small rocks and quite substantial islands.

Our first night we spent in a bungalow on Don Det, one of the three main islands people stay on. The following day we went for a bicycle ride around Don Det and across the bridge to neighbouring Don Khon island.

On Don Khon we found a bit more of an idyllic atmosphere and some great accommodation, so we moved and spent the rest of our time here. Aside from quite a bit of time spent chilling out in our hammocks, we also went for a bike ride around the island, visiting a village on the opposite side for lunch and seeing other sights such as the old locomotive. Particularly impressive was the Khone waterfall; here the Mekong rushes through giant rapids, in turn forming many miniature waterfalls.

 The bike ride was a bit more adventurous than intended as we ended up sheltering from heavy rain under a tree for quite a while. We also rented some inner tubes and went floating down the Mekong, launching ourselves from one point off Don Khon, and getting back off near our accommodation. This was much in amusement to the locals, as we were the only people doing this on that stretch of the river.

French era bridge connecting Don Dhet and Don Khon

The old school in Don Khon

Unfortunately, I was once again attacked by some sort of stomach bug and spent a good few days doing not much in our room. As I couldn’t face the boat and bus ride through to Cambodia in that state, we stayed a few days longer than intended, and were quite ready to leave at the end of it.

Pakse 25th-27th April

Pakse is the capital of the Champasak region and starting point for visits to the Bolavan Plateau.
Another Mekong river side town which, as with a lot of southern Laos, is very close to Thailand and Vietnam, and because of this Vietnamese style noodle soups and Thai food are abundant. In fact our guesthouse had the most popular noodle shop in town on its ground floor and after a beef noodle soup for breakfast amongst dozens of locals it was obvious to see why people gathered here.
Giant pots on charcoal burners with boiling soups, piles of noodles, containers on each table full of green beans and the line of people getting noodle soups to take away.

After breakfast we joined a 1 day tour of the Plateau, maybe an hour’s drive from Pakse. The small villages were teeming with small children, tea and coffee plantations and of course waterfalls. We stopped off for an espresso at a fair trade coffee farm which was actually very good. We took in the sights of three different waterfalls, including a giant one 120 metres high from memory.
We stopped and had lunch and took a dip with the local teenagers who offered us some of their beer lao drunk from cups made of cut in half soda bottles.

We took a small walk around a village that had been created to show of the different types of housing that different tribes used, and before we knew it we were back in the van. I think more time and maybe an independent approach would suit the plateau area but the tour showed us the main points with the knowledge of a guide.

We found a flancy (flash and fancy) hotel that had a roof top bar and enjoyed a beer lao or 3 while watching the sunset.