Holiday in Cambodia

Cambodia is primarily known for two things: Angkor Wat and really crap roads (yeah..there is the whole Khmer Rouge genocide thing but I'll save that for another post). We would have to pass over the worst of the later to get to the former, just outside the town of Siem Reap. Our fist look at the country came via the border town of Poipet, nothing short of an absolute shit hole. Our new environs were made even less appealing by the pouring rain turning the dirt roads into trash strewn mud bogs. None of this, however, could erase the smiles from our faces after finally emerging unscathed the other side of a two-hour queue in the sweltering heat at the dodgiest of border crossings. Not even the flat tire on our bus to Siem Reap that occurred as we pulled out of the driveway. Nor could the engine on said bus that failed to start after we finally found someone to fix the tire on a holiday (Cambodian New Year!) dampen our mood. The road that lay ahead of us was another story.

The 115 K journey from Poipet to Siem Reap is infamous for being one of the worst stretches of road in a country of shockingly awful roads. We took solace, however, in the fact that much of it had recently been upgraded…or so we had read. Three hours into the trip and this guide book nugget of wisdom began to seem like a bad joke. The craters, rocks and ruts in our path worked together to create a unique experience something like being involved in a 5 hour perpetual car wreck. They “officially” drive on the right over here, as we do in the States but we noticed half the vehicles outfitted with right-hand steering (U.K. style). It soon became apparent that this minor quirk was irrelevant, as the side you drove on was dictated by which side of the road was actually passable on any given stretch. The dirt fields passing outside my window seemed much the smoother option. We managed to make it, arriving in the night to Siem Reap a bit shaken but with our interest for what lay ahead, stirred none the less

Our past four days here have been spent biking the tree lined river promenade, bargaining for crafts in the Psar Chas market, dining on amazing Amok curries (cambodge stylee) and, of course, the main event…exploring the jaw dropping temples of Angkor! The archeological site is comprised of many ancient temples spread out over hundreds of square kilometers but most people come here knowing of only Angkor Wat. This 1,000+ year old temple is (arguably) the most impressive, but many others hold equal appeal in their depiction of the wealth and power (not to mention engineering prowess) of the Angkor civilization. We’ve cycled countless kilometers in our quest to see as many major temples as possible but there are still so many more and, sadly, we leave tomorrow afternoon. We’ll head back one more time however to see Angkor Wat at dawn with the sun rising behind it’s symmetric stone towers. After that it’s on to the capitol, Phnom Penh. I think I remember reading that the road is supposed to be really good these days.