A Tale Of Two Cities: Part I

Getting There…SE Asia-Style
First off, here's a map to orient you with the travel for today's blog (click here if it doesn't show up):

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At 5:30pm on Sunday I began what would end up being a sleepless, 26-hour journey to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The main exciting part was that I got to fly Kenya Airlines and actually see some black people for the first time in three months (the flight to Bangkok was a stopover on its way to Nairobi). Other than that, the time leading up through the flight was smooth and eventless.

We arrived in Bangkok airport around midnight and had five hours to kill before getting on a train to the Thailand-Cambodia border. We started trying to sleep on some airport seats. These were not comfortable to say the least, and no sleep was gotten. At some point, we heard lots of screaming, what sounded like lots of young people, from outside, and I was pretty excited/worried that this would be some kind of protest by the Red Shirts at the airport – thankfully, it subsided.  Around 4 I sat up and just started to listen music and people-watch. I got really exited as my 5am alarm went off and motioned to Floor that we should get going.

After some money exchange to Baht to be able to navigate to and from the airport, and a quick stop to a food mart, we were about to exit the airport when we realized that we hadn't accounted for the -1 hour time change from HK. These are just some of the troubles with overnight stays at the airport. Feeling like an absolute idiot, I sat back down and relaxed some more.

Finally, 5:15 rolled around and we made our way to the taxi stand, metered of course (I learned my lesson in overpaying January). Perfect timing arriving at Hualamphong Train Station as we bought our $1.50 ticket for our 5.5 hour train ride east to Cambodia five minutes before it left.

Despite that the train was third class all the way (no AC), and the chairs were only marginally better than the airport, it was an extremely enjoyable part of my trip. It was so great to be sitting with Thais. In the seats next to us was a young married couple and ~5yr old girl, who provided ceaseless entertainment throughout the trip. I definitely developed a few new funny faces that we exchanged along the way.

(Our train car at 6am)

(One of the less busy intersections leaving Bangkok)

(The lovely Thai countryside)

(My new friend)

Also, it was wonderful to see the whole country at a slow pace, as the train seemed to stop at a station every few minutes. From the slums leaving the station to the endless rice fields an hour away. The scenery was beautiful and the ride was exactly what I expected traveling in SE Asia would be like. Shout out to Alex Rosenberg for recommending the train over the more expensive, but faster bus.

It seemed like every 5 minutes the train would stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere and a couple people would switch places. Another cool part was the constant peddling of food, water and chochkas. A couple of older women would patrol the cars with baskets of fruit, vegetables, snacks and drinks. The funny part was that it seemed like at each stop they would pick up different types of foods, none of which I recognized. Talk about Just-In-Time deliveries.

Finally at noon we pulled into the Aranyaphratet (remember that “ph” sounds just like p) station, the Thailand side of the border with Cambodia. Now, I must note that this overland crossing is one of the most storied in SE Asia backpacking lore - normally consisting of scams, bribes, long waits and immense heat. Because of its reputation, I had done more research on this route than I have for all my classes combined this semester. Clearly, my priorities are in order. You might be wondering, ”Jake, why didn’t you just fly there silly boy?!” Well, it turns out that there is some kind of monopoly had by a couple of airlines flying in and out of Cambodia, making the ~2 hour flight to Cambodia a $700 US expense – not my cup of tea.  In fact, it is rumored that the road from the Cambodian border (Poipet) to Siem Reap was purposely left incomplete in recent years (it was finally sealed and paved in June 2009) because the local government was bribed by a certain airline so that flying would remain viable at high prices.  Welcome to Cambodia.

Thanks to a fantastic website though, this crossing was mostly cheap and painless. The first scam we encountered (and avoided) was the initial tuk-tuk ride from the train to the Thai border. A few minutes in, our driver hung a right into what looked like a makeshift garage/tent and were told that we needed to pay for our visas into Cambodia (they offered a price more than 50% above the real $20 value). Calmly we convinced them that we wouldn't be crossing the border in his garage and a couple minutes later, upset that we didn't fall for it, our driver got back in and took us to the real border. I should compliment those guys though, as they all had nicely laminated name cards, but it was the seemingly hand-written banner that said "BORDER" that just seemed out of place - maybe next time guys.

(Waiting for our tuk-tuk driver to load up all his extra luggage for somebody)

(I found the Cambodian tuk-tuks to be much more spacious than the Thai ones)

The actual crossing of the border was pretty painless, though excruciatingly hot - well over 100 degrees and no fans. The only snag was an attempt by the Cambodian police to extort an extra $10 to get the visa made "express". Of course, being a visa that can only be issued at the border we knew this was full of shit. Politely and with a smile we handed the officer the $20 for the visa and without saying anything just pointed to the sign that clearly stated the price and let him work. It seems that in tight spots and in bargaining, it's always best to be quiet, point to your price, and smile. This way, it doesn't ruin their ability to exploit other people because of your loudness. Everyone leaves happy. Of course, disappointed that I wouldn’t give him extra money, he made it a little harder for me. When I handed over my crisp $20 bill (I was advised that only crisp bills would do), he told me that it was too old. Stunned, I looked and saw Hank Paulson’s signature on the bottom and laughed. Thankfully, Floor had just pulled out a fancy new Benjamin (read: $100 bill for those over 35) at the airport and supplemented my payment.

(Entering Thai-Cambodia border area - I always wonder who owns this territory. Note the mini-Angkor Wat)

(Turns out this area is very popular for Thais who can gamble legally here. There's actually a sign before exiting Thailand chastising gambling and mentioning its dangers - at least they try!)

Over the border and to the “Free Shuttle to the Transport Station". In a few words, the Cambodian "government", mostly influenced by local big men, mandates that tourists take special government-arranged buses or taxis to your location. This Free Shuttle took about 10 people to a transport station in the absolute middle of nowhere, where the buses and taxis wait. Not sure of the purpose there. Opting to save $3, the cost of my lunch, we went for the bus. Three hours later we arrived in Siem Reap and were given free transport to our hostel, so long as we hired the tuk-tuk driver to take us around the temples the next day. We negotiated down to the standard price of $10 for the day, and happily, hungrily and sleepily arrived at the Golden Temple Villa.

(It was just a hut, but nice to sit in the shade nonetheless)

(She almost made me buy a drink after I took this picture, thankfully we had to leave)

Siem Reap – Angkor Wat’s Porta-Potty

After we dropped our bags in our "luxurious" (by my standards at this point) hostel, we headed into town for some dinner and relaxation and awaited Niclas' arrival from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

(Our free "welcome drink" along with free 20-min massage at Gold Temple Villa)

(Looking for restaurants and planning our temple expedition)

(More Angkor obsession. Comically enough, they have a cheaper beer called Anchor - I smell patent infringement)

Siem Reap has about 15,000 people in it – and it shows. The town can be walked on all of about 5 streets. A couple minutes from our place we ate at one of the probably a hundred restaurants there - getting a full dinner for no more than $3.

This would be a good time to point out that the de facto currency in Cambodia is the USD and that the Cambodian Riel is mostly used for tuk-tuks and pocket change. This is mostly because the local currency is so unstable and devalued (currently $1 = 4100 riel, so there low denominated bill of 1000 riel functions as an American quarter). It was very strange going back to seeing George and Abe on my currency again, a nice reminder of home. The only downside is that it makes it hard to bargain for things because you can't really give them fifty cents, inflating the general price level. For most of the trip, I was holding four currencies – Thai, US, Cambodian and HK – enough diversity to set up a bank I think.

After some nice dinner where we were the only people in the restaurant, we headed off to Pub Street (yes it's the actual name) for a couple drinks. Every restaurant is also a bar and they all pretty much offer the same food and the same drinks for the same prices. Every time of day is happy hour and the iconic Angkor Beer is $0.50. Afterwards, we walked around the Night Market, which was pretty cool and I bought some nice little gifts that someone reading this might see in a couple months – get excited!

(Near the main street)

(In the Night Market)

(See below)

(It was actually pretty crowded with lots of internationals and backpackers - very nice feel)

(I laughed when I saw this)

(Famous dessert place - delicious ice cream, especially on a 90+ degree night)

(There was a free cultural dance show at one bar, pretty cool, but we got there at the back end of the show)

To add to the feel of the town you just have to add in all of the tuk-tuks, motorbike drivers and begging. Every 10 feet three things happen - someone tries to be your driver for the temples the next day, a small child tugs on your arm for you to buy something (bracelets and books were very popular) and someone tries to "entice" you to come into their bar/restaurant. At first it always seems like a novelty, but after about an hour of the incessant nagging, it is pretty annoying. What makes it kind of funny though is that they all know the same few English words that they use, and then all in unison start asking their questions, producing a cacophony of sounds that reminded me of a dying animal.

Some other first impressions include how dirty and poor this country is. Even in the tourism capital of their county, roads are not paved, garbage doesn't go in garbage cans, and plenty of people are sleeping in the street or their tuk-tuk.

Other than that, I had a constant pull between how nice the people were, and trying to not be taken advantage of. I had read and heard about so many scams and so many bad things that finally being here and being in their restaurants, hostels and shops, they are mostly just looking to survive and you become part of that process. Each time you buy a scarf or do one of the "Dr. Fish Massages", where you sit on the edge of a Jacuzzi-sized tub and let little fish eat away the dead skin on your feet, you are helping them put a meal on the table or send their kids to school.

Anyway, at around 9 we met up with Niclas at the Golden Temple and, although he couldn't get a room, he just crashed on a bunch of towels and sheets he found in the laundry room and slept on the floor. Of course though, I would barely call sleeping for 3.5 hours a full night.

(Entrance to our hostel. Our 3rd floor room had AC that turned off randomly during the night. I quickly learned how to sleep without being bothered by sweat)

***Next post will be devoted to our day at the Temples of Angkor Wat***