On Fried Crispy Insects, Leaving Siem Reap & Buses to Phnom Penh

I was a bit anxious early in the day. Despite relatively expensive prices, I decided to check out Shadow of Angkor's restaurant for my early breakfast though I wasn't particularly hungry. But a safe rule in Backpacking 101 is always having your meals at the right time - when you can - because you never know when or where you're exactly going to get your next.

I ordered an American Breakfast which constituted 4 small pancakes immersed in honey, with slices of bananas between each stack; then there's either coffee or tea - all for $3.50! The trouble here was, it took them 30 minutes to prepare and I was getting antsy because I knew that at any moment, my pick-up coaster would be arriving to take me to the Bus Terminal. This transfer service was part of the bus ticket purchased from the hotel. Sure beats dealing with tuktuks just to get to the terminal, which is 20-30 minutes from the city center.

My bus this time would be the Sokha Komar Tep Express bus, a heavily peddled bus service from my hotel's front desk. At $6, it was 50% cheaper than the Mekong Express Limousine Bus so if you are scrimping (I wasn't, I just wanted to check out how good is this $6 ride), you might as well take this bus.

HOTEL OR GUESTHOUSE

My pick-up coaster made a 10 minute rounds to pick up more tourists bound for Phnom Penh. Such beautiful guesthouses, and at no place in Asia is there such magnificently cheap accommodations looking like grand hotels. The reason? I was told a few years ago while staying at Mom's Guesthouse that using the name "hotel" would entail paying more taxes than using "Guesthouse". Moreover, the hotels that use "hotel" to name their establishment here in Siem Reap are really gargantuan in space and spread - think Shangri-La Mall!

Tonle Sap Lake

LEG ROOMS, MEKONG EXPRESS VS. SOKHA KOMAR TEP

Sokha Komar Tep Express Bus wasn't bad. Most foreign tourists are curiously given the backseats - this has been my observation! I got a seat at the 9th row, where there are 12 rows. The Europeans behind me were trying to fit themselves and had to contend with the steady traffic of people using the WC (toilet) situated at the back of the bus. What's the difference from the Mekong Express? The floor of the bus is a bit elevated and there's less leg room for comfort so if you're a tall person and you hate trying to fit your lower extremities for a 5 to 6 hour ride, then I would say, Sokha Komar Tep isn't for you. Get the Mekong Express, by all means. It's an $11 seat, while Sokha Komar Tep is just $6.

DEEP FRIED AND CRUNCHY

At 10AM, the bus made its single stop at Kampong Thom, the same place Mekong Express made its stop last time. I didn't bother getting a meal as I was still stuffed with the 4 little pancakes served from Shadow of Angkor. It was a 30 minute stopover so I walked around the nearby psar (market) to check out their local products. I bought sugarcane juice at 1,000 riel and purchased a coke in can (2,500 riel) for later. At the other end of the roadside compound, I found stacks of deep fried ready-to-eat insects cooked with local herbs and spices stacked like rice - crickets, grasshoppers, giant aphids, a-ping (tarantulas) all ready to eat. I'm told that these are delicious alternatives to the crispiness of pretzels and potato chips. Finger food, anyone?

I slept through most of my ride. But one hour into Phnom Penh, I noticed an area where buddhist temples gleamed side by side each other, built with different materials - wood, concrete, steel, etc. There was also an area filled with oil refineries or gasoline depots. I didn't notice these places before. Cambodia is such an enthralling potpourri of sights.

Sacks of a variety of insects deep fried and spiced up. This photo only courtesy of Photobucket's adhanoa.

Crunchy grasshopper battered up! This photo only courtesy of hubpages' billericky.

The trip back to Phnom Penh took 6 hours. Good thing I already emailed Seng, owner of my new guesthouse - Europe Guesthouse - in the capital. He already arranged for a pick-up service, a tuktuk at a measly $2. My airport pick-up to Green House was a car service worth $12, though understandable since the airport is far from the city center ($6 by tuktuk).

I waited for 10 minutes for my pick-up. It was a kind-looking young man named Banh. Yup, if you've never seen a face that looked "kind", you have to see Banh. Haha. I will post his photo and contact number one of these days. Europe Guesthouse was just 3 blocks south of Sokha Komar Tep's garage (it's not a terminal, but just a parking space outside Sokha's main office in the heart of the city) - very near Sangka Wat Phnom area and just 1 block from Sisowath Quay! It is a great place, just like Mekong Express, because you're already at the heart of the capital's new backpacker area (Boeung Kak lake area has mostly been demolished) and Sisowath Quay!

For me, it was another opportunity to rediscover Phnom Penh, a city I was once scared to visit. Not anymore.

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Sokha Komar Tep Bus

Temples of the Angkor Wat Complex

In the morning, I was in a quandary. I was told that Siem Reap was already celebrating the Buddhist Water Holiday and for the next week, there will be no outgoing buses. I was stuck in the expensive “town” of Siem Reap! What to do? In a couple of days, I had a flight from Saigon to Hanoi - and I was stuck in Cambodia! The morose-looking “mom” made her calls to the other bus companies, but I was out of luck. My only option was to book a flight (read: expensive - add to this is Siem Reap’s airport departure tax - $25). So I was to fly from Siem Reap to Saigon! I withdrew cash at a nearby ATM machine and handed $120 to "mom". She was still sporting her characteristic smirk, but by this time, I was sure it wasn't personal. With that taken cared, I was now set on conquering the Angkor Wat temples. The options were varied: a taxi could be arranged to take me around the temples. And there are tuktuks and the motodup as well.

I wanted the wind on my hair, and I wanted a comfortable sit as well, so I hired a tuktuk (a motorcycle pulling a 3-wheeled roofed carriage). Passing through the town center (luxury casinos, resort hotels, golf courses – a far cry from the squalid capital Phnom Penh), my driver drove me to Angkor Wat’s central office. A foreigner has to buy a $20 day-pass. This “pass” is randomly checked - and you have to show this at every temple entrance.

My first stop was the main temple, Angkor Wat, looming majestic with a moat and a baray (body of water). My driver waited outside while I navigated the temple. Stepping on the moat leading to the Wat was like stepping back in time. One can’t help but be mystified by the history and regal bearings of each structure. I had goosebumps.

The complex of temples spans around an area as big as Manhattan. Some are closer to each other, while others are far away, like Banteay Srey which is 37 km from Siem Reap. Each temple has specific features. My personal favorites were: Ta Promh (where they filmed Indiana Jones and Lara Croft) – with gigantic trees growing out of temple structures, a case of nature’s triumph over men; the Bayon, a part of Angkor Thom, which has more than 200 enigmatic faces in half-smiles looking down their visitors; and finally, the magnificence of the main Angkor Wat. If you closely observe the details of the designs, they tell stories of the 12th century. Every part is picture perfect.

Reality is, one cannot possibly view all these temples in a day, though the temple grounds open as early as 5AM (for the avid photographers, this would mean daybreak photos overlooking the Western Baray and Angkor Wat) and close at 5PM. You need a minimum of 3 days (that’s $60) to appreciate majority of these temples.

You also need a comfortable ride because it is almost impossible to walk from one temple to the next, unless you have several weeks of holiday. A bike may be used but Siem Reap (SR) has prohibited bike rentals within the town’s confines (unless you have rented your bike outside SR.)

Some of these temples are poorly maintained, remote and unpopulated. Some can be found in the bowels of a jungle, thus not so safe especially for lone female trekkers (a couple of rape cases have been reported). Next important thing to consider upon visiting these temples: it is physically daunting! You need some stamina to climb up and down each temple. There may be limited mobility/activity for the physically challenged (the handicaps) or the elderly, unless they're happy watching the view from the outside. I had 4 shirt changes during my visit. The sun can get harsh - so bring extra shirts, bottled water, and maybe a face towel.

As I moved from one temple to the next, I would raise my soaked shirts against the wind (best sensation there is). Another must-have: a good sunblock with high level spf! I used enough and still got fried. Some of these temples, like Ta Keo, were very very steep. After persevering it’s very thin steps, I was petrified coming down. It was hard to maneuver your feet sideways (to fit the width of the steps), balancing yourself so you won't suffer a long, bumpy fall.

Another tip: if you have agreed on a $15 whole-day ride with your tuktuk, make sure that this includes Banteay Srey. I was emphatic to point this out to my driver - or it would be a “no-go”. Banteay Srey turned out to be “pretty”; it was a girlie temple, relatively small and with a pinkish hue! This "most beautiful" temple is some 30 minutes from the central congregation of temples.

Banteay Srey

I enjoyed the ride through the countryside on my way to Banteay Srey. Green fields, wooden houses that rise on stilts (typical old khmer architecture – as noted by a Chinese farmer who first visited the temples way back 12th century). This was a far advanced civilization, with a population of 1 million when London only had 100,000.

I noticed several “artesian wells” that had signage’s “donated by Mr. So_and_so of Toronto, Canada” or “By Fredirique of Nice, France”. There were signs that led to other temples further afield, but you had to risk landmines as well as hoodlums to visit such remote temples.

Outside Banteay Srey, there were stalls selling brass wares, paintings, souvenir shirts. Several young men offered Lonely Planet books of Cambodia and a Special Edition of the Angkor Wat Temples. It was sold at $13. I had no intentions of buying one, but these young boys were so persistent. “I wait for you, mister,” remarked one of them. I told him not to wait for me, but he disregarded my reply. After roaming the temple, I found him waiting outside. He kept dogging me every step of the way until I finally relented. "$9," he offered, but I wanted him out of the way so I said, "$6" or I'll go! He stared at his wares then finally handed the book over. I almost felt sorry for him, but this was a book I didn't need! Was I bad? He was the persistent one! Over at Shangrila's Powerbooks, the Cambodian Lonely Planet sells at $36 (PhP1650)! This edition was a special edition of just the Temples of the Angkor Wat!

This is the Eye in the Sky!

Note:

I have since visited Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples for the 2nd time this year (July 2011). The actual travelogue is posteD here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2011/07/siem-reap-bakhen-temples-golden-sunsets.html - and the successive posts follow.