Spunkeymonkey in Siem Reap-Angkor

My first impression of Siem Reap was terrible. I was still on the bus,in the stupor caused from taking motion sickness pills,wehn my window was slammed open!. All these people were yelling at me,imploring me,"Please stay at my guesthouse,clean room,shower,aircond"...and the killer pitch "free internet!". Some locals were actually pulled off the bus by these rather overzealous men. I had a rather soft spoken tuk tuk driver take me to my guesthouse. Since he did not push his way nor unceasingly pleaded,rather;he asked very politely,i felt most comfortable with him.

The guesthouse itself is not that great.the room is clean and simple enough. Unfortunately,a shower will leave you smelling like rust. To me,that smells like blood and i feel nauseous at the end of each shower. Not good at all. However,since teh room only costs USD2 (can't get that in KL!),i can't complain at all.

Left at about 7a.m for Angkor. It had rained heavily earlier so no chance to view the sunrise anyway. A moto driver for the day costs about USD 6. A tuk-tuk will cost USD 10. There's a Grand Tour and a Small Tour. Being not very ambitious,i opted for the small tour. A 3-day pass (even if you visit only for 2 days) costs USD40. I wondered why on the pass it bore the name of Sokhla Hotel. Very odd. Why not Cambodian Tourist Authority?. Does the temple complex belong to a private enterprise?.


i returned somewhat early from Angkor. After starting to sneeze continously,i decided it may be best to call off the day. That,and the hordes (or rather herds) of tourists pushed me to leave.



The day started off rather well with Bayon.It was absolutely lovely. Just heading towards it,with trees lining eaither side of the avenue,very cool weather;built up anticipation. It had a "mystical" feel (rather sentimental word) and was sublime. I sat there for hours. I explored terrace by terrace. twisted my ankle terribly at one point.My ankle gave way and i lnded,fortuitously,on my derriere. Anywhere else,it would have hurt exceedingly. However,i continued climbing all the way up.



I met an Englishman who was so overcome by Bayon that he came to me and said "this is absolutely amazing". We had an enlightened conversation regarding Bayon,our luck at being in Cambodia before the whole experience became too sanitized,electric carts,foreign interference in Siem Reap and why herds of tour groups simply ruin the experience. Then,we had to cut short the conversation as yet another loud,excited,happy group came bouncing along. Ironic,no?




From Bayon,i left for Ta Keo and Ta Phrom. Both were very impressive. Ta Keo was easy to navigate,beng linear in nature. Ta Phrom was everything i imagined it to be. It was pictured in Wong Kar wai's film:In The Mood For Love. It was romantic,overgrown,and required much imagination. However,as more and more tour groups (japanese,Korean and chinese) came traipsing along loudly,it became harder to ignore the din. That,coupled with exuberant Japanese teenagers shouting made me contemplate homicide. Or rather Genocide. Sigh.



A rather vicious storm came along,scaring even the hardened peddelrs. I was glad to be out of broken down Ta Phrom at that point. It wasn't a normal downpour. Several huts came crashing down. My moto driver was quite worried and looked visibly relieved when he saw myself limping amiably along. After all,i was very pleased that nature had took revenge and chuckled when all the noisy people scampered and dispersed hurriedly.Yay!



We finished off the "small tour" with Angkor Wat. I found a small nook for myself. With my ankle not being very reliable (despite the ankle brace) i had to forgo the pleasure of climbing to the top. I know it's only an 11m climb. However,those stairs are terribly steep!. It rained continously. More people came upon my nook so i had to give that up and called it a day. My moto driver had actually come to search for me: i was a gimp and throughly soaked. Hehhehe.



Tomorrow will be my last day in Siem Reap. I'll be there very early at 5 sunrise (if it doesn't rain) and to see Angkor again. If i've time,i'd like to see Bayon. Then,back to Phnom Penh on the 8a.m bus. I have no wish to rush on Sunday. It sounds terribly lazy but all i want to do now is sit and read. Have a massage-painful but satisfying from a bling masseur. If i feel up to it,i may go to the museum. Better yet,go to the Russian Market and get a good backpack.