CAMBODGE (Cambodia)
Where do i start?
First of all we booked a bus to Siem Reap, the closest town to the famous
temples of Angkor. The bus ride was terrible! It was an old rickety bus with
absolutely NOOOO suspension! Ten hours of bumping around so hard, as there is
no road. Rumour is that the government is paying Thai airways to not fix the
road so that tourists more inclined to use aeroplanes. We were put on what is
called the scam bus. Everyone else gets nice coaches (with suspension) and we
ended up in he public bus which everyone else pays about 150Baht which is
around five dollars AUD $. We payed around 18,000Baht (600AUD) for the crap bus
and two nights’ accommodation at a cheap hotel, which was around 20AUD $ a
night. We got ripped off major. They make you uncomfortable on the bus on
purpose, turn up the aircon full ball and go very slow so it takes as long as
possible and then when your very tired and uncomfortable they dump you at the
hotel of your choice which they get paid to dump us at.
The temples of Angkor
Wat are ABSOLUTELY GEORGOUS! We went the main big temple first (Angkor wat)
which is massive and just covered heaps of intricate detail. Apparently when
they first discovered all of the temples, they were covered with trees and
forest and jungle but they pullet it all back for the tourists. The other
temples are every impressive but after a while they all sort of look the same
which sounds terrible as they are all very beautiful. After we went into all
the temples, we were harassed by children overcharging us for postcards and
water. They just would leave us alone! They have an American accent from the
Yanks when they say “Dollar” in such a whiney HILARIOUS WAY you can’t help
cracking up. This is done by children all over Thailand also, as the children
believe that just because we are foreigners we must be rich. So what’s five
dollars to us?
We met up with Pisey,
a Tuk-Tuk driver who was recommended to us by a friend who stayed in Cambodia.
He was really lovely! We had lunch together every day and he was very chatty
and friendly. He drove us around to all the temples of Angkor, and he showed us
the better side of Siem Reap. Siem reap is very different to Thailand, with
rubbish and rubble EVERYWHERE. Pollution and dirt fill the air.
After a couple of
days we decided to head over to the orphanage called Green Gecko that my mums
friend Nikki volunteered at for 5 weeks. You couldn’t really call it an
orphanage because it’s more of a place for street children to go to for
support, peers, clean clothes, food and a place to belong. It’s also a school
were volunteers from other countries come to teach English. Most of the kids
are driven to the streets as they’re parents are either in prostitution or are
unfit to work (landmine limb losses). This place is a safe refuge for the kids
to go during the week, to get away from the streets and they’re parents.
