After an eventful border crossing into Cambodia (see highlight blog entry) I was instantly satisfied. The contrast to the Mekong Delta was shocking and I was met with the beauty of rice field lined open roads that the Delta failed to provide. Cambodia is beautiful. Even if I wasn’t taking it easy because of Suzi’s dodgy wiring I would still be riding slowly to soak this in.
Arriving in Kampot I checked in to Olly’s Place, based on the advice of Jack and Gemma. Six thatched huts make up Olly’s Place, together with a deck and small bar that project over, and into, the river. The huts are very basic, comprising one room on stilts with a bed, mozzie net and a dresser. Another win, Olly’s Place is awesome. After sourcing some parts in town I set about fixing Suzi properly, replacing the main ignition loom. The reward for a couple of hours work, a kayak up the river and though some mangroves. Nice. When I get back to Olly’s I meet Gabby, Eli (USA) and Lizzy (Aust).
The next day, with a renewed confidence in Suzi, I take a ride out to Kompong Trach to see the caves and climb the hill. Climbing up to the caves im met by two local boys who, for a dollar, take me to see Elephant Cave and Bat Cave. Then its off to climb 375 stairs outside Kompong Trach to take in the view. Arriving back in Campot I take lunch at Epic Arts (based on Lizzy’s advice). Epic Arts is operated by local deaf and mute people. Good food and good company, as I get to chat to Heather in NZ using Viber. Back to Olly’s for a quick swim in the river before riding to White Mountain for another epic view. I get an early night as tomorrow im off to Phnom Penh, but not before visiting the Bokor Hill Station.
6am start on Tuesday to make it up to the Bokor Hill Station for early morning as this is when its meant to be at its best. The Hill Station is ruins of an old colonial retreat built by the French in the 1920’s and later occupied by the Khmer Rouge. The best road I have ever ridden on takes me up to 800m and a giant Buda looking out to the ocean below. Another 200m up and thick fog sets in. In the valley is sunny and warm, up here its something out of a horror movie. I cant see more than 50m ahead and everything is dank and wet. The Hill Station ruins appear out of the fog. Unfortunately a restoration project is underway to convert the old hotel into a new resort and the place resembles a construction site. But its still cool. Racing back down the mountain is even better than coming up. Ohhh to have a sports bike on this road (no offence Suzi – please start tomorrow!).
Phnom Penh is a long and hot drive from Kampot. Trying to average 70kph results in an impromptu (overheating) stop where I share a silent conversation with a local farmer in his driveway while I pour some water from his rice field over Suzi. I think he appreciates the company, or maybe the coffee lollies J. Arriving in Phnom Penh is a sharp contrast to Kampot. Its busy and loud and hard to navigate without a map and an iphone with no signal. After some messing around I find the Mad Monkey Guesthouse, it looks like a great place but they are full tonight. I’m recommended the Mini Banana where I stay. It’s nice enough, but with only a few rooms, not that great for meeting other travelers. After a walk around the centre of the city I head to a roof top bar where I meet some crew and shoot some pool.
Another early start to get the most out of Phnom Penh. Walking the waterfront by the Royal Palace the streets are closed off and heavily guarded. A few blocks up theres a protest which a media guy tells me is about land rights. Taking a wide birth I get to the Central Market, not because im starting to like markets, but because its supposedly housed by one of the largest domed roofs in the world. Skipping the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda (its expensive and based on exiting tourist opinion, not that impressive) I grab a tuk-tuk to the S-21 Museum and spend a few hours gaining an appreciation for why Cambodia is the way it is. I check-out of the Mini-Banana and into the Mad Monkey before riding out to the Genocide Museum (AKA The Killing Fields). The Museum is amazingly well done and together with S-21, the main reason for visiting Phnom Penh. The Mad Monkey provides a nice environment to meet some people and chat about the sights.
Thursday makes three dawn starts and Phnom Penh is more pleasant in the early morning. After the hot ride in I decide that for both mine and Suzi’s sake its best to avoid mid-day riding. Its also more enjoyable to arrive at the next destination early in the day. Heading out of the city I brace for the 300km ride to Battambang, stopping at Pursat for lunch. 10km out of Battambang the rain hits. Stopping 20mins avoids the worst of it. Arriving in Battambang I stop for a map check to find the Royal Hotel. Its still raining and when I go to start Suzi she splutters and back fires. After some basic checks she still wont start so I decide to push her to the Royal Hotel. This takes about 20 mins, stares for every local, and no offers for help. Cheers. After checking into the Royal Hotel (nice place with a roof top restaurant and my own room) and having a hot shower and putting on dry clothes I prepare to sort out Suzi. The guys at the hotel chip in and we find out that the HT lead was shorting due to water. While it appeared dry on the outside there was moisture on the inside. A quick dry and some electrical tape sees Suzi back to good. A basic and common problem, I feel stupid for not checking it better before. It won’t happen again. The walk into Battanbang gave me a chance to check it out. Its got a nice feel, and as one of the larger cities in Cambodia, provides an opportunity to get hold of items. Real items, not the genuine fakes or “same same” . I give in and pick up a netbook. These blogs just got a whole lot easier! I also get my security belt sewn up buy a local seamstress who wont take any payment J. The Royal Hotel is popular with travelers and I meet Laura (England) and Zara (Wales) who have both been travelling for two and a half years (including stints in Aust). We decide to meet the next morning and take a tuk-tuk to see the sights.
Friday morning I meet our tuk-tuk driver Phi (AKA Phil) in the hotel foyer. The four of us set off for the famous Battambang Bamboo Train. This 14km rollercoaster is scary as hell. The tracks are bowed, the trains are built to be pulled apart in 30seconds (this is the key feature as when two opposing trains meet, the one with less travelers is disassembled to allow the other to pass) and the driver has an incentive to get where he’s going as quick as possible. The train is great. Phil drives us to the Banan Temple (maybe another 400 stairs), the golden gate bridge of Battambang, Phnom Sam Peau (Killing Cave and Pagodas – including the $100 shack) and the bat cave. The bat cave is home to millions of bats which, at sunset, leave the roost. This is one of the more amazing and unexpected things ive ever seen and the swarm of bats looks like a dragon crossing the sky. I also saw my first monkey in Asia today!!!!
Leaving Battanbang for Siem Reap I head via Sisophon. It’s a nice ride and the road to Siem Reap is in great condition. There is no doubt that the temples of Angkor are what Siem Reap is all about and its definitely catering for tourists, but not in a too commercial way. Arriving in town and trying to locate your pre-researched hotel is usually a challenge. I don’t mind this, but Vietnam and Cambodia like to up the ante. In addition to not knowing where you are or where you’re going, there are no street names or sign posts. Playing by asian-rules I cheat and pay a tuk tuk driver 25c to chaperone me to the Garden Village Guesthouse. Its down a backstreet which I would have spent an hour trying to find. Cheating for the win. Another roof top bar/restaurant at the Garden Village and I meet Laura and Zara again. Laura has found a tuk-tuk driver, who for $40, will take us around for the next three days to visit the major sights and act as a tour guide. Sounds good, so the next morning we meet Bun at 8am.
Bun drives us out to a ferry terminal to catch a boat with a group of tourists to the floating village. At $20 each and with the operator unwilling to negotiate, we decline. As an example, I paid $1 for breakfast (omelet and baguette), so $20 is bullshit expensive. We know we can get it cheaper elsewhere. We drive to the Angkor for day one of temple visiting. Angkor Watt is the largest of the temples at the Angkor complex but it certainly isn’t the only one here, there are heaps! Rather than start with the biggest and best we start the smaller ones and work up. Prah Khan, Val Rac Dac, Tu Som, Eastern Mebon, Pre Rub, Pre Kravan and Ta Prohm round out day one. Unfortunately Bun is useless and when arriving at Prah Khan says that he is not going to come in and tour us as he is too tired. We explain that this is not what we agreed, and that if he is not our tour guide we will only pay him for driving and not use him for the following two days. He doesn’t really care. We find a local boy inside the temple who tours us around. He’s very good and we tip him well. Karma comes for Bun in the form of a massive down pour as we want to leave. We’re sat in the dry tuk-tuk and he’s facing torrential rain with no coat on a 30min ride home. Being humane, I give him my coat. That night we head to the nigh markets which are excellent (as markets go :P) and find a new tuk-tuk driver – Lucky.
Lucky picks up the girls on Monday and I follow on the bike. I want the flexibility of ditching Lucky if he’s no good. Lucky turns out to be okay and for a few dollars agrees to be our tour guide for the major temples. We head to Angkor Watt for sunrise but it’s a bit overcast. Still, its great to see it early in the morning. Next up is Angkor Tom and the Bayon, Deads Gate (where we get some great photos of Suzi) and finally a proper tour of Angkor Watt. An amazing tropical storm sets in while we’re in Angkor Watt and we hear the rain before it hits. An example of the impressiveness of Angkor Watt – each of the four galleries took 1000 men eight years to carve.
Tuesday Lucky picks us up and its off to Banteay Srei Temple. The 3D carvings in the temple are the most detailed in the world. The monkey guards are also cool. Its a two km jungle trek to the river carvings and waterfall at Kbal Spean before taking a well deserved rest on a river boat at Kompong Pluk to see the floating village, flooded forest and a spectacular sunset.
Time for a holiday from the holiday and I spend Wednesday chilling out, writing blogs, doing paperwork, and planning my next move. I do a bit of research on riding into Laos, but Vietnam wins out and I map a route back to Saigon. Its going to take two days averaging 300km a day, with a stop in Kampong Cham.
On Thursday I leave Siem Reap and ride to Kampong Cham. The ride is awesome and Suzi doesn’t falter. Taking the back road from Kampong Thom to Kampong Cham is a risk that pays off and gets me among the locals. However I do hit the biggest pot hole ever on this road but manage to hold it together! I also see the aftermath of a bike v dog accident. The rider is picking up his bike and seems ok. The dog on the other hand looks like his pelvis and rear legs have been broken. Sickly, the dog has crawled to a group of locals who are sitting at the side of the road watching the fallen rider. The dog is yelping in pain but no one pays it any attention. Too busy watching the rider, who they also offer no help. I don’t get this. I feel guilty for not stopping to sort out the dog, but an angry (maybe rabid) dog is too high of a risk. I arrive in Kampong Cham which is on the banks of the Mekong. It’s one of the nicer cities ive visited thus far and I make a trip over the dominating bridge to the French built light house. There’s a staircase to the top. Call me a pussy, but after checking out the state of the anchoring points, I decide not to go above the first flight. I trust French construction, but Cambodian maintenance – not so much. I find a nice hotel ($8 for a large single room with hot water) and a little restaurant on the river bank for dinner. There’s a storm brewing and the lightning is beautiful.
Friday I leave Cambodia and cross back into Vietnam and to Saigon. 1000km, more temples than I care to remember and all for between $20-30 a day. Thanks Cambodia.
The harsh truth:
Like it or not this is the way it is. We may wish it to be different, but its not. Tourism is like a drug and its messing parts of Cambodia up. In for a quick buck, people are disregarding their culture and future. I think I get it, the Kameer are still not used to planning for a tomorrow which, for much of their last generation, never came. With the draw card of Angkor and the comparative cheapness of everything, tourists will continue to come. There is no need be “sustainable”, for keeping the place clean, for stopping people from damaging the temples, for keeping the beggars from pestering people in what was once the greatest place of quiet contemplation in the world. A woman had her three daughters selling postcards and other tourist trinkets around the temples. The youngest girl, maybe four years old, could count to 10 in English, French, German, Italian, and Chinese. What if these girls were at school instead of pedaling crap. They are smart kids. But there is hope, I saw a group of amputees, with a sign stating their dignity and that they were not going to beg, but perform their music to make money. Hand up, not hand out. Respect.
The Rules:
Never, ever, ever, F**KING EVER, pay the marked price or ask “how much”. Do your research, know what its worth, and negotiate. Make a profit, fine, but charging 50-200% the price is ridiculous. Put it this way, if someone tried to charge you $80 for a $20 meal at home, what are you going to do? more importantly, what is the restaurant owner going to do if you do pay?
Set the terms and pay after. There’s no incentive to play by the rules if you pay first. The local term is “No Money – No Honey”. “No Honey – No Money” would make things a lot better.
Check that your guide speaks English before heading off. Actually, make sure that the person you’re speaking to in English, paying, and stating that he will be your guide, is your guide. Terms of a pre-paid contract change quickly.
