Travelling for most of the day across the border, we finally arrived in the dusty city of Siem Reap, Cambodia. My immediate impression of Cambodia was complete chaos. There were so many motorbikes, scooters, tuk tuks, and there seemed to be no road system whatsoever. Everyone drove where they wanted on both sides of the road. It was incredibly difficult to get across, and every five seconds I was being hassled to ride in a tuk tuk. You can actually buy a t-shirt which says 'No Tuk Tuk'. By the time we left, I wanted to imprint it on my face. Looking back on it I felt bad, as the drivers were only trying to make a living. It is just so saturated with so many tuk tuks it must be difficult to even break even.
Plastic also seems to have ruined this country. It is apparent there is no public bin disposal scheme, so everyone just throws their rubbish out into the street. All you see are plastic bags and bottles everywhere and it is depressing to look at.
The first night we were taken to a Cambodian restaurant and I ordered Fish Amok. I was excited to try Cambodian cuisine and this was a lovely creamy curry, and I really enjoyed it.
I love this photo as I think it captures the religious elements of Cambodia, along with the different modes of transportation.
The next day we all went to Angkor Wat and the temples. I have written another blog post about that day.
Finding ourselves with a free day, myself, Angela and Kim decided to rent out bikes and cycle to the Tonle Sap Lake. Managed to secure a bargain and get them for $1. In Cambodia, the currency is either local currency of Riel or American Dollars.
We set off on our mini adventure, while the rest of the group went to visit a local fishing village. As soon as we cycled outside of the tourist area, everything became a whole lot more relaxed and friendlier. There were a series of villages we passed through, some with very bumpy, dusty roads. My bum did not forgive me for that! We came across traditional Cambodian stilt houses, and an amazing colourful Cambodian temple in the middle of nowhere.
We decided to have a better look at the temple and walked around here for a bit. It seemed like we were the only people there, but we could hear chanting.
Continuing our journey to the Lake, we began to pass through areas where there was a large amount of construction work. This was making the roads even more dustier. Eventually we reached the lake, or what we thought was the lake. It turned out we had arrived as a bus depot for tourists who are then transported to the actual lake via boats. Feeling slightly disappointed, we decided we would just bike it there. Going along the side of the waterway, we were stopped by some uniformed man who said he was the guard of this road, and we must pay him money. Looking a bit dodgy, we turned back up the track and stopped to get a fresh coconut in one of the local shops along the bank.
On the way through we had cycled by lots of rice paddy fields. There were a few stilt houses along this way, and some bars with hammocks.
We stopped off in one of the bars, and this was the view we had. Rice fields as far as the eye can see.
The owner was very friendly, and told us all about why the houses are on stilts. During the rainy season, the water rises quickly and quite high. This helps the harvest of rice, but also means all their belongings don't get damaged.
This little guy also took a shining to me and decided to sit under my hammock.
Angela had been volunteering for a few months in Burma and in Cambodia. She knows way more about life here than our tour guide. She told us about sticky rice sticks which is like a treat here. We asked the owner of the bar about them, as they were not on the menu, and he was so surprised we had asked he gave us three for free.
That night we went out into the centre of Siem Reap on Pub Street and to the Red Piano bar. This is apparently where Angelina Jolie used to drink when filming Tomb Raider or was created in hommage to her. Naturally I got the Tomb Raider cocktail. Every 10th drink is free, but unfortunately for me I wasn't so lucky.
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