Siem Reap and the Floating Village in photos

I really had a great time in Siem Reap, the people and the places are all wonderful and I felt welcome at all times, one of my top picks. Unfortunately, I lost many photos of the city's sights. I have pulled some from my phone, but they are kind of random photos.

A walking bridge is lit up at night

Pub Street was so busy on Halloween

Angkor What? Bar
I got to personalize a wall

This is the lobby/restaurant to my Guesthouse

Elephants were an important part of this area in years gone by

Preah Promreath Pagoda 1371 AD

I think some buildings are newer...

Than other

This boat was really slow

In the lotus field

Not in the lotus field

One of my friends

Floating Villages Temple

A Snake at the Floating gift shop

A store for the Floating Village

A gang of crocodiles

Crocodile meat

More buildings on the Tonle Sap Lake

At the $23 lunch for 7 of us

Siem Reap

 


  I arrived in Siem Reap via the bus system in Cambodia, the buses themselves are reflective of what you pay for your ticket, which is really pretty darn good if you compare prices to elsewhere in the world. I paid 8USD and had a mid grade, 8 hour, air conditioned ride in a mini van type bus. What you cannot avoid on these rides are the roads. If you remember the last 20 minute ride to your cottage as a kid (where the road ended and the bumpy dirt-ish trail began), that was about a 2 hour portion of the trip. I arrived in town in the evening and made my way to the Ladybug Guesthouse, a $10 a night room with a king bed and air. Great price and super nice staff.

 

This for $8

Or this for less...lol

     I spent a day or 2 acclimatizing myself to the area, going for hours long walks, getting semi lost and finding local eats...usually with street vendors. I found a little restaurant where I decided I would eat my soup everyday for lunch. There was a little girl of 9-10 living/working there. I hired her to teach me to count to ten. Everyday I would go for my soup, she would get me to recite the numbers 1 to 5 (moi, pee, bay, buan, and pram). Khmer numbers are on a 5 count as opposed to a ten count we have. So 6 is pram moi, 7 pram pee and so on, 10 is dop, and you start again with dop leading. I paid this girl 1000 riels each day...equivalent to 25 cents.

Preah Promreath Pagoda, 1371 AD
(that's what the sing said)

Found a nice market that expands to a night market along the riverside, there are many lights in this city at night, it makes for a beautiful sight. Along with these walks I do, my social skills get me in good with many locals, just by saying a few words, and most times surprising them with my ability to mimic their accent when speaking the few words I know.  I think it goes a long way when you try to speak in their tongue. It does for me, anyways :) I've gotten better rates at hotels, on taxis, more smiles, better service, etc.

a walking bridge at night is way prettier
market is on both sides of the Siem Reap river

    Off to Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and to Ta Prohm Temple, When I arrived, I had met a TukTuk driver who was very fair with my fare, so I got his number and hired him to drive me for the day. I paid him $15 for the day...a great deal for me as this was a 5-7 hour trip in all. He arrived at my room at about 9 am. We arrived at the Temple and my driver set a spot where we could meet after.  As I approached the long walkway I felt a little shiver, then I get approached by a guide who tells me $20, I told him $10 and he agreed. It was a good tour and I learnt abit about from the young man, was worth the money I gave him...but not any more. There were many vendors there, it kind of takes away from the spiritual aspect of the journey.

The classic photo of Angkor Wat

   From there we headed to Angkor Thom, we stopped to see some monkeys and I fed them and got a few photos. One guy was on the tuk-tuk and I think I got too close with the camera to him as he jumped at me with teeth bared. I laughed, but driver and monkey sheppard seemed concerned, so I suppose I was lucky I did not get bit.

just before he went on a rampage...lol

   On to Angkor Thom, the temple with all the faces. It was built about 700-800 years ago, by a king who was seen as a demi god, the faces totaled 216 when it was built, each one overlooking each of the Kmer empire's provinces to keep the people honest and true to the king, The guide here was really good, he would point out where to get the best photos as well as give me great historical descriptions. This was a more spiritual event for me, maybe s it was not commercialized here.

the faces of Angkor Thom

my guide pointed out great photo locations

   from there we made our way to Ta Prohm Temple, made famous by the Tomb Raider film with Angelina Joli. This temple are is quite a visual treat, as the structures are intertwined with trees, roots are holding some together, it seems and vise versa, some trees look as if they need the structure to keep them alive. This was a guideless tour, but it was great to just take it in as it is presented. The one problem here is the reparation is in play and therefore some tools such as a crane take away from the experience.

Was quite the treat to see these
buildings and nature intertwined

many of them, I believe depend on
one another to survive

     On Halloween, I was told to go to Pub Street as it will be busy, I went early and had dinner at one of the restaurants. My meal finished, I look out and the masses were gathering. I made my way across the street to a small pub that seemed popular and got a roadside seat.  I chose the right time to move, as shortly afterwards, there were so many people, that there was no movement. I had never seen this live, it was a giant can of sardines on Pub Street, Siem Reap. The pub staff were really nice, and we agreed to meet on the following Saturday for a trip to the floating village nearby.

No trick or treating here

everyone gathers here for Halloween,
adults, children and teens are all present

     I found a gym close to my room, so I got in some exercise, but not nearly enough. The following weekend, I met with the 3 staff and we made our way towards the floating village on their scooters. We pulled to the side and i was amazed at the field we were looking at, lotus flowers were everywhere, it was very pretty, we went into the field and took some photos, and the farmer gave us a a pod of the lotus fruit. The berries from the lotus are quite tasty, I wouldn't have even known you could eat from this plant had I not been with the locals.

The field is wet...like rice a rice field

A lotus pod

We continued towards our destination and met someone who is friends with a boat driver for the Floating Village tours.  I went to the window to pay, and was quoted at $20 for me only, one of my friends quickly started discussing something with the teller and the price changed, now I was paying for five of us, and the cost was $12. My friend explained that we were all together and that I was treating them.  We toured part ofthe Tonle Sap Lake and the village that is housed upon the lake. The lake itself is huge, about 250 kms by 100 kms during the high season. We stopped at a floating restaurant/giftshop/crocodile farm and had a bite to eat....I did not like the taste of crocodile, was like fish and frog mixed, and tough as leather, you peel off a small bit and chew on it...similar to jerky.

one of the homes in the Floating Village

crocodiles, not alligators in this part of the world

I was really happy to have come to Siem Reap to see all it has to offer and will definitely go back there, as it has a laid back feel to it that I truly enjoyed. The people I met there were amazing and among the kindest that I have come across on my journey, and that is saying a lot.

Facing my Fears

  Back to the Wild West of SE Asia

   It's been called that by many people, and you don't really appreciate the name until you experience it first hand. Don't get me wrong, Cambodia is a beautiful country and I really love being there, it just has the air of possibly producing a scenery that would be reminiscent of the mid-west USA circa 1850 (sans horses and Colt 45s(but am sure you can both for the right price)).

   My Thai Visa was up in a week or so, my brother, Paul is landing in Phnom Pehn in a few days and I'm on the beach having a Margarita in Pattaya....okay, not a Margarita, a water. I was going to take a bus from here to PP, or at least to Siem Reap, then again to PP. I decide that the bus is not in my plans to get to Cambodia, so I look up some flights from Bangkok. I find a pricey deal to Siem Reap...$60, I decide that's what I will do.

That's me on the beach

     I catch a $4, 2 hour bus ride to Bangkok and find a $12 dollar room for a night, before my flight leaves to Siem Reap. I make my way to the airport, via Skytrain and city bus, total cost is 65 Bahts...not bad considering I was quoted 800 Bahts the first time I was here. The flight was an hour...I'm beginning to think all flights in SE Asia are an hour, which is fine by me. I fill out the paperwork on the plane and meet a couple from Britain, they are very nice and are doing a similar trip as I am, we wished each other luck and went in to immigration line ups in the airport. I pay my fees and find a room for the night...a little pricey, but nice room.

   I go to find dinner and a tuk-tuk driver promises me a great meal and he helps me get a new phone card. He brings me quite far from my room, to which I protest and we get to some restaurant that I not like the feel of. Naturally, I go in and have a drink with my driver, 2 girls sit down and help themselves to a drink on my tab! I order my bill and discover my earlier suspicions were accurate my bill was $18 for 4 drinks!..., I pay the bill and tell driver to return me close to my room, I let him know that he will never drive me again(I tell him that after he dropped me off...lol). 

   The next morning I'm on a 7 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh, my brother will be there late that night, on my way I contact his friend, who will be setting up a ride for us to Sihanoukville, a truck of some sort to accommodate the electric wheelchair. I arrive and Mr. Whut has no truck, but assures me he will by the morning. Paul arrives without his suitcase (it's still in China, apparently). We get a room across from the airport and wait till 2 the following day.


    The next day we collect the baggage and load up a mini van with the wheelchair and Whut's motorbike. A few other people are there for the ride. Whut tells us he chartered the van, but I have my suspicions when we stop and pick up another person. We arrive at Sihanoukville about 4 hours later and we go to Paul's place. They have no room for me, so I find a room about 2 kms. from there, but closer to the city core...near the "2 Lions" as this is the reference point of the city, so I'm told.

The 2 Lions, Sihanoukville, Cambodia

   The last time I was here, I was very afraid, so much so that I left the city on the first bus and made my way to Thailand. Now, I see the city in a better light, I attribute this to my being a grizzled veteran of SE Asia, having been over 2 months and all over Thailand, plus being acclimatized to the culture sure helps. I have a much better attitude towards the city this time, and this really helps me see it for what it really is, a city on the verge of becoming a destination for travelers.

    I rented a motorbike for my time here, as close as I am to the centre, there are 5 beaches here and they are spread out. My brother takes me on tour and we visit the different beaches. At one of them, there is some serious construction happening, A Chinese company is building a resort/casino right on the beach, looks like it will be a very nice, very big resort. I think this is just the beginning for the city and in several years, there will be an explosive growth in their tourism industry...but what do I know?

one of the beaches here, quiet by day,
busy by night 

   Most of the time spent here for me, was a sort of 'down time', compared to my whirlwind tour of north Thailand. There were 2 main attractions here: beaches and casinos, I was not here to gamble, so I did not hit the casinos. A typical day here would be meet for breakfast, go to one of the beaches for coffees, and mingle with the other people we encounter, go home for a few hours to shower and then meet for dinner and maybe go to the beach and watch the different activities going on, from fire eaters to dancing to dancing. There was always something going on along the beaches. There was also a beer garden sort of area filled with many bars, most of which had pool tables. There was an area, that I did not go to, but from what I understand, Victory Hill is the party area of the city...it was not close to the 2 Lions, so not close to me.

   

   I spent 2 weeks in Sihanoukville and I really enjoyed my time there, I did, however feel the need to go somewhere as I was becoming 'slothy' and needed to get busy. I boarded a bus for Siem Reap, the home of one of the Wonders of the World....Angkor Wat.

Pattaya...in pictures

Hi folks, just a few photos that I took while in Pattaya, was a short stay, and sorry to say, did not take nearly enough photos.

My road led right to the beach

500 bahts could get you flying out here

Many vendors

Selling many things

One small side road (Soi)

Walking Street

These were four kings from the past
Sorry, I could not find info on them
Just that they were from long ago

A model outside the Temple of Truth

The journey is not always easy

Just kidding, this is  just for fun

The Sanctuary of Truth

Always work being done
Construction/Art zone

I was behind 2 Malaysian girls here

At end, they called me to get photos with
everyone is so nice here

I caught end of a traditional dance