::A Geek in Korea::

Written on: May 23rd, Siem Reap, Cambodia, Australia Guest House, 8:45 PM

Our Morning routine: Get up early, apply copious amounts of SPF 50+ sunscreen and mosquito repellent, and prepare for hot, hellish weather. [Edit Note: It was never that bad weather wise actually.]

We ate breakfast, talked about our plans for the day, checked our bags, and prepared for an adventure. The hotel staff had decent enough English, so we were able to set up a luggage check with no difficulties. Next was to obtain transportation.

No sooner had we reached the road than a tuk tuk driver stopped and we began negotiations. As we were talking, a rival driver appeared and tried to get us to go with him. The first driver couldn’t speak English as well, but wasn’t pushy like this second man. The second person wanted us to pay fifty dollars initially for three days, which was eye roll worthy.

We decided we’d stick with the first driver, even if he might not be able to speak as much English, because he seemed more honest. He was also significantly cheaper day to day. We had decided on $13 dollars a day, but weren’t sure if we had lucked out, or had agreed to $30 dollars with someone with bad pronunciation. We should have made sure immediately, as for the rest of the day we were worrying to ourselves, “Will it be $13 or $30 dollars? Will we offend him if we only offer $13 when we try to pay him?”

First on our list of things to visit was Angkor Wat. This was about a 20 minute drive from the hotel. Roads in Cambodia are simply asphalt strips where people generally drive in one direction or another. There are ABSOLUTELY no rules. We would charge headlong into traffic going in the opposite direction when trying to turn, people would overtake and pass on a whim. 90% of traffic was either motorcycle, bicycle, or tuk tuk. The remaining cars, buses, and trucks would speed by and pass at any time.

It was fairly awesome to watch, but the tuk tuk’s open air experience and our oily, sunscreen coated bodies meant we were coated in a fine layer of dust very quickly. People on the side of the road swept the dust off the roads, but there was always a layer in the air and on the ground coating everything.

Angkor Wat is truly an experience. It’s extremely impressive. I recommend checking out the Cambodia pictures I took. On every rock you’d see there would be carvings, details you’d miss at first glance, but were fascinating the more you looked. The temple was huge, and there was so much to see. We lacked a tour guide, and we also had no books explaining the details when we first went. This was more of a raw “discovery” sort of initial experience. [We went back with the guide book I bought later in the day.]

From Angkor Wat, we went to nearby Angkor Thom. Bayon is filled with these gigantic smiling faces on the walls. It’s very complicated to look at, with smiles, different scenery, and lots of tourists. It’s a very iconic location. It had a maze like feeling. This is probably one of my favorite places I’ve visited ever.

From there we stumbled across several places. There were steep stair temples, The Elephant Terrace, and lots of other sights. We’d run across Korean tours constantly and would casually rest within earshot to hear their explanations of the ruins we were visiting.

Everywhere you went, when you stepped out of the tuk tuk, people would call to you to come over to their stores. “Want a cold drink? How about some t-shirts? Some beads? They’re only a dolla~.” You tried your best to ignore them, since showing interest only brought more people over to wade through. The most difficult thing to deal with were the small children selling things. They were really good at trying to make you pity them into a purchase.

“Want a cold drink?”

“No thanks, I have one.”

“Buy a cold drink for your driver. One dollar. By postcard? Book?”

Always. While it’s sad to turn away young children, their parents teach them very early to use pity as a sales tool. We saw a man holding an infant. He was teaching the infant how to properly hold the item so that we could see what it was as we walked past him. A lot of these people are poor, but by depriving things children of education, it’s not helping their future.

We went back to town, picked up our bags from the hotel, and made our way to the excellent “Australia Guest House”. If you are looking for a cheap, functional place with beds, a refrigerator, and a working air conditioner for around $15 dollars a night, I’d recommend it. It’s got a couple of great restaurants nearby in walking distance as well. The manager spoke decent English and they were very helpful. The rooms were simple, but for the price, very reasonable and clean.

Contact Information for Australia Guest House:

Address: No. 0551, National Rd 6, Phoum Bountay Chass, Khom Slor Kram, Siem Reap City, Cambodia.

Phone: 012442285, 011554448, Fax: (855) 63963593 )