Sat, Feb 9, 2008 at 9:36 AM
So we arrived in Cambodia last night. This morning, we woke up at 6:30, earlier than we had planned. We said, "Shall we stay in bed or open up the curtains and see Cambodia in the daylight?" We decided to open up the curtains. And at that very moment, an elephant was walking down the street, on his way to his job at the main temple! A very auspicious beginning!
We stayed at a guesthouse and pub run by an English guy called the Hope and Anchor. The room wasn't great, and it seemed pricey for what we were getting... but the private balcony overlooking the river and the elephant made it all worthwhile! Had a good breakfast at a French-ish cafe, wandered around the local market where all manner of fish were being killed, and then caught our 9:30 bus to Siem Reap, the town where one bases oneself for Angkor.
The bus was comfortable enough, but the trip was long... 5 and a half hours. At first the journey was completely splendid: lush tropical greenery, clapboard houses on stilts, temples on hills, skinny white cows sitting like stones among the rice paddies. But after 2 or 3 hours... But still, a good enough trip.
Our hotel in Siem Reap is actually outside the town, down a dirt road. It's a lovely oasis called the Palm Village. (Google it!) With little bungalows and a lovely pool and lots of jasmine. After freshening up and having something to eat we got back in "our" tuk-tuk (the same driver who picked us up at the bus station is now ours... he is very sweet and a very careful driver!) and headed to Angkor Wat for the sunset. It was beautiful... a ton of people there (many Chinese here for their holiday), but most people were leaving, so we could really wander peacefully and watch the light changing on the buildings.
Then into Siem Reap for dinner... a place called Khmer House, I believe, and it was delicious: amok fish, a green curry-like dish that is a national specialty, banana flower salad, and two very delicious pork chops. Then 1990 (our driver's number) picked us up... it is 9:30 and soon we are off to bed. Tomorrow, a big day at the temples.
The temple festival in Beijing yesterday (was that just yesterday?) was fun. A huge, huge amount of people doing what people do at a Chiense equivalant of a county fair: eat kind of crappy food (lots of kabobs), buy lots of junk (I dubbed it "The Great Wall of Cack"... the vendors of trinkets went on and on), and try to throw balls in hoops to win stuffed animals.
The Chinese also were doing outdoor karaoke on a huge stone platform in the center of the park.
It was bitterly cold, but --- after about 7 hours in transit --- we arrived in balmy Phnom Penh. And saw the elephant.
So we arrived in Cambodia last night. This morning, we woke up at 6:30, earlier than we had planned. We said, "Shall we stay in bed or open up the curtains and see Cambodia in the daylight?" We decided to open up the curtains. And at that very moment, an elephant was walking down the street, on his way to his job at the main temple! A very auspicious beginning!
We stayed at a guesthouse and pub run by an English guy called the Hope and Anchor. The room wasn't great, and it seemed pricey for what we were getting... but the private balcony overlooking the river and the elephant made it all worthwhile! Had a good breakfast at a French-ish cafe, wandered around the local market where all manner of fish were being killed, and then caught our 9:30 bus to Siem Reap, the town where one bases oneself for Angkor.
The bus was comfortable enough, but the trip was long... 5 and a half hours. At first the journey was completely splendid: lush tropical greenery, clapboard houses on stilts, temples on hills, skinny white cows sitting like stones among the rice paddies. But after 2 or 3 hours... But still, a good enough trip.
Our hotel in Siem Reap is actually outside the town, down a dirt road. It's a lovely oasis called the Palm Village. (Google it!) With little bungalows and a lovely pool and lots of jasmine. After freshening up and having something to eat we got back in "our" tuk-tuk (the same driver who picked us up at the bus station is now ours... he is very sweet and a very careful driver!) and headed to Angkor Wat for the sunset. It was beautiful... a ton of people there (many Chinese here for their holiday), but most people were leaving, so we could really wander peacefully and watch the light changing on the buildings.
Then into Siem Reap for dinner... a place called Khmer House, I believe, and it was delicious: amok fish, a green curry-like dish that is a national specialty, banana flower salad, and two very delicious pork chops. Then 1990 (our driver's number) picked us up... it is 9:30 and soon we are off to bed. Tomorrow, a big day at the temples.
The temple festival in Beijing yesterday (was that just yesterday?) was fun. A huge, huge amount of people doing what people do at a Chiense equivalant of a county fair: eat kind of crappy food (lots of kabobs), buy lots of junk (I dubbed it "The Great Wall of Cack"... the vendors of trinkets went on and on), and try to throw balls in hoops to win stuffed animals.
The Chinese also were doing outdoor karaoke on a huge stone platform in the center of the park.
It was bitterly cold, but --- after about 7 hours in transit --- we arrived in balmy Phnom Penh. And saw the elephant.
No comments:
Post a Comment