His View 

Cambodia - Feliks' perspective

 

Siem Reap

There was not a train that went from Thailand to Cambodia, so by bus we went. Our first taste of this country was at the border. This experience really made an impression on me but it would not last long. We had a somewhat difficult time getting our papers in order, but after about an hour we managed to get the visa and approval to enter the country. The border crossing was one of the most commercial I’ve ever seen.There was a casino between the two borders, stores, and tons of people crossing both ways. It seemed like a busy and serious place. 

 

We arrived in Siem Reap late in the evening. Our bus company provided a free tuk tuk to our hostel but not without the driver trying to sell us on a tour. Do not buy them because as soon as we walked into the hostel we saw the same tour for $5 less. We were mostly there to see the temples and the hostel had a couple different tours to choose from. 

 

We spent our first day walking around the markets. We bought a couple of things and learned the art of Cambodian haggling. First, if you even look in the direction of a shop, the worker will immediately jump on you. When you ask the price of anything, they triple the actual price. So, first, what ever number they give you, say $6, you come back with no more that $3, maybe even $2 depending on how busy the market is. Stick your ground, act interested, and continue to say your price. The owner will act as if you are insulting them, that the price you want is too low, that you are crazy. When this happens, put down the item and politely say thank you and start walking away. 9 out of 10 times they will give in and make the deal with you. If not, there is another one around the corner selling the same thing that will. 

 

Also, this is weird, but in Siem Reap, the main currency is US dollars. Most of the shops and restaurants have prices in US dollars. This was interesting to us but it is clear that this is because Siem Reap is a straight tourist town. As we walked around the city, we checked out a temple that was on the edge of town, a couple busy shop streets, and a couple of different markets. Most places had english menus, everyone spoke english, there were even places offering American breakfast. The main part of town seemed to be around the night markets. There were hotels on every corner and nothing but restaurants and bars in between. The music seemed to never stop as we could hear it from our hostel all night long. 

 

Our second day in Siem Reap was the temple tour day. I was pretty excited, especially for the Tomb Raider temple. We hired a Tuk Tuk through the hostel that took us to four temples for about 8 hours for only $15. The first temple, Angkor Wat, was the biggest and the most intact. It really did look like something out of a movie. The walkway leading up to the main gate, the halls, the carvings on the walls, everything was almost fake looking, like you were at a ride in Universal Studios. The temple itself was somewhat similar to the ruins we saw in Ayutthaya but actually still standing. Definitely worth the visit. 

 

Next was Angkor Thom, much bigger in land area but a smaller building, There were a number of different structures within this area but we mainly visited two. The Bayon, the craziest temple ever, and the Baphuon, a giant pyramid structure. The Bayon had faces carved everywhere which was pretty cool. The temple was not very big but it was like a maze. At the Baphuon, there were a lot of stairs to climb for a decent view of the entrance pools. I think we were both just too anxious to get to the Tomb Raider temple that we decided to leave the rest and go on. 

 

The Tomb Raider temple is actually called Ta Prohm. This was by far my favorite of the day. The temple was in ruins. There were rocks everywhere, Do Not Enter signs, and yellow tape. There were also really big trees growing on top of the temple. The plaque at the entrance said that this temple was one of the few to be left in its natural state. It would not be restored, rather maintained. The trees are basically demolishing this place. Their seeds start growing in the rocks where the roots wedge into every crack becoming part of the structural support. When the trees die and the roots disintegrate, the cracks that are left cause the stone blocks to crumble. It's a great example of what happens when nature takes a building back. 

 

After the 45 minute drive home it was time for some resting because walking in the sun for six hours really takes a toll. We had a relaxing night and did another fish massage by some massive fish. We could actually feel each fish scrapping the bottom of our feet. This was much better than the previous fish massage. When we checked out the night market a little more, I did something I will never forget. 

 

There was a street vendor selling fried things: fried crickets, meal worms, snakes, and tarantulas. Caywood was encouraging but unwilling to take part. Lucky, there was a lady brave enough to give it a shot. I got the spider and she got the snake. Tarantula legs are actually somewhat sweet and tasty; the mid and rear section are the most disgusting tasting things ever. I almost could not hold them down. The snake on the other hand was really good. It actually tasted a lot like the dried fish I got in Thailand. 

 

Overall, Siem Reap is like Orlando, built around the tourist. Don’t get me wrong, it was a blast, I really liked the town, but it's not a place to spend a week. The temples were really good and a must visit if in Cambodia. There are other things to do beside the temple but I would think that there are places to get much better local experiences around Cambodia. You can find pretty much any kind of souvenir at the markets and it's pretty fun to bargain with the merchants. It was a great couple of days to hangout and enjoy the perks of being a tourist. WiFi and bathrooms were pretty much at every restaurant and all you had to do is ask.  

 

 

Phnom Penh

This is the capital of Cambodia, so there was lots to do and see, or so I was expecting. To be completely honest, the most interesting part about this visit was learning about the genocide in Cambodia. The rest of the stuff we saw was nothing special that we hadn't seen somewhere else. Of course they had their own flare and personality that stood out but for the most part it was regular city stuff. 

 

Our entire stay in Phnom Penh was scheduled to be with a couchsurfer. We got to his place, which was somewhat outside of the city center, at 8pm. Immediately after arriving at his place we headed out to watch him play in a soccer match. It was a cool experience watching some locals play soccer. Some of them were actually pretty good and hilarious. Some of them got really heated about a call made by the ref and there were some words being tossed around. For the most part it was very entertaining.

 

The next day we headed out to see the S21 Genocide Prison. I honestly had no idea that something like this happened in Cambodia, especially in the 70’s. There is a lot more to it, but to put it shortly, some guy wanted to turn Cambodia into a Communist country. He imprisoned all the educated people and their families, eventually killing all of them. He did this because he knew people with education would fight the change. He killed their families too because he did not want anyone trying to get revenge. So, if you went to college in the 70’s and lived in Cambodia, you and your entire family would be in prison. 3 million out of 8 million Cambodians were killed during this time. Yes, that is almost half the population. 

 

The prison museum we visited was an old school that had some 20,000 prisoners make it through the front doors. Only 7 survived. The images in the rooms, the stories on the walls, the entire place just made me sad for humanity. How could people do this to each other and how could others not do anything to stop it. It was a very sad experience but a valuable education lesson. 

 

After the museum we made a short walk over to the Russian market, which had nothing Russian about it. At one point, Russians were in Cambodia and they started this market; that's the only reason it is called that. It's a normal market other than that. As we had a little time to burn we found some WiFi and did some additional research on the rest of the city. We decided that based on our location it would be better for us to get a hostel in the city center versus paying for transportation back and forth. We headed to our host's house and broke the news. 

 

Our hostel was right in the center of the city and we wasted no time. We got there about 3 pm and started walking. We saw some monuments, parks, more monuments, and then the Royal Palace. We did not go inside. Honestly, it did not look that impressive after seeing the one in Bangkok. We walked toward the river and saw a yellow brick square. Really yellow tiles lined this entire square, really weird color choice I think. The river was lined with flags from all over the world and that was kind of cool to see. We walked some more to the Central Market. 

 

I think this was the biggest market we’ve been to so far. It was almost like a giant spider web. The center was a tall covered structure with mostly jewelry merchants. Any direction you look from there were rows of little shops spanning out like the lines of a web. It was really big and everything was mostly organized by products. All the fancy clothes were in one section, all the tourist stuff was together, and so on. 

 

Our last full day was filled with a visit to the Killing Fields just outside the city. This was where the prisoners went to be killed after being tortured. This was only one of a few killing fields in the area and a lot of people died there. I don't remember all the details but the number of mass graves I will never forget. I will also never forget reading “bones and teeth make it up to the surface as the ground moves," then seeing human teeth and bones in the dirt as you walk around the place. Again, nothing but sadness for humanity. I did find the monument building the most memorable. See this in the pictures. 

 

Overall, I am glad we visited this city. While the city is nothing super special, at least not to me, learning about the genocide was worth it. Again, I had no idea that something like this happened in the 70’s. There are people in Cambodia who are still affected by this. Most people over 50 years old lived through this event. It's crazy to even try and comprehend the scars something like that would leave. I would have no reason to visit the city again but would really encourage others to see the history for themselves. 

Last stop: Thailand

Next stop: Singapore