The Big Bus!

As you can see I was thrilled to take the big bus to Siem Reap. There was air conditioning, leg room, wifi, bottled water, and snacks. Snacks! It was a very pleasant six and a half hour drive. We had a 30 minute break on the way to grab a bite to eat, the road was smooth, and the rural scenery was beautiful.

Our tuk tuk driver, Kong, met us at the bus station and drove us to the Golden Banana, or the GB as I called it. When we arrived we found out that the room we had booked wasn’t available because the air conditioner was broken. We said that we didn’t need a/c and could make due with a fan. Unfortunately they didn’t have any portable fans so we ended up spending the first night in a very large family suite. I say unfortunately only because we didn’t want to unpack, pack, and unpack again the following day. Yes, we’re that precious now. The next morning they moved us to another room. Not the one we had booked but it was great. Overlooking the pool with a balcony. It was a perfect spot.

For twenty-five dollars a night we had a great little room with a delicious breakfast included (different options each day), free pick up from the bus and drop off to the airport, and a fabulous shower. I particularly enjoyed the Peek-a-Boo door that I could open to place my coffee order while I washed my hair.

House Rules

Stacey Requires Coffee

You may be wondering who would take my coffee order from the shower, or you may know us well enough that this was a given. I don’t function as a human lady without my morning coffee. Some may argue that I barely function as a human lady with coffee. Andre knows my struggle and he is a compassionate person, who also prefers having a lucid partner to converse with, so he often makes me a cup to get me started.

Andre Gets First Choice of Pillows

I repay this kindness by allowing Andre to select which side of the bed he wants and to choose whichever and however many pillows he likes. Nine times out of ten when we get somewhere he is not happy with the pillow on his side and wants to “test” mine. I rarely get mine back. He is usually convinced that mine is the better pillow.

Stacey Must Be Kept Warm and Andre Must Be Kept Cool

Once Andre is happily settled on his side with his pillows I apparently take all the blankets. It’s not my fault. I am always cold. For this reason I try to steal his heat. He is happy enough to let me snuggle but has a strict “no skin on skin” rule during sleep time. He says I’m clammy. I like to force him him to snuggle until well past the point he wants to. I’ve told him that it’s like the rules for How to Pet a Kitty. The kitty decides when it is petting time.

Good Vibes

We both really loved Siem Reap. The place has a great energy, there is a lot to see and do and plenty of opportunity to lay by a pool and do nothing at all. If you like a lot of action then Pub Street is worth checking out. It’s full of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and there are heaps of street vendors. You can grab a shake or some ice cream rolls. We actually stopped for a shake and ended up meeting two of the most wonderful women. Linnea, who was 19 years old, and her 70 year old grandmother Marion who were traveling around the world together. It was a real treat getting to hear about all of their adventures so far, especially their Couch Surfing experiences through Ethiopia. Andre asked whose idea the trip was and Marion put up her hand. She had the best smile on when she told us that she loved to travel and that her husband was several years younger than her and he was at home still working. Go Marion! I can safely say that neither one of my grandmothers would have been up for an adventure like that. What an amazing experience for them to have together! Perhaps when my niece is older she will want to come along on an adventure with me.

Of course Pub Street also has great people watching. I don’t know what the hell this was but I know it was awesome!

 

Pool Day

During our time lounging by the pool at the GB we met another fantastic woman named Marjon. She had just busted her reading glasses and Andre offered to try to fix them since we had crazy glue and tools. Yes, we carry crazy glue and a few small tools for things like glasses when we travel. You never know when you’re gonna need some crazy glue. Anyway, he repaired her glasses and we all got chatting. She was traveling on her own. Her husband didn’t have the bug like she did so he was going to meet up with her later on in Singapore. She lived just outside of Amsterdam and eventually tried to convince us to come back through Europe on our way home since we didn’t get to the Netherlands this trip. As we were chatting I got a message from my old partner Nick in Australia. He told me that we should check out the circus while we were there because it was incredible. I hadn’t even heard about it so I looked it up. The reviews were excellent and going to the show supports an wonderful cause.

The following is form the Phare Circus website.

When I mentioned it Marjon said she had thought about going but wasn’t sure she wanted to go by herself. So that settled it. We were all heading to the circus the following evening. It was a terrific night!

Angkor Archaeological Park

During our poolside chat with Marjon she talked about how fantastic her tuk tuk driver was when she toured the Angkor Archaeological Park. She said he was very knowledgeable and even had a cooler of water in the back for her. Andre got his contact info and messaged him on Facebook.

We knew there was no way that we were getting up for the sunrise tour so we asked him to pick us up for 10am. Piseth was right on time and he seemed lovely, although a bit quiet, and his English was not as good as I had anticipated given all the information Marjon said he had provided during her trip. But off we went. Andre looked around the back of the tuk tuk for the cooler of water. No cooler. hmm.

He first took us to purchase our tickets. The prices have increased significantly since 2017. Foreign visitors now pay $37 for a single day pass, $62 for a three-day pass, and $72 for a week-long pass. They used to be $20, $40 and $60, respectively. We only wanted to go for part of the day and were only doing the smaller tour of the 5 main temples. As amazing as I’m sure they all are, neither one of us felt the need to see more than that. I liken it to smelling perfume. Once you’ve smelled more than a handful of fragrances you get olfactory fatigue. The subsequent scents may be otherworldly but your nose won’t be able to appreciate them. I experienced this many years ago when visiting the Vatican Museums. Everything is amazing. All the tens of thousands of items. It’s too much to take in and truly appreciate.

As a side note:

When visiting Angkor you should dress and act appropriately. With all the clueless tourists coming through they have created a visual. Even with this many people seem to not get it. I was surprised that some people were not turned away for wearing inappropriate clothing.

It was another sweltering day. I had bought the lightest dress I could find and Andre had purchased a fan from the circus the night before. They gave them out during the performance and Andre immediately bought one after the show. With my sunbrella and his fan we were as cool as we were going to be. Since I was taking all the photos Andre had to hold both the sunbrella and fan. He got more than a few curious looks. He insisted they were looks of jealousy.  You can decide for yourselves.

As we approached our first temple our guide told us that it was called Banteay Kdei and pointed out where he would wait for us. No fun facts or info. Weird.

Second stop was Ta Prohm Temple. Again he told us where we could find him when we were done exploring. I was starting to feel like something wasn’t quite right.

Third stop – Ta Keo. As we walked away from the tuk tuk I turned to Andre and said, “I’m just going to put this out there. I don’t think we have the right guy.” Andre agreed. It just didn’t add up.

After Ta Keo we asked to stop for a bite to eat. Piseth dropped us off and we soon discovered that eating inside the park was highway robbery, or at least this particular spot was. I thought it was comical that there were people selling their wares all over and you could purchase a pair of pants for as little as a dollar but they were charging six dollars for a plate of fries. We settled for a couple of reasonably priced lime shakes out of principle and carried on.

Piseth took us to a few smaller stops along the way before visiting Bayon Temple (Angkor Thom) and the big finale, Angkor Wat. 

It was really amazing exploring the temples and the day was made even better with monkeys in the mix!

The other highlight for me was photo bombing a group of Chinese tourists. Andre had quickly jumped into a photo and then I did the same a few seconds after. They were so excited and wanted us to actually be in their picture. I caught it on video. You can see more and more people running to get in the photo after they have taken a shot themselves. You will have to forgive my loud and painful voice. It was so bloody hot already and as everyone gathered around they put their arms around me, plus I was kind of squatting to not be heaps taller in the picture. I was covered in sweat and it felt like the photo shoot was taking forever. Enjoy.

 

We told Marjon about our experience the next day. She showed us a photo of her Piseth. It was a totally different guy. They had almost identical Facebook names. Still a great day.

Ships in the Night

While we were eating breakfast one morning we met a lovely New York couple, Hamer and Ruthi. They were 8 months into a two year trip and we were very excited to hear about their adventures so far. We especially wanted to hear about India because we are heading there in January. I am super happy that we exchanged our information when we first met them because we never got a chance to connect again before we left. This is one thing I’ve learned. You’re paths may cross again, or they may not. If you meet cool people doing awesome things, get there information right then and there. I do hope our paths cross again at some point in our travels!

#monksarepeopletoo

So, ever since we arrived in Cambodia I have sort have become obsessed with monks. I know monks are just people but I am stupidly fascinated by monks doing regular day to day activities. I don’t know why but it just makes me happy. Every time I see a monk doing something completely trivial or ordinary I want to take a picture. I want to create a coffee table book called Monks Are People Too. I told Andre it would be like in the tabloid magazines where they have the section with photos of celebrities doing regular things like buying groceries or getting petrol from the station.

The only thing is I almost never actually take the photo because I feel like I shouldn’t, and my zoom isn’t good enough that I can hide in the bushes and go unnoticed. Mostly the latter. So far the photos I have failed to take include: monks piling out of a Lexus, monks taking selfies, monks riding motorbikes or riding as a passenger (side saddle), monks shopping at the 7/11, and monks buying energy drinks and smokes. I’m disappointed in myself. I endeavor to stop worrying about being verbally accosted by a monk and start snapping pics.

I did take this picture from the safety of the ‘big bus’.

Goodbye Cambodia

Andre and I both loved it there and would return in a heartbeat. The Cambodian people are some of the kindest and warmest people we have met. They seem genuinely pleased that you have chosen to tour their country, and despite all of their painful history they are hopeful and looking positively into the future, working to build better lives.

As Kong drove us away from the Golden Banana to the airport all the staff stood out front and waved as we drove down the road and kept waving until we turned around the corner.

150 days in…

Now back into Thailand.