**We've been without fast Internet for a while and uploading photos has been slooow. I've got so much to catch up on. So I'm just going to crack on with the words and upload the pics later**
When we reach a new location, emerging blinking from a bus or train, there are two good rules of thumb. Walk or take public transport when you can - I always feel better orientated and get a much better sense of place, plus I don't have to bargain with local drivers from a position of ignorance. If walking's not possible it's best to approach a taxi driver rather than go with one who approaches you.
We disembark at Siem Reap bus station and are immediately descended on by a mob of taxi drivers. The bus station is a little out of the city and the recenct rain combined with heavy traffic has turned the ground on the perimeter to slurry. We haven't brought our wellies.
I'd read somewhere previously that a ride anywhere around Siem Reap shouldn't cost more than a dollar. As we retrieve our bags and press through the throng of drivers toward the road, they're asking for five dollars, ten dollars. I begin to shout "one dollar" repeatedly, like an idiot. The drivers insist. I've never bargained with an entire crowd before.
As we approach the edge of the road we're trailed by a wake of shouty tuk tuk men, none of whom want take take us for less than a fiver. I've shouted one dollar so many times I don't really know what else to do. Too late to go back now. Then, one guy parked on the side of the road shouts back, "one dollar".
We make a beeline for him and jump in. We don't have anywhere reserved but know the rough area we want to be in. We give a road name and we're off.
-video-
After the stopover in Kratie, Siem Reap is exciting. It's large busy and dusty but still has a laid back feel. The tuk tuk driver, Mr. Thon, drops us on the side of the road and leaves us his name and number in case we want a tour of the ruins later on.
We wander down a side street towards a clutch of guest houses. The first place we walk into looks a lot like a hotel. The rooms lack hot showers and aircon but in every other respect are spacious and comfortable. I'm still in idiot barganing mode and, flushed with confidence after tuk tuk triumph, we get the room for $4. Barjin.
This turns out to be fortunate as, after a day or so to settle in, Alice gets an upset stomach and I contract some kind of Cambodian man flue. We spend longer than intended indoors, resting. I rescue a solitary lump of cheddar from a nearby shop and we eat the whole thing in bed with a box of crackers.
After a couple of days we get fed up and strike out for Angkor, organising a tuk tuk from our hotel. I feel bad for not contacting Mr. Thom but we're ill and take the easy option. The ruins are distributed over a large area. I wished we'd been well enough to cycle around but in with the heat and the snot, a tuk tuk is by far the bast option.
The ruins are the best temples we've visited. Some are very well maintained, even if the restored sections are slightly incongruous, and really give a sense of what they must have been like thousands of years before. Other sections are in ruins and have begun to be reclaimed by nature. Some are enclosed, some are spread across open woodland and forest, with the opportunity to really wander. In the end, we spend a good six hours exploring. I'll leave you with some pictures and poorly shot video.
When we reach a new location, emerging blinking from a bus or train, there are two good rules of thumb. Walk or take public transport when you can - I always feel better orientated and get a much better sense of place, plus I don't have to bargain with local drivers from a position of ignorance. If walking's not possible it's best to approach a taxi driver rather than go with one who approaches you.
We disembark at Siem Reap bus station and are immediately descended on by a mob of taxi drivers. The bus station is a little out of the city and the recenct rain combined with heavy traffic has turned the ground on the perimeter to slurry. We haven't brought our wellies.
I'd read somewhere previously that a ride anywhere around Siem Reap shouldn't cost more than a dollar. As we retrieve our bags and press through the throng of drivers toward the road, they're asking for five dollars, ten dollars. I begin to shout "one dollar" repeatedly, like an idiot. The drivers insist. I've never bargained with an entire crowd before.
As we approach the edge of the road we're trailed by a wake of shouty tuk tuk men, none of whom want take take us for less than a fiver. I've shouted one dollar so many times I don't really know what else to do. Too late to go back now. Then, one guy parked on the side of the road shouts back, "one dollar".
We make a beeline for him and jump in. We don't have anywhere reserved but know the rough area we want to be in. We give a road name and we're off.
-video-
After the stopover in Kratie, Siem Reap is exciting. It's large busy and dusty but still has a laid back feel. The tuk tuk driver, Mr. Thon, drops us on the side of the road and leaves us his name and number in case we want a tour of the ruins later on.
We wander down a side street towards a clutch of guest houses. The first place we walk into looks a lot like a hotel. The rooms lack hot showers and aircon but in every other respect are spacious and comfortable. I'm still in idiot barganing mode and, flushed with confidence after tuk tuk triumph, we get the room for $4. Barjin.
This turns out to be fortunate as, after a day or so to settle in, Alice gets an upset stomach and I contract some kind of Cambodian man flue. We spend longer than intended indoors, resting. I rescue a solitary lump of cheddar from a nearby shop and we eat the whole thing in bed with a box of crackers.
After a couple of days we get fed up and strike out for Angkor, organising a tuk tuk from our hotel. I feel bad for not contacting Mr. Thom but we're ill and take the easy option. The ruins are distributed over a large area. I wished we'd been well enough to cycle around but in with the heat and the snot, a tuk tuk is by far the bast option.
The ruins are the best temples we've visited. Some are very well maintained, even if the restored sections are slightly incongruous, and really give a sense of what they must have been like thousands of years before. Other sections are in ruins and have begun to be reclaimed by nature. Some are enclosed, some are spread across open woodland and forest, with the opportunity to really wander. In the end, we spend a good six hours exploring. I'll leave you with some pictures and poorly shot video.
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