Cambodia January 28-February 5, 2011Just spent a wonderful week in Cambodia during Chinese New Year 2011. There were a lot of people there because of this holiday but at no time did it feel crowded or over populated. The tourists were a wonderful group from all over the world and shared experiences at meals and special times.
Flew through Bangkok to Siem Reap, which is in the north west of Cambodia. Here is where all the wonderful temples from the Bayon era are located. I spent three days touring around the area with a guide to help me understand the history of this area. It really is the way to go. He was wonderful. One thing for sure, there are a lot of steep stairs to climb, the weather is hot and there is little shade so you have to be prepared for this in advance. SO many of the temples have a special aire about them and at times it was easy to see why so many people visit these. Each on had its own special flavor and individual appeal. You can see from the pictures that it is quite a neat place to spend time in.
I did spend some time out at the floating city looking at the captured crocodiles, looking at samples of the fish, tasting the local cuisine and watching daily life go by. It was interesting to see the market building being towed along from area to area so people could purchase the things they need.
One morning I woke at 5:00am to go and see the sunrise over Ankor Wat. It was a neat experience but not really worth it. The sun does not actually rise over the temple but rather to the south of the main complex. There was a beautiful sunrise and some great early morning vistas, but over I felt this is over rated.
One of the temples is the place where Tomb Raider was filmed with Angelina Jolie. I could actually visualize her coming racing out of the doorway where all the huge tropical trees had over grown the stones. It was a neat experience. It was also the place where I met a family I know from ISB. We only talked for a moment and I now wish I had asked then out to dinner that night. My mistake.
From here it was a 6-hour boat ride across a very large lake and down the rivers of Cambodia to Pnom Phen. This rise was very exciting and very worth while. I do guess it would depend on the weather. We were able to sit out on the roof of the cabin and watch the world go by or sit in the air-conditioned cabin area. It was great to see life in the floating city of the lake and also to watch the daily routines of the waterway. The people always waved and were very friendly.
Pnom Phen was a great disappointment. All it really seems to have is all the normal capital city attractions of a King’s Palace and a National museum. Both are worth seeing while you are there but nothing outstanding. The two places representing the dark times of the Pol-Pot regime are represented with the Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields. Both are sad places to visit and dark times in the recent history of Cambodia. I did get to meet one of the seven survivors of S-21 which was an interesting occurrence. I am sure he has some really gruesome tales to tell. S-21 was the High School converted to prison where such atrocities were carried out it makes your mind spin. These can all be done in one day so I did spend a lot of time just walking the streets and at the pool in the hotel.
Cambodia is really worth seeing and 8-10 days is plenty of time. The end of January to beginning of February is a great time to go since it is the dry season and the weather, although hot, made the viewing and traveling pleasant.You can see all my pics here.
