Cambo Jambo 2019
Originally posted Nov 9th, 2019
Hi ya'll! I returned back from my 2019 Asian adventures yesterday, so in typical fashion, here is my summary post on my travels :D After a week of workin' in Ho Chi, I took a Sat AM bus to venture across the border into Cambodia (aka Cambo). In true SE Asian fashion, it departed ~1 hour late. Border crossings are always interesting, but it started with the bus attendants taking all of our passports & $35. I read this was the process, but never feel the most comfortable w/o my passport on me - it's a lifeline. We got to the border, followed a line, got approval papers, moved to the next building, got stamped, and WAHHHLAAA - we were in Cambodia. Basically that was that!
My first destination in Cambo was Phnom Penh. I only had ~5 days to travel (not enough time), but my main goal of the adventure was Angkor Wat (the glorious temples in Siem Reap, specifically the largest religious monument in the world). Phnom Penh was a 2-day stop - it's the capital of Cambodia and also, like the entire country, is the central place to learn about the dark history of Cambo's past. I spent a day touring the famous Killing Fields and S-21 Genocide museum. As this is an extremely depressing and disturbingly recent part of Cambo's history, this day was naturally very depressing. Humans can do cruel things. Below are photos of the killing tree and also the stupa of skulls - which were found in the field once the Khmer Rouge was forced out.
There is an amazing book I read a while past that goes through a family's story - At First They Killed My Father. Other than these sites which are historically relevant and important as ~25% of the Cambo population was murdered, Phnom Penh is just a big city loaded with KFCs, Dairy Queens, and Pizza Companys. I did find a sweet "sports" area where the active ones hang out - it's basically a city center boardwalk which I appreciated! Lots of soccer games, synchronized dancing (strange), even ROLLERBLADING with light up wheels going on.
After a couple of days in Phnom Penh, I got on a bus to Siem Reap! I stayed at a really lovely hostel (Onederz) with a rooftop pool and a fun hangout space. The number of night markets in SR is RIDIC-u-lous. You could spend hours walking the streets finding the same junky shot glasses and cheap elephant pants for $2. Blahhhh! The more time I spend in SE Asia, the more I wonder what the heck are they thinking ordering ALL of the EXACT.SAME inventory as the other 28,079 neighboring shops. Same colors, same clothes on the manikins, same designs, SAME SAME, not different. The business strategy needs some work IMO, but then again, I cannot make claim to any training in marketing strategies. The two photos below are one of the night markets in the AM....(completely empty)...and then what it looks like around 5PM. It's not the greatest photo and was still before it really got hoppin', but the city transforms by night! It's incredible.
There is a famous street in SR called "Pub Street" that has a multitude of restaurants, fried ice cream on wheels, and "spas" lining it. It gets bumping at night with different musical acts, trippy lights, beer bing’ing and TOURISTs in the hundreds. I didn't really take any pics I guess, but you can form your own photo! Def a fun people watching area.
Planning your adventure to Angkor - everywhere you go in town you will find tuktuk drivers asking if they can take you on a tour, so finding transportation to these is NOT a problem. After moving with a group of ~10 on day 1 (tour booked through the hostel), I decided that wasn't my fave option for exploring. The next day, myself & two other girls hired a tuktuk driver for the day for $20 (total)! I unfortunately didn't take a photo with Sambo, our lovely driver, but he was great, spoke some English, and was able to teach us some history on the temples as well! If you're wondering what a tuktuk looks like, below is an example. (definitely a luxury ride as you see) There are also ones that are not connected to a motorbike, but like actually built to haul people in them :) But hey, it does the trick!
The area is quite overwhelming, but there are "main known routes" that are suggested and that the drivers know. We figured they do this all of the time, so they should know best, and Sambo did NOT disappoint! Day 1 we spent ~7 hours exploring 5 temples and Day 2 we spent ~10 hours exploring 10+. Personally, I felt after 2 days I had enough of temples for a while, but the 3-day pass ($62!!!!) allows you to split up your days if you want to take a day or two off and go again (it was also ~90F out!). If I would have had time for Day 3, I was going to rent a bike and explore via a janky ol’ pedaler!
Okay, temple time. I'll start with the big guy - below is Angkor Wat, the one people really know this area by. It's also where we started our "grand tour" at 4:30AM. It's majestic and beautiful and brings in SOOOO many tourists. TIP: get there early & sit on the boardwalk across the pond! The complex is BIG - so many different sectors and connecting areas and it's all surrounded by a wall of stone. Remember...this is the largest religious monument in the world & it was built in the 12TH CENTURY! How nuts is that!
Although Angkor Wat is the most popular, there are SO many other unique temples in the area that are also SO worth it!. What I loved about Angkor that I haven't experienced in other "temple" areas is that all of the temples looked and felt different - some were tall, some were expansive, some were really broken, some had motes around them, some had trees growing out of them, some had bridges & tunnels, beautiful character and stone sketching, some were filled with face carvings, and so on. Point being, they all felt different! They also were not all built at the same time - anywhere from the 9th - 13th century the temples were built by orders of various kings over the eras. Below is a collection of some of my favorites, although I have SO many photos and SO many I love.
It was really worth hiring a private tuktuk driver. I strongly feel that is the way to go to see the temples! You can also hire tour guides which are actually certified and I have heard positive things about if you are more interested in the history of the design and what it all means. As you see, some of the temples are really falling over. With so much stone on the ground and the fragility of some of the structures, it's amazing they still allow people to be moving through them. It's a little freaky! There are some signs up to not cross, but really not many and not enforced. Maybe just quicken the steps when walking under giant boulders that look less than secure. (we are talking NINTH century after all) There is also lots of restoration projects happening in an effort to preserve some of the structures. Below left example of wooden braces to help support these MASSIVE chunks of stone & the one on the right....that I just couldn't help but refuse to walk under...the laws of physics tell me that some of these are not going to be standing for long, so get to trip planning TODAY!!
Overall, another great trip! I wish I had more time to go to the countryside towns and maybe even the nice/quieter beachy town (aka Koh Rong Samloem). Good thing it's just a border hop away from 'Nam :)
Peace & love,
Jen, the Asian one <3
BTW) We saw a WICKED snake in one of the temples; check it. I did a bit of research & think it's the white-lipped pit viper - don't worry Mom, its venom rarely leads to human deaths. :p
