Category: Ahiko in Siem Reap

Our stay in Siem Reap was quite active.

As we bought three days ticket, we spent at Angkor site almost every day, Day 3 at East Mebon and other temples on the Angkor Big Circle category, Day 4 at Angkor Wat to see sunrise there.  Then, we decided to go on a car trip to the neighbor site , Beng Mealea on the last day.  At Beng Mealea, a guy in military-look approached us and took us a tour voluntarily.  But, as it is obvious that nothing are free, I got his expectation that he would ask us for a reward at the end.  I really don’t like the idea and this kind of service, but his tour was not bad, so decided to give him a five dollar bill as our gratitude.  When he recieved the money, he said weakly that “But I usually ask 15 dollars…”.  Of course, he didn’t get more than he deserves, but this communication is exactly why I don’t like the idea.

After all, Angkor and Siem Reap have not been modernized as much as I expected.  Yellow tap water, bumpy road, dining fight with flies and bugs, filthy restroom, etc. remained same as 18 years ago just like those ruins. Finding out the reality disappointed me, but what made me sad the most was the fact that I could not accept those immature state anymore which I used to be able to adopt well.  Have I been too spoiled?  Is this because of my age?  Donno, but anyway, this trip taught me that I have changed and now have different desire for my travel, so  I guess I should plan a completely different theme for my next travel.

 

Since in-flight meal of tuna sandwich was our dinner last night, we woke-up hungry this morning.  Breakfast at hotel was not buffet style, we ordered noodle soup and congee from the menu.  Then, our self-tour to the famous temple complex was started from the icon, Angkor Wat.  Right after we arrived there, before feeling excited, we were overwhelmed with a number of tourists, especially large groups from China.  As expected, a ruin which has been remained as it is for a thousand year does not change in a couple of decades.  So, there were not much difference from what I saw this time and my last time visit as you can see the pictures in below (left: the year of 2000, right: the year of 2017).  Some sites were roped for preservation which was new, though.  Also, the deadly steep and narrow stone stairway to access the third layer of Angkor Wat was not accessible, as replaced with a stainless stairway.  Thanks to the weather which was not too hot, we could walk around as many as 24,000 steps!

My hubby and I visited Cambodia for our late summer vacation.  The purpose of our visit was solely to see Angkor Wat and other World Heritage sites in the area.  As I have been there 18 years before, I knew what the ruins looked like.  So, my interest was different from my hubby’s.  My motivation of the visit was to see improvement of the town as I was told by my friends who have been there with me once and visited there again recently, that there has been a lot of development and changes with the increase of the tourists.

We flew to Siem Reap via Bangkok.  Though I am not sure if it is right to compare those two countries, Siem Reap airport system was a way behind comparing to the modernized airport of Bangkok where we enjoyed a glass of Singha and Somtam.

When our plane landed at the airport, we walked a runway to the airpot building.  Then, we applied for our visa there.  To process visa was a complete manual operation without computers.  An assembly-line system was formed by six to seven custom control officials sat side by side over the counter, each of whom has a role such as verifying the passport and the application form, putting the visa sticker on the passport, putting a stamp on the passport, etc.  When the visa is ready, one of official read our names to a group of applicants.  As there were no checks of personal identification to get return his/her passport with the visa, anyone could take the other’s passport if he/she says “it’s me” which made me nervous.  After the visa, we went through immigration check which took forty-five minutes due to manual operation again, though this one was with a computer.

Our pick-up from the hotel was supposed to be waiting for us at the airport, however, there were no pick-ups when we got out the airport.  A driver arrived finally by my three times calls to the hotel.  Though the hotel apologized to us that no show-up was due to their miss-operation, I was so tired, disappointed, and in a low-mood by the time we got the hotel.  Still, we had to carry our battle with mosquitos in our room…

*The flight movie “Fun mom dinner” was good, I say it’s a motherhood version of “Sex and the city”.