Subscribe to this blog02 September 2008
August in Review: More Pictures
By clicking on the respective album picture below, you should be taken to a small selection of exclusive pictures which I have taken during the month of August while staying one night in Bangkok and heading through Cambodia.
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| One night in Bangkok |
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| Cambodia |
posted by Reto at
10:52
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29 August 2008
Siem Reap and Angkor rock!
Wow, Siem Reap - the tourist city that serves as hub to the nearby area of Angkor -really rocks. In the very sense of the term. If you like ancient sites and ruins (like me) then this place is ten times bigger and better than Disneyland can be for a ten year old kid. Many travelers have high expectations before they visit Siem Reap and the ancient Angkor sites. So far all those I've met, told me that these expectations were even exceeded. However, if you are not into such archaeological places in general, you probably will get bored and see a pile of stones at the end of the day. I've seen couples, where the hubby got drunk at a food stall next to a temple, while his wive was enthusiastically taking pictures. This place might test your relationship.
Fact is, that Angkor is "one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations." (source: UNESCO World Heritage Centre) There are more than 50 (!) major archaeological sites, such as the Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Baksei Chamkrong, Banteay Kdei, Banteay Samré, Banteay Srei, Baphuon, the Bayon, Chau Say Tevoda, East Baray, East Mebon, Kbal Spean, the Khleangs, Krol Ko, Lolei, Neak Pean, Phimeanakas, Phnom Bakheng, Phnom Krom, Prasat Ak Yum, Prasat Kravan, Preah Khan, Preah Ko, Preah Palilay, Preah Pithu, Pre Rup, Spean Thma, Srah Srang, Ta Nei, Ta Prohm, Ta Som, Ta Keo, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Thommanon, West Baray and the West Mebon. On top of this, there are about 150+ minor sites and temples in the same area. Quite enough to see and do for a week, which I decided to spend in Siem Reap.
However, to avoid "ruin and stone overload", I planned three days of visit, then one day relaxing an bumming around downtown Siem Reap, then another two days of visits. My routes for day 1, 2, 3 and 5 were fairly standard ones, usually they are sold as "small", "big", "faraway" and "Ruluos" tuk-tuk tours through various guest houses. On the last day, I chose to visit some left out places that looked interesting in the "National Geographic's" guidebook about Angkor.
Day 1: Angkor Wat, South Gate, Bayon, Baphuon, Terrace of Elephants, The Royal Palace, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Leper King, Victory Gate, Chau Say Thevoda, Thommanon, Ta Keo and Ta Promh. I would have actually continued that day, but the fully charged batteries of my camera went empty (serious).
Day 2: North Gate, Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Sras Srang, Ta Prohm (rest of the first day) and Banteay Kdei.
Day 3: Banteay Srey, Landmine Museum and Banteay Samre.
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Ruluos Group: Bakong, Preah Ko, Lolei and Phnom Bakheng (sunset)
Day 6: Baksei Chamrong, Prasat Bei, East Gate, Spean Thma, Chapel of the hospital, Ta Nei, Prasat Kravan and Wat Athvea.
Unfortunately, the temples might become soon a victim of their own success, as the number of visitors has increased from 500 per day in the year 2000 to 3000 per day in 2008. There is an interesting article in the Washington Post outlining the problematics. Since it is low (rain) season, the places are not too crowded. And given a little bit of patience, pictures of most of the sites can be taken without featuring any stray tourists. However, in the high-season, taking such pictures is almost impossible. Most of the success of this site is due to the 2001 movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider", the filming locations were Phnom Bakheng, the Bayon temple of Angkor Thon, Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat. The latter one was set to be looming over a Cambodian village, near a river, which is not the case in reality. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a pond and bamboo-style food stalls are the only buildings in the vicinity.
My secret tip (so - don't tell anyone): If you are interested in temples like "Ta Promh" (where the jungle trees grow over the ruins), visit "Ta Nei" instead. It is a bit smaller. Since "Ta Promh" is highly popular, you'll have a hard time to get a nice shot without people in it. "Ta Nei" on the other hand is off the tourist route and you have to walk about 1km on a flat, well maintained dirt road next to "Ta Keo". Vehicles are not allowed there on that road. During my visit of "Ta Nei", there were absolutely no tourists and I had the place for more than an hour to myself.
Sokun, my trusty tuk-tuk driver and I became friends over the week and he invited me to beer and a true Khmer dinner in a local hangout. We did eat what the locals call "Cambodian Cheese". The more official name is "Prahok". Since this meal consists essentially of a salted and fermented mud fish paste (into which you'd dip veggies and meat), the smell is somewhat unusual and most foreigners probably will resist eating this. And probably it is a practical joke the Cambodians play with tourists to see how squeamish you'd be. There are options to season the Prahok with crushed peanuts, lemon or chili pepper. This Cambodian meal is a perfect example for food that smells bad - but actually tastes rather good. On a more serious note, we did also visit a local school for poor students in Siem Reap. The Buddhist monks take usually care of sheltering and feeding the poor, abandoned or homeless children. They have to work and to study in return - with an emphasis on work. However, schools have little to no money to pay teachers or to maintain school material. The place I visited had problems with the garden roof and students were eager to get their hand on an English-Cambodian dictionary. Very basic needs. 400 students coming from the aforementioned unfortunate background are learning various languages (English, Japanese, Chinese and Thai), so they will be ready for the future job market. However, there is no English teacher who is willing to volounteer. This is absolutely strange in a place, where a few kilometers down the road, the de facto language is English and where potential teachers seem to be abundant.
If you're interested, this is the school's address: CTC, Wat Ateva (Pagoda), Krosang Roleung Village, Siem Reap Commune, Cambodia
(If you need their phone or email address, let me know so I can forward these details to you)
Cambodians are joking and smiling a lot. Given the historical and current events background, this is a very much needed character quality of the people here. So, Sokun took me out to meet his friends who were cruising by their moto's along a boulevard in the outskirts of Siem Reap. There were the same mobile food stands, as in the tourist place and many people sat down, did eat and drink. The basic reason for this happening was to watch the sunset and to have fun. The atmosphere was full of joy and laughter. I was laughing like never before in a single evening, although most of the stuff didn't make it translated to me.
Actually, Cambodia rocks!
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Reto at
08:33
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25 August 2008
Battambang - The Movie
The Cambodian northwestern town of Battambang is connected by road and railway to the capitol Phnom Penh, which lies about 200km southeast. Taking the train would be a no brainer for a railway buff like me. However, all the locals will advise you to take the bus instead. Trains on this line run only once a week and they are painfully slow - requiring 14 hours for a trip that takes "only" five hours when using the bus. Although, I would have felt a bit adventurous on this one (meaning: taking the train), the odd schedules really prevented me from taking this mode of transport. So I went by bus to Battambang and once arrived there, I immediately hired a moto driver to take me to the Bamboo train station for a ride. Bamboo trains are vehicles which consist of a metal frame with bamboo slats that sit on two axles with wheels. The engine is a standard moto engine and the breaks are a wooden stick on which the driver applies pressure to the wheels.
Ok, now I do anticipate what you really want to see from me: The short movie I took while riding the Bamboo train in Battambang:
These kind of trains are very common on the railway track between Phnom Penh and Battambang, since they serve the local community with a quick and efficient way to haul goods and people for short distances between towns. There is usually enough time to quickly disassemble the bamboo slats from the frame and remove the wheels from the track - should the scheduled train become an obstacle. And when Bamboo trains encounter each other on the single track, the one with more passengers/cargo has priority. The process of disassembling is a snap and takes less than a minute.
Unfortunately, the railway track is currently being upgraded by a foreign consortium and there will be a better railway service on this line by the End of 2009. The locals already know that the Bamboo trains will be forbidden on the new track and therefore this will be a thing of the past by then.
The next day, I did hire a motorbike - this time a 250cc Enduro (I couldn't spot the make, but it looked like a Yamaha). I was told that the road to the "Killing Caves" and "Phnom Sampeau" (about 15km West of Battambang) should be done preferably by using such a bike. My smile was way too big for my small face when I first heard the sound of this little bike. Somehow they managed to make it as loud and vibrating as my trusty old 650cc "Honda Dominator". The trip to "Phnom Sampeau" was definitely requiring an off road bike. There was a bit of road left among the deep potholes. And do I need to tell you how much mud from the day's before rain was still left on the way out? So, I arrived covered from foot to knee in mud - but still smiling like a ten year old. Even having to put the chain twice back in place during the trip was more fun than anything else. The guy renting out the bike probably never heard of having to apply oil to a bike chain. I applied what I had: Suntan lotion. Which helped a bit. But now I am out of suntan lotion - which is definitely bad for me and I look forward to the next sunburn.
My post about Phnom Penh was telling more than enough about what I think of the history of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot Regime. Therefore, I do spare you with the gory details of the "Killing Caves", located on top of the mountain "Phnom Sampeau". You probably guess what had happened there between 1974 - 1979. Other than the mass-murdering history, this little mountain has an absolutely breathtaking view over the flat landscape, featuring abundant rice fields. Also, there is a small temple, which originally was constructed in 1964. This temple was restored in 2003, after having been nearly destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.Going up the hill is actually an exercise, similar to the one I did back in China on the Hua Shan, although there were "only" 700 steps to the top here. And I had an Enduro bike at hand. I politely asked the police man cashing in the entrance fee to the mountain, whether I would be allowed to drive up the mountain. Call me Swiss (or uptight), but I didn't want to break any potentially religious or otherwise complex laws by using a motorbike to drive up to the temple. "Sure, no problem. You good bike. Must drive up." was his reply and he pointed to the place where a small road would lead up the mountain. I fell twice on the way up, but it still was so much fun. Especially the part when arriving on the top, near the temple where I got blank stares from four other tourists who had been taking the stairs - and who were clearly annoyed by the noise of my bike.
Driving back to the city of Battambang afterwards was more of a timing exercise. I wanted to make sure to arrive before the daily rain (starting usually at 4pm). Although already covered in mud and having a bit of a bleeding knee, I really did not want to get stuck in the mud outside of town. Besides all these fun attractions, I did visit a couple of temples downtown Battambang and went to check out the Battambang railway station. This actually looks like an abandoned place. People are squatting the railway buildings and there is little evidence, that there are actually real trains arriving and leaving this station. One of these indications is the timetable - unchanged since 2005 - stating that the trains depart Phnom Penh at 6.20am on Saturday's. The trains to Phnom Penh depart Battambang on Sunday's at 6.40am. Note that there is no indication whatsoever about the arrival times. It definitely helps to pay attention to details: On a small chalkboard in a corner, there was some English scribbling underneath the Cambodian writing: "Passenger train, Sunday 24.8.2008 - No".
Heading further on my journey, I did chose to take the boat (instead of the bus) from Battambang to Siem Reap / Angkor Wat. On this leg, the road is in bad shape and the boat ride is absolutely scenic (read: stunning). Recommended to anyone traveling between these two cities.
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Reto at
11:30
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23 August 2008
Shadows of Phnom Penh
Heading to Phnom Penh, I was quite excited since I would meet again Jo and Jon - both with whom I've spent three months ago more than a week in the Mongolian desert. We went out one night in Phnom Penh for dinner to celebrate Jon's birthday. Unfortunately, Jo showed signs of an impending Dengue fever and I was almost drunk after only two beers of Ankor. So, Jon was drinking alone that much anticipated "Vodka Orange", the drink which kept us going back in the Gobi desert. Nevertheless, it was nice to meet again after so much time and exchange travel stories and anecdotes.The city of Phnom Penh is easily discarded by many travellers, who just use it as a hub to catch the bus to other touristic sites within the country. Nevertheless, I've spent a good amount of my two days stay sightseeing and actually found myself pretty busy all the times.
One of the visited places is called "The Killing Field", at Choeung Ek, a short distance from downtown Phnom Penh. This is where the Khmer Rouge killed people not in line with their party book. There are actually a lot of these fields scattered around the country - although the one at Choeung Ek is the most prominent one, featuring a small tower filled with the sculls that have been excavated from the nearby grounds. Some of the field's pits - albeit empty - feature shocking displays. Such as an old tree with an info panel stating in English: "Tree against which executioners did beat children", or "Loudspeakers were attached to this tree playing music to cover the screaming voices". Given the fact that these atrocities happened only 25 years ago, I found the "Killing Field" an especially depressing visit.
There is a movie with the same name. It tells the journey of a Cambodian who escaped the death camps. The person behind this real story - Dith Pran - died earlier this year.
As if I hadn't had enough, I went from the "Killing Field" to the Genocide Museum, Tuol Sleng (also known as "S-21"). It is located in the very buildings, where about 17'000 political prisoners were held and tortured under the Pol Pot regime. The dead bodies were discarded to the "Killing Field". Every prisoner was photographed and the mugshots of terrified men, women and children are especially heartbreaking. I kept on asking myself about how sick a government must be to consider pre-school children as political enemies and throw them in jail. Many of the young men on the photographs were probably born the same year as I am. Back home, we did revolt for getting "autonomous youth centers (German)" from the government. Sometimes we did clash with the police. While as at the same time, guys the same age were fighting for their life here in Cambodia. I can't remember that raising the awareness about the Khmer Rouge or Pol Pot were on our ideological agendas back then. But then again, at the very same time that I do write this, a war is going on somewhere (Darfour comes to my mind). In a couple of years, tourists will visit those mass graves there and ask themselves, why nobody did prevent this from happening back in 2008. Apparently, the trial to bring justice to those involved, is still going on. Another disturbing fact, since most of the key persons died of age - without ever having been punished.
After the visit to these historical sites, the daily rain shower did set in. It is wet season here, which means that around 4pm it starts to rain for about an hour or so. Sometimes longer. This implies that I try to finish any sightseeing program by that time, to ensure I won't get wet. Moreover, I pay the extra price of getting air conditioning in the room, since this keeps moist away from my clothes and the Rucksack. Nevertheless, I got stuck several times in the city, away from my guest house. This is where restaurants make a fortune out of tourists who seek shelter from the wet. On the other hand, being here in the rainy season ensures that during the dry periods of the day, everything is blooming. The colors of nature are breathtaking and I am laughing silently at the French guy I saw back a couple of weeks in China. He was having charts and meteorological data on his laptop, which would allow him to plan his trip meticulously around "la mousson" (rain season). He also tried very hard to convince two young French not to go their planned route through Southeast Asia, because of the impending wet season. Being a bit less bureaucratic, I would tolerate those who chose to visit this area in the dry season. But the wet season definitely has more character. And hey, guess what time it is right now here? Right, it is late afternoon and the rain allows me to update my blog without remorse.
However, I am still thinking about how to get back to the guest house without getting wet feet...
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Reto at
13:23
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20 August 2008
Kampot's concerto for a rainy day
Kampot is a beautiful and elegant colonial city, its fall from grace as a port nearly fifty years ago has left it in a time warp. There is a raw beauty in the streets and some of the buildings reminded me somehow of Cuba. Although small and not a tourist hotspot, this town has a lot of interesting things to offer. No wonder that I ended up staying here longer than in Sihanoukville. Hiring a small moto for the day is the way to go in Cambodia. Especially here in Kampot, where small trips took me to the surrounding rice fields, caves and the nearby town of Kep. And there is a riverside promenade with a couple of small stalls and restaurants, perfect to watch the stunning sunset over Bokor hill - a nearby mountain.
The French built a resort in the early 1920's on Bokor hill that served the Europeans to get some cool and fresh air - far away from the hot and humid weather in the Cambodian plains. The resort is called Bokor Hill Station. Currently there is a lot of building activity next to the station and the dirt road to the location was therefore closed for tourism. The only option was to walk up. The guidebooks warn that such a hike should be only undertaken by fit people. Therefore, I was mentally prepared for a strenuous walk on this two day hike through the Cambodian forest. We were a group of 16 tourists having the same idea and it seemed to me that everyone had arrived on the same day. Especially since I was told that no one else had booked the tour and I was prepared to do the hike alone with a ranger. 
Nevertheless, hiking in such a large group was fun and most of us quickly became friends and chatted while walking uphill. Once arrived on the top of Bokor Hill at the ranger station, rain and heavy fog set in. What would be a very disappointing moment when visiting other places, was actually a great setup for taking pictures. Here, in this strategic place, the Khmer Rouge fought one their last battles against the Vietnamese. The abandoned colonial buildings of the station were full of gun holes and other testimonies of heavy fights. After being soaked wet, we decided to wrap up for the day and went to the rangers house for dinner and sleeping.In the morning, some of us got up at 5am to watch the sunrise in the mist over Bokor Hill - which was a spectacular view as well. It was starting to rain and the mix of sunrise, fog, patches of blue and grey sky produced the most awesome rainbow I have ever seen in my life. After breakfast we set off to walk down the hill - but a different route. We were told, that we will have to walk in shallow water. Some of the group decided to do that part of the trip by car instead. But I wanted the "Full Monty". Rain already soaked me and most of us wet, including underwear. So, there was little point in wanting to keep the feet dry.
That part downhill of the trek was actually the most scenic one. And we really had to pass many parts of the trail in knee-deep water. This was - after hesitating first - not really feeling too uncomfortable, since the cold and wet feet in wet socks and wet shoes provided a refreshing cold in the warm and humid rain. There was quite some plant and wildlife to see along the way - most of them unknown to us. But the occasional spiders, frogs and chameleons would always excite the women in the group. Which was fun to watch. I recommend this place highly to anyone and I wonder why it doesn't rank among one of the major Cambodian tourist spots. On the other hand, the laid back setting of Kampot and Bokor Hill make it a wonderful area to explore - without the crowd (although it may get crowded occasionally, as our trekking group proved).
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Reto at
05:18
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16 August 2008
Uncool and Amok in Sihanoukville
Let me confess: I wanted to go to Sihanoukville. Yes, I voluntarily wanted to see the place. It has a nice name and many people rave about the place. Although I knew that I was going to a beach town, I realized on the bus that choosing this destination might have been a mistake. It was full of backpackers putting a lot of effort in looking cool, means: posh behaviour and wearing shades to avoid eye contact. It seems that this fashion season, the sunglasses have to be oversized with white frames - also for men. So these cool lads all looked like Elton John. Seeing so many unmanly guys trying to behave extra-macho was quite fun. Halfway through the trip to Sihanoukville, the bus stopped for a lunch break, where "Cool & the Gang" were standing clueless in front of the roadside food stall. Nope - this was not the beach and there were definitely no titties in sight. And no beer. Just a true roadhouse in the countryside with true local Cambodian people. Anyway, by the time I finished my lunch, the sunglasses crowd realized that they just missed eating, but the bus had to leave.
However, once arrived at our destination, the cool backpackers proved to be pretty useful to me. Hordes of hawkers and drivers were standing at the bus exit door. They wanted to provide 'cheap' rides to the resorts. And while the others tried to figure out where to go and how to speak, I quickly grabbed my backpack and walked calmly away to my guest house. None of the drivers was following me. Actually, I decided to stay downtown Sihanoukville. There, I rented a moto (kind of small Vespa bike), to explore the place. This was actually fun, although I did struggle with the awkward gear changing which means shifting into higher gears by pulling the foot lever down (having driven many motorbikes in the past, I was searching for the clutch, plus I wanted to shift in the opposite direction). Therefore, more than once I did change - when accelerating - from third to second gear - instead of fourth. This definitely was uncool and my performance gave a good laugh to all the spectators alongside of the road.
To be perfectly honest: Sihanoukville and its beaches are actually very nice. I do understand that some travelers just need to chill after a stressful overland trip. My issue with this was that I already came to Cambodia fully relaxed from the Central Asian trip. I was looking for nature and temples and found drunks and prostitutes.Sure, I went to the beaches to relax for an hour or two. Although I didn't really enjoy the bar where you'd get a free beer when you show your titties. Didn't work for me. And I found beaches which are still in an undeveloped state. One of them is "Otres" beach (you need a moto for this). There, the cows are peacefully grazing next to the locals who hang out picnicking under palm trees or swimming in the sea.
Sihanoukville was my first encounter with Cambodians and I am surprised how easy it is to get along. Sure, they try to make a living by wanting to sell me stuff (or give me a ride) all the time. But a smile with a firm "No" actually does the trick. I never had to fend off hawkers like in so many other places. Food is very tasty in Cambodia and I find myself constantly ordering meals I hardly know in advance what it contains. But so far, I had no bad experiences. On the contrary: On my first day, I did order the national dish, Amok - most probably because I was able to pronounce its name. However, the food in Sihanoukville is prepared for the tourist's taste. It will be probably another, harder experience, once out in the wild of Cambodia. But that's probably a worth wile story to tell in the next blog...
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Reto at
14:30
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