originally uploaded by nycduncan.

View our flickr photo feed from our time visiting the temples of Angkor Cambodia.

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So back to our border crossing out of Cambodia. As you know we made it into Cambodia in dramatic fashion, but getting out of Cambodia to cross into Vietnam was a whole other story.  That, we did in ”Style”.  We were in the beautiful little town called Kep City so chose to cross via the little known border (to westerners that is) of Ha Tien.  From out hotel to the Vietnam border should be aobu one hour we were told. First it took an extremly slow Tuk Tuk driver picking us up from our hotel.  He drove so slower that even a donkey cart would have no problem passing us at lightning speed. But we relaxed and took it all in stride as we went though the beautiful salt fields of cambodia. We had never seen how seasalt was created before and that was nice to see. “Want photo” our Tuk Tuk driver asked. He took a photo of is in front of the salt fields. Then, Charles told him “ok, quick, to the border”.  Our Tuk Tuk driver being such a nice man and all proceeded to stop in front of  a Buddha Monestary.  “Take picture”?  he said.  We got out and took a picture and in so doing met too teenage monks in thier flowing orange and yellow garments, who were just as facinated with us and we were of them for this entire trip so far. We were glad to take pictures with them and they were glad to practice their English.   They told us in broken English, “to go in good speed and good luck with the rest of our trip”. Then we proceeded on and our Tuk Tuk Driver stopped at a stall to buy us some water. I needed to use the bathroom so I asked my Tuk Tuk driver if I could use one. It seems  like a litte restaurant spot even if it was made only of some dry coconut branches.  He asked them and they said yes, yes, of course in Cambodian. So a lady ushered me back to the kitchen area which I thought odd.  Then she pointed me to the corner of the kithchen where there were some large buckets of water and a bit of space behind them. I was looking at her meaning “where is the toilet”? She understood what I was asking because she again signaled (we both did not speak the other’s language) that I should do my business in that very space next to the buckets. She smiled and closed the door.  I looked around.  I looked at the floor.  What can I say…. you must understand,  I was desparate.   I handled my business and thanked her graciously with a bow,  for the use of her kitchen floor.  

We were on our way and what should have taken 1 hour had now, so far, taken 2 and a half hours.   Then our Tuk Tuk Driver stopped when he came up to some people who seemed to be just hanging out. Some had motorbikes.  We were informed that he, the Tuk Tuk driver could not take us all the way to the Vietnam border but rather we would just pay him and then proceed to get on the back of a motorbike and the drivers will take us to the Border.  Now you have to understand that we could have argued. Buy why?  We discussed price with the motorbike driver and for $5 each we made a deal. They would take us to the Vietnam border. Another question you might want to ask is – why did our Tuk Tuk driver not just take us all the way to the border?  We do not know and did not care the know. When in Cambodia, do as the Cambodians tell you to do.  Everyone cuts their deals in Cambodia and the tourist just have to play along or get left behind. Sooooo they took our backpacks, positioned one on each bike in front of the driver while we positioned ourselves on the back of the driver.  Away we went!!!!  Our Tuk Tuk driver flashed us a genuine (i think), toothless smile and waved up hearty goodbyes.  I looked back at him in panick and then looked ahead at Charles, already speeding off with his driver, in great anticipation and even greater fear!!!   We have been doing this by ourselves all this time, based on our own  plan, and have yet to see one other westerner. Lawd!!!!!

Our ride was for about half an hour. We thought we were coming to the Vietnam border but then were told by our driver that this is the Cambodian exit border. We got off, they waited for us and we had our passports stamped for exiting by the Cambodian authourities. Then we got back on the bikes and headed off to what hopefully would be the Vietnam border.  After another 20 miniute ride low and behold, a huge sign saying “WELCOME TO VIETNAM”. Welcome to the land of french baguettes, fried crickets, cockroaches and worms, roasted dog, Ho Chi Mhin, Saigon and more Vietnam war movies than I care to remember.  I waved as we approached the border and  and shouted in full effect, “ HELLO VIETNAM”!!!! My driver  on to whom I had been holding on tightly,  shouted in pretty good English and just as loud as I did….. “Goodbye Cambodia, Hello Vietnam”!!!!! We laughed.

By that time we got off the bikes, our locks, our clothes, our skin was orange, a result of being layered with the Cambodian orange clay colored dust we were driving through. We looked terrible. Now we know why Cambodians wear long sleeves and heavy dust mask when riding.  But who cared about being orange. We had made it in grand orange Style!!!!!! 

But I want you to understand is that Cambodia is a most beautiful place. All Charles says about Kep City and Kampot is true. And what can compare to Angkor Wat on this earth.? Nothing!!! You see, Camobia is like this place where on first sight you go, “what is there to see here?” And then like an oasis in the dessert this beauty emerges and just knocks you off your feet. It is an emotional place because of the poverty and its history is never far behind from one’s mind because visually there are children begging and victims of mine explosions begging as well. But isn’t that what travel is for? It’s not always meant to be a picnic for the tourist to eat at. So they can scam me how they want (in moderation of course). To put it in perspective, 40 US dollars is what a teacher makes here in a month.   There is a politics behind this country that must be understood before it can be judged.  It is a horrifying one and still the people persist. I wonder how they do it. Visit absolutely if you can. The hotels are cheap, the food is out of this world – love the Sweet and Sour Fish Soup and Khemer Curries, the country is all beautiful….love the “hello’s” and dialouge like -

 ”Where are you from? Africa?”

 ”No, America”.

“Huh, then home come so black?

…..yes, now that is a whole other story….. get into that later.

Gotta love it!!!!!

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As our bus pulled to a stop the drived motioned “Kep here”. Our first response was “Kep Where?”. There were no tourist to seen, barely any locals, no ATM’s/banks, or for that matter very few buildings. We were beginning to question even bothering visiting a place with very little in sight.

After a few hours in town and a converstaion with the rare tourist, we discovered that there was nothing more to this sleepy ocean sidetown and that was the charm of it all. Kep was the perfect place to recharge our batteries and prepare for Vietnam, the next major leg of our trip.

We decided to settle into one of few boutique guesthouses featuring stylish and rustic bungalows dotting the foot of the local mountain range. The grounds were surroundd by mango and jackfruit trees as well as orchids. To top it off the elevated mountainside location provided sunset views all for the cost of $12 USD/ per night.

Over the next few days in Kep we would run montain trails, visit nieghboring islands, bath in the ocean and enjoy the fresh crab dishes that the town is currently known for. As much as I enjoyed our basic lifestyle it was time to move on to discover new places.

I can honestly say that not only is Kep is one of my favorite destinations on our trip it’s one of my favorite in the world. While I’m sure talks of hotel development and an airport in the town will change much of what I experienced, I left with the feeling that I doscovered the location where i would hide if I had to run away from it all (even if it’s just for two weeks).

I’ll ad some photos once I hav the time to get through the hour flickr uploads.

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Our experiences in Cambodia have varied gratly from the amazing temples of Angkor to the the bloody history of Phnom Penh and now the quiet and relaxing shores of Kep. While we still attract constant stares of amazement from locals, the common burst of laughter has changed into a simple “Hello” from the locals.  

As we venture to the next country everything will surely change in that short trip across the border.  A new: language, customs, culture and hotel/food prices will automatically great us in the next country. Lukily for us i fully expect to have a great a time if not better in Vietnam that we has in Cambodia.   

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Our friends Cara and Serena arrived from New York and San Francisco respectively to meet us in Bangkok. Boy, was it great to see some familiar faces. We headed to Cambodia together after one day in Bangkok. First we took a 6 am train for 5 hours from Bangkok to the border. That was fine. Again the train was old and made lots of noise but we were in second class which meant that instead of hard benches like most on the train we paid extra from old reclining seats and some antique looking fans overhead. Ahhhh, the good life!!!!!!

Anway once we got to the cambodian border, that is where the drama started. First, note that we did have our visa’s from cambodia that we got online. Thank goodness because that eliminated us having to stand in line with other, already exhausted looking tourist who most likely had to pay way too much for their visas. You see it is already known that there are multiple scams that take place at the border and tourist have to be very careful.

First this guy who was pretending to work with the immigration and handing out entry forms tried to get us to use a shuttle bus that he said we absolutely had to take in order to do the three hour trip into the city of Siem Reep. We kept telling him “no”" and Charles told him that he did not have an official government tag so how is this possible? Why did we not know about this before. We all four sat in the shuttle anyway since he spoke broken english as did everyone else. The stupid shuttle took us across the street literally and placed us in front of a bank where he insisted that we must get exchage all our money because they did not take thai BHAT or USD in Cambodia. Guess he got a “cut” from the bank teller who was outside spoking a cigarette and quickly head into the bank when the shuttle drove up. Now this we knew was a lie since we had already read that USD and Thai BHAT was taken all over cambodia. Then he told us we had to take one of the buses or cab drivers he told us we should take to go to Siem Reep. This we knew was crap. Cambodian busses were notorious for making the three our ride to Siem Reep last 6 hours and more by taking alternative routes or starting you off on a bus and then dumping you on the back of a pick-up truck. At this point we told him “back off”. Ask anyone he told us. I am not lying. I tell you the truth. Question is who were we going ask. No one spoke English. We told him to just leave us alone, get out, bug off. He finally got the message and looked at us like he cursed the ground we walked on.

Anyway we finally got a taxi driver to take four of us acroos to Siem Reep in a four door Toyota Camry. For the three hour drive to Siem Reep he charged $40USD for all four people. He did not speak a word of English if it did not include a monetary amout or the word “toilet”. Thus we were satisfied that it was sufficient for us to effectively communicate and made the trip with him. Charles at in front. Serena, Cara and I sat in the back.

The ride was long, bumpy and dirty. Cambodia has lots of dust you see. And in fact upon nearing the boder you already have all this dirt that begins to cover your body. The car was air conditioned for which we were very grateful. The ride was also like a roller coster. Huge pot holes which the driver either drove right into or swerved to avoid just to go into another one. At first we were terrified but about half an hour into the ride we realised we became less tense and relaxed allowing our bodies to swing with the flow of the car because that was just the way it was gonna be. Our driver stopped at one point though in the ride and without a single word parked the car, got out, walked a weee bit from the car, pulled downs his pants peed. Then he simply got back into the car and we were on our way.

Oh yes, he also stopped at a rest stop where cambodians sold us coconut water and beer and we could use the toilet. Now when I say toilet. I do not mean a western toilet. I mean a toilet where you have to squat to the ground and flush it by using a bucket of water from a tub. It is not for the lighthearted is all I can say. There is hardly ever tissue in the toilets as Thai and Cambdians use water from a bucket or nearby hose to wash themselves. So one always has to walk with their own paper as bought in convenience stores or taken from your western bathroom at the hotels.

Anyway once we got to Siem Riep the cab driver just abruptly stopped and parked us and got out of the car without a word. He dropped us amoung a huge group of Tuk Tuk Drivers who themselved opened our doors and advised us to get out of the car because that is as far as our cab driver will take us. We told our cab driver to take us to our hotel but he just put his had up meaning “no”. We soon found out what this was about. The tuk tuk drivers here make their money from driving tourist around to sites. They will stay with you for the entire time and take you where you want to go, supply you with a guide, take you to restaurants and hotels(usually of their choice) and they will get a “cut from the hotel”, restaurant and guide. Plus you pay them of course.

All in all because all tourist really look like to people here is a big wad of cash, you can trust no one. Scams are always waiting at your feet and you have to try to stay one step ahead of them.

BUT God!!!!! Siem Reep and Angkor WAT are MAJESTIC once we saw them in their glory all memories of the border drifted away. We just all chucked it up to well, an experience.

We got a lovely hotel for $20 a night with crisp and clean white sheets. Fresh towels and a TV. Wow!!!!!! Luxury.

We also eventally got a most sweet and wonderful Tuk Tuk Driver who took us around for two whole days for a total sum of $10 USD per person. That included taking us to all the sites. To and from our hotel if we wished. To restaurants and even to the airport when Serena and Cara had to fly back to the airport. You see Cambodians are also some of the sweetest people we have met.

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We started our day with a sunrise tour of the Angkor Wat. As the worlds largest religious building it’s the crown jewel of a trip to the area. While you might think that you’d be alone showing up 5:30 am at a temple in the middle of jungle, we were joined by thousands (seriously) of Japanese, Chinese and Korean tourist. Everyone was equipped with fancy cameras and trip-pods to get dramatic images of the sun rising over the temple. Needless to say I was no different.

While most travelers I’ve met spend about 2 days visiting the key temple ruins, there’s definitely enough ruins and ancient buildings to keep someone like me occupied for at-least a week. While we spent our first 2 days getting up at 4:30 am to be at temples for sunrise, today we are taking it easy to have a proper breakfast and update the blog before heading out to the complex.

I’ve been truly amazed at the beauty of the architecture that I’ve seen so far. Perhaps it’s underestimating the ingenuity of previous societies or how the modern world has lacked the inspiration of those before us. Regardless there’s something special in Angkor. I’m sure those thousands of other Angkor tourist would agree.

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The trip from Bangkok Thailand to Siem Reap Cambodia is historically notorious for the bumpy dusty ride and border crossing hassles. In order to make it a little easier we decided to apply for our Cambodian visas ahead of time. Forget having to mail your passport to a far away embassy, Simply upload any image, forward a few dollars to a PaypPal account and 2 days later a fresh new e-visa. There’s even a blog to support the process. Why can’t other countries get down with web 2.0/tourism?

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