Dry, dusty, ancient, incredible.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in Cambodia as the timing for the beginning of my trip was quite tight. It was only 12 days but in that time I saw the temples of Angkor, the beaches of Sihanoukville, a glimpse of the Mekong riverside town of Kampong Cham and the remote North West town of Ban Lung in the Ratanakri province.
During my time here I was fortunate enough to meet some great people who definitely made my trip in Cambodia.
It was the height of the dry season and the country is low and flat with the first real mountains I saw being near the Cambodia Laos border. Following the monsoon rains the country side must look amazing not mention keep the dust down to a minimum.
Jump To
- Siem Reap
- Sihanoukville
- Kampong Cham
- Ban Lung
Flying in across the Gulf of Thailand from KL and then over the countryside the landscape looked flat, sparsely populated, but with some great river systems and lakes snaking across the country. Even when coming into land there was no sign of a large dense population.
Taxing in from the runway I was surprised not to see another single aircraft at the terminal, we were the only plane in the entire airport! The terminal looked to be influenced by the local temple style and was just one large building. It was straight through customs and the baggage area, as I walked out I expected to be swamped by Tuk-tuk drivers and the like but the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed and I had to walk out to where the drivers were all standing and asked to be taken to town.
The town is quite small, lined with local shops, internet cafes, restaurants and a KFC, no McDonalds yet… A small river cuts through the town and I followed it up exploring by bike. While riding a young Cambodia rode up beside me and we started chatting so he could practice his English. He just asked questions about my family and Australia and then he was on his way.
I knew that at the local children’s hospital foreigners were able to give blood so when I stumbled across it only hours after landing I went in. Outside the hospital was a long line of parents with sick children waiting to get in. The hospital looked very basic and it seemed to be being constantly being mopped down to keep it clean, the smell of disinfectant was quite strong. I was lead through to a small room where there were two nurses, two beds, a desk and foreigner already donating blood. I had to fill out a short questionnaire and then I was on the bed, needle in arm, blood flowing into a bag all in under 5 minutes.
The hospital was the Kantha Bopha Children’s hospital, part of a group that consists of a number of children’s hospitals in Phnom Phen and Siem Reap, all established since 1992 largely as a result, guidance and hard work of Swiss doctor Beat Richner. Working at the original hospital in 1975 his time there came to an end when the Khmer Rouge took control of the country. In 1991 the Cambodian government asked Dr Richner to return and rebuild the hospital. The hospital group now treats over 85% of all sick and injured children in Cambodia for free. In 2010 108,000 severely sick children were hospitalised, 733,000 sick children received their treatment in the outpatient facilities, 15,265 children underwent surgical procedures, 25,220 children were treated for tuberculosis and 14,171 deliveries occurred at the maternity clinic. You can find out more here. http://www.beat-richner.ch While at the clinic I met Jess, the other donor, and I ended up tagging along with her and her friends for the next week in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville. Jess is actually involved with an Australian organisation called World Youth International (WYI) (www.worldyouth.org.au) that among other things runs volunteer projects in a number of countries around the world. Westy and her sister Mel who Jess was travelling with were actually in Cambodia as team leaders for a project that was about to begin, run by WYI in conjunction with a Cambodian based charity called This Life Cambodia (TLC) (www.thislifecambodia.org). Mel and Westy were going to be leading a team of volunteers on two 5 week programs undertaking a few important projects at a local secondary school in a village bordering the Siem Reap township.
Angkor Wat
The following day I tackled my first day of temples solo by push bike. It was a sunny day, mid 20’s so it was perfect for taking it slow and cycling around the temples. First stop was Angkor Wat the world’s largest religious monument in the world.
The complex was built during the 12th century and is believed represent the complete microcosm of the Hindu universe – the moat represents the ocean surrounding the Earth, the concentric galleries represent the ranges and the towers represent the mountain peaks of Mount Meru – home of the Gods. The complex originally contained a city and the royal palace but there are no longer any remnants of these as they were constructed from wood and other light materials and have long since turned to dust – Stone was reserved only for the Gods.
The ruins looked amazing and there was a lot to explore and see, there were thousands of carvings and statues throughout. Some sections of the complex are currently under restoration so there was scaffolding surrounding parts of the temple. After an hour or two it was time to move on, I rode up and checked out Baksei Chamkrong, rode past Bayon which looked impressive, as did Angkor Thom, I rode through a gate with a Buddha face with the final stop for the day being Ta Prohm.
Parts of this temple many people would have seen before as it featured in Tomb Raider. The temple was definitely in ruin, covered in overgrowth from ancient looking trees, rubble scatted all around, partly due to age, also as a result of the tree roots literally pushing the bricks apart. Sections of the complex are now reinforced to prevent collapse. One of the most disappointing parts of this temple was that it was really touristy and there is no doubt that Tomb Raider had something to do with it. A famous scene from the movie involves a doorway overgrown by tree roots, it looks impressive but they have built a nice little wooden platform for you to stand on to get your photo taken… There were a few other sections around the temple that were similar, it is also for safety and to keep people at a relatively safe distance which is important given the traffic flow but this wasn’t the case at any other temple I saw. You have pretty much free rein to climb and explore in all the temples which is both a good and a bad thing. From here it was quite a long ride home, largely through bush land, a few times I questioned whether or not I was on the right path but I eventually came across the moat of Angkor Wat and I knew I was on homeward bound.Temples Day 2
My second excursion out to the temples was with Mel, Shane and Westy, we intended to do the outer loop in the East Baray area which we did by Tuk-tuk. We visited a number of the temples including Pre Rup, East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean and the final and my favourite of all the temples Preah Khan. The temples on this loop, although still touristy, were not as busy as the temples I had previously visited and we had the opportunity, especially at Preah Khan to explore every nook and cranny of the ruins.
Preah Khan
One thing that really stands out when you see Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and similar temples is how old they really must be as the overgrowth and size of the trees that are taking over is phenomenal. The trees and roots are huge with some estimated to be over 400 years old, it really gives you a feeling that a rich and powerful ancient civilisation once occupied these walls. Preah Khan was the last temple that we visited and it was the end of the day so there was only a trickle of people left, this added to the lure of this temple as we were free to explore on our own. At one point we came to an area that had a number of rock cairn’s, we added to the collection and built a small one in the hallway. Climbing though ruined sections, shimming between walls and scrambling over rubble, it is hard to imagine what it really looked like when it was first built and to really understand exactly what went on within the temple and city walls. The overgrown trees, rock carvings, engravings, statues and sheer size of the building blocks leaves you in ore. This was a magnificent place.
The outskirts of Siem Reap
My final day in Siem Reap was actually spent riding through the country side out to the village and school that Mel and Westy were going to be working at. It was great to get off the tourist track and see some of Siem Reap that most foreigners don’t bother to. The dirt roads outside the city are rough and our single speeds weren’t always up for the challenge, we had a few punctures along the way but there was always a make shift garage not too far off, even out in the sticks with a cost of only 20 cents a repair!
As we rode into the village the kids all started yelling out and they would run out to the road for Hi Five’s. The school was quite small, less than a dozen buildings, primary on one side and secondary on the other. There were murals painted on the primary school walls and the main playground area was just dust bowl. Mel and Westy pointed out what WYI and TLC had done in the past and what they would be doing this time round. The work that the charities have done looked to really have made a difference and the increasing attendance rate is evidence of this.
It was a great afternoon; we didn’t see another tourist the whole time, just the Cambodian countryside, flat, sparse and baking in the sun.
More Photos
The trip to Sihanoukville was going to be with Jess, Mel, Westy and Shane who at this stage I had only met the night before. They had told me which night bus they were catching and so I organised to catch the same one, or so I thought. I got picked up and taken to the bus but they weren’t there. The bus ended up being completely full so I assumed that they must have taken another one, or they ditched me... After an uncomfortable 10hr trip to Sihanoukville I arrived there at about 4am in the morning. I looked around for a pick-up which I thought was going to be there but couldn’t see one so I just got a motto taxi. When I arrived at the guest house the guy wasn’t too happy, he showed me two signs, one with my name and the other with Mel’s, apparently he had been there waiting with 2 Tuk-tuks for us all. It was then I realised something must have held the others up.
When I woke up I had an email from Jess’s boyfriend in Australia telling me they had been delayed. I later found out the bus company had forgot to pick them up, although had told them that the bus was broken down, then later that they had in fact missed it. They put them on the midnight bus to Phnom Phen, they then had to wait 4hrs for a connecting bus. They arrived at 2pm!
We stayed at Sascha’s Guesthouse, the staff there were great and it was located at the quiet Independence Beach which is just out of town. There was a new hotel being built just across the road so it may not be quiet for that much longer. The beach was really nice, white sand, clear water and a nice temperature, there was no swell being in the gulf of Thailand. There is a little family business set up on the beach that have Lilo’s and a do all kinds of food – BBQ Chicken, fish, noodles, rice and fruit. It was New Years Eve so we headed into Serendipity, the main beach. We ate on the main drag and then headed for the beach. On the way we stopped at Dr Fish and got a fish massage and a free beer. The fish massage involves putting your feet into a large tank filled with hundreds of small fish that peck at your skin, it’s a weird tickling sensation that takes a bit to get used to. From here it was then onto the beach front where the party was at. The beach front is lined with restaurants, bars and makeshift dance floors which seemed to extend in both directions as far as the eye could see. There was a constant stream of fireworks going off from the beach and over the water the whole night which looked amazing along the arched beach front. We had a few beers, buckets and free shots, counted the New Year in on the beach and danced into the New Year with your favourite Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber tracks.
Getting back to Siem Reap we decided to give the same bus company a second chance as my experience was OK – That was a mistake. Our first bus broke down in the middle of nowhere an hour out, the second bus was freezing and then we changed again to a third bus in Phnom Phen that wasn’t great either. I wouldn’t recommend Paramount Bus Company in Cambodia.
Despite the bus rides (it is Cambodia after all and you can’t expect things to run as if it was home) it was a great few days at the beach and the last chance I would get to swim in the ocean for the better part of a year if the trip goes to plan.
More Photos
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I hired a push bike for the rest of the day to explore the town and check out a few of the sites. First stop was Wat Nokor, this Buddhist temple is a fusion of old and new. Built within the walls of an Angkorian style Mahayana shrine the Theravada Wat was small but beautifully decorated with the walls covered in murals depicting stories of Shakymuni Buddha. Immediately surrounding the temple were other religious buildings, statues, monk residences, a burial ground, a school and further ruins. A wall from the old temple surrounded much of this area with a village lying beyond. 
I then rode back into town and along the Mekong to the Bamboo Bridge. This bridge, made entirely of bamboo was quite a sight. It is rebuilt every December after being washed away during the monsoon. Despite being made of bamboo it is strong enough for cars to traverse. It was stable although slippery on a pushbike, I rode quite carefully as I didn’t want to end up in the drink. I wasn’t able to explore the island on the other side of the bridge as the sand was too soft to ride on. In the distance I could see some derelict dwellings on the foreshore and local fisherman cruising the river, armed with cast nets and fishing poles. There is a full village on the island but I wasn’t able to reach or see it from bridge landing, I still had to pay the toll fee (on a bamboo bridge…)More Photos
It was a long and dusty ride on the public bus, setting off from the guesthouse at 8.30, then not getting out of Kampong Cham until 10 and then it wasn’t until 7pm that we finally made it into Ban Lung. We stopped and started all day, dropping people off and picking them up. We even picked up 3 or 4 solid wooden bed frames that were transported in the aisle of the bus all the way to Ban Lung.
As I got off the bus the first thing that caught my eye was the table full of grilled cockroaches and other delightful looking bugs however before I had a chance to get a good look I was surrounded by the usual swarm of locals trying to poach me but this time I already had a ride on the way.
As I got off the bus the first thing that caught my eye was the table full of grilled cockroaches and other delightful looking bugs however before I had a chance to get a good look I was surrounded by the usual swarm of locals trying to poach me but this time I already had a ride on the way.
The plan for Ban Lung was to stay with Helen who I met in Siem Reap, she was on a 12 month volunteer placement through VSO and although she had only been in the area for about a month she offered to play tour guide. She picked me up on her motto and we headed back to her place. She lived on the second level of a relatively new wooden house with an awesome deck that went right around the house. I couldn’t see too much of inside as the power was out – A common occurrence in this part of Ban Lung. We headed out and had some dinner by Boeung Kan Siang lake and then went back and chilled out on the deck gazing out at the stars which were stunning. You could see the Milky Way in detail and thousands upon thousands of stars as there was next to no light pollution out here. The only hint of light was the batman lights that were scanning the sky, lighting for the National Victory Over Genocide Day holiday that the town was gearing up for tomorrow night.
Day 1 in Ban Lung was pretty cruisy and was spent exploring Kan Chang and Ka Tieng waterfalls which are only about 10km out of town. Neither were jaw dropping but they were both nice and it was great to be able to go for a swim. The fall at Kan Chang was about 7m high and dropped down into a circular pool, there was a group of young kids swimming and playing around. We mucked around with them for a bit and Helen was able to chat to them a bit in Khmer and maybe a bit of English. Ka Tieng is about 10-15mins motto ride from Kan Chang, besides the waterfall you can also do an Elephant ride here however a girl we met at the falls didn’t recommend it as it was expensive and you just did a boring loop through the forest. This was a larger fall, maybe about 10m dropping into a larger circular pool where you can swim and also get up behind the falls.We also checked out the Reclining Buddha, part of the local Wat which is on the hill on the way into town. From here there were some decent views across the town and onto the mountains in Laos to the North.
Patrick, another Aussie that Helen had met in Siem Reap arrived that afternoon and our trio was now complete. That evening we headed out to the National Victory Over Genocide Day celebrations in the centre of town. The place was packed, the beers were flowing and a stage had been erected with famous performers from Phnom Phen rocking… the stage. The performances were quite mixed to say the least; there were slow ballads, pop music, sexy songs, country style tracks and the highlight, a mega mix that went from Boy Band to MJ to Daft Punk! (I hope to upload the video soon)
While in Ban Lung we also checked out Kinchaan waterfall which was huge but there wasn’t really anywhere to swim as it cascaded onto rocks below and the Volcanic Lake, Boeng Yeak Laom. The lake was nice and surrounded by lush forest. It is an important site to the local indigenous community and it even has its own lake monster dwelling in its 50m depths.The whole time spent with Helen and Patrick was a heap of fun but the highlight was our ride out to Voen Sai. After Breakfast and figuring out how to fill up the water tank from the underground water supply we were on our way. It was about a 40km ride along dusty unsealed roads past water buffalo, villages and some swamp lands. I even had stack on the bike when after crossing a bridge and hitting a bump the water bottles flew out of the basket then taking out the front wheel, the bike skidded to the ground, somehow I managed to stay on my feet but I had to keep moving which ended with me jumping from the road in to a shrub of prickles… Both the bike and I made it through unscaved it was just my ego that was bruised as it happened in front of a large group of local guys who couldn’t stop laughing.
It was then back on the bike and on the road to Voen Sai. The ferry crossing was the next challenge where Patrick and I had to ride the bikes down a steep embankment then across soft sand to the boat that would ferry us to the other side. Miraculously we both made it down and across the sand without any problems. On the other side of the river was a Chinese settlement, we rode up alongside the river for a while, checked out the Buddhist temple and had some lunch. It was then time to make haste back to Ban Lung for dinner at a friend of Helen’s. There were no accidents on the way home but by the time we arrived back at Helen’s it looked like we’d all been rolling around in the dirt.
