Ta Prohm or what others refer to as the jungle temple.

It’s early afternoon in a busy Bangkok airport. My wife and I are exploring the different eating options and passing time watching videos on my Ipad. In less than an hour we will be board our flight to Siem Reap. My dream of seeing Angkor Wat and some of the oldest temples in the world is about to come true.

We take off. Before we know it, we are landing on a sunny runway. As we make our way into the airport I realize we are the only flight landing at the time. It’s a strange feeling and as we walk on the almost too clean white marble floors. We got a much different vibe than we did upon our arrival in Thailand. As we approach a counter to pay a visa fee with the officials, we are asked to put around 30 dollars for both of us in a straw basket container filled with US dollars. Once they realize we do not have photos for our visas there is a small additional charge. I give a look, and they lower the extra fee. How strange to haggle at customs at an airport. We move from rechecking our luggage to the end of the line of about 60 people waiting for security. Our names are announced on a microphone from an attendant at the counter. It appears since they have noticed on our American passports that we are moved to the front of the line to bypass everyone and enter the Kingdom of Cambodia. The faces on the other travelers, mainly European, show some small signs of disgust and annoyance. I shrug my shoulders and we walk through.

Not wanting to haggle with taxi and tuk tuk drivers on the street, we make our way to the only taxi booth available in the airport. After talking it over with a man behind a counter, I show on a map I printed out detailing exactly where our hotel is, and we agree on a price. We follow the man to a van and we are on our way as we catch our first glimpses of Siem Reap. As we take in the sights our taxi driver begins asking lots of questions about our intentions and what we plan to do in Cambodia. Having only general ideas and no time frame, I respond that we are spending three days to see the temples. The driver then begins promoting his side job as a tour guide and that we can book with him for tomorrow. His pitch is quite aggressive it continues for the majority of the ride. I play it cool and he is clearly irritated. He begins to tell us our hotel is not a good choice. My wife looks extremely worried at this point. I remain calm and hope if I keep smiling he will actually take us to our destination. Finally what is only minutes but feels like an eternity we turn down a dirty road and he parks. I see the the gates of the hotel building and relief sets in. He begins to haggle on what price a tour would be with him and lowers the price multiple times. I respond no thank you I reach for the door. Its locked… How does a developing country have a van with childproof locks? Finally he unlocks it, and we get out. I got to the back of the van with him to unload our larger backpacks. As I take them I give him a tip of 1 US dollar, a generous amount. He replies in something disrespectful about Americans, clearly upset we did not agree for his tour.

We are free and make our way to the hotel to check in. Our first impressions of the hotel staff is not the warm welcome we received in Thailand. Unfortunately this is not the land of smiles. As we check in I make arrangements with the concierge for a tour of Angkor Wat for the next day. The concierge also mentions repeatedly we can, and should, book another night at the hotel. I decline but make him smile when I purchase multiple cans of Cambodian beer. We spend the remainder of the day by the pool drinking and enjoying the sun. I can tell some of the hotel staff members are shocked to see my wife drinking beer. Cambodia in my perspective is very conservative in the way that women dress. It is also not common to see women drinking alcohol. When men drink alcohol it is not normally casual with a meal, but more a binge drinking culture. We return to our hotel clean up and decided to eat at our hotel's restaurant.

Eating is one of my favorite parts of travel. I always have enjoyed watching shows with Anthony Bourdain and his approach to trying local dishes. We try a variety of small Cambodian dishes. I love the spring rolls and spices mixed with rice. It has been a tiring day of travel but our spirits our high. My wife would later describe this low key travel day as one of her favorite days on this trip. Our alarm is set for 4:30 am so we can see the sun rise over the temples.

Morning comes quickly, and as we walk to the edge of the hotel property, our guide is smiling and happy to see us. A small tuk tuk is waiting for us with a driver. Tuk tuks in Cambodia are small motorcycles that carry small trailers with roofs. All three of us climb in the back it’s very cramped and we are off. We weave through large roundabouts as the small roar of motor bikes pass by. Our guide asks us many questions and when he finds out we our Americans he speaks about what a powerful country we are from. He tells us of a couple of Americans he gave a tour to weeks ago from California. You can tell his perception pretty quickly. It is one that a lot of Cambodians share, that most Americans are millionaires and wealthy. Compared to the extreme poverty and living conditions, we really are. Many Cambodians make only about one US dollar a day. As we get closer north to the temple we stop to get permits and passes to Angkor Wat. A sea of large buses filled with Chinese tourists are joining us on this tourist trail. A large sign written in English reads “No US $2.” We later learn that there is a city in Cambodia that runs solely on fake US 2 dollar bills. Although US dollars are commonly accepted throughout the country, besides in that city, counterfeit money is not. Outside again, our guide points to a large newly built museum that was donated by North Korea. I am cautious talking about politics.

I try to always have a good background knowledge about the culture and places I am going too. Cambodia is a conflicting one based on its huge disadvantage of geographical position in location to neighboring countries. Ironically the temple we are about to see Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world. A symbol of the once powerful Khmer Empire that peaked in the 13th century and fell after over population and plague hit the region in the 15th century. As we arrive at the temple it is still dark. The whole area is packed with tourist trying to get the perfect selfie with the sunrise. It is a little too cloudy today and the sun rises behind clouds. It is still picture perfect to me and our guide takes plenty of us as we take in the large sights of people and reflection pools. As we make our way into the temple and around the grounds our guide does a great job of explaining the relief carvings. Some of the symbols are Buddhist some are Hindu. As many religions have influenced this site over time. We spend over an hour walking through and even climbing the steep steps to a lookout point at the top where you can see the surround jungles. As we approach an exit, monkeys are relaxing on the temples steps. We walk around, giving them space as they flash their large canines. We head back towards the entrance it is already mid morning and the once large crowd of people have dispersed.

Relief carvings in the wall at Angkor Wat

Monkeys with large canines roam the grounds.

Sitting inside the temple to show the large scale of size.

Angkor Wat a half an hour after sunrise.

Our tour guide leads us to a small building and restaurant. He tells us they serve western style food here but he will not be joining us because he needs to eat rice and cambodian food. The prices in the restaurant are extremely high compared to everything else we have seen so far but still inexpensive compared to back home. We drink coffee and have crepe like pastries and enjoy the silence of not having the constant talking from the tour guide. Following breakfast we headed out to the next temple on our tour, Angkor Thom.

As we head to Angkor Thom through dirt roads and roundabouts, an unsettling sight appeared. Elephants tied up and people riding them and prodding them with hooks. After hearing and seeing about how elephants are mistreated in different parts of southeast Asia, it was devastating to see it in person. At this time, just a couples months ago, a viral video had shown one of the same elephants from the company collapse and die from overexertion and heat in these conditions. Our guide is confused by how sad my wife is. Empathy towards animals is not something he can understand. We arrive at Angkor Thom the stone faces are impressive and large. There are even more monkeys here jumping from the many temples heads. I am shocked at how our guide and others are encourage to stand and climb on steps that you would not think you are normally allowed to be on. I wonder about the future of these temples with the high increase of tourists. Just 20 years ago, less than 10,000 tourists visited these temples, today over 2 and a half million people come every year. Will the wear and tear ruin these place? Our guide has a laminated binder with him with old maps and photos of the temples. He also has some false facts he gives to us about the history of the region. With access to the internet, many Cambodians are beginning understand how small they are on the scale of the world. It was still unclear what our guide’s viewpoints were on certain issues. Some Cambodians are unaware of the Khmer Rouge who controlled the country 40 years ago and created one of the largest genocides in human history. Roughly a quarter of the country’s population was killed. There are some that do not even believe the killing fields existed. Maybe it is too overwhelming to believe. Due to the wars and genocides there are very few people we see that are over the age of 40. The ones we do see are generally amputees playing music and begging for money. Children also approach us begging for money. It is so hard to say no, but but if we give it only promotes more children to skip and drop out of school. It provides a successful way to make money. Our guide tell us that the children begging has decreased a lot in the last few years but remains a major problem. He was happy we were educated in advance on the importance of saying a difficult no. We board our tuk tuk and head to the jungle temple.

To the left one of the many faces at Angkor Thom. The photo above is my wife and I outside the temples grounds.

The jungle temple or Ta Prohm was discovered by the French like many of the other temples in the 19th Century. At the time these explorers were traveling through dense jungles. The temple of Ta Prohm was left alone for so long that the trees grew through the temples creating an amazing site. As we walk around the temple and our guide tells us how Tomb Raider and other movies were filmed here. We see and landmine caution sign, warning us to stay on the path. Many landmines still remain from previous wars throughout the country. Our guide talks about how many mines were cleared to make the path we are on to get to the temples. He believed that the groups who worked for the government to remove the mines misreported how many there were to get more money. I nod and listen as it is hard to get a read on what our guide thinks. There is so much corruption in this country. If you want to file a police report you are required to pay money. I think to myself how screwed we would be if we hit a landmine. We would for sure have to take a flight out of the country to neighboring Thailand or Vietnam to find a decent hospital. We return to the tuk tuk. We stop at some smaller temples and favorite spots of our guide. It is early afternoon and he says we can continue to different temples for more money. We are exhausted and decided to return to the hotel.

On our ride back to the hotel we take in the now bright sunny view of the countryside. Our guide talks about his family. I steer away from politics but it is clear that the current government bothers him. Political tensions are high point at this time with problems in the 2015 election and demonstrations. We reach our hotel and generously tip our driver and tour guide and say goodbyes. I am not writing about this for positive karma but for a sadness I have heard from other travelers about haggling to get such a cheap deal. I loved haggling in Thailand at the night markets for goods, but after seeing the poverty and the low cost to begin with, my heart hurts for the people. At this point, I do not care if i get taken advantage of for a few dollars to help feed a family for a few extra days.

On a side note, at some point while visiting the temples, my elephant pants also ripped. As a tip to any potential future travelers: do not trust the elephant pants. See my previous post for the initial story.

My wife and I take a refreshing nap. Even following, we do not have the energy or stamina to risk a pickpocket situation with the busy streets outside our hotel we decide to dine in for night two. We request a beef dish and to our surprise our waiter gets on a bicycle and leaves for the market to pick it up. Meat is such a luxurious item here we almost feel guilty for ordering it. We discuss over drinks what we want to do. Should we visit the capital and southern Cambodia? My wife and I decide are we are beginning to feel homesick and missing Thailand. We are paranoid by this place probably because the extreme contrast. I talk to the hotel staff and arrange for a car to drive us the following morning to the border town of Poipet that leads into Thailand. The hotel staff makes many phone calls and comes to me with an official paper document that I sign agreeing to pay 50 US dollars for my wife and I. I can tell by their reactions this is a really big deal, but I am not in the mood to take buses and work out transfers for a whole day. My wife and I order a bottle of wine to celebrate. As we drink away mosquitos are biting my legs, a major mistake. I regret not wearing pants. Getting bit by these quick little insect would later lead to a fever and visit to a Thai hospital for myself. Tonight we go to bed happy and sleep better knowing we are leaving tomorrow.

The next morning we check out and a very nice car is waiting for us with leather interior. The ride to the border will take us 2 and half hours if things go smoothly. Even though we are on a major highway, it is only two lanes and not paved everywhere. Our driver is erratically swerving to the right and left while driving far too fast. Unfortunately there are not even seat belts in our car. We watch a movie on the ipad we have downloaded to pass the time. Almost every 45 minutes our driver stopped at a small convenience store on the side of the road to see if we wanted snacks. An obvious tactic to help out his friends who owned the business and maybe get a side of their profits. Cans of soda and pringles were charged 6 times the regular amount. I stretched my legs and smiled but showed no interest. At one of the stops a small van of Swiss tourists talked to me outside our car. They were surprised to see an American and talk about their travels. They seemed weary of the road conditions and I agreed. Back in the car I looked at the eerie countryside. No telephone wires over fields of rice and few water buffalo hear and there. A skinny cow made me feel terrible for ordering the beef dish the night before. Fast forward what seemed like an eternity we reach Poipet. Our driver dropped us off which seemed like the middle of the road and pure chaos.

As we walked toward the border people approached us left and right; it was overwhelming. Cars and trucks spit out large volumes of smoke, and dirt covered our faces. After saying no to many people trying to arrange rides and bus trips for us on the other side in Thailand I finally found the Cambodian customs and got our passports stamped. We were officially out but now we needed to go across the street and cross a bridge in an international zone on foot and get accepted back into Thailand. Walking across the bridge my paranoia and anxiety was at top level. People approached us I thought in quick moment someone was trying to steal my wife. I grabbed her body and yanked her closer to me in the sea of people and she screamed. Finally we crossed the bridge and got into the Thai customs building. This room was hot with a long long line of lots of people trying to cross through. It took us over two hours waiting in lines to get back into Thailand. Exhausted we headed to get some soda and chicken from a Thai fast food place. Looking back reflecting, this was less than 48 hours in Cambodia how did it seem like so much? The temples exceeded my expectations and I know there's probably a lot more we could have done and seen in this country but this was not my place. I would not dissuade anyone from visiting Cambodia, but I do not think I will return.