Cambodia: Siem Reap

I have long wanted to visit Cambodia and finally getting there and still being here continues to be a dream come true. After Joe and Jack left Thailand, Sam and I took a couple days to rest up in Bangkok and then took a 5 hour local train to the border town of Aranyaprathet. It was a beautiful ride through the rice paddies. Little did I know it was like the calm before the storm that is crossing the border from Thailand to Poipet, Cambodia.

Train crossing in Thailand. 23 August 2013

We arrived at the train station on the Thai border and were greeted with ambitious tuk-tuk drivers from all sides. We agreed on a price with one and he took us to the border. NOT. It was a fake border with fancy new signs and many foreigners were coming out warning us that it was a scam. After all, how can you get into the country of Cambodia before leaving Thailand? We left this place and walked a short distance further and found the real office to cross the border and still ended up paying a bit more than advertised because we were using Thai baht rather than US dollars. 

After crossing into Poipet, we were greeted by a very eager guy telling us about a free bus to "the bus station". All the tourists were sitting waiting for this bus. We weren't told anything about local transport, so we just hopped on the foreigner bus. Of course this one takes you to a "bus station" a few kilometeres away from the border and with nothing else in sight so you are forced to take one of their transit options with a fixed price to town. We teamed up with another traveler and took a taxi for two hours and marveled at the green of the rice paddies and dust flying everywhere along the way.

Rice paddie harvesting. 24 August 2013

We arrived in the town of Siem Reap, but our journey was not yet over, we had to take a tuk-tuk the rest of the distance into the main area of town where we could find a guesthouse. A nice Cambodian man drove us and we found a decent place to stay and at last we could relax without people selling trinkets or rides to us. Very soon I realized that anytime you're out in the streets of Siem Reap, you will be continuously asked if you want a tuk-tuk/moto ride, souvenir, or drugs. It's a bit overwhelming. I became well-versed in the language of "No, thank you."

Siem Reap is a town that has tremendously flourished in the past couple years solely due to the number of travelers coming to Angkor Wat. The development has been quick and expansive - tons of options for guesthouses, bars, restaurants, travel agents. Almost too many. Cambodian, or Khmer, people are very kind and smiling for the most part. There are a few that would try to scam you, as with any place in the world, but generally, they are warm and welcoming and eager to help us or practice their English.

A street in Siem Reap. 24 August 2013

We rented bicycles one day and got out of the bubble of Siem Reap and were able to see some of the local fishing villages and rice paddie areas. At the end of the day, we had had our fill of Cambodian snow (a local way of referring to the dirt and dust of their roads).

Sam riding along the floating villages of Tonle Sap Lake. 25 August 2013

Floating church. 25 August 2013

Floating village. 25 August 2013

We ended up each battling a fever and unsettled stomach for a few days, extending our stay in Siem Reap a bit longer than intended, but we were glad for a well equipped town in which to recover with Gatorade and a swimming pool.