Day 8 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 26 – Breakfast was across the street and not included so it was self-pay. It was very slow but good; I had french toast sans syrup. After breakfast it was back to the bus to the ferry to a temple then to the home stay.

On the way we went to see Wat Phu (mountain temple) UNESCO World Heritage site –  that had a lot of steps (77 at one point). We ate fresh mangoes off the tree. At the top, there was a fountain that claimed to have holy water. They had us put some on our heads 3 times and made a wish – which is kind of odd because if it was truly holy, we should have prayed or something instead, I would think. The experience was all very hot; my skin felt like it was literally melting off. I have never been that sweaty in my life. During the hike, we saw rocks that resembled an elephant and a crocodile.

After we finally dragged ourselves (okay, maybe I was just dragging myself) back to the bus, we took a people-only ferry to the home stay. Well, “ferry” is generous.  It was a very skinny boat that only held 4 people. From there, we walked a long way on the beach to our homes. My roomie and I ended up with a house on stilts that we thought would keep the snakes and rats away. Instead a rat ran at the foot of our bed in the morning and roomie had heard them scratching all night in the wall by her head.

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We were lucky and our bathroom had a western toilet and was overall decently nice. Our beds were in a corner of the room where the owners slept in so that was a bit weird. Our house had no walls so it felt like modified camping. We slept under mosquito nets but bugs got in roomie’s bed anyway. We could hear the bats all night. Early in the morning the roosters began singing and all the people got up. When they walked, the whole house shook. Breakfast and dinner were served on the floor in a communal room.

When we arrived first arrived on the island, we walked around the island for a tour. Overall the houses and properties were well-kept. There was a resort on the island that was several hundred dollars per night and was very beautiful.

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I feel homestays are always a waste of time. You don’t socialize with the residents – they don’t even eat with you. My owner came with me to the bathroom in the middle of the night to turn on the lights and that was all the interaction we had. You are basically there to give them money and gifts.

Side note: Bring pens and paper from home so you don’t waste time and money hunting for these things during your trip. Anything you have that you aren’t going to use anymore bring it with you and stop letting it take up space in your house.

Day 7 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 24 – Day 7 started with breakfast in a building outside of the hotel but no one could tell me where it was. I found it only by finding another tourmate. I almost shouldn’t have bothered. There was only a small fried egg, bread with jelly. No water or juice, just hot tea and coffee. I was starving afterwards. Thank goodness I still had snacks that I brought from home!

The drive to Laos was a very bumpy road so no option to sleep. What should have been a fairly short drive took several hours longer because the driver had to go very slowly (although sometimes he didn’t and we literally fell off our seats!) These roads were paved only 3 years ago by the Chinese but cheap materials plus wear and tear makes it seem like they were never improved in the first place. We also had to do our first and only pee in the bush stop. After all these squat toilets, we were pros! During the ride, we also had our first taste of sticky rice that was made in bamboo chutes – was quite tasty.

The Laos border was interesting. One bus drops you off, you hand your passport to a guy in a building through a window, pay your $10 or so and then you walk down a road to the border crossing. then you get on another bus.

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Our first Laos hotel had a gecko and a million ants in the bathroom. The AC also didn’t work. Soon after arrival, we went bicycle riding for 10 miles to the beach where we watched the sunset then quickly rode back in the dark. The road was full of holes, so it was dangerous and painful to ride. You also had to ride at a fast pace, and it was very  hot. Fortunately it was not as hot as it was during the day. The bugs came out and I ate at least one and I felt like a human windshield. I don’t know if I have ever felt that dirty in my life – bug spray, sunscreen, bugs and sweat. Awesome! At least the sunset was very nice.

We had dinner at the restaurant across the street which was okay. I  had banana pancakes and two big beers so I got a little tipsy which led me to ask to get our room switched. Our new room had working AC, was bigger, had a television and had no bugs. This didn’t prevent my roomie from waking me up to tell me there were geckos walking in the ceiling. The electric went out in the middle of the night so the room got hot again and was unpleasant. Since I was awake anyway, I went across the street to see the sunrise across the river. It was very nice. Then I went back to bed. We had to pack an overnight bag for the home stay.

I love how the boat is right in the rays of the rising sun

Day 6 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 23 – Day 6 was a 4-5 hour bus ride to Kratie. Along the way, I noticed new types of houses of worship – Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah Witnesses in Kam Pong Chan. I thought it was interesting since up until that point (and for the rest of the trip) I only saw buddhist temples.

Soon after arriving in Kratie, we dropped off our bags at the hotel and went to lunch down the road. I had a big plate of rice with sausage and pork for only $2. It was quite tasty too. After lunch we rested and then took a tuk tuk to see the dolphins. It was pouring rain during the ride there, but it cleared up by the time we got to the river. At least my rain jacket was getting some use! The temperature while on the water was nice and cool which was such a relief after so many hot days. We managed to spot a lot of dolphins but you could only see a bit of their backs and their top fin. The boats we used were fairly small, so we only had 4 people in each boat.

On the ride back to the hotel, there was a wedding taking place, so we stopped and they let us take pictures with the bridal party. They took pictures of us as well since we were as much of a novelty to them as they were to us. Further down the road, we spotted a nice sunset through the trees along the river. Fortunately, our driver stopped to let us take a picture but unfortunately it didn’t photograph well..

For dinner we ate at the restaurant right next to the hotel and it was quite disappointing. The food wasn’t good and it was much more expensive than our lunch spot. Also the electricity kept going out so that was kind of unsettling.

Upon returning to the room, I realized that management had been in our room when we weren’t there. When I brought this up to them they said perhaps it was to turn off the electricity. Now, I don’t know about you, but I would be willing to give them an extra couple of dollars for the electric to be left on so we could have a cool room and less bugs. I didn’t notice anything missing, but it was a reminder that we should never leave anything valuable in the room.

The room had a bunch of bugs in it at this point, so we sprayed repellent all around (I’m sure that was great for my health!) and went to bed early around 9pm. Fortunately, the cable started working again, so we were able to relax and watch a bit of television before sleeping. Unfortunately, the roomie thought there was a bat in the room, so she woke me up a few hours later. I thought she was nuts until I heard the sounds as well. I Googled and listened to bat sounds online; they sounded the same! I did figure that the bats were outside near the AC unit, but she was so convinced that it was in the room that I went to find someone to check it out. The hotel was a ghost town except for a few friendly roaches, geckos and a giant waterbug. I gave up and went back to sleep! Overall the hotel was okay, not disgusting. It had an all-in-one shower / sink / toilet bathroom but the water was warm and there weren’t too many mouse turds. It did look kind of dirty though. I did kill a giant mosquito on my pillow and it left a ton of blood behind. I decided to not be a diva and just slept with my head on the other side of the pillow.

 

Days 4 & 5 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 21 – Day 4 had a late start of 8am which was nice; however, the day consisted of a 7 hour drive on a private bus to Phnom Penh. The roads were really bumpy – the kind where you actually get tossed out of your seat at times. We stopped to use the restroom at a gas station and the squat toilets were clean and actually flushed. You will always have to bring your own toilet paper though – otherwise you’ll have to use the hose. Along the way, we stopped for lunch where they served tarantula. It was really disgusting looking but smaller than I imagined (smaller than the palm of your hand). A couple of tourmates ate the whole thing, but I only ate a leg – it tasted like crispy nothing.

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May 22 – Day 5 consisted of visiting Choeng Ek / the killing fields which was interesting. They haven’t excavated all the bones yet, so you actually end up walking on some which are still partially buried under the walkway. We then went to the museum which was where the victims were held and tortured. The cells were very small and it looked terrible. There were two survivors there as well selling their books.

The white on the ground are bones.

 

Many people didn’t know this was their last photograph before death.

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This building was full of skulls organized by age and sex

From there we went to lunch at a restaurant that helps homeless children. Then we went to the silver palace which had many buildings but also had lots of sections blocked so you couldn’t view them. There were nice gardens there at least. 

From there we went to the Russian market where they sell goods that fell off the truck. The tuk tuk that took us to the palace market and hotel only cost 10 dollars and they actually wait for you while you explore and you just pay them at the end. We also walked to the central market where we bought pens and paper for the children of the house that we went to for dinner. The central market was more interesting than the Russian market. It seemed to have more quality things. The Russian one had a local section which was interesting but gross. Because it was raining and the market didn’t have proper roofing or drainage, the floor was very slippery. I didn’t take a close look at what they were selling, but I know there were full dead animals for sale, and it smelled really bad. I was happy that the vendors were not as aggressive as they were in Peru. However, I was not happy that prices were not super cheap like I thought they would be. I only bought fancy chopsticks for my sister. Afterwards, we showered and dressed for a dinner hosted by a local family which had mostly curry dishes, so I only ate a few shish kabobs, rice and some spring rolls. Unfortunately, they also served duck fetus, which was so gross to think about that I had to remove myself from that part of the table…..that meant I also couldn’t partake in the tarantula wine which was wine in a bottle with tarantulas. Overall it was a fine dinner except for the mouse turd on the table.

I do find it uncomfortable that the family does not join you for dinner. They simply host the meal and serve you. I would appreciate the dinner more if the family would eat the meal with me and have a conversation with us (even though it would have to be through a translator). Instead, you are solely there to pay them to feed you. There is minimal socialization which is disappointing.

The hotel in Phnom Penh was okay – pretty clean and only one gecko in the room. The elevator got stuck at some point so it was a bit nerve wracking to use it. The breakfast was a mix of Western and Eastern so it is overall good if you could ignore the mouse turds and roaches.

 

Day 3 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 20 – On day 3 we got up very early to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was nice but not amazing. Our guides also didn’t have us wake up as early as they should have in order to see the nicer views of the sunrise. After the sun was up, we went to see Ta Prohm where Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom was filmed. It would have been more interesting for me at the time if I had actually watched the movie, but now I can watch it and remember that I was there in person! Archaeologists are trying to put the pieces of the ruins back together in their original formation.  It’s amazing how they can figure all that out. There is also a fun picture to take – you can stand under rocks that look like a booty and legs and take a picture from the doorway. BAM! I stood under Angelina Jolie’s ass!

Stones that still need to be put back into their original places

After those ruins, we went back to the hotel for breakfast which consisted of both Western and Eastern foods, then went back to Angkor Wat. I know I should have been impressed, but I’ve seen so many ruins in my life that I no longer am. There was also a dog on the ground that didn’t move, and I was worried the whole time that he was dead (he wasn’t). Being an animal lover, the stray dog population of Cambodia ruined many parts of the trip for me.

The highlight of the day was getting to feed wild monkeys. There were several babies in the mix and they were so cute! Luckily my roomie and I brought snacks to feed them.

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From the monkeys, we crossed the street to see another ruin (Angkor Thom) full of smiling Buddhas, but the day had gotten so hot that we rushed through it. I did manage to get a picture of my nose touching a buddha’s nose, so that was kind of fun. 

After all that, it was only lunch time. Our guide brought us back to a spot right across from Angkor Wat which I felt was an odd choice – very touristy and average taste (I’m guessing he got kickbacks again.) My $9 lunch was expensive for Cambodia – I got pork with vegetables, a mixed fruit shake and a big bottle of water. I took my leftovers to feed stray dogs (FYI, the dogs must not be starving because they only ate the pork, not the rice!)

We all skipped the optional activity of riding an ATV to see the sunset; roomie and I had a couple of drinks in the pool instead and then napped. After the nap, I didn’t feel well, so I only had the worst cheese fries for dinner – french fries with two tiny pieces of cheese placed on top. Dinner took place at a restaurant that included a free dance show (not sure if this is because I requested to see Cambodian dance or if it was already on the agenda). The show was interesting- the dancers move slowly and tell a story with their dance. After dinner we got what they call ice cream, but it was really more like a sorbet or gelato.

To end the night we wandered around the area looking for a place to drink even though no one really seemed into it. A few of us attempted to get fish pedicures which have little fish (some bigger ones, too) eat the dead skin on your feet. It felt really creepy so I could only do a few seconds at a time. Ultimately we only sat there for a few minutes. However, because it only cost $3 and included a free beer, it was definitely a great deal! That would have cost at least 10 times as much in the states and is banned in New York!

We ended up sitting at an outdoor bar where a couple of people got their obligatory drink. We stayed out until 11:30pm which was wild and crazy for that group.

Day 2 – G Adventures’ Cambodia and Laos Mekong Adventure

May 19 – Day 2 started off with a delicious Western-style buffet breakfast. This was the best breakfast of the trip, so eat up! Although if you get car-sick, you may want to rethink that as the bus ride to Cambodia was several hours long and very bumpy.

Don’t bother to get your Cambodian visa ahead of time. Crossing the border was quick and easy. It was really strange though. The immigration station in Thailand was big and formal; then you exit that building and enter a dirty, crowded area. You cross over the street to a tiny building where you stand outside and fill out an immigration form and hand it and your passport to a person behind a window. When he finally gives it back, you walk to another building to stand on another line in the heat to get all your fingers fingerprinted and a photo taken of you. Finally you are released and are free to roam Cambodia.

Traveling to and entering Cambodia took most of the day. Upon arrival at our hotel, we checked in and then roomie and I got spa services. I got a Cambodian massage which was very odd. They had me undress (leave underwear on) and put on a full long sleeve and pants outfit which you wear the entire time. Then the lady gave me the worst massage I’ve ever received (and I’ve had some pretty bad Chinatown ones in NYC!). I was sore for days afterwards and not in a good way. Save yourself the $10; 5 beers will make you feel better than that massage! My roomie also got a heat rash from her body scrub. Perhaps try a Swedish massage instead. In the late afternoon, we visited the outside courtyard of where monks live and walked to the town to have dinner.

The hotel in Siem Reap was the best one you will have while in Cambodia. Don’t get used to it.