NektaR in the World Wild Web: From Bangkok (Thailand) to Phnom Penh (Cambodia)

Following a long but pleasant Qantas flight, we landed in Bangkok, Thailand. Stepping out of the plane a blast of heat introduced us to the new environments. About 30oC separate London and Bangkok these days. After clearing with customs we headed to my friend's Dita apartment in central Bangkok. In the afternoon peak hour the traffic was immense. Dita lives with Bangkok's superb views from her 25th floor flat! We got our first glimpse of night sky Bangkok from there and also from the top roof at the 45th.

On air

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is a major metropolitan city with almost 12million population living in high rise buildings and the surroundings. Many international companies occupy numerous towers in the center and there is a large numbers of towers for residential housing too (like the one we stayed). Bangkok is the city that never sleeps, it has everything. It is the easiest way in for travels into south east Asia. There are good transport connections to many countries, overland and by plane. Bangkok's skytrain is an overland elevated train that provides nice bird views of the city while commuting. There are numerous good street food stalls and lots of street bars(!) open during the night. However, on top of everything there is prostitution, and is right in your face. Thousands of tourists visiting Thailand just for this. And it's everywhere, at the streets, at the bars or in 'massage' places. 60yrs old males walking in hand with 20yrs old and sometimes with boys.. Something wasn't right.. We also visited Pet Pong road, a famous place full of striptease bars and advertisements of pussy does this, pussy does that.. It was sad and funny at the same time considering how many tricks a pussy can do! We did not see live any of these, instead browsed a nearby market and head home.

Bangkok_Bank in a van

Bangkok_Bar in a van

Bangkok_Pussy abilities

Bangkok by night

We visited some nice markets and explored mainly central Bangkok, had lots of street food including (samples of) grasshoppers and other unidentified fried objects! We also visited the child center for children with hearing disabilities where Dita works. She had her birthday that day and we went out for a dinner with all her colleagues and then to famous Khao San road for a bucket of cocktail. Next day we visited some temples and walked a lot in the heat. We explored several areas of Bangkok including some deprived areas that we passed only because we were lost but realised the city is not only tall skyscrapers.

Bangkok_Dita's birthday cake

Bangkok_Thai delights

Bangkok_Unidentified fried objects

Bangkok_Detail at Wat Pho temples

Bangkok_Chilling at the compound

After few nice introductory days in Bangkok, we got a bus to Cambodia aiming for the town of Siem Reap and the astonishing temples of Angkor. We slept at 2 and woke up at 5am. Another 5hrs sleep in the bus and we arrived at the Aranya Prathet - Poipet crossing. Feeling dizzy and confused we managed to pay twice the price for the cambodian visa, even though we read it in guides and been told by friends.. Extremely upset, we continued to Siem Reap.

Entering Cambodia_Aranya Prathet-Poipet crossing

Siem Reap_Beautiful bridge leading to the night market

Siem Reap_Street food

Siem Reap_'Fuel' for the day

We spent next day in 'temple-hopping'. We hired a tuk tuk (motorbike with a people's carriage pulled behind) and arrived at the lost temple-city of Angkor for the sunrise. It was amazing but also packed of tourists due to the Chinese new year holidays. Angkor Wat is the 8th world's modern natural wonder and an UNESCO world heritage site. Built between the 11th and 13th centuries it is the largest in size religious monument in the world. Khmer god-kings showed their devotion to their deities by building perfectly symmetrical, massive temples built by locally sourced limestone. Angkor in its zenith boasted a population of one million when London was a small town of fifty thousand people. It was discovered by French archaeologists in 1912, abandoned and literally 'eaten' by the jungle. Most of the temples were cleared except one which was left as it was when discovered so the visitor can see the impact of the jungle to the monuments. Simply breathtaking! The temples of Angkor are Cambodians national pride! The temples are featured in films such as Tomb Raider, Indiana Jones etc as well as in many national company logos, bank notes, in the visa sticker and the national flag.

Majestic Angkor Wat

Angkor_South gate of Angkor Thom

Angkor_Over the bridge

Angkor_Good morning at Angkor Thom

Angkor_Angkor Thom

Angkor_Beautiful gate near Sra Srang

Angkor_Bas relief detail(1)

Angkor_Ta Prohm temple

Angkor_Bas relief detail(2)

Angkor_Ta Prohm

Angkor_Bayon temple

Angkor_Ta Prohm

Angkor_Bas relief detail(3)

Angkor_Preah Khan

Angkor_Ta Nei

Angkor_In the need of support

Angkor_Phnom Bakheng

Angkor_Banteay Srei compound

Angkor_Ta Prohm

Angkor_Banteay Dei

Angkor_High on the Bayon

Angkor_Indiana Jones(!)

The real treasure of Cambodia however is not just Ankgor Wat but also its people. Cambodians, or better Khmers, are heartwarming people, very welcoming and very often amusing. They can outsmart you with ease, they have an instant response on everything you say. Younger people (under 16) make 40% of the population. They speak good English, they love to chat and this also enables us to perform some longer conversations with them. Just 20' ago, a 5 year old waved hellooo on the street, and we responded with 'hello and how are you' only to receive an instant response 'I'm fine, thanks'!! :)

Angkor_Smiling young Khmer girls

Siem Reap_'Breaking' the ice

Siem Reap_On a bicycle tour

Khmer civilisation peaked at the Angkorian period from 9th to 13th centuries. Recent history however is ugly. Atrocities of a genocide scale happened in the years between 1975-1979. The communist Khmer Rouge regime forced everyone into farm labouring and killed over two million people who thought to be intellectuals, traitors or linked with the opposition. Those who survived the regime were faced with famine. We visited a secret (not anymore) detention base code named S-21 in Phnom Penh, a city school converted to a building of torture and killing by a bunch sick idealists. We left the place speechless.

Phnom Penh_Tuol Sleng museum (codename S-21)

Phnom Penh_Torturing class

Phnom Penh_Class converted to temporary cells

We stayed in the capital Phnom Penh just a day and a half. Nothing much to see other than few monuments, a palace and the national museum. (Ah and the local street aerobics!). We got a bus ticket to Ratanakiri province north east of the country. After 10 hours (the longest bus route in Cambodia) we arrived to our gateway for some serious adventures. Ban Lung is a small town, surrounded by some beautiful untouched wildlife sanctuaries, crater lakes, rivers, jungle, local tribes cemeteries and more all relatively easy accessible with a bike. We are going to stay some days here to explore and enjoy!