A week has gone by since I’ve arrived at Siem Reap, and now I’m heading to Phnom penh, the capital city of Cambodia. There’s been continuous rainfall since last night, one can smell the wet countryside from the bus I’m traveling in and feel extremely lucky so far that the daylong rainfall, as forecasted, visited us only post nightfall. Although the day remained cloudy, humid and kept fluctuating anywhere between extremely hot to breezy and nice, it seldom rained, leaving me enough time to explore the beautiful land.
My time in Siem reap can be summarized by my (obvious) trip to the mysterious Angkor-Wat & its sister temples, and the daylong exploration of the Cambodian country side on horseback. Architecture to Adventure, Siem Reap was more than just memorable, it resembled my ideal lifestyle; it was my utopia in many ways!
When you are about to visit a new place, one you’ve never seen before, you have this mental image borne out of the expectations you hold of the place. The image I had in my mind was that of a barren land with broken highways and difficult people. As it usually happens though, I wasn’t even close! It was akin to portraying a tall-handsome man after listening to a heavy, husky voice over the telephone, only to encounter a short-bald gentleman in his mid seventies; it was unexpected! As soon as I stepped outside of the airport, things looked beautiful and clean. Roads were spotless, and people were civilized, the hustle bustle of the Indian airports and Bus terminus seemed like a distant memory. It might have been because Seam reap is one of the most touristy places in Cambodia (due to Angkor Wat no doubt); regardless, the Cambodian government deserves applause for the efforts in keeping the city clean, definitely cleaner than most streets I’ve seen during my travels in India and outside. It didn’t take me long to spot some similarity though. Here’s a gentleman carrying Chickens in a very Indianesque manner – I’ll let the (cell phone) picture do the talking:
After a daylong rest, I arrived at the Angkor Wat temple at 4 AM in hope of some solitude at the temple by being early, my hopes were squashed soon enough though! There were hundreds of tourists waiting in line, who made it there even before I did, hoping for a similar outcome I’m certain; and this during the off-season? It was too dark for a sharp image, so here’s a long exposure that gives a fair idea of how many people showed up inside the temple at that ungodly hour:
I ventured inside the temple while admiring my recently imprinted face on the ticket I purchased for 20 US$, impressive technology use! After missing the iconic Sunrise due to the overcast weather & overcrowded spot, and ending up regretting my decision of not getting a tour guide, I took my time with the tripod and took another long exposure to capture the climate and the temple in the extreme dark:
This was where I befriended a fellow backpacker; a French lady named Gabrielle. We paired up for the rest of the around the sister temples. I was lucky to have met her, not just because she was fun to travel with, what set this apart from my other destinations was the mischievous native-Khmer girl, who appeared out of nowhere and gave me another experience worth a lifetime.
Me and my new-found buddy shared a tuktuk and took what was known as the short circuit around the temples, which simply meant we were excluding some of the far off temples. At the end of the entire ordeal we were both exhausted, and completely drenched in sweat. I was in such a sorry state that I ended up buying one of the cheap-souvenir Tees from the souvenir shop for 2 US$ and change on the spot, only to be re-drenched all over again.
We traveled to almost all of the nearby temples (I’ll add more images of the temples when I get the time), and parted off after I was treated to a tasty dinner by Gabrielle & a selfie to remember by.
*****
I wanted my last day at Siem Reap to end on an adventurous tune, what better way than to try some Khmer horses. This was where I experienced the best horseback ride I could have dreamt of. I came across an interesting name at my hostel– “The Happy Ranch”. I was thrilled by the prospects it offered, and it requires a lot less for me to sign up to something. I arranged everything on the spot! Next day a Tuktuk, organized by the Ranch, arrived to pick me up at 4:30 in the morning. I paid seventy-five US Dollars for a four hour horse ride with a guide & the tuk-tuk including the tip for my guide, a bit expensive maybe but definitely worth it at the end!
They provided me one of their faster horses when I informed them of my prior experience with horses. After a while of calmly strolling away from the city we began trotting, cantering and eventually galloping at full speed across the lush green Cambodian country side. We ventured deep into the villages all the while enjoying the beauty that is seldom visible to most travelers in Siem reap; the experience was insurmountable and left little to be desired. I regretted not carrying my gopro, but managed to record this video on my DSLR with one hand. If you dare to play it, rest assured it’s going to be the shakiest video you’d ever see. Riding with one hand while trying to keep the camera stable was a real test of my riding skills; next time though, I’m carrying my Go-pro. Excuse me for this horrible video:
We had lunch at a local farmer’s place while our horses took a well deserved rest! An elder lady served us huge portions of chicken soup, bread and eggs for a measly 3 USD, while my guide tried to get me to invest in his buffalo business. The weather was overcast, and I stopped often to absorb the nature wherever I wanted. The photographer in me was running wild with imagination, and I had plenty of flexibility to exercise those creative shots:
Here’s my guide, posing majestically looking into the horizon:
After a few photographs to capture the village lifestyle:
And a couple of reminiscing selfie with my horse buddies:
it was time for me to head to Phnom Penh with only a few memories to keep. Time for me to bid adieu to the place I felt most home at – Siem Reap, it sure makes me nostalgic!