Cambodia - Island, City, Angkor Nonsense

Our trip to Cambodia started once again with a bus ride, this time with one of the special kind. It included border crossing, and we could read on the internet pretty much every scenario (from no problem at all to passport loss). But we were still optimistic because we had no other choice. We drove for about 2 hours until we reached the Vietnamese border post, everyone got off the bus and handed our passports to our tour guide. He just pointed silently to a hall and we went inside. Inside was a toilet and the border crossing, but without a passport we couldn't really go any further and our tour guide was nowhere to be seen, so we went to the toilet first and hoped to be wiser afterwards. When we came out, not much had changed in the situation because our tour guide still hadn't appeared, but after we briefly left the hall again to look for him outside, we found him inside waving our passports in his hand and calling our names. Everything was fine, we took our passports, which now contained the completed exit form for Vietnam (that's what the guy had been doing the whole time), and went to the border control, checked out and got back on our bus. We drove for about 5 minutes until the bus stopped again and we were asked to get off again. This time, next to our tour guide, who collected all the passports when we got off the bus, there was a police officer who more or less checked the number of passports in relation to the number of people getting off. Afterwards, we went through the border building (without a passport), got back on our bus and drove for about 15 more minutes. These 15 minutes were the only time we had a little doubt whether we would ever see our passports again, but since we were already in the country, not much could happen :-).

We stopped at a usual rest stop where you could exchange money and buy food and drinks. Most passengers spent the 45-minute break rather impatient and incredulous because no one really understood the passport issue. But after about 30 minutes, our tour guide arrived on a scooter with about 35 passports in a transparent plastic bag and started distributing them. Everyone was relieved and I bought myself a Banh Mi for breakfast.

We drove for about 4 hours until Phnom Penh for a 1-hour stop, where we had a little lunch snack and withdrew money from the bank. From that point on, we realized that things were running differently here. We exchanged the rest of our Vietnamese Dong into Cambodian Riel at the border, but the ATM gave us American dollars. Although there are only bills for dollars, no quarters or anything, the Riel is used for smaller denominations. So, if something costs 2.50 and I pay with 5 dollars, I get 2 dollars and 2,000 riel back. Chaos, I tell you, because you have to constantly check what you get back, etc. During the trip, I just started giving the dollar amount up to the decimal place and then I would take out all the riel I had and hold it out. They will take the right amount here, it's easier than always counting it yourself and definitely not too much. So, it's easier with the two currencies than I thought at the beginning.

But back to Phnom Penh, because we didn't plan to stay there but had to continue for another 6 hours by bus to the south to Sihanoukville. We stayed there for one night, it was nice, but our ferry to Koh Rong Samloem was leaving the next morning at 11 o'clock. 2 hours later we arrived on the island, unfortunately on the wrong side, because our accommodation (Sleeping Trees) can only be reached by a 40-minute walk through the jungle. So, with our full luggage, we crossed the island (and it wasn't an easy hike, it was quite challenging) and finally arrived at the destination of our journey that started days ago, completely exhausted. And after just 5 minutes, there was no doubt that all the effort and travel hardships were worth it. Just a piece of paradise, about 800 meters of beach and hardly any other people. Our tipi for the first 3 nights was just 10 meters from the sea and we had a direct view of the sea, including the sunset from our bed. What more could you ask for?

There were a total of 4 resorts on this side of the island, all nicely done, with a bar and restaurant, so we had enough variety for breakfast and dinner. However, we had two very nice dinners at the Sleeping Trees when the guys in charge gave the cooks a day off and took over the kitchen themselves. So, there was no food from the menu, but on one evening we had lasagna with salad and on another a barbecue. The special thing about it was that all guests and staff had dinner together at a large table and it felt a bit like a family dinner. There was a lot of talking, drinking, discussing, exchanging travel tips, and talking nonsense. A very funny experience and a bit of a feeling of home/family in a foreign country :-)

However, after 3 nights, we had to move to a bungalow in the Happa Garden Resort, which unfortunately wasn't as great. There was about 40 cm of space between the wall and the ceiling, so every night before going to bed, we had to go on a spider hunt. And we're not talking about small spiders, but rather big ones, about the size of a hand and damn fast. But that's part of island life. We had a mosquito net over the bed, but the critters were too disgusting for us to keep them inside.

Just as our accommodation had deteriorated, the weather unfortunately also got worse. The first 4 days we had great weather, but from the 5th day it was mostly cloudy, so we actually took a trip around the island to pass the time.

On the last night, we were surprised by rain because as we unfortunately had to realize, our roof was not completely waterproof and there was a slight drip that fell directly on us. But no big deal, because we had to get up early the next morning anyway, as we had to hike through the jungle again and catch our ferry back to Sihanoukville.

Arriving in Sihanoukville, we checked into a nice hotel, did some shopping on the promenade, and ended the evening with a glass of Chilean red wine and pizza. A successful end to a wonderful week of relaxation and rest.

The next day, we took the bus back to Phnom Penh and explored the city a bit. Once again, we were lucky with the timing because National Day was coming up and the whole city was decorated, which was definitely an improvement compared to the normal state. We ate some street food near a large park/square and watched the locals play football and dance.

The following day, we used for culture and history and booked a tuk-tuk driver for a day who took us to the Killing Fields and the S-21 prison (and to the Russian market, but that's less history and more shopping and eating). Such a day always affects the mood a bit when you realize that almost 2 million people were killed by their own people about 40 years ago (simply beaten with hooks, axes, and sticks because bullets were too expensive) and thrown into large pits in the fields. Torture and rape were also part of the daily routine, and this was impressively (and shockingly) conveyed both at the Killing Fields and in the prison.

In the evening, there was a big fireworks display in honor of the king and we were able to watch it from our hostel's sky bar in a pleasant atmosphere. We spent our last day in Phnom Penh at the Central Market and then at the Royal Palace, which is also very impressive but currently undergoing some renovations.

And I finally found a reputable hairdresser to shorten my hair a bit. Khalid or Kahmid or something like that, a correct and mega funny guy who not only cut my hair (in an unconventional way) but also gave me a massage. A proper thing to do.

At night, we took a sleeping bus to Siem Reap. Actually, we thought we had seen every kind of bus, but this sleeping bus was something special again. Two people (fortunately we travel as a pair because otherwise you have to share it with a stranger) had a mattress about 1 meter wide in a bunk bed, in front of it was a curtain that could be drawn. There were no seat belts or anything of the sort, so safety was once again a top priority, and you were woken up almost every time the bus braked harder because you were thrown around a bit. But the trip went smoothly and we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia's party capital, at 6 o'clock in the morning.

We dropped off our luggage at the hostel and explored the city, which seemed deserted. Since we couldn't check into our room until 2 pm and there wasn't much to see in the city, we went to our hostel pool first. Our hostel with pool and sky bar turned out to be a real stroke of luck. There was always something going on, nice people, centrally located, and that pool .... During the day, temperatures in the sun easily reach 35 degrees and since there isn't much wind in the city, you start to love that pool more and more every day. In the evening, we went to the infamous Pub Street and enjoyed a few beers...

The highlight in Siem Reap was/is the temple complex of Angkor Wat. We hired a tuk-tuk driver again for a day, Mr. Long, who took us to the entire complex (a total of 8 temples). We had seen quite a few temples before and at some point, I had said that they all started to look the same to me, or as the locals say, "same same". But the temples were actually very different (some were in a state of ruins, some were preserved, some were restored, etc.), so it was a very interesting full-day trip. The Angkor Wat temple, which we visited at the end, was an absolute highlight. It's a huge complex, absolutely impressive in every aspect (size, architecture, decorations, etc.), but we still don't understand why people go there by tuk-tuk at 4:30 in the morning just to take a picture of the sunrise...

In the evening, we wanted to participate in the beer pong tournament at the hostel, which unfortunately got canceled, but we could still play other games (like we did all day long).

We spent our last day at the pool before we took the night bus at 1 am to the border and then continued to Bangkok.