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Thailand Kancanaburi, Cambodia's Angkor
Wat & Phnom Penh (Siem Reap, Tonle Sap, Battambang & Phnom Penh)
Faces of the Bayon
It all started when my wife's company held a sales conference
in Bangkok in August 2000. She flew in while I opted for the low-cost overland
option. I started the journey aboard the Langkawi Express at 1030pm arriving
in Hadyai at 1000am the next morning. It was an easy trip as I had a sleeping
berth. Cost Rm37.50. There is only one morning bus at 730am. Other Bangkok
bound buses depart hourly from 3pm to 10pm. I got on the 3pm bus, arriving
at the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal at 4am the next morning. Cost Bt490.
In the later part of the morning, my wife and I took the
public aircond bus for the 2 hours journey to Kancanaburi, the site of the
famous Bridge Over the River Kwai. Cost Bt78 per person. We checked into a
simple backpackers boathouse Bt150 per room. We then hired bicycles Bt10 for
half a day and visited the Jeath Musuem, the War Cemetary and the Bridge over
River Kwai. There were hoards of day tourists especially at the bridge and
surprisingly a few groups from mainland China.
Elephant Safari Kancanaburi
We booked a full day tour with Westour starting at 7am the next day. The
itinerary included the well-run Hell Fire Pass Memorial Musuem funded by the
Australian Government, a 2 hours elephant safari in the hilly forest area
with a few river crossings, lunch in a Karen Village, a soak in hot spring
pools beside a river and a train ride on the Death Railway track. We finished
at 5pm and caught a bus back to Bangkok.
Today was a Saturday in Bangkok and we visited the huge Chatusak Weekend
Market. Visitors to Bangkok should allocate a whole day for visiting this
huge complex of stores. In the evening it was more shopping at MBK or Mah
Boon Krong Shopping Centre, the Sungai Wang of Bangkok.
At 6am the next morning I boarded the train to Aranyaprathet at the Thai
Cambodian border Bt50. My wife opted to fly back today leaving me to do a
solo Cambodian trip. I crossed the border into Poipet at 1230am. The road
conditions in Cambodia are attrocious with millions of potholes and bumps,
good only for pick-ups trucks. One had a choice of sitting in cramped conditions
in the truck or face the elements sitting at the uncovered back. I opted to
sit in at a cost of Rm30 for the 150km journey which took 7 hours. We arrived
in Siem Reap dead tired and after dinner, I laid in bed reading and planning
for the Angkor Wat.
3-D map of the Angkor complex near Siem Reap
I was up early at 7am and eager to make my way to Angkor Wat. These magnificent
temples were build over a period of 600 years from 802 to 1432 when the Khmer
empire were a great power in SE Asia and the whole complex covers a huge area
of 75 square miles. Entrance fees were US$20 for a day pass and motor hire
complete with driver was US$6. An alternative for big groups would be a pickup
hire of U$20 for a day. I started with Angkor Thom (Temple of Thom) with its
famous and much photographed faces of the Bayon. Then it was zipping about
the other temples. I was templed out by about 2pm and laid down on top of
breezy Pre Rup Temple for a short snooze.
I then proceeded to the Ta Phrom which has been left the way it was first
discovered in the jungle. Huge kapor and fig trees appear to choke the monuments
and it is a photographer's delight. I ended the day visiting the Angkor Wat,
the main temple with it myriad of rock panels carvings. It was certainly a
long day and this big circuit covered a distance of 26kms.
Main Temple of Angkor Wat
I woke up at 6am to make my way to the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake about
8km out of Siem Reap. The fast boat US$15 to Battambang crossed the great
lake and passed through numerous floating villages before going up-river.
This picturesque trip took only 2 1/2 hours. I walked to the Transport Terminal
with the intention of going to Poipet but was bundled into a truck which eventually
took me in the wrong direction, down to Phnom Penh, 250kms 10 hours.
In the morning, I opted to "have a look around" and ended up in
Toul Sleng Museum, a major torture site of the Khmer Rouge regime, where thousands
were brutalised and murdered. I also dropped by the huge Psar Tmei, the main
market in Phnom Penh, which is more like a departmental store and wet market
all in one. I boraded the 12am pick-up for another 8 hours ride back to Battambang.
From Battambang, Poipet the border town is only 120kms away but the journey
took 4 hours. I crossed the border at 2pm and was on the bus to Bangkok Bt170
at 3pm arriving after 4 hours. I stayed the night in Bangkok 'recuperating'
from the long long journeys which took a heavy toll on my small buttocks.
I made my way to the Southern Bus Station in the afternoon and boarded the
4pm overnight bus to Hadyai Bt490 arriving at 5am the next morning. I then
made my way to Butterworth where there are numerous buses going back to Kuala
Lumpur and home.
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