Matthew and Cassie's Big Climbing Trip.: Thailand and Cambodia

We arrived in Bangkok just as the three day festival of Sonkrik or the Thai new year was beginning. It has a Buddhist history of that being the time of year of cleansing and washing of many of the Buddha images, but has now turned into a huge water fight that you can't avoid even if you wanted to. We had no problems with it since the drenching helped is tolerate the heat and humidity.

Happy New Year

While in Bangkok we visited the grand palace which is home to the temple with the emerald Buddha figure. Pictures weren't allowed in this one, but this is definitely worth seeing. The palace and all of the buildings and temples in it were very ornately decorated and we were amazed by all the color and detail.

Grand Palace

Mural in grand palace

Grand Palace Statue

The next day we tried to visit a teak palace which sounded quite spectacular, but after hiring a tuk-tuk to take us there, learned that it was closed for new year. We ended up walking to the marble temple which was nearby and while we weren't planning on going there, it had some very beautiful images and made our trip out worth it.

Buddha in Marble Temple

Hall of Buddhas

Our next destination was the town of Siem Reap in Cambodia near Angkor Wat. We took a train from Bangkok to the border which was a cheap slow train. It was nice to see some of the countryside, we travelled through rice paddies and small towns, but was quite slow and without a/c. The train ends at the border of Cambodia. We had been warned that there were a lot of scams at the border and were quickly ushered into an official looking building on the Thai side where they said we had to get our visa for Cambodia. After getting half way through the paperwork, I started feeling wary since the price was higher than expected, he wanted the money right away, and many other western looking travellers were walking right on by. We left before paying and learned that yes, that was a scam place. Maybe the visa would have been legit but double the price. At the real border crossing we were still taken in by a lesser scam where the officials bumped up the price a couple dollars, but I assumed it was due to a change in currency rates since we aren't used to questioning those in uniform.

Bangkok Train station

Thai Train stop

After a long day of traveling, we arrived in Siem Reap. We found a decent, cheap hotel with a/c, and found a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Angkor Wat. Riding in taxis and tuk-tuk in Cambodia is an exciting experience as there are cars, buses, motorcycles, and bicycles all in the same lane and passing at all times. The rule seems to be honk if you're coming up on someone slower than you, pass them, and yield to whoever is biggest.

Angkor Wat

headless statue

in Angkor Wat

Carvings in Angkor

We visited different temples in the Angor Wat complex over the last three days. They were built roughly between 700 and 1100 and are in various states of restoration and decay. They were all unique and the level of detail and work that must of gone into these temples and cities was amazing. The first day was the main Angkor Wat temples which is the most spectacular and did not disappoint. There were endless statues and whole stories carved into the walls. The pictures do more justice than me trying to describe them but the pictures don't really do justice to the whole experience. The last two days we visited some of the smaller temples. These were typically less touristy and since we usually didn't know what to expect at each temple were often pleasantly surprised by what they had to offer such as all the elephants at East Mebon and the trees overtaking the temple at Ta Phrom.

temple corridor

temple monument

tree vs stone

elephant statue

Tomorrow we leave for a couple days in the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh then head to Vietnam and the ocean. As amazing as seeing the sights at Angkor Wat has been, it is HOT and humid, and we are really looking forward to hanging out on the beach for a while. It's so hot and humid that we've been taking 3 liters of water with us for travels around Angkor we go out in the morning and are quite done by 1 or so. In that time, we've drank most our water, probably had a coke and have not had to go to the bathroom all day. The humidity is absurd.