Thailand - Cambodia and vice versa. Part 1 In search of an abandoned city
Honestly, if I was traveling alone or with my wife, the route would be different, and the budget more modest. But the composition of our group - which, in addition to me and my wife, included a four-year-old son and a mother-in-law with a girlfriend (zero knowledge of English + a strong fear of the "Soviet man" abroad) - obliged. So I think my experience will be more useful not to established "samtourists", but to those who are just starting to move in this direction.
So, the route. In its formation, several different factors had to be taken into account at once:
- I wanted to see Angkor and, in general, "try" Cambodia,
- mother-in-law and her friend wanted a beach,
- the son wanted parental attention, and the wife wanted "a peaceful sky above her head".
My proposals to organize a transfer to my mother-in-law and her friend to beach places immediately upon arrival with a promise to join them in a week ("at the same time save on expenses, because you are not interested in Angkor anyway") crashed against the very phobia of staying YOURSELF! No escort!! ! Abroad. So let's all go together.
The route turned out as follows: Bangkok - Siem Reap and surroundings - Koh Chang - Bangkok. Time: second half of January 2016.
The day before. Preparation and arrival.
As you know, the lion's share of the cost of most travel falls on air tickets. Therefore, often the opportunity to save heavily adjusts the dates of departure and, even, the airport of arrival. In our case, there was little room for maneuver. It turned out to be three times cheaper to fly from Novosibirsk to Bangkok than to Phnom Penh (with almost the same distance! ) - that's one time. Recently, charters to Pattaya and Phuket fly there directly, bypassing Bangkok, but we don’t need to go there, which means our choice is a regular flight, that’s two. But since there are few airlines operating flights on this route from Novosibirsk, promotions are rare. So, having bought tickets for six months, we won not as much as we would like. In addition, hotels were booked (with the right to free cancellation) along the entire route. And a transfer was ordered from Bangkok to the border with Cambodia (more on that later). And, based on the reviews of other tourists (thank you very much), a route around Angkor was compiled, since I understood that I would be running out of time and I wanted to have time to make at least some impression about this complex. That's probably all the preparation. In general, I noticed that with each trip I leave more and more "we'll figure it out on the spot. " And it turns out even more interesting.
Day one. Bangkok
What should I do upon arrival? Get from the airport to the city (hotel) and get hold of the local currency. Both are best done through the first floor of Suvarnabhumi Airport, where there is a taxi rank and several "exchangers". If you are traveling in a group (5 people like us, for example), then a taxi will be slightly more expensive than public transport. And fellow travelers can be found during the flight. As for "exchangers", then, of course, in the city of you can find a more favorable rate. But not everywhere. This time I changed money in banks, on Khaosan, looked at rates in shopping centers, but the most profitable exchange turned out just at the airport. And on the lowest floor, where the exit to the taxi rank. In the "exchangers", which is near the baggage claim, the exchange rate is worse.
I was looking for the first hotel for only one night, so the requirements were minimal - air conditioning, clean linen, a separate bathroom. The chosen Pawana mansion met all these requirements. And even more. So its price - 650 baht for a double room per day was quite consistent.
We didn’t plan more things for this day (which was already drawing to a close in the evening): we went to the WTC, had dinner at a Korean barbecue cafe (very amateur) and went to sleep, gain strength before the road to Cambodia.
Day two. Road to Siem Reap
Today we had to overcome about 400 km and one state border. There are several ways to get to Cambodia from Bangkok: by plane, by train, by bus and by car. I decided to experiment and ordered a transfer from home to the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing in one international office with a Russian representative office. I don't want to give the name, because the experience turned out to be unsuccessful. Keeping in mind the mega-traffic jams of Bangkok, we planned to leave the hotel early, the transfer was booked for 6 am. At the appointed time, the driver did not appear. The dispatcher assured me that he was nearby and would be in ten minutes. Half an hour later, it turned out that the driver “disappeared somewhere. ” It was not possible to find him, and by seven in the morning we were assigned a new one. The new driver got stuck somewhere in a traffic jam (at 7-00, traffic around the city already becomes difficult). As a result, after a series of calls at half past eight in the morning, we finally set off. It is clear that at that time it was not possible to leave the city quickly and we ended up at the border after lunch.
The border crossing is a section of the road a couple of hundred meters, at opposite ends there are checkpoints of Cambodia and Thailand, and between them there is a constant flow of people and those who “feed” from it: “helpers”, beggars, trading stalls and cafes. There is even a casino.
The border crossing took about an hour. Most of the time was spent processing visas. But here we are in Cambodia. By this time, my companions began to get a little tired, I reassured them that there were a couple of hours left before the hotel with a shower and dinner. But it was not there. Immediately after the transition, several young people insistently escorted us to a kind of free "shuttle bus to the bus station. " Already later, considering the transition scheme from the English-language guide, I read the designation of this patch as transport mafia. She is the mafia (well, at least not dangerous by Russian standards). In general, if we had passed this free bus, we would most likely have found ordinary taxis and, for thirty dollars, would have examined the streets of Siem Reap in two hours.
Instead, we ended up at a bus station located somewhere in an open field, where we were kindly sold bus tickets for seven dollars. Well, at least the child was allowed in for free, but without a place. Total - 28 dollars. The price is like a taxi. But! The taxi will start immediately. And here we had to wait until the bus (large, fifty-odd seats) was filled to capacity with the same “victims of the mafia”. It was towards evening (towards the closing of the border crossing) and passengers arrived in small portions. The protracted waiting increased the degree of tension in our team. He was best endured by his son, who always had some important things to do - watch the geese peacefully grazing at the entrance, taste the local ice cream, etc. But after a couple of hours he began to get tired.
Finally, we started at seven in the evening. An hour and a half later, we were driven to some cafe, also located far from urban development. The driver informed us in broken English that there were still two hours of travel ahead, so now we stop for dinner. The wife tensed and remained silent, and the rest simply did not understand him, so an explosion of emotions was avoided. But I was strained by the question - where are we being taken, since the road is so long (according to all reviews, it should take no more than two hours). This somewhat poisoned the impression of dinner, although now, in hindsight, I must admit that the place is quite cozy: tables under a canopy, beautiful bushes instead of walls, evening birds singing...
Fortunately, it turned out that we were dealing with yet another "wiring", stories about a long journey should have encouraged us to buy dinner. And half an hour later we drove into the streets of Siem Reap. And then by tuk-tuks to the hotel, where our rooms were already waiting for us. We agreed with the tukers to rent a car for tomorrow.
Third day. Angkor
The road to Angkor starts from different gates. For example, through these.
I knew it wouldn't be easy. People spend weeks getting immersed in this huge abandoned city. More precisely, its remains. I had one day. Half of our group was not very interested in Angkor. And the stone ruins are not at all interesting for a four-year-old child. But every problem has a solution. As I said, the route was optimized (we moved in a circle in the opposite direction, which made it possible to avoid crowds of tourists on a good half of the route). I spent the evening rummaging through the reference information (thank you, the history department - we already had basic knowledge about that civilization) and often understood where and what to look first of all. An air-conditioned car was rented, which made the trip comfortable for less interested fellow travelers. The son was told a story about the “epic battle of people and dragons” in these parts and the treasures remaining since then that need to be found (a few penny souvenirs played the role of treasures, periodically my wife or I pulled ahead and made another “bookmark” on the route). As a result, the child ran around Angkor with sincere interest all dayJ
The scale of the buildings inspires respect
I will not talk about the temples and palaces of Angkor - there is more than enough information on the Web. Moreover, Angkor is “their own” for everyone. It is definitely worth visiting there. After all, once (X-XII centuries) there was one of the largest metropolitan areas on the planet (about a million inhabitants, more than in Paris or Kyiv at that time). And now it is considered one of the largest (by area) abandoned cities in the world. A few tips (I'm not the original source, but I tried everything on myself, it works). It's worth leaving early. And not because there will be fewer tourists. There are many of them already by the opening (they are going to meet the dawn). But you will have time to see more before the afternoon sun starts. If you follow the standard route, but in the opposite direction, there will be fewer tourists (most of them drive the way the guides are used to, so you will periodically intersect with groups, and not follow along with them). There is a cafe on the territory of Angkor, but the prices there are slightly higher than in Siem Reap. True, the difference is 1-2 dollars, it's worth it to go to the city - you decide. Some do without any problems with the taken "dry rations", others, on the contrary, use the lunch break to wait out the peak of the heat. It will take a lot of water, you will also have to walk a lot (if you want to see the temples not “on the run”). And one more thing - leave a day for distant temples that are not part of Angkor, as we did. They are worth it.
Banteay Srei is rightfully called the pearl of Khmer architecture and art
What to say. The temple is interesting, built of red sandstone and differs from most of the buildings of Angkor. Many beautiful carvings, it is even called the "pearl" of Khmer art. And a lot of tourists. But still worth a look.
Beng Melea is located 77 km from Siem Reap. The temple complex was built in the same architectural style as Angkor Wat. But at the same time, it was preserved in a much more “wild” form. This was facilitated by its remoteness from modern settlements (although once it was also the center of an ancient Khmer city). And also a civil war: Pol Pot's men partially destroyed the complex and mined its surroundings. So tourists are allowed there only from this century. And you can walk through most of the complex only on specially constructed wooden platforms. But on the other hand, it is here that the feeling that you are touching a monument of an ancient civilization is the strongest (in my opinion).
Beng Melea: this is probably what Angkor Wat looked like when Kipling first visited it. . .
Beng Melea was the last "must see" of the Cambodian part of our trip. And her last event was dinner at Hard Rock caffee (Siem Reap). A very sincere institution on the opposite bank of the river from the Old Market. I recommend it to all lovers of live music. In the morning we were waiting for the road to Thailand. But more on that some other time.
