Deep Breath, Come Down, Move On

Leaving Bangkok I had the plan to stick to the coast down to Sihanoukville where the weather was still nice and the water warm.  I went to the travel agency in the lobby of my guest house and since I was a guest in their fine establishment I figured the lady would at the very least be somewhat honest and not try to screw me over. False. In the truest of Bangkok fashion she went out of her way to try and rip me off.  I was asking how much a visa would be at the border I was going to be crossing or whether I should get it before hand.  The lady then told me very adamantly that I have to get the visa before hand, because at this particular crossing they wont issue me a visa on arrival.  I was going to have to stay another night in her guest house and it was going to cost $40 US.  Having looked on the internet I knew this was bullshit because all crossings from Thailand issue visas on arrival and they only cost $20 US.  Thanks for nothing.
Sure enough, I arrived at the border, walked across to the Cambodian side and got my visa on arrival for $25.  This was the first of a string of bad luck and rip offs that Cambodia instilled upon me from the first time I set foot in the country to the last possible moment while leaving.  Every step of the way someone was looking to screw me and it got very old very quickly.  Unfortunately this ruined Cambodia for me.  The country is beautiful, and has a lot to offer but the short of the long is that the people are just absolute dickheads...to put it lightly. Even after making it completely clear to the 'officials' that the price for a single entry tourist visa is $20, they charged me $25.  Then, one of the random guys hanging around the crossing took it upon himself to fill out all my forms for me without actually telling me he was doing so, and demanded a tip. I told him to get lost and jumped on the back of a motorcycle to get down to the bus station which is convieniently (not really) located 15km away from the border.  Arriving at the bus station I found that there was in fact no buses there, and that they only leave in the mornings. Instead, there were a bunch of taxis waiting to do the same trip for an obscene amount of money, something I was not about to do.  This is obviously not an accident because any idiot would see that it would be in the best interest of a bus company to provide transportation in the evening.  Turns out there was a French couple who were in the same boat as me but they were heading to Phnom Penh rather than Sihanoukville.  It was going to cost me about $100 to get a cab to Sihanoukville so I cut my losses and joined the couple heading to Phnom Penh which made the trip only a few dollars more than the bus.  In the end it was just an annoying inconvenience but one that I just have to swallow. Sihanoukville isnt going anywhere so i'll just have to do it next time.
Arriving in Phnom Penh the taxi driver (who made the trip many times) had absolutely no idea where anything was in the city so after driving in circles for a while looking for a specific hostel, we just got out at the first hotel we found. I asked for 2 rooms, a double for the couple and a single for myself. I was shown to a double room which I assumed was because they were full and generally when you ask for a single they give you a room for the price of a single even if it is infact a double.  False.  They charged me for a double.


Ante-ing up

I moved over to the backpacker area and met a group of people heading out to a club, so I antied up and joined them. The club, called Heart of Darkness, was actually half decent as far as the music they played and the layout. What I found the most entertaining though, was the interactions between the two majority groups who made up most of the crowd in the club. The first majority consisted of 55 to 65 year old white males, all with highly developed pot bellies and loving life because of the attention they were getting from the second majority. This second majority consisted of 16 to 21 year old Cambodian females all in a frenzied search to find that visa...er, I mean to find a nice older man... It was fun to watch in a sad kind of way, but alas the music wasn't going to dance to itself so the five of us proceeded to take over the dance floor, dancing like idiots until the red bull wore off. Now, when I say I've been ripped off, were talking about several dollars at most, its really not much money from our standards but when you think that that dollar could buy me a meal or a night accommodation it starts to make a serious difference.  But even so, it's really not about the money, its the principle and when everyone you talk to is actively trying to rip you off simply because your a westerner and clearly you have money (which is also false considering the limit on my Visa card has now been incorperated into my budget) it very quickly puts you off the whole country. Unfortunately, the people are all assholes until proven otherwise rather than the other way around. After this I started getting frustrated and my temper grew very thin with anyone who started talking to me becuase I new it was just a matter of time before they asked for my money.  The worst part of it all was that the issue started snowballing, and things that really weren't that bad, pissed me off and got on my nerves.  Once a few things go wrong, everything just seems to go wrong.  This was compounded 10 fold the night before leaving Phnom Penh when my iPhone was stolen right out of my private room while I was a floor below watching a movie.  This was devestating for me because I had everything on that phone: notes, pictures, contacts, everything.  Not to mention the fact that it was my computer that I could use anywhere I found wifi.  The most frustrating part though was that I couldn't do anything about it. I have no idea who took it, there's nothing the police could or would do and I didnt insure it, I just have to except that its gone and move on, something that proved to be easier said than done because I had grown so reliant on it.  I hate that place. *sigh* moving on.



Paparazzi madly snapping photos of nothing much

 I met up with Roberta who is a friend from home, and is living in Phnom Penh doing some very interesting nutrition work for the country.  Its Oprah Winfrey stuff, basically writing the country's guide to good health; malnutrition being very common, be it from lack of opportunity or lack of understanding. Mike Brown, another good friend from home (and Roberta's boyfriend) arrived several days later and we headed up to Siem Reap and the esteemed Temples of Angkor.  They did not dissapoint in the slightest.  We got the one day pass which started the evening before so we could go see the sunset from a temple on one of the only hills in the area.  Unfortunately the overcast skies didnt provide a whole lot of colour, but that was alright, it was still a beautiful view and the hords of people all madly taking photos of a nonexistent sunset was really quite entertaining to watch!
Since we only had the one day we figured we should pack everything in as best we could to get our money's worth. That meant we were up at 4:30am and on our bikes peddling out to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. The temple is truly amazing just in it's shear size but it just gets better and better as you walk through it and learn about the unbelievable engineering and work that made it possible in a time centuries before computers and modern technology. Unfortunately the skies were no better than the night before so we watched the sky until we figured the sun had to be up and then made our way into the temple to look around. The best part of the whole temple and all the others surrounding it is the fact that nothing is regulated, you can climb around where ever you like without anyone telling you to stay on the path or get out of the restricted area. It makes the experience far better. I can't see this lasting long though, they honestly can't let people climb around on it and expect it to last much longer. I wouldn't be surprised if tourists will be bringing binoculars to see the temples within the next few years.
Angkor Wat is truely an amazing sight/site, but it's not the best, that's still to come.
After Angkor we hopped back on our bikes and made our way towards Bayon Temple, this was close to the best because it was so intricately built and complicated with small passages all over the place running over and under each other.  I just cant even begin to imagine how it was all planned and put together without the aid of computers and todays technology. Every tower has the king's happy face smiling down from all four sides.
After a quick nuttella and banana, sandwich (basically what i live off of) we continued on our way to the next stop which turned out to be the Suor Prasat Towers.  These are a set of 12 pillar like temples and seemed to be less visited, cool structures but nothing special. We kept moving but then decided instead to head back into town to get some lunch, have a quick nap then come back and see the other major temples on our list. That did us well because we took the place by storm on our second attack. Heading in the opposite direction, we stopped at Kravan Temple then continued on to the one I was most excited for: Ta Prohm Temple. It did not disappoint. The trees growing had their massive root systems, crawling all over the ruins, essentially becoming part of the structures as they slowly wedge thier way between cracks and gaps in the stone. I honestly thought I had found the lost world...only, a few others had beat me to it.  Murphy made his presence known quite soundly when my camera died after about 2 photos in my favourite temple.  To put it lightly, it was annoying. Mental pictures it is!  After wandering around Ta Prohm for a while we got an ice cream then were back on our bikes to try and catch the sunset again.  We rode past a deserted temple called Ta Keo which turned out ot be a great vantage point for the sunset and after scaling the 'stairs' which must have been at 60 degree angle, we had the whole place to ourselves as the sun sank behind the trees.  A very pieceful way to end the day and far better than sitting with the hords as we did the night before.  Angkor Wat: check. An amazing place just for the history, but add uncomprehendable building and engineering that has lasted far longer than any modern buildings ever have and likely ever will, and you will - as I was - be left awe struck.
Roberta unfortunately had to get back to work so she jumped on a bus the following morning, and Mike and I jumped on a bus in the opposite direction, heading for Laos.  The 18 hour bus journey from Siem Reap, Cambodia to Thakeck, Loas was one of the last rip offs Cambodia got out of me.  We booked our VIP tourist bus for $40.00 only to find out we were heading all the way back to Phnom Penh then up to Laos, which added several hours.  We found out a number of people paid significantly less than us, then we were put on a shit bus which was clearly not the one we paid for, and began a milk run, Zigzaging our way up Cambodia stopping in every small town to pick up people and their bags of rice, or chickens or new set of pots and pans which were thrown in the asile along with the excess passengers.  Finally we made it to the boarder just before 4:00pm. The boarder was clearly still open but the officials on the Cambodian side wanted an extra dollar to pick up the stamp and press some ink onto a page of my passport, and on the Loas side wanted $2 extra on top of the $40.00 Visa because they were forced to work overtime. Luckily this time I stood my ground and assured them that the boarder was not due to close until 4:30 and there is no way im going to give them an extra $2 just because they are a bunch of coniving assholes stealing people's money.  I got away with that one, but of course the official at the other end of the desk was also coin opperated so in order for him to do his job (the one he's being paid to do, as well as the one that I just paid $40.00 to in order to enter the country) I have to insert $2.00 which then engages the actuator in his arm thus providing my passport with an entrance stamp.  It's so frustrating becuase it's either that or I go back to Cambodia. Sure, it is only $2.00 but where the hell is the $40.00 going if it's not for stamps??
Anyway we were back on the bus and on our way to Pakse in order to catch our next bus to Thakeck which all in all turned out to be a 30 hour trip, close to double what we were told.  But at least we're not in Cambodia anymore!
There is however, one thing that I can say about Cambodia: the food is fantastic! And the dish that topped the list is called Fish Amok.  It is fish in a curried sauce type thing and all steamed in a banana leaf that has been tied into a little bowl.  You dump it over rice and voila! Amazing.  One  of the many great things that came from meeting up with Roberta was the meals.  Her collegues took us out for dinner every night and when I tried to pay foor some, they wouldn't have any of it.  By the end they allowed me to contribute by paying the tip, something that never came to more than one dollar. 
Side note:  While on the subject of food, it is noteworthy to discuss the 'domestic' dog population of the country.  There are dogs everywhere, on their own or strolling in packs, each town or area having its own breed of mid-sized, mangy, scavenger.  The interesting part is the absence of mature adult dogs.  There are puppies everywhere, but the parents are nowhere to be seen...where could they be? just some food for thought.

Laos has proved to be a far nicer and more hospitable place already and I'm excited to see what it has to offer; tomorrow we leave on motorcycles for 4 days so that should provide some much needed small town hospitality, and exploration!

Take care everyone and chat soon!