Welcome to Cambodia

Arrived at the 'just opened 4 days ago' Siem Reap airport in western Cambodia. Probably the nicest airport we've seen on our trip - very funky design which obviously Lee was enamoured with. Nabbed a super cheap flight from KL and totally worth the jump back up through SE Asia.

We spent the first day adjusting to the climate - it's still hot, hot, hot round these parts but at least it rains in the afternoon and gets a little cooler - plus a room with air-con is only 10 US dollars so always have an escape from the muggy and incessant humidity. That is, unless you are climbing up huge and dangerously steep steps of enormous and rambling temples that seem to sprawl the entire surrounding area of the town. Siem Reap is a place of contrasts for sure. Lots of wealth from the tourism that the temples of Angkor and Bayon attract (only 2000 USD a night for a suite at Raffles!) but also evident poverty and hardship for those struggling to eke a living here.

We found ourselves a driver, Maheit, with his trusty moto carriage (a motorbike towing a small tuk tuk like carriage) and arranged a 3 day pass to explore the sites. On the first day we explored Angkor Thom and the temples of Bayon. Mesmorising giant faces (of Buddha and Brahma incarnations they say) face all directions to protect the ancient city from invaders - there must be 20 or 30 of these giant towers just in Bayon alone. We were so entranced we even returned for a sunrise visit. The Baphoun (where there is a giant reclining Buddha) at Angkor Thom is also undergoing huge works, so it was a little difficult to identify Buddha's head. Lots of children selling bracelets and flutes and postcards. It's so hard to say no to them, especially as they are not begging (which can't be in their interests to reinforce) and you know that their families probably rely heavily on the small amount of money they make - but there's so many of them. Needless to say we are now fully stocked with bracelets, postcards, flutes and fans.

Next was Angor Wat - a sprawling beautiful site - despite the evident destruction and decay (which is carefully being repaired with UNESCO money). Amazing carved scenes from the Ramayana and Buddha's life and certainly no shortage on the wow factor. It's busy of course, and especially when we return for sunset on the last day. But no matter, it's still a fantastic place to experience and just take a meditative moment or two in the central wat. I think the Bayon faces and the the wall of elephants (at Angkor Thom) were my personal favourites. We had a crappy meal near the temples and then flopped out in our air-conditioned room to recover. The food in Siem Reap itself is pretty good. It's hard to get decent veggie street ór Khmer cafe food and they seem to insist that fish sauce has to go in everything, as well as using those crappy Thai imported egg noodles instead of the more divine rice noodle that's so easy to get in Laos and Thailand but we just haven't seen here. But there's a good range of restaurants and cafes and we've enjoyed great indian food, phad thai and Khmer pancake rolls (though the mint leaves came as a bit of a surprise).

On the second day, we had a little scoot about town and bought lots of books. Lee and I read the rather disturbing ''Óff The Rails in Phnom Penh'' and the tragic and moving account "When Broken Glass Floats'', while we were in Gili Air. Both of us were fired up to read more about Cambodia's history so we are currently making our way through ''Year Zero'' and ''Highways to War''. Cambodia's history is everywhere you look. It's in the weary faces of the old and bright smiles of the young, where over half the population is aged uder 15. No-one's quite sure how many people died during the civil wars (and the secret US bombings during the Indochina war that may have killed as many as 1/4 million) and then the brutal purges of the Khmer Rouge, and subsequent poverty and famine. Current estimates from a study by Yale University (I think?) are in the region of 2 million people. There are huge numbers of young children working the streets (mostly touting goods to tourists) and numerous amputees (as a result of minefields - which means wandering off on solitary treks is out of the question). Cambodia's poverty is vividly apparent and the contrast between the smiles of these friendly and welcoming people and the hardship of the lives that most people lead is challenging and humbling. It certainly reminds me more of India than anywhere else we have been.

In the late afternoon, we then explored the twin temples of Chao Say Tevoda and Thommanon, the latter also in a state of having extensive repairs. We then went to Ta Prohm, the temple that's been swallowed up by the jungle - an unbelievably atmospheric place. We then returned to Angkor for sunset. Tevo and Roisin played 'races' with some local children and a few NGO workers on the causeway, while Lee, Maheit and I chatted about life and a bit of Cambodian history. Maheit comes from a rural life in the North East near Kratie. His brother died during a bombing campaign. He served several stints in the army, mostly under Sihanouk, but during the time of the ''Khmer Rouge and then the communists'', he spent a lot of time hiding in the jungle. He says he joined a rebel army of freedom fighters at one point but then ran away again and hid. He said he feels very lucky to have the life he has now - being able to speak English and work as a tuk-tuk driver ("I have a motorbike and a few dollars in my pocket - where I come from I am rich beyond anything they could imagine). He only got married last year (he's 36) and he tells us all about how he met his wife and brought her to Angkor Wat, where they sat in the inner temple and talked about whether they felt they could have a life together. He says his wife is from a very poor village as that's all he could afford - I guess they have an Indian-like dowry system here too.

On the third day, after a solitary sunrise exploration of Bayon we set off further afield for the temple Banteay Srei, a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and a fine example of Angkorian art (check out the photos). We then took a bumpy ride north to Kbal Spean. A half hour hike through the forest and jungle leads you to a carved riverbed, the "River of a Thousand Lingas" where they have been elaborately carved into a natural rock bridge and along the riverbed. Having got up so early (4am), we were all exhausted and headed back to town. The children once again proved their ability to sleep absolutely anywhere by falling asleep on the wooden ledge of the moto carriage.

Back in town, Maheit invited us to his home to meet his pregnant wife (due any day). He was so excited about having children here and was becoming good friends with them, playing cards with Tevo and joking around with them - he said they don't see many Western children and he'd been telling his wife all about Tevo and Roisin. So we visited his compound where he rents a room. About 4 by 4 metres - this room is their home. There's a bed, a cooking corner, a TV on some drawers and two sets of shelves. Inside, we meet his lovely wife, Maheit's sister-in-law and his sister. They've been making biscuits to sell in the market and very generously offer us platefuls, which they keep restocking as Tevo and Roisin tuck in. His wife and sisters don't speak english but Maheit translates and we chat about life in the compound and the families that live here. The whole site has about 10-15 rooms in blocks around a yard, where scrawny chickens and ducks strut about the puddles. The owner lives in the main house (about the size of one of the blocks). He rents carriages to the men here who have their own motorbikes. It costs them 60 dollars a month for the room and the tuk-tuk carriage. His sister tries to comb Roisin's hair (which hasn't been brushed for several days) and they clearly enjoy having the children here. It rains so hard at one point we can barely hear ourselves think from the noise of the deluge on the corrugated roof. I wish I had had the chance to bring them a gift for being so kind as to invite us here and welcome us into their home. We try to learn some Khmer and wish them all the very best of luck in the future and all good wishes for the new baby (at least I hope that's what we said). We say goodbye to Maheit back at the hotel, and give him some extra cash for the new baby. He seems really happy and perhaps this is the best thing we can give them, rather than some daft gift they neither want nor need.

The next day we rested and watched movies, and spoilt ourselves with some imported wine and cheese and brown bread. It gave me stomach ache - I'm starting to think that wheat may not be the best source of complex carbs.

Early the next morning, we get a bus to take us to Kompong Cham, en route to Kratie. It's a long journey but the roads are surprisingly good (and it seems they have the same approach as Indians to using the horn - used for every manouvre, it means, I'm behind you, I'm over taking you, I'm pulling out, you're in the road, move over, I'm bigger than you.... and so on). This is supposed to be the best place to buy Kramas, the traditional Khmer scarf used as sun protection for the head, dust mask, waistband, carrying children, a towel....etc. I manage to find two blue ones, one as a present for my friend Beaker when he's roofing and sweating in the hot sun and one for me. I opt for blue, as I don't want the red associated with the Khmer rouge but then find out that the blue is associated with the Vietnamese invaders. I decide to try and find a green check in Phnom Penh. We only spend one night in Kompong Cham, a very strange little town with a communist feel (probably the hotel we stayed in which seems to be designed with communist architecture in mind) and set off for Kratie at yet another undesirable hour of the morning. There are no boats going up the Mekong to Kratie anymore. We're gutted as this was what we came to do but they have stopped them as they are too expensive for locals and not enough tourists to justify them anymore. It's great to see the mighty Mekong again though.

I meet Red on the bus (he helps me with the window as I try desperately not to throw up from the smell of Durian on the bus). He's learning English and works as a guide at a Kratie hotel. He points the hotel out as we pass and asks if we want to come and see it, so we do and it's very nice - aircon, cable TV & sprung mattress bed in a bright airy room for 10 dollars (which is a great deal for us given that the dollar doesn't appear to be doing so good against the pound here). There's also a spectacular rooftop balcony for some guitar playing and wine drinking. Red organises us a taxi to take us up to Kampi to take a boat out to see if we can spot some Irrawaddy dolphins. There's two other small boats and the drivers are careful to cut their engines when they enter the bowl where the dolphins fish. As we silently bob about, their graceful backs arch out of the water (they don't leap about like their bottle-nosed or spinning cousins) and every now and then you get a peek at their serene round headed faces. The orange muddy water of the Mekong makes a beautiful backdrop as the low sun starts to shimmer across the water, occasionally broken by their silvery bodies. We see at least 3 different pairs. Scary to think that these endangered creatures may not be around when the children reach our age.

Kratie seems to be a typical Cambodian town, with a sprinkling of Wats, a central grubby market, lots of worn down colonial architecture and the constant puttering of motorbikes. The place certainly has character and we enjoy a wander or two around town and along the banks of the Mekong. We also meet several NGO workers, including a family from Idaho with three young children, who work at the local hospital (the parents that is, not the children).

We leave Kratie for the long bus journey down to Phnom Penh. It's the children's birthdays soon, so we have promised them toy shops and cakes in the capital. The plan is to rest and eat and chill for a few days before heading south to the coast.