A Week in Cambodia

Now back in Jakarta for a few days I have had time to get resettled at work, do laundry, and upload photos to my Flickr account.  Still I keep thinking about my trip to Cambodia when I see Buddhist image or see someone dressed all in orange reminiscent of the monks I saw everywhere during my six day trip.  I have to say that was not nearly enough time to fully enjoy such a beautiful country and hope to return to mainland SE Asia for a trip to include Vietnam and Laos.  I am so glad I went there with my friend Katie who has spent the past year working in Battambang and was patient enough to withstand my ceaseless questioning about Cambodian life. 

We flew into Phnom Penh from Kuala Lumpur last Thursday and checked into this adorable little hotel she had booked for us- across the street from the Tuol Sleng Prison from the Khmer Rouge days, a very sobering place to visit.  While Katie did some errands for the café she is helping open in Battambang, I had all day Friday to explore Phnom Penh and was pleasantly surprised at how livable a city it is and how cool the weather was!  I toured the National Museum, the central market, Wat Phnom, the riverside tourist strip, and the Russian Market, famous for cheap knock offs of Western brand clothing and tons of beautiful silk scarves.  Friday night we caught a six hour bus up to Siem Reap and the sweet digs Katie got us at the Golden Banana.  Maybe resting and taking this easy would have been the best decision for the day before running a 10K, but instead I spent the entire next day wandering around and climbing up temples at Angkor Wat.  There are so many temples and they are all so spread out that everyone rents tuk tuks for getting around.  I was able to see about four of the most popular temples, Ta Phrom, Preah Khan, the Bayon and Angkor Wat just in time for sunset.  They were truly amazing and I relished every time I was able to escape the hoards and wonder at them in peace.  I hope to go back some day and explore some of the more remote ones but I am extremely happy with what I was able to see.

The next morning Katie and I woke up bright and early (even though I was still a tad bit sore from my hiking the day before!), grabbed some bananas, and headed to the race.  Thankfully it started before 7am so the weather was still cool and we were actually shivering on the tuk tuk drive.  As my first 10K race ever it was exciting to run with so many people from around the world and especially touching to see the disabled participants as the race was put on as a benefit for Cambodian land mine victims.  The race path started in front of the main Angkor Wat temple and then meandered through the forest and around a few other temples.

 

Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for a little rest and then it was massages and drinks to celebrate my 24^th birthday!  I don’t think I could have spent the day any better.  In the evening we headed to Katie’s home in Battambang for a little more celebrating with wine and a local favorite vegetable curry dish.  Monday I had the whole day in Battambang and we started out with a 30K bicycle tour that visited some local home industries including rice paper makers, a rice wine operation, and a place with the best rice cakes I have ever had.  It was fun to see local life and compare it to Indonesia, Cambodia is definitely years behind in development.

Finally, on Tuesday an early morning bus ride back to Phnom Penh let me see a bit more of the countryside, then I took a quick visit to the National Palace before flying home to Jakarta.  I have never taken a trip with such a packed schedule like this but I am so glad I got to see so much and enjoy it with a friend!