We travelled from Bangkok to Siem Reap by bus. We had some interesting experiences on the way that caused us to start calling the country scam-bodia.
The first scam we encountered was before we had even crossed the border. Our bus stopped at a restaurant just before the border where we were greeted by a very friendly Cambodian man who was well dressed and spoke good English. He handed out the Cambodia visa application forms, and seemed very official. Then he collected a $40 visa fee, when the actual cost should be no more than $20. This man seemed very jovial as he talked to the tourists and even started singing, probably since he had just made over $100 in less than half an hour. Luckily we avoided this scam since we had bought our visas online ahead of time for $25.
Next we were transferred to the supervision of a second man, who didn't speak great English, at the border itself. This man tried to convince everyone that it was very hard to find ATMs in Cambodia and that they charged horrendous fees to take out money. So obviously the best thing to do is to take out as much Thai baht as possible and then exchange it at the bus station. When we arrived at the bus station we saw that the exchange rate they gave was so terrible that you would lose 25% of your money. We did still have some baht left but decided to hold on to it until we returned to Thailand.
We found a nice hotel to stay in without too much hassle, although our tuk-tuk driver did try to take us to the wrong hotel first. We had a much needed rest and at 5am the next morning we headed out to watch the sunrise from the temples at Angkor Wat.
The first temple we visited was called Phnom Bakkheng. We had the place to ourselves and so we decided to take full advantage...
Just in case we were confused they had helpful signs everywhere showing us the 'Way of Visit'.
We found this critter lurking in the grass.
The view over to Angkor Wat.
A female palm tree bearing fruits.
This is what the fruit looks like after you step on it.
A male palm tree with its reproductive structures.
The next temple was 'the one with the faces', called Bayon.
The morning light was hitting it beautifully.
Orchids!
Next we stopped for breakfast, and a troop of monkeys was lurking close by. The restaurant owner kept a slingshot in his pocket to drive them off when they got too close.
After breakfast we took a stroll along a beautifully carved wall at the edge of the temple complex.
Lichen!
The god of pleasuring one's self?
Some temple inhabitants.
The next temple was called Ta Keo...and it had a lot of stairs.
Next stop was the infamous Ta Prom.
The cheapest cellphone plan in Cambodia.
The next temple on the tour was Banteay Kdei, which also has some nice big trees.
And for the grand finale, Angkor Wat itself.
Walking the path to enlightenment...
Our faithful tuk-tuk driver, Mai, who took us around to all the temples. We paid the tour company $15 for his services, and he informed us he only gets paid $70 per month! I guess even the scambodians get scammed sometimes.
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