Walker Family Gap Year

Sunset

If Cambodia is the Kingdom of Wonder, then the Temples of Angkor are the jewels in the crown.

Causeway at Angkor Wat

Our first view of Angkor Wat was overwhelming, for the sheer magnificence of its scale and setting alone. We stood at the entrance to the wide stone causeway that spans the lake sized moat, with our mouths open, as our local guide reminded us that we were only at the entrance to the temple complex. Five ornate tiered gateways (two of which were designed for elephants) lead to the main Wat or temple. Angkor Wat is crowned by five tall graduated towers of relief-carved sandstone that seem to reach out of the jungle behind, truly deserving to be one of the man-made wonders of the world (and, of course, a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

Photograph by Cameron

Angkor Wat is the most well known temple, and the national symbol of Cambodia, however it is only one of over 250 temples in this region alone. As you drive around you are a little overawed by the ambitious temple building programme of the Khmer Kings. There are so many in fact that we bought a three day pass to try to see as many as possible, starting in the mornings or evenings when it was a little cooler to walk around. Ben even got up at 4am to see the sunrise over Angkor and walked up a steep hill to see the sunset too one afternoon – the lengths he will go to in order to get the ‘shot’! He challenged the boys to take some pictures too and they came away with some fantastic photographs, as you can see.   It is hard to explain but Angkor really gets under your skin.  And there is just so much of it to see!

Photograph by Oliver

Ta Prohm was one of our family favourites, as it has only been partially restored and still retains some of the ’jungle’ growing through it, as Angkor Wat was when it was rediscovered in the 1860s. Ta Prohm was also used as a location in the Tomb Raider movie due to its almost magical ambiance.

Ta Prohm

The largest temple is Angkor Thom, that is actually a 10 km2 city of temples built by King Jayavaman VII in the late 12thC, including the mysterious Bayon Temple covered in huge Buddha faces, and the Baphuon Temple which has an enormous reclining Buddha as one of its sides.

Bayon

Gate to Angkor Thom

Temple of Banteay Srei

Siem Reap, the town that supports Angkor is also a revelation – it’s a city of two halves. Yes, it’s full of tourists and bars, markets and restaurants, there’s even an area called Pub Street, but it’s also quite charming with its river, wide avenues and gorgeous public gardens. We stayed in the Wat Bo Village area, a short tuk-tuk ride from the centre of the action, in a Khmer owned small boutique hotel called Suon Angkor, and our room was the original family home, a two bedroom traditional wooden house (a smaller version of the Ancient Houses of Battambang) nestled within the new hotel complex – unusual but interesting. From here we discovered the temples by day and enjoyed all that Siem Reap has to offer at night. As those of you who follow Facebook will already know, it’s also where we walked passed Angelina Jolie and some of her family one night, out for their own stroll around the town (sadly without Brad), a ‘ wow’ moment for us all.

Mmm…crunchy crickets for dinner.

To better understand the Khmer culture we visited the Angkor National Museum, which included an incredible display called the Gallery of A Thousand Buddha’s, the boys just loved it (sadly no photos allowed). We also went to an Khmer barber shop where Ben got the shortest haircut of his life, after which Ollie refused to have his hair cut at all – but we made him, 3 dollars a cut was a bargain after all! Cameron got his ‘spa’ fix by having another massage and charmed all the stallholders in the market place to get the best deals on his souvenirs.

So, if you are looking for somewhere different for your next holiday could I suggest Siem Reap? It’s got a bit of everything, amazing temples, lovely people, great markets & nightlife, is still very good value for money and it even has an international airport – what are you waiting for?

Photography by Cameron

One of Battambang’s Ancient Houses

Battambang is about 5 hours NW of Phnom Penh, and for us was a lesson in crazy driving in Cambodia. Our driver seemed determined to get us there as quickly as possible using any part of the road necessary with no regard for things such as oncoming traffic – simply terrifying is an understatement. We were very glad to make it to our beautiful (and upgraded) hotel Maisons Wat Kor. Our original hotel was full so they happily sent us to their boutique sister hotel, and it was like walking into a little lush jungle paradise. The rooms were French colonial style with high ceilings, massive beds and dark wood throughout, so lovely. We had two connecting rooms and as there were no other guests – exclusive use of the pool, and it was less than GBP 50 only per night for 2 huge rooms.  Accommodation in Cambodia is relatively cheap but also very good quality, as we confirmed when we checked into our original hotel, the Sanctuary Villa, which was just as lovely.
For foodies who might be interested we’ve found the food in Cambodia to be very good with curries and stews being the main diet here.  Here at MaiWat Kor it was fine dining Khmer-French fusion style – beautifully presented and delicious.

Fried Frangipani Flowers

Dinner at Maisons Wat Kor

After consulting our trusty Lonely Planet we decided to visit the Ancient Houses in Wat Kor village, which turned out to be next to our hotel. They are elevated wooden teak houses built during the early 1900s with high ceilings and feet polished mahogany wide floorboards. At one of the houses’ Mrs Bun’s house’ we got talking to the niece of the owner, Mrs Bun, and arranged to come back the next day for a traditional Khmer lunch cooked by her mother-in-law, which included the delicious Fish Amok.  During our lunch conversation, in a mix of English, Khmer and French (the older generation all speak French here) we learned that Mrs Bun had inherited the houses after all of her family were killed during the Khmer Rouge period. They now run it as a museum and homestay.

Fish Amok – Khmer Traditional Food

With Mrs Bun’s family

Roadside snack -sticky sweet rice cooked inside bamboo sticks on BBQ.

Battambang, as a town, was a bit of a disappointment as there is not much to it, but we enjoyed a day out touring the surrounding villages and temples with our remork (tuk-tuk) driver.

With our tuck-tuk driver

Fish paste making – very stinky – the boys refused to get too close!!

We did visit the crazy Bamboo Train, a system of bamboo boards on removable train wheels, driven by a 6.5hp lawn-mower engine. These homemade ‘trains’ rattle along the old French railways tracks at considerable speed – terrifying when you see how warped the old line is! There is only one line so when there is another ‘train’ is coming towards you, the carriage with the smallest number of people gives way by getting off, lifting its carriage off the track, then putting it all back on again once you’ve passed! Tiring but ingenious!

“Super-scary, it made a loud ker-klunking noise – I thought I was going to get thrown off and die!” Ollie.

Bamboo Railway

We also went to see the local circus troupe called Phare, which performed an hour long feast of acrobatics, music and humour that we all loved. Phare is an important local charity, now running a free school for over 1,200 children, who also count circus skills in their curriculum. The best graduates perform for the public, and some turn professional and have gone on to join Cirque du Soleil.

Cameron with the cast of Phare

“I definitely got shivers when the ghosts started spinning down from the roof in the show called ‘Chills’. I absolutely loved the circus show!” Cam.

But as usual it is the people that make a place, and we had the good fortune to meet up with 4 lovely American ladies who were great fun and even taught the kids how to do Yoga – thanks Nancy, Susan, Sam & Debbie. And would you believe it another two guests, Bob and Paul, live in the next town from us at home, and we even have mutual acquaintances! Big world?…no, quite small really.

Our next stop is the town of Siem Reap and the famous temples of Angkor Wat.

Getting a lift in the hotel’s Army Jeep!

Crazy roads!

Serendipity Beach at Sihanoukville

Catching the boat to Koh Rong Samloen.

Sihanoukville is on the Lonely Planet ‘10 places to watch’ list and it is definitely a growing backpacker destination in the south of Cambodia with beaches, hostels, bars, and partying – not really our scene – we came here to catch the boat to Koh Rong Samloen Island two hours off the coast. Our destination was the low key, quiet, Lazy Beach bungalows. It had been recommended by other travelling families and described as ‘how the islands in Thailand looked before mass tourism.’ Lazy Beach only has 18 wooden bungalows scattered along a private pretty beach with one large outdoor bar/restaurant area serving fantastic food and cocktails with large padded seats and board games to play with the kids.

Lazy Beach – the view from our beach bungalow

No cars! Only a tractor to move the luggage & boys.

The island has no electricity and only runs its generators from 6pm to 6am, so there is no wifi, phone or even electricity during the day, so you are forced to relax, chat, read or swim.  It was very liberating not having any access to the internet or phones. This is the end of the rainy season so the weather was hot during the day but with the most incredible tropical thunder and lightning at night that lit up the whole sky – spectacular and scary as  it cracked overhead shaking our shack!

Heaps of hermit crabs on the beach.

Our beach bungalow

Here’s Cameron’s report on his 11th Birthday:
“Sun, Sand and Smoothies – what more could a boy want on his birthday! We took a small local boat from Sihanoukville to Lazy Beach, for our pretty 2 hour journey to the island. We were greeted by the staff and walked along the dock, peering down into the glass-clear blue water, with hundreds of tiny fish swimming around – we desperately wanted to jump in! It was so beautiful. There were some other kids staying here too so we had fun playing in the ocean with them. But time to get to my favourite part – my birthday! I woke up extra early to wake everyone up for present time. My Mum & Dad got me some brilliant new headphones, sunglasses and some new cool t-shirts. Then it was time for a long refreshing swim and finally a rest swinging in the hammock. That afternoon we sat with a lovely New Zealand couple, David and Wendy, who we had met the day before. Then I heard some people singing “Happy Birthday” behind me and the staff brought over a huge mango cheesecake with Happy Birthday on it all cut out from carrots. It was “the Best Birthday Ever! ” Another guest Jonathan wrote me a great poem and his girlfriend, Qi, taught Ollie & I how to play table tennis Chinese style. The whole time we felt like we were on a desert island – it was amazing.”

With Wendy & David.

Koh Rong Samloen has been a fantastic rest stop on our fast-paced trip around South East Asia.

But now it’s time to leave island life and head into north-western Cambodia to the city of Battambang.

Can you spot the bungalows? This is eco-tourism at its best.

Just chillin’

Spectacular sunsets.

We caught the tourist boat from Vietnam into Phnom Penh, Cambodia along the Mekong River and our first impression was of a quieter, more affluent city with much less of the hustle and bustle of the cities in Vietnam – certainly a lot less scooters! Our accommodation at the fabulous One Up Banana Hotel was located in the expat & tourist area and the number of brand new luxury cars here (mostly big 4wds) was extraordinary. Although once you get out of the city you are confronted by such poverty that it makes you realise the division of wealth here is at its most extreme.

Ben goes native- Khymer style!

I hate to admit it but we did take advantage of the westernisation of this part of town by going to Costa Coffee a few times. They have ordinary coffee here, which we were craving, but also really good air conditioning! Cambodia is a little cooler than Vietnam but it’s still hot, thirsty work walking around cities. We do usually prefer to spend our money in locally owned establishments if possible though. Money is confusing here, as everything is priced in USD dollars (you can get them out of the ATM), but your change often comes back in a mix of dollars and Riel, the local currency. I am hopeless at this, and have no idea if am getting the right change – thank god Ben knows what he’s doing.

Travelling in the jeep!

It was also Oliver’s 9th birthday while we were in Phnom Penh, so we wanted to do some kid-friendly sightseeing and Oliver chose to spend a day at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary about an hours’ drive outside the City. This is the only conservation centre for animals rescued from private ownership or injured wildlife, and they rehabilitate and return 90% of the animals to the wild. Here we met many gibbons who had, unfortunately, been kept as pets and not treated very well, but they still crave human companionship wanting you to scratch their backs through the bars. It is also the headquarters of the ‘Free The Bears’ Australian charity that finds and cares for Sun & Moon Bears. Then we saw an elephant with a prosthetic leg and were ‘sprayed’ on by an unfriendly Tiger. Ever had that happen to you, it’s not pleasant!

On the day of Ollie’s 9th birthday we went to Kids City, here’s his take on it:

“Kid’s City is a big 8 story building where each floor had a different activity. The first floor we did was Rock Climbing with 25 different climbing walls, my favourite was called the Stairway To Heaven, which was 12 poles in an oval shape getting higher and higher and you had to jump up to the next pole until you were about 20 feet off the floor, then you had to hold onto your harness and jump down the middle which was great fun, but you kept banging into the poles on your way down. My Mum was too scared to watch me, even though I was wearing a harness.

Next Cam and I went to the Laser Tag floor where we played with other kids from different countries in different zones and with flashing lights and obstacles to shoot from and hide behind. I got Most Accurate and Most Trigger Happy! Our last floor was the science discovery where I got to ride a high wire bicycle and Cameron went in a gyro sphere machine like they use to train astronauts. He said it as fun but I didn’t want to get dizzy hanging upside down.

When we got back to the hotel Cameron had planned a surprise birthday cake for me with layers of cream jam and cute little Sun Bears on top. It was an awesome birthday.”

But it wasn’t all fun and games, we also fitted in an educational trip to the National Museum to see the statues and antiques from some of the temples destroyed during the Khmer Rouge era and also to the Royal Palace which was very beautiful and serene. They have great displays in the Silver Pagoda of some of the gifts received by the Royal Family over the years, so lots of gold, diamonds and silver ware. It is still rainy season too, so we are wearing disposable raincoats in all our photos but it doesn’t last long and is still really hot.

The Royal Palace

Finally, Ben went to the Killing Fields, a must do if you want to understand the more recent dark history of the Khmer people.  They have a memorial at Choeung Ek Village, and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, both of which give an account of the terrible atrocities carried out under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge Régime in the 1970s, against their own people.  It is estimated that around 2 million people were killed at this time, out of a population of only 8 million. It is impossible to speak to anyone here in Cambodia who has not lost multiple members of their families during this period.  Their stories are shocking and tragic, but like all survivors they want people to understand how this could have happened in our recent past to avoid it happening again – if only it were that simple.

School used as a prison during the Khmer period.