Indi feat. Lara: The jungle jam

26.9.
6:00 am: Alarm clock is ringing – oh man, it’s too early to get up. But no use in complaining, Cambodia may be waiting for us, but the Bus to get there isn’t…

1:00 pm: Arrived at what is supposed to be the bus station at the Thai-Cambodian border…no sign of the border to be seen. Might the Tuk-Tuk-drivers be right and it is still far far (worth a ten dollar ride far) away?! Sun is burning hot and backpacks are heavier than ever. Let’s get walking, Cambodia must be somewhere… 

Of note: the traditional Khmer curry, called Amok

1:10 pm: Okay, that was not worth a ten dollar ride far away – good for us. Found the end of Thailand and the beginning of Cambodia. Now let’s see how this works.

2:00 pm: That was easy. Paid the visa fee and the extra fee that is so very official that it is announced in beautiful handwriting on a sign made of old newspapers. Anyways, we are in. Now how do we get to Siem Reap from here - ah, no worries, the transport mafia is already here and will surely take good care of us, for a very cheap price of course…

5:00 pm: Arrived in Siem Reap, moved into our beautiful new home, had some food and are ready to paint the town red. Let’s get going. 

1:00 am: You stupid Mosquitos, go away. You stupid frogs, shut up. You stupid fan, could you turn any slower? Will surely be a great night.

27.9.

6:00 am: Alarm clock is ringing. Rise and shine – no problem, didn’t close an eye anyway, what a jungle out there…

6:30 am: Rent that bike – why, yes, we take the white charity bike for only two dollars per day with no comfort whatsoever. There are no hills at all so what would we need Mountainbikes for?! Get on those saddles – Angkor here we come!

6:35 am: Turning back, the bikes are too small for one of us. Everything is hurting already. Angkor, we’ll come a little later – but still on those Charity bikes, highly determined to collect some good karma. 

At Preah Khan nature takes its toll

7:15 am: Passing by the great Angkor Wat and going through Angkor Thom – trying not to look at anything, we want have something to build up to during the next three days of exploring. Well, maybe a tiny little glimpse is okay, yes, sure it is…WOW! Oh my, we have to stop and see this, simply extraordinary! Why not take a breakfast break right here with nice views of Bayon Temple?!

10:00 am: Arrived at the first temple we had planned on for today: Preah Khan. Simply breathtaking. We feel like Indi and Lara – but cooler, since we go by bike, not on some cheating TukTuk, Moto or other ways that don’t use your own energy. If it just wasn’t so steaming hot, we are kind of melting away here… 

2:00 pm: Riding, riding, riding… have seen Banteay Prei, explored Neak Pean and Krol Kô and are on our way to Ta Som. Everything is awesome. Our behinds might beg to differ, but who cares. 

At Prè Rup Temple

3:00 pm: Our behinds differ louder and louder. Must be ignored, everything is just way too cool. Just arrived at Mebon Oriental, staring at elephants, beautiful Hindu dancers, kings and gods – awesome carvings. And the look out to into the jungle from the high terraces is just great. That little thunderstorm over there surely won’t come any closer. 

3:10 pm: Soaking, not because of the sweat anymore. Kind of like a nice shower to get rid of all the smelling and dirt from the day – rain can be somewhat nice. Behinds don’t stop hurting but faces are still brightly smiling. On our way to the last temple for the day, Prè Rup.

7:00 pm: Made it back to town, behinds injured badly but still alive. Really deserve some icecream now, and a good cold beer.

9:30 pm: In bed, ready to fall asleep instantly – we want to get up early to see the sunset over Angkor Wat. Plan on going on our bikes again. Behinds are asleep already, they don’t argue.

28.09. 

4:00 am: What is that sound? Dreaming? Where are we? Oh, right – the alarm. No, wait, there is another sound… thank God, that’s heavy rain and frequent thunder. There is no use in going to Angkor in this kind of weather by bike. Go back to sleep!

7:00 am: No rain, no reason to sleep. Lara and Indi never sleep. Bikes are waiting, behinds are ignored once again.

10:00 am: Wow, that was Prasat Kravan temple – and our breakfast. Feeling much stronger now. Exploring mode is switched on.

11:00 am: Banteay Kdei temple is awesome. Playing hide and seek is so much fun around here. Wait a minute. Where am I? Why is it turning dark all the sudden? Hello?

12:30 pm: Back on the road. Riding the bikes, no hills no nothing, gentle smooth ride, behinds kind of quiet for the moment. Wait, what does that sign say? Looks like a “No entry”, but really - could be everything, right?…Lara and Indi never obey to signs. And what could possibly happen anyway?

12:40 pm: Stuck in mud, there is no way to go, neither back nor forth. So that’s why people rent Mountainbikes.

12:50 pm: Still pushing the bikes. Wheels don’t turn anymore. We are covered in the red mud. Where is some rain when you need it. No, wait, didn’t mean it that way, the “road” is bad enough as it is. 

Romantic Tra Prohm Temple

1:10 pm: Carrying the bikes now. We see a light at the end of the tunnel. Our white bikes are red, just like us, but there seems to be some asphalt ahead of us.

1:30 pm: Made it out of the Jungle back to the road through the jungle, and that makes a huge difference. Arrived at the Ta Prohm Temple, known for its appearance in the first Tomb Raider movie. So excited.

2:30 pm: Just made it into the temple, found a way around the inner terraces, want to catch them on our way back out. Like always, keep the best for the end. Oh, that was a big rain drop. Uh, there was another. Ah, these things never hold for long in this country. 

At Ta Prohm

4:00 pm: Heavy rain and thunderstorms for over an hour now and it is only getting darker around us. The whole temple is flooded; we have to swim out of here. Or should we keep waiting?

4:30 pm: Okay, that’s it. Let’s swim.

5:30 pm: Arrived at the guesthouse, made it through roads that were more like rivers, crossed some seriously deep lake-like intersections, grew webs on our feet and kept sweating like crazy (how is that even possible?!). Our behinds might kill us. But first, let’s find the showers.

10:00 pm: What all a nice cool shower, a huge dinner and some ice cold cocktails can do…Time for bed, new go on the sunset at Angkor Wat tomorrow. Stopped arguing with our behinds, though – we will go by TukTuk.

29.9.

4:00 am: That sounds familiar now – the alarm and heavy rain. Oh, what the heck, we have a TukTuk and aren’t made from sugar. Suck it up, time to rise and shine again.

5:30 am: Still raining a little, but the atmosphere is mystic. The jungle seems closer in the dark and everywhere surely lure wild animals. The sounds they make are deafening. Angkor Wat rises as a dark, majestic shadow in front of us. We position ourselves to get the best views of the majestic sight when the sun comes up. It will be great. 

Awestruck in front of Angkor Wat

 6:30 am: The sun is up – somewhere behind the thick clouds that cover the whole sky. We still wonder how it made the way up there without any of us noticing. Anyway. It stopped raining and the light is enough to start exploring the biggest temple in the world. We are tired but eager to see.

7:30 am: Waiting for the guards to open up the highest top of the holiest of holy. Still a little eager to see and a little more tired.

8:00 am: At the top. All tiredness is gone. This is brilliant. 

10:00 am: Had breakfast, peed and put on some mosquito repellent - feeling good. Just like that dude seems to feel that is smiling down on us from every corner of the Bayon temple…or is it a stare? Would you stop staring? Is there any way to escape this man, that Khmer king is creepy…No, really, he is everywhere. Well then, let’s decide it is a smile on his face after all. Makes it much more enjoyable. 

Smiling (or staring?!) faces of Bayon temple

12:00 pm: The ancient City of Angkor Thom is now fully explored. Climbed all terraces, checked out all carvings, bas reliefs and beheaded Buddhas and swang around exploringly in all the lianas. Feeling tired. But there is still one thing left to do. Lara still has to visit her temple Ta Prohm when it is not pouring.

1:00 pm: Ta Prohm was first taken by nature and then it was taken by us. We made it. Now it is time to sleep. TukTuk, take us home please!

5:00 pm: Waking up, feeling refreshed and ready to go. Siem Reap Town, here we come.

30.9.

4:00 am: Dreaming.

6:00 am: Dreaming.

8:00 am: Dreaming.

10:00 am: Slowly waking up, turning around…new sounds surround us – no alarm, no rain, just silence. What a Sunday morning! A great day of doing nothing lies ahead. Time to recapture the great wonders we have seen during the last couple of days. Angkor can’t be compared to anything we have seen before. Its great treasures leave us in awe and it will take some time for everything to sink in (and for our behinds to feel normal again). Tomorrow we will leave for Battambang, a new place to visit and explore in the great Kingdom of Cambodia. 

Our good karma white bikes