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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
After a swim and breakfast we are picked up by Bun and his 6 year old son Dona at 8.30 all ready to take off in his jeep for a great day out.
We head out of Siem Reap through small villages. We see the Khmer school that Bun has built with the assistance of donations from Sam and his Christmas giving by some of us. Many of the children in these small villages don't go to school because they are too poor, they are unable to get to there or the parents are not wanting them to go. Bun employs a teacher and currently there are 19 kids that go to the school in the morning or afternoon. We drive past some of the children that go to the school and see where they live and how they live. Not far from here we stop at the Poukroum Pagoda where we sit before a monk for a water blessing. The monk chants for 5 - 10 minutes while flicking water at us and on us. This is a very subdued blessing as sometimes it involves buckets of water being poured over you while the monk is chanting. Bun says it's difficult to translate what he is saying into English but basically it's along the teachings of Buddha that if you do good you will receive good in return.
Bun himself spent 13 years in the Pagoda. It was the only way he could see to escape the poverty. By going to the temple he was able to get an education, he was fed and had a safe place to sleep. This enabled him to go on to university and create a better life for himself and his son. From what I understand he sends money to his parents to help them especially at the moment as their rice crop has failed twice in recent times.
Driving in the jeep is so much fun , with no windows or doors we are so close to everything. Dona fancies himself as a singer so Sam gets the iPod going and he sings a long to 'the Lazy Song' with all the moves he picks up from the music clip on TV. He is such a gorgeous kid.
Along the way we are on some pretty ordinary roads and it's hot and dusty. We stop to get some cold drinks and see the roadside shop where the locals collect the juice from the palm trees and boil it over a wood fire to make candies and sugar right there on the side of the road. We keep going to get to our next destination which is Phnom Kulen, the former capital of Kampuchea before Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom existed. Phnom means mountain and the road going up the mountain closes to entering traffic at 12noon so we need to be there before that which we easily make. The drive up is interesting. The dirt road is plagued with potholes which Bun does his best to avoid but it's impossible to miss them all. Part of these mountains is where the Rock was cut to build Angkor Wat and some of the huge exposed areas are plainly visible centuries later.
There are 6 villages on the mountain and the road is dotted with small children that run alongside the vehicle to say hello. Some of the bigger boys are there with shovels doing their best to try and fill the potholes. It's a futile exercise.
On the side of the road are stalls selling bananas, pink ones. I've never seen pink bananas so we pull over and buy a bunch. They are not much bigger than a mans thumb but are sweet. Our bunch has about 10 bananas and we pay $1.
Finally we stop and park. The rest of the way is by foot to see the giant reclining Buddha carved out of stone at the top of the mountain. This is a very popular place for worship and every crevice and cave in the rocks has some sort of offering or shrine in it. Many people come here to pray and meditate. There is a large flat rock platform where the king in ancient times would come to meditate and pray.
Dona is a great tour guide telling us which way we should go and letting us know if it's ok to take photos etc.
Once we are back at the jeep we head towards the river. Phnom Kulen is the source of the Siem Reap River which eventually feeds into the Tonle Sap Lake and river and ultimately the Mekong. The water up here comes from springs filtered through the rock. There are a series of stone carvings in sandstone formations carved in the river bed. Known as the Valley of a Thousand Lingas, the carvings are mainly myriads of lingams (phallic symbol of Hindu God Shiva).
The river falls over the rocks into a waterfall and there are many people swimming. We walk down a number of steps to the bottom of another waterfall where there are more people but also deeper pools. It's quite a set up where you can pay $1 to use a tyre tube, $1 to hire a life vest, $1 to use a lockable esky to store your valuables. Bun has decided not to swim but Dona is coming down with us. All is good until we get to the water and then he gets scared and won't go in. Sam gets him a life jacket and he jumps in. By Cambodian standards this water is freezing. For us it's so refreshing. The little fish start to nibble straight away and it's a little freaky for a minute but then it becomes normal. Dona is such a skinny little boy and he is clearly freezing so we don't stay long in the water. We wrap him up in a warm towel and he gets dressed and we head back up the steps. Bun is waiting for us and we leave this mountain traveling back down the bumpy windy road, the same way we came up. Sam and Dona have a little nap in the front seat, it's lucky they didn't fall out.It's about 3pm so we stop for lunch, a plate of noodles at a cafe.
We have one more stop to make. It's an ancient temple called Beng Mealea. This temple was built by the same King that built Angkor Wat as a test to see if they had the structure and engineering right. It has a moat and elaborate carvings. The tree roots and jungle has largely taken over and the structure in some places has crumbled and added to that this location was bombed during the war and the main tower was destroyed.
It's much quieter here than the other temples we visited with our group tour. It may be because it's later in the day but it certainly makes exploring much more enjoyable and peaceful.
The drive home is dusty but the scenery is amazing. The green rice fields, the Palm trees and seeing the farmers still working or kids swimming in the waterholes. Girls pumping water from the wells to wash their hair. It's so simple but so real, this is how it is for the majority in Cambodia. There is a group of women fishing in the rice field on the side of the road so we stop and check out their catch. A number of very small fish in a cane basket ready to take home to cook. They are happy and laughing.
We arrive back at Shinta Mani at 6.30pm. We are hot and covered in red dust. It's been an awesome day that started with polite handshakes in the morning and ended in hugs all round.
Time for a quick rinse and then dive in the pool. It's a dark clear night and it's quite pleasant in the warm pool.
The three of us talk about the day and the Cambodian people. They are poor and largely uneducated but for the most part they don't seem unhappy. More and more of the children are getting the chance for an education and hopefully they will put back into their communities.
A great day that ends with dinner for 3 at Khmer Kitchen followed by cocktails and beers at another bar.We were joined by Laura from the Netherlands ( living in Siem Reap) and Cassie, Loz's younger sister and co-owner of Sister Srey. Cassie just returned today from a trip to Great Britain, Poland and Germany. She was very happy to be 'home'.
After a few drinks there we moved on to the Gelato bar where they were celebrating their grand opening with free Gelato and cocktails.
Apparently the espresso Martini's were such a hit that they kept running out of vodka. Not much on offer by the time we got there and there was a lot of very untidy people. We left the young ones to it and got a tuk tuk home.
We head out of Siem Reap through small villages. We see the Khmer school that Bun has built with the assistance of donations from Sam and his Christmas giving by some of us. Many of the children in these small villages don't go to school because they are too poor, they are unable to get to there or the parents are not wanting them to go. Bun employs a teacher and currently there are 19 kids that go to the school in the morning or afternoon. We drive past some of the children that go to the school and see where they live and how they live. Not far from here we stop at the Poukroum Pagoda where we sit before a monk for a water blessing. The monk chants for 5 - 10 minutes while flicking water at us and on us. This is a very subdued blessing as sometimes it involves buckets of water being poured over you while the monk is chanting. Bun says it's difficult to translate what he is saying into English but basically it's along the teachings of Buddha that if you do good you will receive good in return.
Bun himself spent 13 years in the Pagoda. It was the only way he could see to escape the poverty. By going to the temple he was able to get an education, he was fed and had a safe place to sleep. This enabled him to go on to university and create a better life for himself and his son. From what I understand he sends money to his parents to help them especially at the moment as their rice crop has failed twice in recent times.
Driving in the jeep is so much fun , with no windows or doors we are so close to everything. Dona fancies himself as a singer so Sam gets the iPod going and he sings a long to 'the Lazy Song' with all the moves he picks up from the music clip on TV. He is such a gorgeous kid.
Along the way we are on some pretty ordinary roads and it's hot and dusty. We stop to get some cold drinks and see the roadside shop where the locals collect the juice from the palm trees and boil it over a wood fire to make candies and sugar right there on the side of the road. We keep going to get to our next destination which is Phnom Kulen, the former capital of Kampuchea before Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom existed. Phnom means mountain and the road going up the mountain closes to entering traffic at 12noon so we need to be there before that which we easily make. The drive up is interesting. The dirt road is plagued with potholes which Bun does his best to avoid but it's impossible to miss them all. Part of these mountains is where the Rock was cut to build Angkor Wat and some of the huge exposed areas are plainly visible centuries later.
There are 6 villages on the mountain and the road is dotted with small children that run alongside the vehicle to say hello. Some of the bigger boys are there with shovels doing their best to try and fill the potholes. It's a futile exercise.
On the side of the road are stalls selling bananas, pink ones. I've never seen pink bananas so we pull over and buy a bunch. They are not much bigger than a mans thumb but are sweet. Our bunch has about 10 bananas and we pay $1.
Finally we stop and park. The rest of the way is by foot to see the giant reclining Buddha carved out of stone at the top of the mountain. This is a very popular place for worship and every crevice and cave in the rocks has some sort of offering or shrine in it. Many people come here to pray and meditate. There is a large flat rock platform where the king in ancient times would come to meditate and pray.
Dona is a great tour guide telling us which way we should go and letting us know if it's ok to take photos etc.
Once we are back at the jeep we head towards the river. Phnom Kulen is the source of the Siem Reap River which eventually feeds into the Tonle Sap Lake and river and ultimately the Mekong. The water up here comes from springs filtered through the rock. There are a series of stone carvings in sandstone formations carved in the river bed. Known as the Valley of a Thousand Lingas, the carvings are mainly myriads of lingams (phallic symbol of Hindu God Shiva).
The river falls over the rocks into a waterfall and there are many people swimming. We walk down a number of steps to the bottom of another waterfall where there are more people but also deeper pools. It's quite a set up where you can pay $1 to use a tyre tube, $1 to hire a life vest, $1 to use a lockable esky to store your valuables. Bun has decided not to swim but Dona is coming down with us. All is good until we get to the water and then he gets scared and won't go in. Sam gets him a life jacket and he jumps in. By Cambodian standards this water is freezing. For us it's so refreshing. The little fish start to nibble straight away and it's a little freaky for a minute but then it becomes normal. Dona is such a skinny little boy and he is clearly freezing so we don't stay long in the water. We wrap him up in a warm towel and he gets dressed and we head back up the steps. Bun is waiting for us and we leave this mountain traveling back down the bumpy windy road, the same way we came up. Sam and Dona have a little nap in the front seat, it's lucky they didn't fall out.It's about 3pm so we stop for lunch, a plate of noodles at a cafe.
We have one more stop to make. It's an ancient temple called Beng Mealea. This temple was built by the same King that built Angkor Wat as a test to see if they had the structure and engineering right. It has a moat and elaborate carvings. The tree roots and jungle has largely taken over and the structure in some places has crumbled and added to that this location was bombed during the war and the main tower was destroyed.
It's much quieter here than the other temples we visited with our group tour. It may be because it's later in the day but it certainly makes exploring much more enjoyable and peaceful.
The drive home is dusty but the scenery is amazing. The green rice fields, the Palm trees and seeing the farmers still working or kids swimming in the waterholes. Girls pumping water from the wells to wash their hair. It's so simple but so real, this is how it is for the majority in Cambodia. There is a group of women fishing in the rice field on the side of the road so we stop and check out their catch. A number of very small fish in a cane basket ready to take home to cook. They are happy and laughing.
We arrive back at Shinta Mani at 6.30pm. We are hot and covered in red dust. It's been an awesome day that started with polite handshakes in the morning and ended in hugs all round.
Time for a quick rinse and then dive in the pool. It's a dark clear night and it's quite pleasant in the warm pool.
The three of us talk about the day and the Cambodian people. They are poor and largely uneducated but for the most part they don't seem unhappy. More and more of the children are getting the chance for an education and hopefully they will put back into their communities.
A great day that ends with dinner for 3 at Khmer Kitchen followed by cocktails and beers at another bar.We were joined by Laura from the Netherlands ( living in Siem Reap) and Cassie, Loz's younger sister and co-owner of Sister Srey. Cassie just returned today from a trip to Great Britain, Poland and Germany. She was very happy to be 'home'.
After a few drinks there we moved on to the Gelato bar where they were celebrating their grand opening with free Gelato and cocktails.
Apparently the espresso Martini's were such a hit that they kept running out of vodka. Not much on offer by the time we got there and there was a lot of very untidy people. We left the young ones to it and got a tuk tuk home.
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