Marleen und Fabio auf großer Reise

Montag, 9. Juni 2014

Cambodia Part 2 - Siem Reap - Ankor Wat - #New Friends #Hashtag (Insider) :D - english version

After three days in Phnom Penh we went by bus to Siem Reap. The next highlight was standing before us, the largest temple complex in the world - Angkor Wat (day ticket 20 USD and three day ticket 40 USD!

Angkor Wat

The heat became more and more unbearable and we were told we should book a hotel which has a pool! So we did and we could spend our free time in this beautiful NOT cool pool! We would say that this pool is probably the warmest pool, maybe not of the whole world, but perhaps in Asia – the water temperature felt like 30 degrees! :D

We spent our second day at the “refreshing” pool and after a while we started talking to Marayna and Blaine. They are from Canada, cousins and both 24 years old. We quickly became friends and we went out for dinner to an Indian restaurant in the evening. They decided to book the same tour like us for the next day to Angkor Wat. A minivan with Air Con and an English speaking tour guide.

Marayna, Blaine, Marleen and Fabio

Marayna and Blaine

We would recommend Air Con in any way (Bus with A / C, room with A / C), when it gets closer to the rainy season, otherwise you will sweat so bad the whole time, even during the night!

The tour was planned for the whole day, but we went back to the hotel around 3pm, it was just too hot! And we had already seen the two most famous temples: Angkor Wat and Taprohm (known from Tomb Raider). But the other temples were worth seeing as well, such as the Terrace of the Elephants and Bayon and all other temples! ;) Sorry, but unfortunately we couldn´t remember all the names, even though it was only the small tour :)

our group

Pictures from the small tour around Angkor Wat:

Angkor Wat and surrounding

Angkor Wat

Taprohm - famous from movie Tomb Raider

Taprohm - the famous tree from the movie Tomb Raider

Taprohm

Terrace of the elephants

The terrace of the Elephants

Bayon - famous for his giant faces

Bayon

Our tourguide showed Fabio some moves

In the evening Marayna, Blaine, Fabio and Marleen had a few beers, wine and played cards “Up and down” – such a funny night! :)

Shirt for 2 USD

The next day we spent together at the pool. In the evening we went out for dinner to the Indian Restaurant again. After dinner we went to the night market, which is the best place for a bargain – two dollars for a T-Shirt or five for a “silver” necklace :)

Actually Marayna and Blaine wanted to leave Siem Reap earlier, but we became such a funny group, so they and we changed plans. We cancelled Battambang and they have postponed their journey by one day. So we could spend more time together. :)

The next time we hired a tuk tuk with a driver for Angkor Wat for the grand tour. We started right after breakfast at 7.30 am. We were back at the hotel for lunch time. So we didn’t spend time at the temples during the hottest time of the day and could lay down by the pool! :)

Here are some pictures of the big tour in Angkor Wat:

fun at the temples

East Mebon

Sras Srang

Pre Rup

Neak Pean

We don´t know anymore :D

After five days in Siep Reap we continued our journey. But, now, we were travelling with Marayna and Blaine - let´s have fun! :)

Let´s go to Lao!!! :)

Kambodscha Part 2 - Siem Reap: Angkor Wat #Neue Freunde #Hashtag (Insider) :D

Nach drei Tagen in Phnom Penh ging es weiter mit dem Bus nach Siem Reap. Das nächste Highlight stand uns bevor, die größte Tempelanlage der Welt – Angkor Wat (Tagesticket 20 USD und drei Tagesticket 40 USD!!!

Angkor Wat

Die Hitze wurde immer unerträglicher und wir haben uns sagen lassen, das es clever wäre, sich ein Hotel mit Pool zu nehmen, das wir dann auch getan haben. So konnten wir unsere freie Zeit schön im NICHT kühlen Pool verbringen! Wir würden sagen, dass dieser Pool wohl der wärmsten Pool, vielleicht nicht der Welt, aber vielleicht Asiens ist – gefühlte 30 Grad hatte das Wasser! :D

Als wir unseren zweiten Tag am erfrischend Pool verbracht haben, kamen wir ins Gespräch mit Marayna und Blaine aus Kanada – Cousin und Cousine, beide 24 Jahre alt. Schnell haben wir uns angefreundet und sind abends zusammen indisch essen gegangen. Die beiden haben dann sogar die gleiche Tour für Angkor Wat gebucht: A/C (Air Con) Mini Van mit englisch sprachigen Tourguide.

Marayna, Blaine, Marleen und Fabio

Marayna und Blaine

Schwitzerücken

Unser Tipp: Air Con ist in jeglicher Art zu empfehlen (Bus mit A/C, Raum mit A/C), wenn es auf die Regenzeit zugeht, ansonsten werdet ihr da hinschmelzen! ;)

Die Tour war für den ganzen Tag angelegt, aber die Gruppe hatte diese gegen 15 Uhr abgebrochen, es war einfach zu heiß!! Und die beiden berühmtesten Tempel hatten wir bereits gesehen: Angkor Wat und Taprohm (bekannt von Tomb Raider). Aber auch die anderen Tempel waren sehenswert, wie die Terrace of the Elephants oder Bayon und alle anderen an diesem Tag! ;) Sorry, aber leider konnten wir uns nicht alle Namen merken, nur soviel, es war die Small Tour Circuit! :)

unsere Gruppe

Hier ein paar Bilder zur kleinen Tour:

Angkor Wat und drum herum

Angkor Wat

Taprohm Temple - Berühmt aus "Tomb Raider"

Taprohm - der berühmte Baum aus Tomb Raider

Taprohm

Taprohm - Tomb Raider Kulisse

The terrace of the Elephant

Bayon - bekannt für seine großen Gesichter

Bayon

Unser Tourguide hat Fabio ein paar Griffe und Schläge gezeigt! :)

Gemeinsam haben Marayna, Blaine, Fabio und Marleen den Abend mit Bier, Wein und „Rauf Runter“ ausklingen lassen – das war ein lustiger Abend. :)

Shirt für 1,50€

Den nächsten Tag haben wir gemeinsam am Pool verbracht. Abends sind wir in die Stadt, haben indisch gegessen und sind zum Night Market – bester Markt zum falschen! :) 1,50 Euro für ein Shirt oder 3,50 Euro für eine "Silberkette" ;)

Eigentlich hatten Marayna und Blaine geplant, bereits einen Tag vorher abzureisen, aber da wir so eine lustige Runde waren, haben sie und auch wir unsere Pläne geändert. Wir haben Battambang gecanelt und sie haben ihre weitere Reise auf einen Tag später verschoben.

Somit konnten wir noch mal alle zusammen mit dem Tuk Tuk nach Angkor Wat für die Grand Tour. Morgens um 7:30 h ging es nach dem Frühstück direkt los. Zur Mittagszeit und somit heißesten Zeit waren wir zurück im Hotel und lagen am Pool! :)

Hier ein paar Bildern von der großen Tour in Angkor Wat

Unser Tuk Tuk

Spaß bei den Tempeln :)

East Mebon

Sras Srang

Pre Rup

Neak Pean

Keine Ahnung! :D

Nach fünf Tagen in Siep Reap ging unsere Reise weiter. Nun nicht mehr zu zweit, sondern zu viert mit Marayna und Blaine – let´s have fun!! :)

Auf geht´s Richtung Laos!!

Samstag, 7. Juni 2014

Cambodia Part 1 - Phnom Penh: Kiling Fields - S-21 - english version

From Indonesia we went by plane, with a stopover in Singapore, to Cambodia, our next country on the list! :)

Arrived at the airport, we took a taxi to the hotel. We already knew what was gonna happen, of course the taxi driver had "no change", so we had to pay 14 instead of 13 USD! Yes, you read that right, we paid with U.S. dollars. Around Cambodia everything is paid in Dollars. Everything less than one dollar is paid in Riel – confusing enough? But it is 4000 Riel to the Dollar, which means 10 cents is 400 Riel, so you really had to watch your change.

Two things why you should come to Phnom Penh are the S-21 Museum and the Killing Fields. They are both about the mass murder in the 70's in Cambodia. Pol Pot had killed three million people within four years. All academics, educated people, even someone who wore glasses - just everybody who was in Pol Pot´s way.

S-21

rules in the prion

First we went to the S-21 museum. There we took a guide. She told us about how the Khmer Rouge had made a prison out of the former high school. There they brought all the victims and tortured them until they told names of their family or other educated people, who might have been a threat to the new system. When the time of the victim was over and they survived it, they were afterwards brought to one of the over 300 Killing Fields. Our guide even has lost a great part of her family. She was 13 years old and can still remember everything exactly.

the prison

Killing Fields
With a tuk tuk we went the next day to one of the largest killing fields. We had already heard from many travellers that it will get under your skin, so we were excited to see what we could expect there. We got a German-language audio guide and everything was explained very well. It also comprised stories of some survivors. When we were there we had the feeling of seeing a beautiful green lawn. All around were wooden huts surrounded by fence. It all looked very peaceful, but that was different in the 70's. On the largest green field, a mass grave was found where about 450 people were killed. Or the baby tree, which is named so because the babies were beaten against that tree and afterwards thrown on the top of the other dead bodies. If you looked closely, where you walked, you could see bones and clothes - terrible! You can still find bones, skulls, teeth, and clothing emerging from the ground after heavy rain falls. This day was very depressing for us, but we are glad to have done this tour. The terrifying end of the tour was that our audio guide said that something like that could happen again, we hope it doesn´t!

The Killing Fields

Monument

bone on the pathway

In the evening we went to the cinema and watched the movie “The Killing Fields”. The film is based on a true story and shows well what happened during this time. The cinema was actually very comfortable. There were large pillows on the floor and you could order food and eat it in front of the screen! :)

More attractions in Phnom Penh:

The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace

Wat Phnom

The Independence Monument.

The Indepence Monument

Actually, the wet season should already have started. But, fortunately there was no rain yet. The only thing that gives an idea of it, was the heat (felt about 40 degrees) and the high humidity!