Geoff Jones

Lazy day in Siem Reap

Posted on March 1, 2014March 1, 2014
6 Comments on Lazy day in Siem Reap

I downgraded to a Tuk Tuk today to check out the local gruesome killing fields memorial here in Siem Reap at the Wat Thmcy temple. Totally stunning to think that the capital city was emptied of people and that around 2 million folks were murdered or 25% of the population. Even worse for me was the poor two year old kid laid out at the entrance with an adult who had the most monstrous sized head ever & tiny body apparently it’s hydrocephalus 🙁

We then went into town to look around, so I can say been there done that, if beer swilling & tourist junk is your thing then it’s great. I had a manicure but wasn’t in the same league as the one I had in Hanoi. I retreated back to the comforts of my 5* hotel, it’s gorgeous pool, friendly staff & excellent internet!

Getting out of the Tuk Tuk I must have dropped my wallet which I didn’t notice for several hours 🙁 However, one of the staff had spotted it and handed it to reception – phew, 🙂

I decided to try a Swedish massage at the hotel but I know something it didn’t even come in the same league as one of Sally’s. I think the girl was a beginner 🙁

Tomorrow I move on towards Bangkok which is 400km away, there are some places to stay in Saophoan at 100km so I should be OK, although it’s the busy 6 road. I found an opticians in Bangkok to replace my spectacles so it gives me somewhere to aim for in that vast city.

Today’s gruesome photos are here.

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Posted on March 1, 2014January 22, 2015

I seem to be getting more popular! but just look at the folks who are searching for Scarpa boots wearing out and the Silva pedometer are they connected 🙂

Seeing the sights around Sien Reap

Reflections at Angkor Wat

Today was a day of luxury for me, no push bike but a hotel car with driver & an English speaking guide all to myself for the day. First we joined the thronging masses, more like Disneyland than an historic site, around the inner set of temples at Angkor Thon, climbing to the heady heights of Baphuon (whilst the guide rested at it’s base) then on to to the temple apparently made famous in the film Tomb Raider, Ta Prohm. We stopped for lunch at the very expensive and not very impressive Triple K restaurant ($4 for a coconut!). then after lunch it was a walk around the legendary Anghor Wat. Since it was still early I cajoled the pair into taking me down to Lake Sap to see the Vietnamese floating village with its tank of crocodiles & other emporia. On the way the guide wanted to show me his favourite silk shop, but silk at $45 a metre I quickly walked out.

On our return we got talking about massages & that everywhere so far the word massage equalled sex 🙁 He explained that wasn’t the case with a traditional Khmer massage so I ended up having a two hour prodding, pounding twisting, stretching session for $25 at Siem Reap Khmer Massage, more like a Daphne Pilate’s workout than one of Sally’s relaxing ones. Will be interesting to see if my heel is any different tomorrow, she certainly found the pain point in it!

A pretty full on day, a lot more expensive than my regular days. I’m not sure if the extra cost gains a lot more value & in fact I enjoyed my solo trip to Koh Ker just as much. What would be good is a trip with someone with a lot more knowledge especially why did they move from Hinduism to Buddhism. Speaking to the managers tonight & reading Wikipedia I managed to learn a bit more.

a couple of hundred photos are here 🙂 as an experiment I’ve added them to Flickr here using the F-Stop uploader. Terribly slow as I guess it’s uploading the full file size images 🙁

Koh Ker to Siem Reap on Geoff’s bike tour of SE Asia

Posted on February 27, 2014

Once again it was going to be an early start & once again thwarted by the guest house owner! I ended up leaving at 6.19 sans breakfast except for two black bananas & water. It’s a real pleasure out at that time the air temperature is in the 20’s with a steady drum beat from some distant tannoy. All the kit was fully charged as the genny stayed on all night.

I eventually found some breakfast, although it entailed me going to the kitchen area & going through the motion with his wife, it turned out OK coupled with a few drink stops made it a good morning (although the Strava reveals it was mainly downhill). There were more plantations today and lots of people on their little pull along tractors, which look excruciatingly uncomfortable.

I took the back road shortcut to miss a chunk of Higway 6 and was rewarded with delightful villages surrounded by coconut trees. I stumbled upon a local Buddhist party whilst taking my pics a young girl came out and insisted I sat down then proceeded to bring enough food over to feed an army 🙁 I didn’t stay long as it was very hot & noisy in the marquee affair .

After a few more stops and drinks, I love rummaging around in their orange cold boxes, no electric around so they buy ice from a guy on his truck who cuts lumps of with a circular saw run from the vehicle genny.

I arrived in Siem Reap determined to find a good place to stay. I found the really grand Angkor Era five star hotel & went in to see what sort of deal I could wrangle 🙂 The girlies & their line manager couldn’t help with a deal so I went back outside & looked it up on booking.com who came back with a price that equalled 3 nights for the price of two 🙂 much to the previously mentioned folks surprise! So for less than most of the b&b’s on the SW Coast Path I’m in the lap of luxury for 3 nights. Plus internet up & down speed of greater than 10Mbps.

Tomorrow I splurged on a car/driver & English guide to show me around Angkor Wat etcc so the bike & its rider are having a 2 day rest before moving on to Thailand.

The Strava for todays is here:

and pics here