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TONY T's 4th THAILAND TRAVELS
CAMBODIA
Page 12
Saturday 8th:
Last full day in Phanom Dong Rak (PDR).
We wanted to make something of the day so we opted for a trip into Cambodia. There's a border crossing not that far from PDR and I thought it'd mkae a change to go there legally for a change. I have crossed the border on foot once or twice purely by wandering in the hills and jungle tracks not that far from our house in PDR.
So, got sorted; taking Jack with us, and with Aom driving this time we set off for the border crossing at Chongchom.
We arrived looking for somewhere to leave the car and get stuck into the rigmarole of buying visas.
We were assisted here by a guy who came across as a bit of a 'fixer', and he was actually a big help by filling in the necessary text and immigration stuff. He also helped us get a day-taxi; these are essentially a car and driver for the whole day and who will take you, within reason, anywhere you wish to go.
OK, now armed with a new multi-coloured "Kingdom of Cambodia" visa we were whisked away from the border and along the pretty crap roads.
For what seemed an endless drive along the road through featureless countryside (they drive on the right here), stopping only when Jack decided to puke. After an hour and a half we arrived the site of an ancient commune called Banteay Chhmar.
Banteay Chhmar is a commune dating from 12th century in Thma Puok District in Banteay Meanchey province in northwest Cambodia. The commune of Banteay Chhmar contains 14 villages.
Because of its remote location and its proximity to the Thai border, the complex has been subjected to severe looting, especially in the 1990s. In 1998, 2000 and 2002 the temple was listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the top one hundred most endangered sites in the world.
For example, in 1998 a group of soldiers stole a 30-metre section of the southern wall. The bas-reliefs of Banteay Chhmar once displayed eight exceptional Avalokiteśvaras in the west gallery, but now only two remain.
In January 1999 looters dismantled sections of the western gallery wall containing these bas-reliefs. They were intercepted by Thai police and 117 sandstone pieces of the wall were recovered. They are now on display in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.
Above is the Chong-Chom border between Thailand & Cambodia.
Various photos of the Banteay Chhmar site.
Saturday 8th (cont'd)
I have to say my first impressions of Cambodia were not encouraging. It came over as a much scruffier version of Thailand; there was rubbish and litter just about everywhere. In fact the main road leading up to and from the border was strewn with heaps of rubbish and litter.
Houses were a strange mix of new and tidy looking to small ramshackle huts on stilts. The people too seemed unsmiling and dour; unlike their neighbours in Thailand.
But, I've only seen a tiny fraction of the country so I guess I shouldn't judge too harshly; as said it was first impressions.
It was incredibly hot walking around the ruins and it was good to get back into the air-conditioned car. We now had a decision to make, carry on to the next place the driver had in mind or bin it and head back.
A chat to the driver revealed the next place was over an hours drive away; that's 2 hours there and back to where we were; add another near 2 hours to get back to the border which meant we'd get back around sunset.
The next 'point-of-interest' was apparently a shopping mall in a town and this did not appeal. So, in spite of the fact we'd hired the driver for the day, we decided to bin our Cambodian visit and head back.
Exiting Cambodia and re-entering Thailand was a bit of a hassle, but we were soon back in our car and on the road.
Decided to head for Prasat and have a beer and some food there, getting home just at sunset (some photos of a typical street scene in Prasat on previous page).
TOP: Cambodian town street scenes. The chugging small tractors are rife.
CENTRE LEFT: Typical house. The white stuff in the foreground is chopped-up casava laid out to dry in the sun.
CENTRE RIGHT & BOTTOM: More typical housing along the roadside.
BELOW: Back into Thailand.
Sunday 9th:
Time to go.
Our "pet" driver, Thawon arrived having driven overnight from Bangkok. Luckily, we hadn't planned to leave for Bangkok until 11 or 12, this gave him time to catch some sleep before taking us back to BKK.
In the end we left around 12:30 and got to Bangkok around 19:00. Traffic quite heavy because it was near Songkran (the Thai New Year's festival) which starts on 13th April. Also some heavy rain slowed us for a time.
Aom's mother, Somjit and her younger brother, Joe came with us; both useful for baby-minding Jack.
A few drinks and a good meal set us up after the 6-hour journey.
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CAMBODIA
Page 12
Saturday 8th:
Because of its remote location and its proximity to the Thai border, the complex has been subjected to severe looting, especially in the 1990s. In 1998, 2000 and 2002 the temple was listed by the World Monuments Fund as one of the top one hundred most endangered sites in the world.
Various photos of the Banteay Chhmar site.
Saturday 8th (cont'd)
TOP: Cambodian town street scenes. The chugging small tractors are rife. CENTRE LEFT: Typical house. The white stuff in the foreground is chopped-up casava laid out to dry in the sun. CENTRE RIGHT & BOTTOM: More typical housing along the roadside. BELOW: Back into Thailand.
Sunday 9th:
Last full day in Phanom Dong Rak (PDR).
We wanted to make something of the day so we opted for a trip into Cambodia. There's a border crossing not that far from PDR and I thought it'd mkae a change to go there legally for a change. I have crossed the border on foot once or twice purely by wandering in the hills and jungle tracks not that far from our house in PDR.
So, got sorted; taking Jack with us, and with Aom driving this time we set off for the border crossing at Chongchom.
We arrived looking for somewhere to leave the car and get stuck into the rigmarole of buying visas.
We were assisted here by a guy who came across as a bit of a 'fixer', and he was actually a big help by filling in the necessary text and immigration stuff. He also helped us get a day-taxi; these are essentially a car and driver for the whole day and who will take you, within reason, anywhere you wish to go.
OK, now armed with a new multi-coloured "Kingdom of Cambodia" visa we were whisked away from the border and along the pretty crap roads.
For what seemed an endless drive along the road through featureless countryside (they drive on the right here), stopping only when Jack decided to puke. After an hour and a half we arrived the site of an ancient commune called Banteay Chhmar.
Banteay Chhmar is a commune dating from 12th century in Thma Puok District in Banteay Meanchey province in northwest Cambodia. The commune of Banteay Chhmar contains 14 villages.
For example, in 1998 a group of soldiers stole a 30-metre section of the southern wall. The bas-reliefs of Banteay Chhmar once displayed eight exceptional Avalokiteśvaras in the west gallery, but now only two remain.
In January 1999 looters dismantled sections of the western gallery wall containing these bas-reliefs. They were intercepted by Thai police and 117 sandstone pieces of the wall were recovered. They are now on display in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.
Above is the Chong-Chom border between Thailand & Cambodia.
I have to say my first impressions of Cambodia were not encouraging. It came over as a much scruffier version of Thailand; there was rubbish and litter just about everywhere. In fact the main road leading up to and from the border was strewn with heaps of rubbish and litter.
Houses were a strange mix of new and tidy looking to small ramshackle huts on stilts. The people too seemed unsmiling and dour; unlike their neighbours in Thailand.
But, I've only seen a tiny fraction of the country so I guess I shouldn't judge too harshly; as said it was first impressions.
It was incredibly hot walking around the ruins and it was good to get back into the air-conditioned car. We now had a decision to make, carry on to the next place the driver had in mind or bin it and head back.
A chat to the driver revealed the next place was over an hours drive away; that's 2 hours there and back to where we were; add another near 2 hours to get back to the border which meant we'd get back around sunset.
The next 'point-of-interest' was apparently a shopping mall in a town and this did not appeal. So, in spite of the fact we'd hired the driver for the day, we decided to bin our Cambodian visit and head back.
Exiting Cambodia and re-entering Thailand was a bit of a hassle, but we were soon back in our car and on the road.
Decided to head for Prasat and have a beer and some food there, getting home just at sunset (some photos of a typical street scene in Prasat on previous page).
Time to go.
Our "pet" driver, Thawon arrived having driven overnight from Bangkok. Luckily, we hadn't planned to leave for Bangkok until 11 or 12, this gave him time to catch some sleep before taking us back to BKK.
In the end we left around 12:30 and got to Bangkok around 19:00. Traffic quite heavy because it was near Songkran (the Thai New Year's festival) which starts on 13th April. Also some heavy rain slowed us for a time.
Aom's mother, Somjit and her younger brother, Joe came with us; both useful for baby-minding Jack.
A few drinks and a good meal set us up after the 6-hour journey.
Next or Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 - 13