Anna The end of our trip was near but we did go out with a bang! Our last week was one of the most tumultuous of all. Let’s start at the beginning! We were still having the time of our lives in Koh Rong Samloem but we were headed to Battambang soon. Due to the fact that we were staying on the quiet part of the island, we had to travel quite a bit to get to the mainland. It all started the evening before when we went to bed. It was raining cats and dogs and we even witnessed a thunderstorm. So we were kinda stressed about the big day we had ahead of us.
We got up at 5 am in the morning as we had to leave our little hut at 5:30. We had quite the hike ahead of us. We had to hike all the way from our side of the island to the other side, which was not an easy path to take. Especially when you are carrying all your stuff on your back. What made it even more challenging was that it was pitch dark so we couldn’t see a thing. My boyfriend had to use his flashlight so that we could see the path in front of us. Everything was all wet and slippery due to the storm. The hike took about an hour and it was a horrendous hike. So when we finally got to the beach, I took of my jacket and backpack and I had to lie down for a bit. We were continuing our trip by speedboat. It took about 45 minutes by speedboat to get to shore. So around 8 am we reached the mainland. Then it took us about 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop where we would take a Giant Ibis bus to Phnom Penh. This bus ride lasted for approximately 6 hours. When we arrived in Phnom Penh, we had already arranged for a taxi to pick us up. He was already waiting for us, so that was great as we were super tired already. The final obstacle between us and our beds was a taxi ride of 7 hours. We stopped along the way to grab some dinner with our taxi driver, he was a really nice dude! We finally arrived at our hotel in Battambang around 11 pm. What a day! We slept like babies.
We actually didn’t find Battambang to be that exciting. There wasn’t that much to do. We went on a private guided tour to see all the hightlights. We went on the bamboo train, which was a awful tourist scam. Would not recommend it at all. The ride on the bamboo train is quite fun but afterwards they supposedly have to change something? I don’t even remember what it was and they drop you off in this tiny little village it seems. Where they just keep asking you to buy stuff and get offended when you don’t want to buy anything. What I did like was the bat cave. In the afternoon all the bats fly out of the cave to find themselves some dinner. It was quite fascinating to see millions of bats flying out of this cave.
After our stay in Battambang my boyfriend arranged a boat tour to Siem Reap, which is another thing I do not recommend at all! Please stay clear of this boat trip. The boat trip took up the whole day and all you see is poverty. It’s not some sort of idyllic boat tour, not at all. You sit on a boat with other western tourists and you look at poverty. We kinda felt ashamed to be on this boat. It was a really weird experience. After the boat tour, you arrive in some remote part far away from the city. So you have to take a tuktuk to get to your hotel. Another perfect tourist scam as they charge you a lot of money because they know you have to pay it anyway.
Our tuktuk driver was the worst. He started out nice and friendly but his mood totally changed when we didn’t want to book him for a guided tour around Angkor Wat. We already booked a nice guide through Facebook who had a lot of great reviews. So we tried to explain that to him but he got annoyed with us. He was constantly looking back at us and trying to convince us to let him guide us instead. I really didn’t like the fact that he didn’t look at the road anymore.. I thought we would end up in a ditch or something. He kept pressing us that if we didn’t let him guide us, that he would not get paid for this tuktuk ride. Mind you, we paid like 10 dollars for this ride to his so-called boss. We kept telling him that we did not want to book him. He then decided that it would be a good idea to take us to his home, to show us his naked children who were being bathed. His excuse was that he wanted to get an umbrella as it was going to rain. The sky had never been bluer. So he introduced us to his family and told us that they would not be able to eat if we did not book him. The guy got scarier by the minute. We just wanted to go to our fucking hotel. When we finally arrived at our hotel, we got our bags and left. He said something in Cambodian, probably cursing us or something like that. But we were just so relieved to be rid of him.
However, the nightmare didn’t end there. When we arrived at our hotel we discovered that it didn’t quite look the same as in the pictures. We booked a nice room but there weren’t any available which was weird? So we got this weird little annex room next to the janitor’s closet. So we were already pretty annoyed. They promised us a better room for tomorrow. The next morning we had the most horrendous breakfast we had ever had. It was disgusting and we even got cold fries to go with our breakfast. We decided that we did not want to stay at this hotel. So we complained at the desk but they didn’t want to help us nor did they take our complaints seriously. That’s why we decided to cancel the rest of the booking and contact booking.com. So booking.com made sure that we didn’t have to pay for the rest of the booking and we chose another hotel. The other hotel was just lovely! Gorgeous room and a nice pool. They were even so friendly to make us a breakfast picknick when we were visiting the temples of Angkor Wat with a sunrise tour.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. The rest of our stay in Siem Reap was wonderful. We visited the temples with a sunrise tour and a normal tour. Twice with the same guide as we liked him so much after the first day. We asked him if he were free the next day for another tour. Fortunately for us, he was! Such a nice man, had a lot of knowledge about the temples, took some cute photos of us and handed you cold towels and water during the day. I even got in a fight with two Chinese girls who were trying to pose with me for a picture but they were so rude about it. I was just sitting by myself looking at some photos that I took when a girl sits close to me, which I already thought was weird. She came closer and closer until she was touching me. At first I thought she was trying to rob me but then I realized that she was smiling at her friend and making a peace sign. The friend in question was taking photos. Oh boy, I got so angry! I jumped up, shoved her and started yelling at her. Then I walked off, apparently with my arms above my head. My boyfriend saw this little spectacle from a distance and immediately came to ask me if I was alright. I really don’t mind going on photos with people, we have done that before. I get it, I’m blonde. But this time it felt like I was some sort of monkey in the zoo. They didn’t even ask me for my permission.
The rest of the tour was amazing and seeing the sunrise behind Angkor Wat was such a special moment, which we shared with roughly a few thousand other tourists… But still, amazing. The rest of our time was mainly spent by the pool or wandering around the streets of Siem Reap, looking for restaurants for dinner. You do need to look out for pickpockets in Siem Reap! A lot of children will try to pickpocket you by first scratching your leg, so you’ll be distracted and then steal your wallet. My boyfriend got scratched but fortunately, he didn’t carry his wallet in his back pocket.
After some amazing last days in Siem Reap our adventure came to an end. We had to fly back to the Netherlands.. Many tears were shed as we were not ready to go home yet. We had an amazing time together and our wish is to travel for another 3 months in 2023 when my boyfriend finishes his PhD! In the meantime, we’ll just plan other awesome trips.
