RovingMind: Coming Into The Kingdom (#5 in series)

The "ghost crossing," the Lao/Cambodian border. Where are all the people?

Our driver had warned us -- the road down into Cambodia was "much rough." As most of us in the van had just been through Lao, with its awful roads, this didn't arouse much concern at first.

Then we got to the international border. Guards and customs officers were lounging in white tees, playing cards or computer games in the heat, their uniform shirts hanging up nearby. We disembarked the vehicle, about ten of us, and looked around in wonderment.

Usually border crossings are beehives of activity. Vehicles are backed up in both directions at the gates; buses and taxis lined up nearby, drivers trying to entice you into a fare. Vendors hawk everything from carvings of the Buddha to rice wine. Yet this one was practically deserted.

Soon enough, we found out why...

The "road" down into Cambodia.

$35 U.S. for this, my tourist visa.

Minutes after clearing customs and procuring our visas, we were sliding open the side door of the van and a few of us ejecting to push us out of a mudhole! And they kept coming, these mudholes, every so often for hours. Meanwhile the air conditioning went out; some people got sick and had to bolt the vehicle and throw up (I wasn't one of them this time).

Well, you get the picture. Kind of a rough ride. Eventually we made the city of Stung Treng and a little terminal run by the transport company offering food and drink. The city lies along the banks of the Mekong and, as much as the mound of rice topped with pork and egg, seeing the Mother of Waters again bucked me up.

As dusk fell, it was on to the city of Siem Reap and one of the great archaeological wonders of the world -- the temples of Angkor Wat. Fortunately for all concerned, a new road there had just opened, so this leg was relatively smooth. We were able to doze as we sped on into the night.

The main temple of Angkor Wat, with the famous five spires.

A Hindu shrine within.

Climbing up into a spire.

The largest religious monument in the world, Angkor Wat is a complex of temples and temple compounds extending for miles. It's often mentioned in the same breath with the pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the Mayan cities in Central America. Called a masterpiece of composition and balance, it's the equivalent of a good-sized city. In fact, the name means great templed city.

It's so overwhelming that I decided to spring for a day tour with a group and guide, rather than undertake it on my own. Sometimes this is the best course, I have found.

While as many as a million people lived there, a lot of it is now overgrown with vines and tree roots, populated by monkeys and squawking birds. At some structures the building blocks have toppled into piles or are teetering with only vegetation holding them up (seemingly). I hesitated at entering because of this, but eventually did.

Our guide -- explaining some carvings.

A courtyard in Ta Prohm, the jungle temple.

The five spires of the main temple have become a symbol of Cambodia; appearing on its national flag, the national beer, the national currency, etc. All in all, it's the country's prime attraction for visitors.

As impressive as that may be, herein lies the problem -- the visitors themselves, lots and lots of visitors. In fact, the city of Siem Reap, which lies about four miles away and exists as a base of support for the site, may be the biggest tourist trap I've ever seen.

I must admit though, as touristy as it was, I liked Siem Reap. Despite all the hawkers selling tee-shirts and statues, the Seven-Elevens, which are on almost every block, the restaurants with WILKOMMEN, SAUERBRATEN glowing in orange, the place exuded character, I thought, and a touch of the exotic.

Your correspondent, at the jungle temple.

Fellow coconut lover.

Barbecued pork on rice ($2 U.S.), in Siem Reap.

For Americans, a big plus is that Cambodia uses U.S. dollars. The national currency is something called the Riel, but in my two weeks there I barely used it. Almost all prices are in U.S. dollars, most Cambodians prefer dollars, and some ATMs dispense solely dollars (although most offer both currencies).

This was nice as I didn't have to expend brainpower figuring exchange rates every time I went for a mango/banana smoothie (3,000 R or 75 cents). Nor did I have to keep track of two currencies.

I must admit, by this time in the campaign my brain was getting a little frazzled. There's so much stimulation on these trips, so much banging around on buses, boats, etc., so many people trying to scam you that it grinds you down after a while, or at least it does me. Especially after you've been road-sick a few times.

For this reason, I decided to cut short my time in Cambodia. I'd do one more town in-country, explore more area. Instead of a rollicking party zone beset by the international jet set, I'd do a working-class burg and see how the home folk lived.

It should, I concluded, be quite a contrast.