Day 11: Biking the Temples
We were going to have 1 full day in Siem Reap to see quite a bit and I wasn't quite sure how easy it was going to be to navigate around the temple complex without a guide so I prearranged a tour. We opted for a bike tour, rather than bus or tuk tuk. We booked in advance on TripAdvisor for about $50 per person for the full day (including the bike, guide, drinks, snacks and lunch) but we definitely could have winged it the day of and found many tuk tuk drivers offering to take us around for the day. It was pretty hot and humid out and I had to bring pants to put on while inside all of the main temple areas - the joys of being a woman.
We got a tuk tuk to the tour start location and I quickly realized there were many nicer areas of Siem Reap than the neighborhood that we had chosen to stay in. I probably would have chosen another hotel had I realized this. It would have been nice to have sidewalks and cafes/restaurants in the area. But there are some bonuses, like we got our laundry done for the whole family for $3. Other locations may have realized you can charge more for the nearby tourists.
When we arrived at the tour company we realized that we were going to be getting a private tour. Sweet! It's good to have the flexibility to move along at our own pace, especially if bikes are involved. They had a kid size bike for the little one and she was excited to ride on her own. They were really nice mountain bikes and they had helmets - the kids might have been slightly disappointed to have to wear the helmets.
We had booked our Temple ticket the day before, based on specific instructions from the tour company, but had not received them in our email yet. We told the tour guide when we first got there so he took us to the official ticket gate by bike before we went to the temple complex. What we figured out when we got there is that the link that the tour agency had sent us was a scam site - almost the same URL but with a .org ending rather than a .gov for Cambodia ending. The site had, of course, charged our card but issued no tickets. Nothing we could really do in the moment, other than buy legit tickets and dispute the charge on our credit card later. I think it was a true mistake by the tour operator in sending that link and they seemed to feel pretty bad about it. I was pretty certain our credit card would take care of it so I wasn't going to worry about it, especially in the moment.
The ride was lovely, he took us on many back roads and jungle paths to get to the first temple. It was becoming pretty clear that my daughter was going to have a really hard time keeping up with a pace that would allow us to complete the tour in a reasonable time. The bike was smaller than the one she uses at home, else I think she would have had a fighting chance. The guide was very understanding and actually phoned in to get a trailer bike delivered to us along the route and attach to my husband's bike.
We saw the Angkor Wat temple first, the main one. There were definitely many other tourists around but not many on bikes. Our guide was able to give us some history lessons mixed in with some awesome photo opportunities. There was a 3rd level of the temples that our daughter was not allowed to climb so we took turns checking it out. It was amazing how steep that stair case was and I'm always impressed by the things that elderly men and women in other countries do. I'm pretty certain very few US elderly would climb the steep ladder like stairs.
The rides to the other temple were quite adventurous through the jungle. It was pretty legit mountain biking. Our teenage son thought it was absolutely fantastic, meanwhile the parents were just trying to keep up. Between going uphill and downhill over tree roots then the sand pits where our wheels would just slide out from under us, we were proud just to stay upright. We stopped at some stands along the road which is always an adventure in itself and feels very local. Especially fresh cut fruit. I know it's a no-no, but it's so good and provided by the tour so I cross my fingers that it's safe.
We had kids approach us to sell souvenirs. We bought a couple of little trinkets. Our kids were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of kids their age, and younger, selling things. Our guide explained how he sold things like that when he was a kid too. His mom was a single mom who had 7 kids and that was his way to help provide for the family. Another good humbling lesson for them.
The bathrooms were surprisingly ok along the route. They even had toilet paper. You weren't supposed to flush it, but that's a norm in this area of the world (and many areas). Our lunch stop was at a very interesting market that had a very local feel. Outdoor tables covered with tarps and lots of fans around. Another meal where we cross our fingers and hope it doesn't make us sick but will likely be delicious. It was delish and we seemed relatively fine afterwards too. Some of stomachs got a little rumble from time to time but nothing that a little Pepto didn't take care of. No vomiting or time in bed to recover from food poisoning, which is quite honestly remarkable.
The rest of the afternoon was more adventurous mountain biking and a few more temples, including the Tomb Raider temple where the movie was shot. We also saw lots of monkeys at one of the temples. Including baby monkeys which were adorable. A little history, a lot of adventure.
After the tour ended around 4 pm, we did a quick trip to the Genocide museum and Killing Field down the street. Our son had done a school paper on the genocide and was supposed to write an additional paper on new things he learned while on the trip. It's an ugly part of the country's history and we weren't certain if we'd go to the museum or not with the kids - but given the fact our son had already done all the research it made sense to go. It wasn't very big and there were posters to read, which he didn't have a ton of interest in doing in the post-bike ride exhaustion. There were a few uncomfortable displays, like a partially excavated mass grave with several remains in it. They also had quite a few skulls in a memorial which is a bit morbid, but I suppose it is to honor the horror of the situation.
I don't remember much from high school social studies class but I tend to learn a lot on these trips that I swear I was never taught. One thing that was surprising to me was how the US bombed Cambodia during the Vietnam war. The US also apparently supported a leader of a coup that took over while the official leader was out of the country. The one poster in this museum seemed to suggest that the US involvement in their political situation in combination with the bombing led to societal division (and disinformation) which led to the rise of evil power which is what led to the genocide. True or not true, I really have no idea but the fact that this is what is documented in other countries history books gives more perspective on why people can get frustrated with the US. The fact that the USA was even mentioned in the genocide museum's walls was mind blowing for me.
Afterwards we caught a Grab tuk tuk and made our way back to our hotel. We rested by the pool for a while, I picked up our laundry down the street and then we made our way back out to pub street for dinner. My daughter and I enjoyed $5 pedicures while the boys walked around a bit before heading back for the night.
I usually do my homework on the local currency, but I think I got a little lazy in researching Cambodia. I knew there was the Cambodian Riel as the local currency and typical payment methods was going to be cash, but what I didn't realize was that almost everywhere listed prices in the US dollar. And ATMs gave US dollars. Why the US dollar, I still don't know. The funny part is though, they want to receive the US dollar but they don't make change in Riels. So you have to have small enough dollar bills to pay for things they can make change in Riels. Hence why getting $100 bills from that airport cash exchange booth was particularly unhelpful. Of course they had a solution for that, there was another stand on pub street that made change for us - for a 2% charge of course. We made do, it was just an interesting money management situation.
"Beautifully written blog! That place looks incredible. I hope to visit it someday."