venerdì 26 agosto 2011

Visa run in Cambodia: achieved!

Hi blog,
Just come back in China from almost a month visa run in Thailand and Cambodia. I had wonderful time visiting new country to me such as Cambodia and enjoying the beach life in Thailand, so more than a visa run or a trip, it was a real holyday, I think I deserve it after long time!

For what concerns Thailand, nothing new to add, my only new discover it was Ayuthaya, great place with nice temples, a very good alternative to Bangkok that I cannot still understand, too big, too noisy, too much traffic and too hot for me.

Cambodia it was a new country to me, I had good expectations and I am happy about what I saw. I have start from Battambang, with a nice ride from the Thai border with a Toyota Camry in the company of a whole family of 8 people (all of them in the back seat of the taxi), then I went to Siem Reap with a long but wonderful boat trip, I spent few days there to visit a good buddy met in Malaysia and to see temple city of Angkor (even if I am not a big fan of really touristic attractions, I have to say that Siem Reap it well worth a visit in a life time) and then I went to Phnom Penh where I left my passport to the Chinese embassy. Then I went to Sihanukville, a good place to do nothing for 4 days and after that I come back to Phnom Phen to collect my passport and finally leave for Thailand.

What I found really amazing in Cambodia are of course the people: even if they had a tremendous past with the Khmer Rouge which exterminated one generation of people, even if they live in a country where corruption is a normal and socially acceptable behavior, even if they are poor, even if they do not have many options for the future to change their life, even if they can still jump on a mine if they walk outside from their garden, well these people are still happy because they are alive and they can enjoy life.

I can highly suggest to people who always complain about life, always sad and angry, that cannot find enough reasons to be happy, to have a nice 2-3 weeks trip in Cambodia, I think that when they come back they can see all things from different point of view.

Enjoy!

Luca


Kids in Battambang
around Battambang
Boat trip Battambang - Siem Reap

Boat trip Battambang - Siem Reap
Siem Reap
Ta Prohm Temple
Ta Prohm Temple

Boat trip Battambang - Siem Reap


Angkor Wat
5 in the morning at Angkor Wat, after I wake up at 4 to be sure to see the magnificient sunrise over the temples. In this exact moment, the screen of my camera fuck me off and from now I have to take "blind" pictures, without even know if these were good or not. I apologize with that group of Korean close to me for that loud dialoge between myself and some higher identities and all those bad words in strict Italian language.

Ta Prohm Temple

Ta Prohm Temple
Baphuon Temple
Bayon Temple
Bayon Temple
Sihanukville
Phnom Penh, S-21
Ayuthaya
Ayuthaya

"A person is smart, but people are stupid". This is a good example.A gig of people to see what? What shitty Lonely Planet says in the bible