Day 9 - Siem Reap, ODA

After finishing the cruise, the tour group were divided into three buses for the four hour drive to Siem Reap. We passed suburbia and open and farmland on the way and most people saw were quite friendly - tourists are stiil welcome in Cambodia. 

At our first stop, 1.5 hours later at a large service station for a "happy break", we saw large sculpted animals as part of the complex, including two giraffes and a dragon constricted from used bicycle tyres. Also, in Cambodia most large service stations actually provide driveway service!





At our second stop, another large service station, we decided to have an early lunch as it was not included in our itinerary.

We had a quite interesting chicken and ginger dish, and a not so interesting omelette, accompanied by steamed rice and completely raw, diced vegetables – a bit too crunchy for our taste. Also available was BBQ fish, chicken and sweet potato





We finally arrived fairly exhausted in Siem Reap which means “place where the Siem (Siamese or Thais) were defeated”. Our guide Sey, was then replaced by a new guide, Chantha, Both had lost family members during the Pol Pot period, when almost 25% of the population was killed.

Almost immediately we were taken to our first temple, Ta Phrom, which was featured in the Tomb Raider movie. A main feature of Ta Phrom was the prominent silk cotton trees growing over the temple which both destroyed and preserved the structures with their massive root system.

It was hot and very humid, especially so within the temple because of the moisture retained by the abundant vegetation and structures.

Part of the reason for visiting this temple is the fact that it is still overgrown with trees, and very little has been reconstructed.


There was also a group of men who had been maimed by land mines playing music. This was not the only group we were to encounter in Cambodia.


After visiting Ta Prohm temple we were take to one of the ODA schools (Opportunities of Development thru Art) to which our tour company Travel Marvel, is a contributor. The school was founded in 2003 to "create opportunities for children by providing free English language". 

The students learn the normal school curriculum plus art and English. Some of the senior students performed a traditional dance and we had an opportunity to talk with the children. I plan to investigate the possibilities of being a volunteer English teacher there in the future.


We booked into the Shinta Mani Hotel, and after a light dinner, we were taken to see the Phare Circus which has been set up as a "model of sustainability and responsible tourism. Guests engage directly with the performers in intimate atmosphere of the iconic red big top. Revenue generated provides well-paying jobs and funds Phare Ponleu Selpak non-profit school."

It was an unique and entertaining performance, combining acrobatics and traditional Cambodian culture, and creative use of simple props that are part of every day farm life.