Happy Chinese New Year. I can't believe that now I'm in Thailand.. It was very hard to say goodbye to Cambodia - I can understand people forming relationships with that place.
I didn't like the 'feel' of Battambang much but we had a lazy day there and I rested and had a sauna and massage. From there we jumped in a car to Sissaphon which seemed like a pretty small town - we headed out almost straight away on the back of moto's to the temples which were about 60kms away. It was a long and very dusty ride. We bought cheap, used long sleeve t-shirts to wear and covered our heads in Krama's to try to keep the dust off and we very happy to be able to walk around for quite a while once we arrived at Banteay Chhmer.
I didn't like the 'feel' of Battambang much but we had a lazy day there and I rested and had a sauna and massage. From there we jumped in a car to Sissaphon which seemed like a pretty small town - we headed out almost straight away on the back of moto's to the temples which were about 60kms away. It was a long and very dusty ride. We bought cheap, used long sleeve t-shirts to wear and covered our heads in Krama's to try to keep the dust off and we very happy to be able to walk around for quite a while once we arrived at Banteay Chhmer.
It is a massive complex - probably similar size to the main temple at Angkor Wat.. There is a large wall around it and a moat, the temple itself is very run down and has been heavily looted but it is still magnificent and quite fun to climb around in.
We then jumped back on the moto's to visit another ruined complex nearby called Banteay Top .
This was much smaller, but the building's taller and some had wooden beams built in. It felt older and was more ruined than Chhmer. It was great to get out to these sites - particularly as we had them nearly all to ourselves!
This was much smaller, but the building's taller and some had wooden beams built in. It felt older and was more ruined than Chhmer. It was great to get out to these sites - particularly as we had them nearly all to ourselves!
After a night in Sissaphon we decided to hit Thailand. We took a car to the border and after having a quick bite (Thailand is so different to Cambodia!) we jumped on a bus to head north. It was a long, long day in the bus - we wanted to head to Ubon Ratchatani but when we got off we re-evaluated. We booked into a cheap hotel with the intention of catching an early train but over dinner that night I realised when Adam was talking to a local, that he thought that were going north and me east. We went down to the station and worked out that it was better to head north so we jumped on a train west not long after - with the intention of getting an overnight sleeper north later that night. When we arrived at the railway junction there was only one seat left on the train that night so we stayed in a nice hotel and got the early morning train to Udon Thani.
We travelled third class on the trains with the locals and its a fun way to meet some of them. We were constantly offered fruit and sweets! It was a long slow journey but from here we should be able to make our way north on local transport and see a bit of the countryside.
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