During the 2018 World Tour, we stopped over for two days to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia. We took a flight from Tashkent in Uzbekistan to Bangkok and then a bus to cross to Cambodia overland.

The pleasant part of the flight is that the route crosses the mountain area of Afganistan and Pakistan. As we have travelled in Pakistan two years ago, it was a nice flashback to remember. When clouds are not covering the horizon, the view from the plane window looks like this:

Wakhan Corridor of Afganistan on the left, Pakistan on the right

This picture was taken from a spot exactly above the city of Chitral, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan. On the top left of the photo, you can see a glimpse of the final part of the legendary Wakhan Corridor.

Thailand. Bangkok

The city that never sleeps. Was it said about Bangkok? Probably about New York, though valid also here. Party after party, all kind of music playing loud from every corner, street food 24/7 (from healthy smoothies to weirdest insects), hippies, fashionistas, dance shows and sex shows. Anything considered weird, inappropriate, vulgar or in any way “above the line” in Bangkok is a daily regular entertainment. It is a test of tolerance for judgemental conservative intellectuals and freedom for any freaky soul.

Can you imagine, that walking night streets in Bangkok, Adriano was carefreely looking for a gay bar, where in 2013, five years younger, he had danced like never in his lifetime (his exact words). We did not find that bar, but Adriano told me every detail of that night and little groups of guys dancing synchronically on the stage, which looked according to him very professional even though spontaneous, and somehow him joining the guys on the stage, and people shaking the hand for his great performance afterwards. Once in Bangkok, everything can happen.

Though, outside the centre, we found modern districts of glass and metal constructions. And just nearby them, hidden yards with narrow streets of flat local houses. Those tiny houses, little streets, so very local and at the same time totally alien nearby the noisy chaos, were my favourite part. Plus, of course, street food. It is truly good, and best to eat at night when happiness overwhelms any other concerns, and party mood makes you cheerfully accept that the mouse on the corner is probably Jerry and he is on vacation with his buddies too.

Cambodia

After tasting the Bangkok nightlife, we took an early bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia. It is a very convenient and modern bus. One great thing about Cambodia is that for as little as 15 EUR you can get a fancy beautiful hotel with a swimming pool and overall great service (we have stayed at Boutique Cambo). After all the flights and long bus ride, it was a pure relax and joy to feel like kings with a minimum budget.

I have a funny anecdote from the restaurant in Siem Reap town.

The restaurant was on the ground floor, its tables disposed in a large open air patio. At the entrance, there was one of those little altars that are so common in Buddhist regions of Asia: little, coloured statues of people and animals, with some candles and small offers. The statues were sitting around a small fountain with a little vegetation.

Now, you must know that I am really scared of frogs, sometimes when I see one of them I get literally petrified.

Adriano passes by the altar, barely noticing it, and sits down at the table; I walk behind him, but halfway through the patio I suddenly start running. I stop at the table, panting in panic: “that frog is alive!” I tell Adriano. He said that he had noticed the beautifully shaped red frog “statue”, that was sitting among the collection of “Buddha pets”: but he couldn’t believe it was a real frog, and kept repeating that it was too perfect and evidently was made of plastic. I insisted on my position, I had seen the thing moving.

Finally Adriano went back to check the altar. And since that moment this became one of his favourite travel stories: the story of how, just in the middle of the little toys of a Buddhist altar, lay alive, huge red frog; and how Inga alone, in her paranoid fear of amphibians, was able to notice it.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is very famous and probably one of the largest ancient religious monuments in the world. Some temples are renovated, others remain original, and some are just ruins left. The place is beautiful, very touristic, and very worth it to wake up and start your visit as early as possible. We did not listen to recommendations and not just got into big crowds of Asian tourists, but more importantly, our heads were spinning because of the midday heat. A hat is a must, and you should bring a lot of water. It takes quite an effort to climb up the temples to see them from the top, so, honest advice, get up very early.

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Photo album