Cambodgia cu copilul

Cambodgia cu copilul

De 1 iunie, un cadou pentru Vlad cand nu va mai fi copil, si va aprecia exact ca mine acum aceste imagini din Cambodgia. Pe scurt: le ador.

EN: On the 1st of June, a gift to Vlad when he won’t be a child anymore, and he’ll appreciate this images from Cambodia just as much as I do. I adore them.

E a doua oara cand ajungem in Cambodgia, dar prima oara cand o facem impreuna cu copilul nostru. Nu era in plan. Voiam sa petrecem 3 saptamani in Thailanda, dar din cauza ca ne-am trezit tarziu ca ne trebuie viza pentru o sedere mai lunga de 15 zile (desi restul UE – in afara de Bulgaria – poate sta 30 de zile gratis; adica ceilalti din vest nici nu platesc ca noi Visa on Arrival in aeroport), am hotarat sa “intrerupem putin programul” din Thailanda cu o excursie de cateva nopti in Siem Reap, Cambodgia. In felul acesta am iesit din Thailanda inainte sa ne expire viza si, la intoarcerea din Cambodgia (biletele de avion erau deja cumparate cu zbor de intoarcere acasa prin Bangkok), am mai platit o data Visa on Arrival in aeroport, pentru restul de zile de vacanta pe taram thailandez. Dar sa revenim la Cambodgia, pe care desi am vizitat-o mai mult de nevoie, ca decizie de ultim moment, pot spune ca a fost o mare reusita. Lui Vlad i-a placut la nebunie, iar asta cred ca se vede si din imagini.

De ce Siem Reap? Pentru ca e orasul cu celebrul Angkor Wat, adica cu celebrele temple, care sunt o minuntatie. Desi le mai vazusem, nu stiu cum, dar parca acum mi-au placut si mai mult. In plus, Siem Reap e zona fara malarie, ceea ce conteaza enorm atunci cand calatoresti cu copilul. Fiind foarte turistic orasul, au nenumarate optiuni de cazare – absolut orice categorie iti doresti – si si mai multe restaurante. Noi fusesem in 2013, cand doar doua strazi in centrul orasului erau mai luminate, cu restaurante, pub-uri si fish spa-uri. Acum efectiv se umpluse centrul, stanga, dreapta, oriunde te uitai, cu restaurante, saloane de masaj, baruri, hoteluri, banci, tarabe etc. Era incredibil de mare schimbarea pentru mine si Radu, incat la inceput nu mai recunoastem nimic. Sigur, pe termen lung, asta ar putea fi un dezavantaj. Prea multi turisti strica un pic atmosfera locului. Dar pe de alta parte, atunci cand calatoresti cu copilul, faptul ca ai mai multe optiuni de cazare si de luat masa, e o mare bila alba.

Am ales sa ne cazam intr-un resort cu bungalow-uri (doar ca mai mari si mai confortabile decat cele din Thailanda), care se numeste Angkor Heart Bungalow (cazare luata prin agoda) si care avea o piscina generoasa in care ne puteam racori si pe intuneric, seara tarziu, dupa o zi intreaga de vizitat temple. Foarte placut locul, iar oamenii de acolo absolut minunati. Au devenit un etalon pentru noi, greu de depasit. Singurul dezavantaj al acestei cazari e ca nu e foarte aproape de centrul orasului, de zona cu restaurante adica, cat sa mergi pe jos. Trebuie sa iei un tuk tuk pana acolo. Intre anumite ore, cei de la hotelurile mai indepartate de centru, cum era si al nostru practic, iti ofera gratis tul tuk -ul, tocmai ca sa rezolve si aceasta mica problema.

Doua zile petrecute acolo am vizitat temple de dimineata si pana seara. Lui Vlad i se parea ca suntem ca intr-un taram magic, cu un fel de “castele” pazite de un anume “Budha”, pe langa care daca treci e musai sa vorbesti incet. Chiar si atunci cand ii lipseste capul. Abia astepta sa ajungem la un templu nou, sa il poata explora in voie si “sa il cautam pe Budha fara cap”. Independent cum il stiti, o lua ca zapacitul inainte, de abia il mai prindeam din urma, urcand si coborand intr-o veselie treptele templelor, luand-o cand la stanga, cand la dreapta, pe coridoarele lor intortochiate. Daca ii mai cumparai si o banana, un mango sau un ananas de la intrarea in temple, era cel mai fericit copil de acolo. Bine, nici nu sunt multi copii de varsta lui pe acolo, in afara de localnici, desigur. De aceea a fost si foarte alintat de toata lumea. A primit cadou de la o doamna pe strada un elefant (cel din imagini), a fost fotografiat de turisti pentru zambetul lui si pofta nebuna cu care explora templele, a fost plimbat de mana de catre un calugar prin Angkor si o multime de alte gesturi de prietenie si caldura, pe care si daca ai doar 3 ani, tot le simti.

Sunt cateva temple in care e interzis accesul cu copiii, pentru ca au scarile prea abrupte. Dar chiar si asa, raman foarte multe de vizitat. Noi am calatorit numai cu tuk tuk-ul si a fost perfect. As putea spune chiar ca in tuk tuk am trait unele dintre cele mai placute si relaxante momente ale vacantei noastre. Acolo ne era BINE. Punct.

Ca sa ai timp sa vizitezi acest oras, recomand minim 3 zile acolo, dintre care 2 pentru temple. Nu recomand vizita la Fishing Village, pentru ca cel mai probabil va veti lovi de un turist scam, care ar putea sa va amareasca intreaga vacanta. Daca totusi vreti sa il vizitati, cautati pe tripadvisor care este portul anume de unde aceasta experienta poate incepe cu dreptul. Sunt trei porturi pe Tonle Sap Lake si doar unul e ok din ce am inteles, adica fara scheme de genul “cumpara orez” copiilor (pe asta am patit-o noi data trecuta in Cambodgia), “donatii” pentru copiii care se prefac ca sunt orfani pentru turisti sau “rezerva si un drum cu canoe ca altfel ne suparam”. Oricum, mai ales daca aveti de gand sa calatoriti cu copilul, putina documentare pe tripadvisor inainte este necesara. Dar nu va faceti griji, Siem Reap este un oras foarte sigur, vizitat de milioane de turisti anual, care se bucura pe deplin de aceasta minune a lumii numita Angkor Wat.

Va urma…

EN: It’s our second time in Cambodia, but the first time together with our child. It wasn’t the plan. We were going to spend 3 weeks in Thailand, but because we needed a visa for a stay longer than 15 days (although the rest of the EU- except Bulgaria- can stay 30 days for free; so Westerners don’t have to pay for Visa on Arrival at the airport), we decided to “cut our program short” in Thailand with a trip to  Siem Reap, Cambodia, for a few nights. That way we exited Thailand before our visa expired and, upon returning from Cambodia (we had already bought the plane tickets with return home through Bangkok), we have payed for Visa on Arrival in the airport once again, for the rest of our holiday on Thai soil.  But back to Cambodia, which we visited mostly because we had to, as a last minute decision, I can say it was a big hit. Vlad loved it, and I think it shows in the pictures.  

Why Siem Reap? Because it is the city with famous Angkor Wat, the famous temples, which are wonderful. Although we had seen them before, I don’t know how, but somehow I liked them even more this time. Plus, Siem Reap is a malaria free zone, which means a lot when travelling with a child. Since the city is very tourist, there are countless accommodations available- absolutely any category you desire- and even more restaurants. We had been there in 2013, when only about two streets had lights, restaurants, pubs and fish spas. Now the entire center is packed, on your left, on your left, everywhere you looked, there were restaurants, massage parlors, bars, hotels, banks, kiosks etc.  To Radu and me the change was huge, at first we didn’t even recognize anything. Of course, long term, this could be a disadvantage. Too many tourists alter the atmosphere of the place a little bit. But on the other hand, when travelling with a child, the fact that you have more options for accommodation and eating, is a big plus.

We chose to stay in a bungalow resort (only bigger and more comfortable than the ones in Thailand), which is called Angkor Heart Bungalow (booked through agoda) and which had a large pool where we could off even in the dark, late at night, after an entire day of visiting temples. A very pleasant place and the people there are absolutely lovely. They have become a benchmark for us, hard to exceed. The only disadvantage is that it’s not close enough to walk to the city center, meaning the restaurant area. You have to take a tuk tuk to get there. At certain hours, those from the hotels further from the center, like ours, would offer you the tuk tuk for free, so they could fix this small problem.

In the two days we spent there we have visited the temples from dusk ’til dawn. To Vlad it seemed like we were in a magic land, with a sort of “castles” guarded by a certain “Buddha”, which you have to whisper when walking by. Even when his head is missing. He could hardly wait to get to a new temple, to explore it and “go look for the headless Buddha”. Independent as you know he is, he would just walk ahead, so we could hardly keep up with him, walking up and down the temple stairs, turning left, then right, through the whirling corridors. If we bought him a banana, a mango or a pineapple, he was the happiest kid around. Well, there aren’t many children his own age over there, except for the locals, of course. That’s why he was so spoiled by everyone. He got an elephant (the one in the pictures) as a gift from a lady on the street, he was photographed by tourists for his smile and his huge desire to explore the temples, he was held by the hand by a monk who showed him Angkor and many gestures of friendship and warmth, which, even though he’s only 3, he still felt.

There are a few temples in which it is forbidden to enter with children, because the stairs are too abrupt. But even so, there is still plenty to visit.  We have travelled only by tuk tuk and it was perfect. I might even say that we had one of the most pleasant and relaxing moments from our holiday in a tuk tuk. In there we were FINE. Period.

In order to have enough time to visit this city, I recommend a minimum 3 days stay, out of which 2 are for temples. I don’t recommend visiting Fishing Village, because you will most probably come across a tourist scam, which my make your entire vacation bitter. Should you still wish to visit it, go to tripadvisor to find out which harbor is the best for starting off on the right foot. There are three harbors on Tonle Sap Lake and only one of them is ok from what I understood, so without any tricks to “buy rice for kids” (this happened to us last time in Cambodia), “donations” for children who pretend to be orphans or “book a trip in a canoe or otherwise we’ll be upset”. Anyway, especially if you plan on travelling with the child, some prior research on tripadvisor is necessary. But don’t worry, Siem Reap is a very safe city, visited by millions of tourists every year, who fully enjoy the wonder of the world which is Angkor Wat.

To be continued…