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Published: November 29th 2005
- FOOD: Edam and Laughing Cow cheese; rice overload with our great grub at Capitol restaurant; fish overload and good French wine in 'Dead Fish' restaurant.
- PEOPLE: Charnt and Paulie our lovely moto men and tour guides; thousands of people swarming Angkor Wat (with their umbrellas); fewer people at the outer temples; imaginative boy selling plates with your photo on; tuk tuk tour amusement; little sellers at every site; more crossing of paths with Tania; Dr. Beat Richner (Beatocello) - a truly inspirational saint of a man.
- AREA: Good bus journey past more glorious scenery (with love song karaoke playing in the background); calmer Siem Reap with narrower streets; market with good silk products; the astonishing architecture of the many temples at Angkor (Angkor Wat being the biggest, Ta Prohm being the most fascinating with trees and roots suffocating stonework); beautiful and very well kept grounds of Angkor; Floating Villages.
- ACCOM: Capitol guesthouse here with a toilet flush that sounds like dying animals in pain! Plus a crackly TV with Asian pop only.
- WEATHER: 3 steps of walking left us badly needing wet wipes and a top up of suntan lotion
Thur 13th Oct: An early start and the usual mad rush at Capitol cafe as the buses arrive and leave. The bus to Siem Reap was ok and had air con. Plus the amusement of getting to watch karaoke vids of cheesy British love songs with the tackiest videos and modern pop too.
The journey which I'd heard could be quite bad as the roads are not the best and what with it being end of monsoon and all, was actually really good. It only took 6 hours and we passed red/brown rivers, palm trees, wooden shacks on stilts with thatch or corrugated roofs and naked babies playing in the streams, amongst the farm animals watching them.
The adults were working away on their farms using handmade tools. I wondered how these people had been effected by the Khmer Rouge regime. Every time I see an elderly male now I wonder if they had been a K.R. soldier. Some have such entrenched frowns and deep, furrowed brows.
Siem Reap (it means 'Siamese defeated') is a cool town. It has small, narrow roads and is so much calmer than Phnom Penh. When the bus arrived, the manic people selling and
The Gods play Tug o' War
South Gate of Angkor Thomhassling were roped off. We had a bus take us to Capitol guesthouse where of course, once we were there, we couldn't be bothered to look for anything else so stayed there. It was a bit further out of town but not too bad. Except for the bathroom which, when the toilet was flushed, Jo said made a noise like a donkey and pig in pain! Plus they'd done the usual old trick of putting a TV in the room that crackled badly on all the Asian channels except the one with Asian Pop (certainly no English speaking channels here).
We booked our flight to Laos which was frustrating as they didn't have the day we wanted so we have to cut our time in Siem Reap down. Then we checked out the market which is same, same really. Nice silk stuff though. We bought some food to make our own lunches with - the only cheese they had was Edam and Laughing Cow but that will do us! I still have some Marmite left to liven it up after all.
The moto men that had grabbed us and Capitol and got us to sign up to a
Big Brother is watching you
Bayon Temple - faces said to resemble the King's sunset trip to Angkor Wat were very nice. We were dropped off at an old, crumbly gate where the huge temple of Angkor Wat could be seen at the end of a long path. We walked up to it, being the only people walking towards it against the masses walking away from it. But we didn't want to spend too much time there as we knew we'd be coming back to it. We found a spot in the grounds to watch the sun set and for the temple to slowly change colour. I can't say it hit me with a big WOW when I first saw it. Certainly a WOW but not a real breathtaking one. But being away from the crowds and watching the sun set onto it was certainly a stunning sight.
As we walked back to the bikes, the usual people selling things were there. I heard a boy shouting about buying a souvenir plate and ignored him but then a flash of yellow made me look at the plate. There was a picture of me (I had a yellow T-shirt on) on the plate!!! I did a double take and walked off, very amused that
he'd managed to snap me walking away from the temple, and imprint the image onto this plate in a matter of minutes! Sorry Mum, I should've bought it for you!!!
The moto men were so sweet that we decided to take them up on their offer of 20 dollars each for the next couple of days for them to take us to all the temples. We ate very good food in the restaurant downstairs although the menu was somewhat confusing. We'd ordered veg curry, spinach with garlic and chicken with ginger. Only one had said it came with rice when all 3 did! Rice overload.
Fri 14th: We got up early to visit the temples. Charnt and Paulie were there to pick us up. Charnt seemed to be the main man but Paulie had the better bike! Charnt wasn't so talkative today so I thought maybe we'd upset him by not immediately taking him up on the offer and then bargaining the price down when we did.
The grounds of the temple sights are so beautiful - very well kept, lots of open space, trees, cut grass.
Our first stop was the South Gate of Angkor
BIG Buddha
Tep Pranam Thom (the best preserved gate). The guys couldn't come in with us as they are not official guides so Jo bought a book about the history so that we could guide ourselves. The path up to this gate has gods on one side and demons (asuras) on the other. They look like they're playing tug-o-war but they're actually carrying a serpent (7 headed Naga) which is a link from the men to the Gods. We saw a lovely elephant giving rides to tourists - ahhhh.
The Angkor period lasted from the 9th to the 14th centuries where it ended as a result of the overambitiousness and the Thais sacking Angkor in 1432.
Angkor Thom means 'great city' and was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII. It was the original capital and has gone through lots of religious stages, the main ones being Hinduism and Buddhism. In it's grounds is the Bayon Temple which has 216 huge faces of Avolokitesvara built into each side of big towers. It lies in the exact centre of the city and the faces resemble the King. Lots of different coloured rock make up the many bas reliefs that have 11,000 figures
on them! They depict scenes of war and village life such as cockfighting and kick boxing. We somehow managed to escape the masses that were on tour groups, on holiday or there independently. I was amazed at how many tourists there were. We found a section that was a big pile of rubble where they are still restoring it - some chopped in half Buddha's were there waiting to be made whole again!
We then continued, stopping briefly at Tep Pranam on the way (a BIG Buddha seated on a lotus).
The next stop was The Baphuon, built in 1060 and taken apart before the Civil War to stop it being pulled down. However, the Khmer Rouge still managed to have their wicked way and destroyed all the records for it's reconstruction. Therefore it has taken years to piece it back together again, with the work still in process. Old stone is mixed with new in the efforts to restore it and the public are not allowed inside. This temple is shaped like a pyramid and is a representation of Mount Meru (a sacred Hindu mountain).
We then strolled along the Terrace of the Elephants which is 350m
long. It has 3 headed elephants pulling up lotus flowers with their trunks and used to border the King's grand audience hall. This leads into the Terrace of the Leper King which has a platform on top with the Leper King statue. The Leper King is possibly Yama, God of Death but the locals think it is a Yasovarman ruler who died of leprosy.
It was incredibly hot so we stopped for a rest and were amused to see a huge tour group, all in tuk tuks, parading their way through the grounds.
We went to Phimeanakas (10 - 11th Century) which is a small pyramid where the King is supposed to have slept with the 9 headed Naga woman every night!
Then to Preah Palilay which is a small Buddhist sanctuary in the woods of the Royal Palace grounds. It was very calm here amongst the trees and we were the only tourists which made it even calmer!
The Royal Palace itself was in continuous use from the 11th to the 17th centuries. There is not much at all left to it but it does have a huge pond in it's grounds that had kids bathing in it
and playing.
We were told to find restaurant 34 to meet our moto men. We somehow found it amongst the long line of restaurants, all with ladies calling out to us "LADY, come to MY restaurant". We stopped for a drink and were surrounded with children selling gifts and postcards. They don't seem to understand that if you have already bought something, you won't want another. Their way of thinking is if you've already bought something, you will DEFINITELY want another ("But you haven't bought one from MEEEE"). They try to make you promise to buy from them later and ask you to remember them. This is certainly nicer than the alternative which is kids telling you you WANT this, you NEED that or just simply 'give me'. Saying "Te aw kohn" certainly works better than saying "No thank you".
We visited Thommanon temple which is like a little Angkor Wat and had tiny children, not selling this time but wanting pens or bon-bons.
Opposite this was Chao Say Tevoda - in a very ruined state but the Chinese are currently restoring it, therefore we couldn't enter it. The two temples are said to be a pair but
this isn't true.
Ta Keo, built in the 10 - 11th centuries is a temple mountain (representing Mount Meru) built in sandstone. It was never finished and is therefore a bit strange looking as it does not have any carvings on it. It's 50m high and we had to climb up incredibly steep, narrow stairs that were crumbling away to reach the top. Worth it though - we lunched looking out on the view.
Next onto Ta Prohm (12 - 13th Centuries, good old Jayavarman VII). It's a Mahayana Buddhist temple monastery, built to honour the King's Mother, and is where Tomb Raider was filmed (of course, I had to do a Lara pose - Angelina, watch out). I loved it, definitely my favourite of all the temples - a HUGE wow factor. It has lots of separate rooms and parts to it but a great deal of it has collapsed. Silk cotton trees with huge roots and strangler fig trees are growing wildly in between and over the stonework. When the French discovered it, they decided to leave it in its natural state as an example of what Angkor looked like in the 19th Century. They have
carried out work to prevent it from further collapse and have maintained it in its natural state. It's like a maze and is quite stunning. We spent a long time here until we got caught up in the tour groups and the rain and so made our escape.
Onto the biggest and grandest - Angkor Wat. We somehow managed to cross the causeway going over the moat as we fought our way through the colourful umbrellas of the Japanese tour groups. Built in the 12th Century by Suryavarman II to honour Vishnu and for his funeral temple, it represents the 5 peaks of Mount Meru and is a microcosm of the Hindu universe. It's the world's largest religious building and faces West rather than the usual location of facing East. It was originally the capital city and the State Temple is dedicated to Vishnu, with 600m of bas relief. The whole thing covers 200 hectares with the temple being 9 hectares in size. It has stepped terraces to reach the 3 levels of the pyramid. The steps leading up were SO steep - it felt like you were about to jump when you looked over the edge. This certainly
gives the intended impression that you are climbing a mountain to reach it's peak. It has many windows and terraces and of course tour groups swarming all over it....
We got away from one mass of people and headed straight into another as we climbed yet more steep steps at Phnom Bakheng hill to watch the sunset over the area. Beautiful view over everyone's heads of the river, lakes and a tiny Angkor Wat in the distance. The most amazing thing here was watching a storm in the distance with the lightning forking down.
We nearly fell asleep on the back of the bikes after our exhausting day of walking around in the heat but managed to make it back to the hotel to sleep. We then took a walk into town to shop and see if we could find Tania and her friend Karen. Which we did of course - who needs mobile phones and email!
We went to a trendy bar restaurant called 'Dead Fish', and ate dead fish while listening to a woman singing an Asian version of 'Sweet Child o' Mine' - VERY different! The place itself was nice with 2 floors, very open
with lots cushions to sit on and French wine. However, the food was expensive and not all that great. They also have an area with crocodiles cramped into a small space, all with open mouths as if they are waiting to be fed. Which tourists can do for 50 cents. A bit cruel.
Sat 15th: Another early start and today we headed further out. The first temple we visited was Banteay Kdei which is a smaller version of Ta Prohm. Built over the site of another temple, it has a Hall of Dancers which has columns of carved dancing asuras. It has door after door after door in a long corridor and much of it's red stone is covered in green moss, making a beautiful sight. Even nicer was that there was hardly anyone else there so it was very peaceful.
Sras Srang, built in the 10th Century, was a Royal Bath which was built for all creatures to bathe in, not just humans, except 'dyke breakers' (elephants). It's held water for 9 centuries and is a 'wow' sight after climbing the bank and getting the first view of it from the terrace - it's HUGE (700m
x 350m).
We then took a long bike ride on the red, dusty road past water paddies, green trees, wooden houses on stilts, naked kids playing amongst the cows, pigs and chickens and a woman on her motorbike with a big pig cage on the back with a tiny piglet inside!
We arrived at Pre Rup, another temple mountain. It means 'turning the body' which is the body of a corpse as a cremation rite. The stone cistern is from a legend of the king accidentally being killed by the 'gardner of the sweet cucumber' - what the hell that is all about I don't know! It has 5 tiers and great views from the top.
Banteay Samre is in Angkor Wat style and is very far out so has very few visitors. It's very complete with a big moat all around it filled with grass and it feels very tranquil.
When we arrived at East Mebon, there were cows grazing on the grass in front of it. It's very much Angkor Wat stylee and has a big moat which was built before the temple in order to supply water to the city. Stone elephants look out from
In action
Jo and Paulie the corners of the terraces.
Ta Som is a small temple with a 'must see' entrance which is covered by a strangler fig tree - really amazing.
Preah Khan (Sacred Sword) temple was also a Buddhist university with 1,000 teachers. There are references to 'a lake of blood' - it is thought it is built on the site of a major battle between Angkor people and the Chams. It was dedicated to Jayavarman's VII's father. The heads of the asuras and gods of the bridge leading up to it were stolen, making an odd sight. There is a stupa in the centre of the cross shaped temple and a headless Buddha. Of course, everyone has the idea to pose with their head on it like a fairground novelty! Further in, there's lots of rubble and vines overgrowing it - the most collapsed I've seen out of all the temples - beautiful.
We were just about templed out by this point so asked the boys to drive us to the Floating Villages which we hadn't heard much about but liked the sound of.
We had to pay the government officials who own the boats 10 dollars each which is
expensive, but we got the boat to ourselves. The Floating Villages only float in the wet season where the water is up to 8m deep. In the village there is a school, nursery and lots of 'roads' of houses on stilts. They are very basic but look cosy and relaxing. Dogs were stood on the decks wandering whether to go for a swim or not while people slept in hammocks. There are people with 'shop' boats who paddle around selling their goods and there's even a floating bar. We passed by the section where some Vietnamese who do not have passports or visas live and fish. Then the boy steering the boat took us out further where all we saw were kids in tin baths that they can only just fit in going up to each boat and begging for cash. They don't seem to be doing anything else!
On the way back we stopped for me to have a dip in the warm water, amongst the reeds and trees (and crocodiles?!) and then in my dripping wet clothes we stopped at a fish and crocodile farm. This was really just a big shop with a small, boarded off
section with some fish flapping about and another bigger section with some crocs squashed in doing some sunbathing. The main reason for stopping was for the tourists to buy gifts and drinks which we successfully did.
There wasn't really too much to see on this trip but it was nice and relaxing and we were glad we'd done it.
At the end the boy asked for a tip from us of 5 dollars each!!! We certainly were not paying that and in our rush to get off the boat paying much less to an unhappy boy, I left my camera behind.
After 15 mins of being on the bikes, I realised this and so our moto guys whizzed us back, the police got involved and it all looked like a high speed arrest it was so dramatic. Men clambering over the boats to retrieve my camera which LUCKILY was still there and then acting like heroes. The village children were wide eyed and fascinated by this action and I was bloody happy.
When we arrived back to Siem Reap, I wanted to do some shopping and Charnt was very sweet and worried about me walking around on my
own so said he'd pick me up in an hour and take me back. Bless.
The posh centre I found that trained young people up to learn skills and sold their goods had men in smart uniform walking around who eyed me up suspiciously as my clothes were still wet! I was quite a different customer from the rich, older tourists in there I guess.
I found Charnt eating some street food. A child holding a baby wanted money from me and was signing that they were hungry. So I offered to buy him food which he refused, he just wanted money. He took the food Charnt gave him though.
In the evening we went to the free concert taking place at the Kantha Bopha hospital for children.
The founder and director of 3 hospitals is called Dr. Beat Richner and calls himself Beatocello. He plays the cello and played us some classical music along with his own little made up ditties. This was inbetween giving inspirational and heart felt talks on the situation in Cambodia which has occurred after the war (which, as he pointed out, was brought into Cambodia by the Western world).
So many children suffer
from TB and dengue fever and the hospital treats 70,000 patients a year. This is free treatment as the families cannot afford to pay. 80% of the funds come from donations given by tourists and his speeches no doubt help this. He encourages backpackers to give blood if they cannot afford to donate money.
He started up the hospitals before the Khmer Rouge days and stayed in Cambodia right up until the Khmer Rouge took control when he had to leave. However, he came back after and has worked incredibly hard to keep these hospitals going. As so many doctors were executed during the regime, TB has risen at a fast pace and the country is still in a terrible condition. The hospitals are all fully equipped with the same technology the Western world has but the UN and other officials (such as Princess Anne) have said they are too sophisticated for such a poor country!
I wanted to give blood as well as money but couldn't as it wasn't open again until tomorrow when we leave.
We met Tania and Karen briefly afterwards, said goodbye AGAIN (for now - I'm sure we'll meet again) and had an early night in preparation for our travels to Laos.
I have loved Cambodia - it has to be one of my favourite countries so far. I've learnt so much about the history here and it's reduced me to tears on more than one occassion. It's the poorest country I've visited, made worse by the fact they had to start from scratch again so recently. The country is still suffering from many of the war's atrocities and seem to be getting very little in the way of international aid.
The countryside is just so beautiful with it's lush rainforests covering so much of it and the temples at Angkor, all so awesome. The houses on stilts on the banks of the red rivers where kids splash about make a beautiful sight.
Many of the roads are SO mad with motos whizzing around you from all directions, holding families of 4 and often cages with livestock piled onto the back. A lot of the roads are unpaved, muddy and filled with litter. There is still a distinct French feel to some of it and some great French wine knocking about!
The food isn't as spicy as Thai food (in fact it's not really spicy at all) but there's a lot of fresh fruit and veg on offer, along with other less appetising snacks (foetus', tiny birds, deep fried spiders...)
Considering the total misery the people have had to endure here, they are so polite, friendly and happy. Although it doesn't take much to see the underlying pain they've suffered. The hassle they give tourists can be excused. It's heartbreaking to see so many amputees, disabled people, elderly and children begging.
It's so nice though to see how extended family all stick together and have such a bond and the way the children are loved is wonderful. There's masses of giggling children running around, unaware of the country's awful history so hopefully the new generation should hopefully grow up a happier one.
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