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Published: October 22nd 2010
So...(just for Dad)
The last two days have, by recent standards, been jam packed with activity. They have also seen us say our goodbyes to Scott and Sara. We are hoping that we will meet up again somewhere on our travels but, for now, our travelling contingent has reverted to we two.
19 October 2010 If you know me, at all, you know that I am not a good at mornings. You may also recall that I have spent the last week or so under the weather. Why then would I agree to get up and out of my bed at 4.30am to head in to a pitch black Cambodian night?
12 hours sleep the night before? Nearly, but not quite.
Day break and sunrise at Angkor Wat, that's what.
We had been indoctrinated in to believing that sunrise, or sunset, at the temples is the raison détre for all pilgrims who reach Siem Reap and had spent days waiting for the rains to pass, so that we would at least have a chance of not getting drenched and actually seeing sun at sunrise, if we were to venture out to Angkor Wat at the
Angkor Wat
Comes in to focus refelcted in the lake belowinhumane hour of 5.00am. This morning was to be our chance to get "the shot" and, uncharacteristically, I found my inner sprite as I hopped out of bed as the alarm awoke us. Gregg insists that he was already awake and waiting for the alarm. For what it's worth, I think he's dreaming.
Our driver and Scott and Sara met us outside the hotel in the pitch black and we were off. Street lights are extremely dim in Cambodia (as are most lights) which is a country where the economy/energy saver bulb has taken off in unrivalled fashion. The reason for this is that, as in Vietnam, electricity is unbelievably expensive. This must surely cause great difficulty for local infrastructure and development although it makes Cambodia, in this respect at least, appear light years ahead of the West.
Once beyond Siem Reap, we lost streetlights altogether as we meandered along towards Angkor Wat. Along the way, we passed stall holders who were already setting up for the day's trade, their wares dimly lit by small strip lights. We also passed a few Tuk Tuks carrying weary looking cargo searching for the same "shot" that we looking for.
Mr P
in video capture mode I was surprised that we hadn't seen more cars and Tuk Tuks on our way but, as we arrived, I soon discovered that that the darkness had simply shrouded the crowds for we were four of many hundreds wielding cameras and patiently waiting for the sun to make its appearance.
I think that this may be the first time in my life that I have ever watched and waited for the sun to rise. Other times that I have witnessed it I have simply come across it, quite by accident. For that reason, I hadn't appreciated that day break and sun rise are two entirely separate happenings. Here, the whole process takes around an hour and, for me at least, there was something quite moving about watching black turn to hues of blue and then to pinks before the rays of the big red ball slipped between the towers of Angkor Wat.
Before I get too carried away with the magic of it all, I should report that I was in fact the only one of the four of us who actually got "the shot"and witnessed the sun rise majesticallly from behind the temple towers. The others found
Day is broken
but the sun is yet to rise the wait a little too long and had wondered off to see it all from a different angle by the time the blues turned to pinks and were nowhere to be seen by the time the suns rays were captured by my lens.
Sun rise was one of my trip highlights however Angkor Wat itself was, by consensus, a little bit of a let down. Having seen a good few of the temples of Angkor, we have all come to the view that they each has something about it that is awe inspiring and for Angkor Wat it was the sunrise and the state of repair. The bas relief was however nowhere near as stunning as Bayon or Banteay Srey and it didn't have the intrigue of Preah Khan.
I had "the shot" and we needed breakfast so we returned to town for a treat at the Blue Pumpkin and, an hour or so later, headed back to the temple now known as 'The Tomb Raider Temple' (Ta Prohm). This is one of the most beautiful of the temple complexes at Angkor. It has been partly reclaimed by the forest and enormous trees cling to the tops of
The sky turns
from blues to pinks dishevelled temple walls, their enormous finger like roots reaching out towards the ground below.
All four of us loved exploring this temple which was to be our last. On our arrival in Siem Reap we had heard many other travellers speaking of being "templed out"and, by 11am on 19 October 2010, we each had our own appreciation of what that means.
The rest of the day was spent eating, afternoon snoozing and with Gregg and Scott feeling decidedly under the weather - sorry for that one guys.
20 October 2010 Today was cooking class day and why on earth did we wait for two weeks to get stuck in? We picked a restaurant called Tigre de Papier for our foray into Khmer (pronounced kmai) culinary skills. Unlike many other places, the dishes that we were to cook were not prescribed, rather we could pick two dishes of our choice from the menu. We each picked different dishes so that we will have eight recipes to share between us. I say will, because we are told that the recipes will be e-mailed to us - brilliant, no papers to lose/find a home for in the ever swelling
backpacks.
The class started with a trip to the market. This time, we were not buying anything but had an opportunity to quiz our teacher about the wierd and wonderful fruit and veg on sale. Then it was back to the kitchen - open air on the top of a building and spotlessly clean.
After nearly two months sans cooker, knives or our own ingredients we were in heaven. This was a really hands on cooking class and our teacher wafted between us showing us how to chop lemongrass, galangal and turmeric (my fingers are still yellow from that) before bringing it all together into a fine spread of eight brightly coloured dishes at the end.
We sat in the restaurant below sampling our wares, sharing stories with fellow travellers also on the course and catching up on admin for hours afterwards as Scott and Sara went off to do some last minute shopping in the Old Market.
Somehow, and neither of us are entirely sure how it happened, shopping was also to assume the central role in our evening's activities. Siem Reap has a nightmarket which is so well organised that it has two bars
in the middle of the hubbub and even spotless public loos. Scott and Sara had some shopping that they wanted to do there so we agreed to meet them at one of the bars.
Whoever thought of putting a bar in the middle of market stalls, weighed heavy with just what a traveller might want to take home, is a genius. Either that or they put some kind of spending tonic in the drinks because after one (or two) the desire to bargain and buy had taken hold in all of us. Boy was it fun learning that a Cambodian XL gave Gregg a certain "village people" je ne sais quoi and that I have a new found addiction to scarves.
It was gone well past 10pm by the time that we left and there were still two things that we all wanted to do before we said goodbye - Dr Feet Massage and one last game or two of 'Monopoly Deal' - a game Scott & Sara have with them and, to which, we have all become addicted.
Dr Feet Massage is a 'massage' experienced by dipping your feet into a tank of water filled with
fish who like nothing better than to dine out of dry skin of foot. We each had our feet wiped with a dirty looking towel before taking the plunge which led us to later pontificate over whether the towel was actually impregnated with something to attract them to your feet. Whatever the case, the fell in love with Gregg & Scott's feet in a way that can only adequately be conveyed in photographic form. It is the most peculiarly ticklish experience oh, and we got a free beer in the deal too.
Feet duly bitten, we headed back to Scott & Sara's hotel for Monopoly Deal - I think I won both games, or at least I shall remember it that way - and then it was time to say our goodbyes. Tomorrow, Scott and Sara head off to Thailand and we are moving on to Battambang (still in Cambodia). We'll check in with you again from there.
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