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Published: August 8th 2006
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Monks at Angkor Wat
A scene I came upon as we were lurking around the many passageways at Angkor Well, we finally made it to Cambodia, and I must say that we are pleasantly surprised. We’ve fallen in love with what we have seen of the country, pretty much Siem Reap only at this point. The people are really friendly and have kind of graceful elegance about them. The downside is that it is such a poor country. Siem Reap is a fairly smallish town that is located just to the north of the Tonle Sap, the large lake/ river that dominates the center of any map of Cambodia, and it’s the home of the Angkor Wat temple complex. We have only been here a day and a half but have already spent a lot of time exploring the many temples, monasteries, and palaces dating from 9th-16th centuries that exist in the complex. All that remains of them are ruins, but they are really magnificent. I’ve always dreamt of seeing them, and have been kicking myself for not coming when we came to Southeast Asia in the past.
Our plane flight from Kuala Lumpur forced us to get up at 6am and out by 7am. We got to the airport an hour away with no hassles and had time
The outskirts of Siem Reap
The view out over the rural areas of Siem Reap as we approach the airport to check in, eat then wait at the gate for 30 minutes. Air Asia, our carrier, is a low budget, no frills airline, hence the price of something like $45. Since we had the kids with us, we got to board first! See, they are good for something! We were last off the plane though and last to walk across the tarmac and enter the passport control building. Thanks to getting our visas a few days ahead via the new Cambodian government “e-visa” site we strolled right through and got to the luggage return again ahead of the crowd. The whole “e-visa” thing is only less than two months old, so even the passport inspectors were kind of surprised to see it. It seems that they were ready for it, as we got through quickly. Jo, being Malaysian, didn’t need a visa because they have an agreement with Cambodia through ASEAN.
We got out to the car park and met up with the driver from our guesthouse. It was actually, kind of strange, him holding a sign with my name on it! “Are you Mr. Keith?”…”Yes, I am!” We looked for the limo, but had to settle for his
Temple complex roads
The roads back through the Angkor complex are quiet country roads with light traffic, mostly bicycles and motorbikes, but the occasional bus and elephant too. van. The odd thing that we noticed right off was the side he was driving on. We had just come from Malaysia where they drive on the left side of the road with drivers seated on the right. Our van had the same right-hand drive, but they drive on the right as well. Even stranger is the fact that there are both left and right hand drives in the country. I did read that the government is going to phase out right hand drive cars and only allow left hand drives. Seems less confusing, but expensive for the car owners.
The guesthouse is a villa that we picked off the internet and I must say that we did a good job, as it’s perfect. It’s located off the main roads and tucked back into a residential area, very quiet and clean; it’s about two hundred meters from the river that runs through town, but that’s nothing compared to the walking you do at the temples. Those last 150m are over neighborhood dirt roads though, very bumpy.
Viv and I wasted no time in getting a tuktuk (a small trailer pulled by a 125cc Honda motorcycle) and heading out to
Viv and me at Angkor Wat
The temple complex is made up of scores of temples with Angkor Wat being the main one. It's huge! see Angkor Wat (built between 1150 and 1180 AD). There are scores of temples and ruins here, Angkor, perhaps being the most ornate or biggest individually. The ride was nice and breezy, but it’s not so hot when the clouds come in; it’s now rainy season, but it only seems to really rain in afternoon downpours. We joined the thousands of people at the Angkor and started the trek around all the hidden nook and crannies. It was great to explore and see what was around the next corner. There are statues and bas relief carvings throughout the whole site. Each one tells a mythological story or describes some part of history of the Angkor kingdom. We worked our way up the extremely steep steps of the central portion of the temple to get a nice view , only to get stuck up there while a brief cloudburst soaked the area, reminiscent of our trip to Gua Charas in Malaysia.
After the rain stopped we moved on to an ancient monastery called Ta Prohm. It was dedicated to the mother of the king that built Angkor Wat, Jayavarman VII. Those of you who are movie fans will recognize it
Apsara dancers in bas relief
One of the amazing things about Angkor is the massive amount of bas relief and carvings that cover almost every surface. Pretty good for being almost 800 years old. from the movie “Tomb Raider”. This is where portions of it were filmed. It’s even better for exploring and a bit creepy as well, as there are lots of dark corners and 75 foot trees growing out of the ruins. To add to its mystique, there were parrots flocking in the trees above us as we visited the ruins. This one truly was in ruins, with toppled blocks and walls everywhere. Reconstruction attempts have been started as you can see some of the blocks have been sorted out and numbered according to their location. It’s one heck of a puzzle to put together.
After the two stops, we decided to head back and report in to Jo and Will. The next day we would head out and see these temples and more. I opted for a 3 day pass ($40) and since Jo was happy just seeing the highlights and getting a feel for the place, she got a one day ticket ($20) for Monday. The kids got in free as they are under 12. All Cambodians are also free, which is a great thing; they should learn about and be proud of their heritage. Jo and I noticed
Wall panels of Siem Reap
There are galleries that surround the base of the temple with bas relief battle scenes that are hundreds of meters long. The kids enjoyed looking at all the details and trying to figure out the story... that there are modern stone carvers everywhere in Siem Reap who seem to keep busy, carving and molding stonework for the many hotels and buildings going up in the town. It’s a booming place as more and more people are coming to see Angkor. I know I counted more than 25 new hotels/resorts of all sizes being built!
The kids are great to have with us on the trip as they always make people smile and it breaks the ice and opens communication very easily. Lots of the kids think Viv is a boy when she wears shorts, since her hair was recently cut short. It’s usually another girl that recognizes her as a girl before we start laughing. Viv is a good sport about it though.
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