Ta Prohm and Tonle Sap Lake

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Tuesday July 10

We headed out for temple touring at 8:30 AM. The first stop was Ta Prohm, which was completed in 1186AD. This temple was left in its natural state when rediscovered in the 19th century, as an example of how most of Angkor looked. Most of the temples in the Angkor complex have been restored - clearing them of trees and vegetation. The structures had to be re-assembled and stabilized, so they were safe. Imagine trying to assemble complex temples from a remaining, partial structure and piles of stones scattered in the jungle. Since Cambodia is a poor country, the vast majority of funding for reconstruction has been from international sources. The exception to this is Angkor Wat, as it was continuously inhabited and maintained by the Khmer people - this is the reason why that temple is in such good condition today. All the others had been abandoned and were overgrown by the jungle.

Ta Prohm is also “famous” because of the movie ”Tomb Raider”, which used it for background for several scenes (with a lot of digital effects added).

Next we headed about 20km north of the Angkor complex to the Banteay Srei temple. Phat explained several things that make this temple unique. Compared to the Angkor temples it is small, almost a miniature. It was not a royal temple, but built by a counselor to the king with the king’s permission around 950AD. It is constructed of pink colored sandstone that is much different than other temples. It has very detailed, complex carvings that are in remarkable condition. It is a Hindu temple - its name in modern translation means “Citadel of Women” - the structure has a very delicate, feminine style. It was worth the excursion to see it - I think we spent twice as much time driving as we did looking - but we did get to see rural Cambodia.

We were then taken back to the hotel - it was sunny, hot and humid - but we had spent most of our time in the shade so it was not as bad as Monday. Since we were in a Tomb Raider mood after walking Ta Prohm, we had to have lunch at the Red Piano Bar & Restaurant. Angelina Jolie and her crew spent a lot of time there - put the place on the “map” so to speak. It IS a really nice restaurant - the Khmer food was great. Nancy had Angelina’s “signature” drink - the Tomb Raider Cocktail. I have grown fond of Angkor Beer (large bottle) - good stuff! We ARE tourists!

After lunch we were picked-up at the hotel at 2:30 and headed off to the Tonle Sap Lake. The lake is the lifeblood of this area of Cambodia and is the center of a very interesting water system (it is worth some time on Google - I’m not going to explain it). We were going to see the “floating village”. There is a community of about 4,000 people who literally live on the lake - they live in floating houses. This includes schools, medical clinics and churches. The main source of revenue is fishing and some of them have fish farms set up attached to their houses. Very primitive lifestyle - but it has been going on for centuries.

That evening we attended a dinner show in the Apsara Theatre. It is across the street from the hotel and owned by them - the tour books have it listed as the best venue in town, as it is indoors and air conditioned. Several of the major resort hotels have similar events - but they are outdoors - heat, humidity and mosquitoes (think malaria) - YUK! There were about 50 people and it was a Khmer style dinner, with a fixed menu. The couple that sat next to us lived in Germantown, MD and worked in DC - it is a small world. After dinner was a performance of classical Khmer dances - it was good entertainment. The whole thing lasted about 2 ½ hours. Then back to the hotel to pack - Wednesday we return to Bangkok on a 9:50 AM flight.

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Photos

Banteay Srei Temple
This temple is very small compared to the others. Man entering at far right gives sense of scale.