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Published: February 1st 2008
We finally made it to one of the world's premiere archaeological destinations: the Angkor complex! Specifically, Angkor Wat, the most well known of the bunch, as well as the Bayon (Angor Thom), Ta Prom (iconic Tomb Raider complex, overgrown with trees), and several other magnificent temples. We hired a moto driver for the day (its illegal to drive your own, which is good because it creates jobs for Cambodians)-- the same guy who drove us to our guesthouse from the bus station. Our newest Khmer friend and driver, San, is really friendly, speaks English well, and is a proud new father of a baby girl. 😉
We arrived in Siem Reap yesterday afternoon, checked into our guesthouse, and went to explore the town. I've been warned that the city is ghastly, full of hotels and casinos, like an Asian Las Vegas. However, I was suprised to find totally the opposite; all the western restaurants and bars are isolated into about 2 main streets, and I've only seen a few big luxury resorts and one small casino. Siem Reap is actually much smaller than Phnom Penh, and equally as friendly.
In the market I sat down on a plastic stool next to another girl and ordered the soup she was eating-- that same tumeric broth I found on the street in PP, and after more wandering, Chris and I split a dragonfruit shake on the street. There are plenty of fancy western restuarants around here, but we have to take a break from the pricey $3 dishes we splurged for in PP!
Day one in the complex our driver took us to the main temples close by to Angkor Wat (deemed the ínner circle'). We'd climb on behind him on his motorbike, whiz along the tree-lined (now paved) road to each site, and then hop off to go exploring while he took a nap, played games such as chess or something similar to badminton, or tasted the readily available snacks. Its a funny system they have-- outside each temple is a strip of outdoor restaurants and food vendors who call out to every tourist coming and going-- "You want food? I have restaurant!" or "Pineapple? Lady you want pineapple? You want cold drink?" There are also plenty of children running around asking if we would buy postcards; from what I understand they go to school in the morning and have to sell trinkets and cards all afternoon or vice versa. I only bought one set of postcards, but I had pens and pencils and a notebook to give out (to one lucky girl who won my heart). I feel terrible because they are really bright- even the young ones know a bit of english and usually they will recite facts, such as the capital of each tourist's country. At the end of the day, we climbed to the top of Phnom Bakheng to watch the sun set, along with 500 other tourists. 😊 I find it better to amuse myself when viewing other tourists, rather than be annoyed by them. I especially like the Japanese tour groups, which are usually either a bunch of jovial elder couples wearing accesories from whatever roadside shop they happened to pass through; or, a bunch of young hipsters with the latest fashionable clothing and hairstyles. Either way, they all have cameras and everyone wants their picture taken in front of the landmarks while they give the peace sign. Its great.
For most of the day Chris plopped himself down and began madly sketching all that he could, this time working in his enormous new sketchpad that I can barely stuff in my backpack. Its extremely hot here in Cambodia, hotter and stickier than I've ever experienced before!
On day 2 we also went around with San, this time to the 'Outer Group'. including the far-away temples of Bantay Srei, which are presevered in excellent condition. It is said that they are so fine and exuisite in detail they must have been built by and for a woman, for only women can create such beauty... For us though, we could not appreciate these details in the madness of tourgroup flocks-- everywhere! It was hot and we were happy to return to Angkor's safety via motorbike. The ride through the country was spectular and totally worth the effort for such a long trip, with views of endless fields dotted by the tidy Cambodian country houses. 😉
And alas, Day 3 we rented bikes from our guesthouse (Smiley, I definitely recommend; they have a large garden/sitting area, great food, free internet... and its clean!) and pushed ourselves out for the day, circling back to our favorite temples to spend more time: Angkor Wat, Ta Prom, and the Bayon (for sunset this time). The Bayon is beautiful as the sun goes down, casting long shadows across the smiling faces, appearing to 'turn the off' for the night. One by one they grow dark, as if to announce "Hey! The party's over! Come back tomorrow and let us sleep!"
As the last rays of the sun were setting we peddaled back over to Angkor Wat to watch it from across the lake. We perched along the moat's wall along with the multitude of local Cambodians who live and/or work in the area, befriended some little children (who swore they are orphans, begging me to buy their bracelets), and once our bellies could not stand the gurgles and moans of starvation we returned to the city. Of course, by then the sun had already set and we didn't bring out headlamp, so we quickly rode into town alopng a pitch dark road, which was only occasionally lit by a passing motorbike.
So that was Angkor! From there we return to Phnom Phen, for a short but sweet shopping adventure (we bought Chris' mom, Arlene, 32 Angkor Wat t-shirts to give out to her students...that's been a blast to cart around), an evening meal with our prevously met friend, Vuth, at his cavernous residence (Cambodian homes are huge!! 3 stories tall with 30 foot ceilings on each floor...), and a relaxing snooze at Elsewhere, a French villa whose garden has been suped-up with comfy cushiony louge pads, beautiful plants, and even a plunge pool!
C'est la vie. 😉
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Cam and Donna
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We feel as if we're there!
Court, Once again, your way with words makes us feel as if we were there with you! Thanks for all the effort it must take to keep us connected. Check your email when you have a chance-- Love you, Cam and Donna