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Angkor WHAT?!
Can you tell Laura and I are a teensy bit excited? Despite the 12 hours of traveling? So as I left you all last time, Amy and Erin were leaving me. I thought it was to be the dawn of my adventure by myself. Ah, how wrong I was. Before they departed, we met up with Rebecca and Laura, and I decided to bunk with them in a tiny guesthouse off of Khao San. Rebecca, too, was set to leave the next morning, so my plan was to hang with Laura and make arrangements to begin my trek northward. I went with Laura to her and Becca's trusted travel agent. I was very wary after the whole Lidia catastrophe, but I decided to keep an open mind. I got the sense immediately that Serine, their agent, as a lady to be trust- she was down to earth, hip, and didn't once try to plan my whole trip. I was sold. Unfortunately, the daily bus to Ayutthaya had departed at the crisp hour of 7 that morning, so I would have to stay another night. Laura was arranging a ticket to Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat, before making her way to Vietnam. As she was filling out a Cambodian Visa, I casually asked what I had to do
First Stop, Bayon
The first main wat of Angkor Thom, featuring tons of four-sided Buddha faces to extend my Thai Visa, as its deadline was coming up within a week. Serine gave me two options: pay almost 2000B for an extension, or leave the country. Well, for those who are not aware, but Cambodia is a separate country from Thailand. I'm sure you can guess what happened next- I decided to tag along with Laura to Angkor!
We left at 7am the next day for a very long day of traveling. We arrived in Siem Reap at about 8 pm at a clean, fairly average hotel- only $3 US a night. Our bus guide, a young man named Lupang, offered us his tuktuk services for the next few days of wat adventuring. Our exploration of Angkor would begin at 9 the next day.
After buying a 3-day wat pass, we began at Angkor Thom, the ancient City of Angkor. Our first stop was Bayon: a Buddhist temple originally equipped with 54 faces of the Buddha, each representing the 54 provinces of ancient Cambodia. Completely awestruck, Laura and I spiraled into it, taking in every bas-relief, sculpture, and structure to be had. I couldn't believe the fine detail of every carving, despite centuries of elements.
From there we explored the grounds of Angkor Thom, from the Royal Palace to the Pavilion of the Lepers, to a few wats tucked away in the jungle. By the time we made it back to Lupang, we were exhausted, but the day wasn't over yet.
After lunch, we were taken to Ta Prohm, the temple made infamous for its role as the set of the first Tomb Raider film. Hollywood celebrity aside, the grounds of the temple had a haunting, unforgettable beauty. Most of the temple was in complete disarray, with carved blocks that once served as walls were jumbled on top of eachother. But this was not due to some earthquake or barbarian invasion- the temple was literally being reclaimed by the jungle. Huge, majestic trees split walkways and bent roofs of stone with their mighty roots. I felt such reverence for the site, I took a seat on a haphazard block and began to sketch a particularly beautiful section of tree and building. I'm not sure how long we sat there, but many groups of tourists flowed around us like water. At one point some Cambodian workers surrounded us, curiously peering over my shoulder to see what
Forest Temple
A little temple we stumbled upon, guarded by huge old trees. I was doing. I think they approved.
We returned to the hotel after Ta Prohm, with still two days to explore the rest of the ancient wonders. Lupang told us about a dance show at another hotel that we would enjoy- cultural experience! So later that evening we set out to a vast buffet, followed by a show of traditional Cambodian dances. The dancers themselves weren't the pinnacle of Cambodian ballet, but the art form and music of this tradition that had been around since Ancient Angkor was certainly arresting. It was to be a relatively early night to bed, seeing as we would be waking up at 4 the next morning to see the sunrise on Angkor Wat.
The early wakeup was well worth it. As the sky lightened, the grounds of Angkor Wat were already teeming with people. We got situated right in front of one of the Wat's pools, which proved to be ideal for a breathtaking sunrise. As the day began, we explored the inner chambers of Angkor Wat, taken at every turn by the beautiful detail and arresting Hindu carvings. One thing that struck me particularly was the reoccuring floral motifs, decorating doorways
Elephant Pavillion
A 500m-long walkway decorated with hundreds of elephant reliefs and sculptures. and pillars. It reminded me strongly of French Roccoco or Damask patterns... but if memory serves me correctly, Angkor was "discovered" by the French in the 1860's, which is quite a bit later than Roccoco. Coincidence? Apparently...
After spending leisurely time at Angkor Wat, we took a break for breakfast with Lupang. He was very open to talking about Cambodian culture, and we found out that he was studying to be an Angkor tour guide, which apparently is quite a good job. Both Laura and I were taken, and would be throughout our trip, at the openness and honesty of the Cambodians- there was no ulterior motive, unlike the vibes we got from Thailand.
Our next stop was Preah Khan, a small Buddhist temple. It was still fairly early in the morning and we were the first ones on the site. I was taken immediately by the seemingly endless hallway created by perfectly constructed doors. Left, right, and centre, we came across new windows framing an overgrowth of ferns, or a jumble of huge building stones. This temple, too, had been reclaimed by the forest... I'm not sure if it was because of our relative solitude, or because
Ta Prohm
An absolutely haunting temple, quietly being reclaimed by nature. of the radiant balance with which the temple was built, but I can away from Preah Khan thoroughly touched and impressed.
The rest of the morning we explored the "big circuit," the chain of temples on the outer edges of Angkor Wat territory (Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and the "small circuit"). Most of the temples were similar to the Angkor Wat style, with a main high mount and many stairs, all in a basic square/rectangular layout. Ta Prohm and Preah Khan definitely remain my favourites.
Before we knew it, we had seen more or less of everything there was to see... and it was only noon! (Its amazing how much gets done when you start at 4 am). Laura and I were exhausted, and so headed back to the hotel for a nap. We had planned to go to Angkor Wat again for sunset, but when we got there, ominous rainclouds put a damper on anychances of that.
We spent a quiet evening in, planning to rest for the next day to explore the city of Siem Reap. However, that night I came down with a bit of a fever, headache, runny nose- the works. I felt somewhat
Some culture for the evening, perhaps?
Over dinner we were entranced by ancient Angkor dance and costume. better in the morning, but soon enough Laura began to feel it too. We ended up staying the whole day in our room, napping and reading. The rest served well, as I felt almost back to normal when it was time for me to head back to Bangkok. Laura was still a little congested, but she was on the road to recovery. We parted sadly in Siem Reap- she made a great travel companion that I had too short a time with.
I'm now back on Khao San (Again!) and resting up before I leave for Ayuthaya (for reals this time!) tomorrow morning.
Until next time,
peace~
Emma
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