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Published: June 23rd 2006
Sunrise reflected in the moat at Angkor Wat
From dark to light, really spectacular colours.Well this is it. We have finally arrived at one of the destinations I was most excited about seeing on my travells and it certainly did not dissapoint.
We made our way overland from Laos into Thailand, stayed the night in Surin and then headed down into Cambodia through the O'smach border crossing beacuse we had read in 'The Lonely Planet' that the border crossing from Laos into Cambodia through the 4,000 islands, Si Phan Don is impassiable and very expensive. In reality the book is now over a year out of date and not only is the crossing simple with the addition of a new road and relatively cheap depending on the day you travel, (weekends have an added 'overtime' fee?) it also offers a visa on the border.
Nevermind, you learn! And through our experience we have been able to advise many travellers who came after us that it
is possible to travel through the border there and we have consequently saved them much hassle. If only someone had been there to do the same for us! I guess it has to start somewhere.
We were well prepared for some attempted 'ripping off' at the border
Our first sunset, not exactly earth shattering!
From the top of the aptly named 'sunset hill.' A very steep series of worn and crumbling steps takes you up to apparantly the best place to view the sunset. The sun sinks down behind a load of trees and is not framed by a magnificent temple as I had once thought. by the officals, who predictably tried to charge us $25US for our Cambodian visa when we knew full well that it was $20US. I guess he thought that by charging the rate in Thai Baht that we wouldnt notice. He was sorely mistaken. James picked up on it immediately. There is a big difference between 800TH and 1000TH. A nights accomodation for one!
Our next challenge was getting from this very remote and seldom used border point to Siem Reap. Taxis were trying to charge us $50US, extortionate really. There are no buses and no alternative transport, so the taxi was looking like a distinct possibility. We were not however prepared to pay such a high rate. We knew it should cost about $30US. So we worked our magic in the best and only way we knew how. You learn quickly in parts of Asia that any sale is often better than no sale at all, and although the sellers want to make a tidy profit from the 'falang' westener, they will eventually chase you if need be to make that sale and claim their prize.
This was how we found ourselves with all our heavy bags strapped
Phnam bakeng Hill
The last bit of steep climbing before the sunset viewing,wish i hadnt worn a skirt! to us, walking off down the road from the crossing with three cars pinning us into the side of the road and I think about four motorbikes, one in particular practically up james rear!
All vehicles being driven by frantic desperate men who wanted to drive us to Siem Reap. All offering different prices. Im still not sure how the motorbike drivers though they would be able to take us and all our heavy stuff for 4 maybe 5 hours on a long and dusty journey. Madness.
As a result of our somewhat underhanded but neccessary antics we negotiated a good rate with one of the guys and set off on our journey.
It quickly occured to us that the roads in Cambodia are not as bad as everyone says they are, they're worse, much worse. The thing that makes them almost unbearable is that they are so dusty, completely unsealed roads all the way to the outskirts of Siem Reap. The heat and speed of the traffic created this dust bowl that pretty much engulfed the car meaning you cant breath, except for the short sharp torrential downpour which cleared the air a little but left us
About to climb Phnam Bakeng Hill
The steep crumbling steps that lead to the temple on a hill, riddled with tree roots and fallen stones. and everything else wet and orange, like fresh paint. As its so hot we had to have the windows down which as you can imagine created a whole new experience. The sand and dust from the road is orange and yes being blasted by it for the best part of 5 hours meant that at the end of it both James and I looked like we'd had a St. Tropez spray tan. I had perfect strap marks and everything. Very funny.
Finally we arrived in town and were not too suprised to find Siem Reap to be a tacky, extremely touristy and not entirely pleasant place to be. The temples are just incredible but everything else is horrid. There are beggars everywhere you look, they touch, pull and tug you and are so relentless, waiting outside shops and restaurants for you. People approach you wherever you go selling anything from drugs to tours to books. It never stops and goes on well into the night, every night. The worst thing is the rumour that the mother beggars drug their small children so they hang lifeless at their sides so that they can withstand long days and nights of begging
without getting bored. And of course, it makes them look really sick! I really hope it's just a rumour, but the evidence seems to suggest otherwise.
Randomly we ran into one of James friends from Uni, those Sheffield boys get everywhere(!) and his girlfriend who had also just arrived. It was lovely to spend some time with nice people. In addition we met up again with Wayne a lovey Calafornia who we first met in Laos. Together we all enjoyed the first sunset together atop of Phnam Bakeng Hill also know as 'sunset hill', all agreed it was a bit of a dissapointment and then headed out for food.
For all the negatives, Siem Reap does have one contraversial road called 'Bar Street' which has a great selection of western bars and restaurants. All expensive (on an asian budget) of course but a great deal of fun and for just a while it lets you forget that you are in one of the poorest countries in Asia with real poverty at your doorstep. Which in itself may not neccesarily be a good thing to forget. I guess some people love the western influence and others hate it, but
The crowds gather!
Like all big tourist spots,Phnam Bakeng Hill'sunset hill' was no exception to pulling in the punters. I for one think it is nice to treat yourself to a good salad or a nice steak that actually tastes the way it should when such food just isn't readily available in asia. Once in a while at least!
Ok, so here is the brief history bit for all those who dont know....
The temples at Angkor were built by the vanished Khmer empire. It was constructed during the reign of king Suryavarman II, who ruled from 1113 to at least 1145, no one is absolutely sure!
In those days, it was customary for the Khmer Empire to maintain a state temple at the heart of the city. However, when Suryavarman assumed power, the existing Baphuon state temple was dedicated to Shiva. Suryavarman worshiped Vishnu, and wished to honor him with a new temple south of the existing capital. This new state temple came to be called Angkor Wat which means "The city that is a temple."
There is a certain way in which you must enter all the temples and the architecture dictates this, the way it is built actually means you enter and leave a certain way which means something important but for now but
Wayne and James posing...of course!
Phnam Bakeng Hill'Sunset hill,'waiting for that sunset. I cannot remember what! Besides for all the planning, tourists seem to go wherever they want reguardless of etiquette. Suprise, suprsie!
Next day the alarm woke us up bright and early, 4am to be precise to watch the first of three sunrises over Angkor Wat, something I have wanted to see for such a long time. It was crowded and hard to find a good place to watch the sun come up. The complex is so massive that its difficult to judge where to stand. We watched what we presumed was probably the last of the spectacle as the sun threw a little colour into the sky, which due to dense cloud wasn't all that spectacular sadly.
Today however was going to be a mission. Most sensible people hire a tuk tuk driver for the day and get driven leisurely from temple to temple around the huge area that makes up the site. For the slightly more energetic there are electic bicycles. And for hard core nutters, and there are few you can hire a push bike. The cheapest and most exhausting way to see the temples. We did this for two days! God knows how I managed it
Phnam Bakeng Hill 'Sunset Hill'
'Sunset hill,'waiting for that sunset. but somehow I did.
We left Angkor Wat after the sunrise on a reccomendation that this is when most people see it, makes sense. Instead we cycled to Angkor Thom, which means "great City" and was the origional old capital. You reach it via a causeway fifty meters across a moat. On each side of the causeway are rows of stone figures, 54 figures on each side. The two rows are performing a famous Hindu story: the myth of the Churning of the Ocean. On the left side of the moat the stone figures 'devas' (guardian gods) pull the head of the snake 'Shesha' while on the right side the stone figures 'asuras' (demon gods) pull the snake's tail in the opposite direction. The constant tugging was said to churn the ocean that resulted in the eventual creation of the earth and cosmos.
Within the Angkor Thom complex lies Bayon, famous for its 217 faces all carved into the temple and around the site. It really is incredible. We were some of the only people there too because it was still so early. We met some nuns with shaved heads, white robes and broad smiles who blessed us
and wished us luck and Wayne got chatting to a couple of monks who loved his accent!
Next we went to 'Ta Phrom' which is another incredible temple famous for the Strangler Fig tree roots that have grown through and invaded certain parts of the temple. It also featured in the film 'Tomb raider' with Angelina Jolie. This temple is very mystical because of all the crumbling architecture and the fact that it is being destroyed or enhanced by nature, I couldn't decide. Definately well worth seeing though, we all loved it. Although by this point the crowds of asian tour groups with their overly snap happy tendancies had caught up with us! Which kind of ruins a beautiful place. Dare I say it while I myself am I tourist with a camera.
Next was an early lunch, so that when everyone else went for lunch we would be able to enjoy Angkor Wat to ourselves. The plan worked and while we walked around the most incredible temple of all we passed maybe only 12 other people. Bliss. Everything about this place is magical. The scale of the temples, the steep incline of the steps which lead up
Phnam bakeng Hill 1
the extent of the incline and also the tourists! to the central point of most of the temples, the crumbling and worn brickwork which adds such character, the list goes on. The steps themselves are fascinating and its quite a feat to get up and down them, you kind of have to climb like a monkey. Its said that the steps are that steep because you are climbing to a higher place - heaven, and heaven should be a hard place to reach, hence the steps are ridicilously steep. I like that though, it makes sense, and for me it made them even more intriguing.
By the time we left Angkor Wat and had walked around the massive complex and seen all the carved walls, highly polished in places by the amount of people that had touched and rubbed the stone for good luck over the years. We were truely exhausted. We managed a few other temples along the way. Cycling back into Angkor Thom and walking around the Elephant terrace and then visiting the "Terrace of the Leper King" just north of the elephant terrace. Ending day 1. with a sunset. Exhausting but so enjoyable.
The plan for day two was to travel out of Siem
Reap 60km to a completely overgrown temple called Beng melea. Probably my favourite temple of the lot. We had so much fun clambering over the fallen structure, ducking down into hidden passage ways and walking along the tops of the walls of this magnificent temple. It has been completaly overgrown by the surrounding forrest but this definately adds something to the appeal. It is much more extreme than Ta Phrom and really felt like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. We were also virtually the only people there again, and when we did come across a tour guide with one girl he kindly warned us not to go off the tracks as the surrounding area was still full of landmines. Comforting! On the way back we visited Kbal Spean, a river full of Lingus (phalluses) and an intricate and beautiful temple called Banteay Srei, which was carved from pink sandstone and designed by a woman.
When we neared Siem Reap we went to Pre Rup to watch another sunset. Not a very good show as still a lot of cloud about but amusing nonetheless because the policeman, if he even was one was trying to sell us his badge
St. tropez all the way
The resluts of the dusty journey! for $15US and another man desperately trying to sell us Angkor beer!
Day three, and again we were up for the sunrise. This time however we arrived at about 4am and were the only people at Angkor Wat. We quite startled the guard who was still asleep in his hammock, poor thing. Watched the sunrise that tried desperately to be a good one but there was sadly just too much low cloud. Some things are not meant to be.
Then wayne left to go to Phnom Penh on the bus and James and I totally exhausted by three 4am starts in a row went back to bed for some much needed shut eye.
We finally made it back out into the land of the temples after lunch and took our bicycles again all around the temples and basically filled in anything we had missed. We cycled like bats out of hell for I guess 5 hours or so until enough was enough and we went and chilled out at Ta Keo, a small pyramid temple where we were the only ones there and enjoyed our last sunset at the temples. Then cycled back in the dark with no
Nice tan!!
The resluts of the dusty journey! headlights to Siem Reap.
It has been three of the best but most exhausting days of the trip so far. We had about 10 hours sleep each over the course of the three days. I think thats enough for anyone to be knackered! We went and had well deserved cocktails, two for one naturally! Ever the budget travellers, but we did treat ourselves to a really nice Indian meal.
All in all its been wicked and in a way its almost sad to know that something I have been looking forward to for so long has now suddenely come to an end. It is very scary how quickly time flies. Its been a ball and I just wish that everyone gets the opportunity to see these magnificent structures. They really are worth the effort.
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