Advertisement
Published: July 23rd 2006
Edit Blog Post
First Glimpses...
...and the beginning of Jap tourist impersonation! Yep...after 5 weeks in Cambodia we finally took the big leap up to Siem Reap and viewed some of the world's most astounding temples...
The build up was pretty intense, considering Angkor Wat is (as Ruth would say) hugely iconic in terms of national ID for Khmer people and its plastered all over their flag, its the name of their national beer ('my country, my beer')..and every other shop is AngkorNet, Angkor Handicrafts blah blah blah...and ofcourse, on the backpacker trail its the first thing that people ask you if you've seen...its certainly a S.E.A. travelling rite of passage...
and so, at 6am on Saturday I was to be found being pushed and shoved as I stood on the corner that Capitol Travel occupies in downtown PP...those that know me will know i'm my happiest when 'on the move' and so it was a welcome feeling to have my pack on waiting for my rickety (but air con...i have to have some comforts) bus in the middle of such heaving chaos. I travelled up to meet Ruth alone coz Domi had an interview in the morning and caught a later bus..so after the easy 6hour journey (with a stop
for so yummmmmy noodle soup with medium-rare beef on the top..ah!) I met Ruth at 'The Ivy' (rather more colonial style than the A* Pub in LondonTown but still v.v.comfortable and overlooking the old market, slap bang in the middle of Siem Reap) and we tottered off to Angkor Wat for an evening stroll.
Having bargained hard with a tuk tuk driver (a little carriage pulled by a moto) we got lucky at the temple complex ticket booth and got let in for free for the last hour of the evening..and got v.cool 3day pass with our very own photos on them (!!ah..the little things in life) and then trundled off in search of the Great Angkor Wat...believe me, after so much talk of this almost otherworldly place i could hardly stay in my seat and nearly got thrown out when we hit a bump (which was fairly often as i'm sure you can imagine)...and yes..as we rounded the final corner of the huge lake/moat that surrounds the temple, I did experience a sharp intake of breath as it came into view.
I'd like to pretend that we wandered up the imposing causeway to the Wat itself in
a dazed, incredulous and wide-eyed stupour..but no such luck...i think we were both so excited and buzzing to be here (even though Ruth has been before) that we flitted around like children..posing here and there for Japanese-tourist-style photos. After so long being conservative and as 'Khmer' as possible in our work in PP, it felt great to just be the insanely grinning tourist!
anyway..i won't descibe the Temple down to the last stone...I hope my photos show some of its beauty (nicer 'architectural' ones in next blog), although ofcourse it could never look as great as it does in the flesh (or rock?)...what i found important to remember though was..like so many of these old, old feats of human engineering..this was created by hand...almost 1000years ago...and its still standing.
we were lucky..we're here in lower season so we didnt have to share the scenes with too many other people...and at times you'd find yourself alone in the middle of one of the courtyards - and then it was so easy (especially when a light drizzle fell for 10 minutes) to imagine being there when it was first built, and when this place was the absolute centre of the
Steeeeep steps up to the main temple...
...legs are looking great after the ups and downs at Angkor ;) Khmer Civilisation that ruled over what are now Thailand and Vietnam.
we arrived back to find Domi at home and so as not to waste a minute of our precious 'time-off', we went out for dins at the Temple Bar which completely lived up to its name and with bright orange/coral walls and buddha and effigies of apsara dancers on the walls it was a perfect setting to watch the real-life apsara dancers on stage while we ate. Oh.....and on the subject of eating...i'm dangerously addicted to one of the national dishes 'lok lak', which is stir fried beef (in a sauce i can't put my finger on) that you dip in a concoction of salt, pepper and lemon juice and serve with rice with a fried egg on the top...and green tomatoes and onions on the side....mmmm😊 so, mouthwateringly good food and great entertainment, not to mention a perfectly proportioned glass of campari to start ensured i was a happy girl that eve.
Stayed out on the originally named 'Bar st.' for a few drinks in the Funky Buddha..and revelled in the idea that, surrounded by nice looking traveller peeps (backpackers and families and couples...what I found
so nice about Siem Reap is that the foreign area isn't just a bunch of UK, Oz and NZ drunks...) we would be off again tomorrow for a serious day of temple viewing...oh! and having a go and watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat....at 5am.
great.
Stay tuned for an early morning with a difference...
x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.097s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 51; dbt: 0.0418s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb