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Our flight from KL reached Siem Reap on a pleasant spring day in April and there were tell-tale signs that this was going to be an exotic destination. The old world charm of the airport was hard to miss. There were no aerobridges and as we walked on the tarmac towards the terminal building it was easy to smile at Thai’s Smile airways parked alongside!
The drive to the hotel brought more smiles, the trees alongside reminding me of those I left behind…trees with beautiful yellow blossoms of Casia Fistula and purple blossoms, reminiscent of those in my neighborhood. Along the route there were mango trees, temple trees and bougainvillea plants some of them growing wild and unattended. The sights and sounds of the city were beginning to look familiar and as I was about to form my precocious opinion on what lay ahead, we’d reached our destination - Angkor Miracle Resorts and Spa.
The ambience of the lobby was unique and I would soon realize that the décor, with its vaulted ceilings and step-like woodwork imbibed the very essence of the native Cambodian architecture. The staff were warm and friendly especially SuKi who was thorough in his discharge
of duties and ever so pleasing even at 10 in the night. He helped us with our tourist booking for the next day and had advice on what to do, where to go and what to eat! That evening as the sun went down; we headed towards Pub Street, the happening part of the city. The weather was pleasant and we walked around to soak in the culture and enjoy the sights and sounds of a place that looked enticing and intriguing to the visitor. With restaurants lining both sides of the street and live band performances, it was entertainment galore! There were souvenir shops for the memento collectors and massage parlors for the weary tourists, some of them offering their services for as low as $1.00, making it a very affordable indulgence! Every restaurant had a menu card available at the curb side which you could check before deciding to go in. After much strolling around we picked a restaurant and settled sown to savor the delicacies our gastronomically challenged bodies were craving for! And while we waited for our order to be fulfilled, we were also served the password to access their Wi-Fi network (to share with the
world our status and location 😊) taking hospitality services to a whole new level!
Early next day we were off on a guided tour to see Cambodia’s pride – its many temples and heritage structures. We were advised to bring our caps and walking shoes along. The fare per person was $13 and temple pass cost $37. Our first stop was Angkor Thom, the 12
th century sprawling temple complex that's home to many structures, most famous of them being the Prasat Bayon temple. The nine square kilometer campus was flanked by gates at its four cardinal points, the most photographed of them being the South entrance gate whose three- faced facade (similar to the Bayon temple) is flanked on either side by a row of Asuras (demons) and Devas (gods) each carrying a naga (serpent)
At the center of the square shaped Angkor Thom complex lay the Prasat Bayon temple, a three tiered temple structure. The first two tiers were square shaped galleries their laterite and sandstone stones adorned with bas-reliefs depicting different themes. Often these were battles fought on land and sea, some portraying the social scene of their time and some depicting the processions and animals.
But viewed in a systematic manner they all had a story to tell...The third tier of the Bayon was circular in design and hosted more than forty towers, each of them had carved faces on all sides smiling benignly down at you
What struck me was the enormity of the construction task and how logistically difficult it must have been to transfer the sandstone and laterite cuboid stones to the construction site and to think that it wasn’t just one tower but so many more that were erected without the help of cranes and scaffolding! As tourists, climbing the temple to the top was an arduous task in itself as many had no guard rails – we had to dig our fingers in the holes in the sandstone blocks for support to hoist ourselves up step by step!
Our next stop was the Ta Prohm temple, built originally as a Buddhist monastery and now in ruins – with tree trunks/roots and sandstone/laterite of the structure fused together through the ravages of time. What is amazing is that restoration work only involves providing scaffolding to support the sandstone slabs and prevent them from falling prey to the fury of
nature. The trees are left to grow as nature so decreed. Reminded me of a scene from a Harry Potter movie!
Next in line was the legendary Angkor Wat temple, a UNESCO world heritage site and synonymous as the largest religious monument in the world. It is also one of the best preserved temple structures in the area and has its place of pride on the Cambodian flag. And rightly so, as this is the best preserved heritage structure in Angkor, as it never fell into disarray and neglect. The symmetry and dimension of this architectural wonder is baffling – a five towered temple complex surrounded by a rectangular outer wall, behind which lie acres of natural forest in a perfect rectangle. This temple plus outer wall plus rectangular forest has on its periphery a rectangular moat. While we can marvel at the prowess and dedication of the 12
th century masons, artisans and craftsmen to execute such a daunting task, we should acknowledge the fact that later generations valued their heritage structures and didn’t choose development over history. Unfortunately I cannot help but think that similar heritage structures closer to home would have been better off, had man not
chosen to build housing adjacent to them as is seen in and around the Golconda Fort area of Hyderabad
In the midst of all the temple climbing and gluteal exercising, it was time for lunch - my order of Khmer Amok fish, a saucy tangy coconut infused fish curry served in a coconut shell with rice on the side upped the exotic quotient of the day! There was more to see and savor and we were tired - hence chose the latter! I’d heard a lot about the durian fruit and loved the buttery taste - I also did savor the dragon fruit and milk fruit and loved my new found, non-acquired tastes! Almost all tourist spots had their share of peddler’s selling mementos from Angkor Wat themed scarves to magnets, clothes and hats. It was easy to shop as every vendor sold their goods in dollars! Rather downright funny was street urchins goading/coaxing tourists to part with their money in a sweet soft voice saying, “give me 1 dollar!”
That evening we decided to go back to the city in a tuk tuk – a motorcyclist driven carriage like buggy. As the sun went down, the locals
were seen relaxing on hammocks in parks or near water bodies. Traffic was a little erratic and women were seen driving motorcycles without protective helmets. Roadside eatery units with their bright plastic chairs catered to the hungry denizens of the land. On some of the interior roads I saw left over heaps of sand and bricks at a construction site – the sights all too familiar for a person from India
Tourism is a major industry in Siem Reap and almost all the people we interacted with were in their 20s. It seemed like many chose work over college and were happy with their choice – our tour guide had a great attitude and was happy with his routine! All in all, the people of Siem Reap have cracked the recipe in customer satisfaction – from the widespread acceptance of US dollars to the unwinding element that the night market/pub street entails the weary traveler – the massage parlors, the street food and their generous sharing of their WiFi passwords…a happy Snapchat’r, a happy Instagram’r and a happy WhatsApp’r is a happy camper!
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