Siem Reap

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On Wednesday I had a bit of a lie in and went down to breakfast at half past nine. Then I wandered around the town a little and had an early lunch before hiring a tuk tuk to take me to Ta Phrom. This meant, of course, that I'd hired the driver for everywhere I wanted to go that day!

Ta Phrom is the location that was used in the Lara Croft film "Tomb Raider". That has to be two words - if you spell it as one - as I did just now - it looks like Tom Braider. The temple has been left in its "natural state" without clearing all the vegetation. Of course it takes a lot of work to maintain the status quo if you don't want what's there to be unstable or to be lost but the impression given is that you have just walked into an undiscovered temple in the jungle.

Giant trees grow through roofs, the tree roots lift up walls and twist themselves between statues, moss colours statuary and bas reliefs, emulating the original painted state. You have to clamber over rocks, up ladders and through archways so low that even I had to nod slightly to see what is to be seen, but it is worth it. It's a commonplace that we don't appreciate the worth of something until it's lost and seeing great artistic works abandoned to the elements is a good way to make you appreciate them and regret their exposure.

After I had found my tuk tuk driver - his name was Mr Mean, but he seemed very nice - I asked him to take me to the Angkor National Museum which is just outside the centre of town. This is an excellent museum and I would advise any future visitors to Siem Reap to go there - if possible before visiting any temples.

Incidentally, the name Siem Reap is a rather gloating reference by the Khmers to Cambodia defeating the Thai kingdom in a battle and reclaiming their historical patrimony of the Angkor temples. It means "Siam has been defeated". Perhaps Thais feel the same way when travelling there as Frenchmen may be supposed to feel when going to London's Waterloo station.

The museum is modern and well arranged with all exhibits labelled in Cambodian and in English. The first gallery displays 1,000 Buddha images and several monks were in this display hall admiring the various Buddhas. The other galleries were deserted so far as visitors are concerned, though one or two museum staff were present in each and were all very helpful.

The galleries take you through Khmer history and belief, explaining the way in which Hinduism and Buddhism (both derived through India) have coalesced and jointly influenced Khmer culture. It was also interesting to see how Vishnu and Shiva were sometimes worshipped in one combined form - sometimes also together with Brahma.

The galleries then go on to deal with the great Khmer God Kings including the founders of both Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom and then with both of those structures in greater depth. In the gallery devoted to Angkor Wat you can see dawn breaking over the temple complex without having to get out of bed at 4 o'clock in the morning. Just as good as the real thing!

The final gallery deals with historical clothing and with the dancing gils or asparas. There are relatively few exhibits in the museum but a lot of information is presented. I think this is better than a museum with many exhibits that are left unexplained.

I came back to the hotel and relaxed at the poolside, taking an occasional dip before venturing out for a stroll to the night market and to get something to eat. Tomorrow I may try to find the floating village. I get the feeling it doesn't normally float that far because all the tuk tuk drivers say they know where it is, but maybe it will have floated off up the Mekong to China tomorrow. Anyway, it'll be interesting to hunt the floating village down.

Actually, I think it may be fixed as well as floating. If it really does move about I wonder what happens so far as local utilities are concerned. Do the residents pay local taxes or rates? Maybe I had better not go there. I have a feeling that my imagination of a floating village is probably better than the reality.

If the people there vote, are they floating voters?

Cambodia is much more French influenced than Thailand. Lots of French restaurants and hardly any in Thailand. Lots of French books and newspapers on sale. And they drive on the wrong side of the road! On the right. Crossing the roads here is a lot harder. Fortunately a lot of the tuk tuks and motorbikes still go on the left, so I don't feel completely lost. The architecture in town is largely that of the French colonialists - my hotel is fairly typical. The streets are wider than most in Thailand and the shops look more western.

They have an interesting approach to restaurant names, with each one trying to go one better than its competitors. For example I saw a resturant called the Happy Pizza - a fair enough name. But further up the same street there is Happy Special Pizza, Happy Herb Pizza and finally Ecstatic Pizza - which I think is a synonym too far. I have read that some of these names may indicate that the food has a special ingredient - marijuana. But the menus of the restaurants did not give me any confirmation of this.

From my experience so far, I would say that Cambodians seem to speak better English than most Thai. I think the reason for this is economic. Siem Reap seems to depend on tourism and they have to speak English to make money. The young children here use the same tactic as young Thai children - "Where you come from?" and then, if you say England, they complacently say "Capital: London!". I have seen them respond correctly to the US and to Australia too.

Maybe I will try to be clever next time - I wonder how many of them know the capital of Aruba. It'sd Oranjestad according to my iPhone app.

Not much French seems to be spoken, though there are many French style restaurants and some notices are in French as well as English.

Siem Reap is a nice town to walk around, but the tuk tuk drivers make it harder than it should be. Still, it is a difficult life for them. There's a wat right next to my hotel that's not mentioned in the Lonely Planet book. It dates back to the 14th century and has many pagodas in its grounds - and a giant model boat. The legend associated with the boat is that back in around 1500 there was a monk who travelled down the river from here to the capital (not Phnom Penh in those days) got rice there and came back. One day his boat was attacked by sharks (I don't think there are any sharks left now - the crocodiles ate all of them) and broken in half. The half with him in didn't sink but sped down the river and landed safely with the monk at the wat,

The monks at the wat were so impressed that they had a reclining Buddha image made out of the wood of the half boat and placed in a position of honour in the temple where it stands to this day - unfortunately the temple doors were shut and bolted on both days when I tried to get in, but I'm sure its true. The model of the boat in the grounds also commemorates this miracle.

I've been to the Night Market a few times and bought all sorts of stuff - pictures, scarves, bracelets, an opium pipe etc. I wonder if the Khmers are better salesmen or if I'm just more recptive than I was in Thailand. I've now had three massages done by fish.

Last night I saw a film in the night market about Pol Pot. It was very interesting as, told from the Khmer point of view it ascribed almost heroic status to Prince Sihanouk, of whom I had always thought as a sort of Vicar of Bray character - although maybe his last abdication should have made me think otherwise. But you can't get away from the fact that Sihanouk and the Khmer Rouges were allies.

I haven't booked anywhere to stay in Phnom Penh - have to see what's available there.

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Photos

My hotel in Siem Reap
Ther hotel is ontwo sides of a sqare. I took this photo from my balcony. My side looks much the same but has five floors. Note thecolonialist style

Another view from my balcony
This shows part of Wat Preah Prom Rath

Crocodiles!
OUtside a shop selling leather goods

Siem Reap River
I think that's what my hotel's name means - Steung Siem Reap

Chicken in Ta Prohm
The wat's grounds had chickens instead of the more usual monkeys

Ta Prohm
It almost looks like a fairy tale cottage, but that tree's an unusual chimney

Ta Prohm
The graceful dancer ignores the devastation around her

Typical Khmer Tuk Tuk
Or moto remorque