Temples, temples, temples

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Nov 27-29 Siem Reap, Cambodia

After three days here, we are still enjoying this place. To say, “Wow” about Cambodia pretty much sums up this area of the country. It is a very pretty place with all the green rice fields, the orchards, gardens, all the temples, and of course the people themselves. Even the large numbers of peddlers who constantly hound us at the temple sites are tolerable because for the most part, they have a good sense of humour and they do take ‘no’ for an answer. (especially when said in their language even though English is like a first language to them). There are also a fair number of beggars about, most of whom are victims of land mines. They are bit harder to say no to, but they are very much part of this country. But, let me take you back to our first day.

We arrived here on the 27th and were picked up at the airport by the hotel’s tuk tuk. For those who don’t know, a tuk tuk is a covered wagon with bench seats and is pulled behind a motorcycle. Our hotel is very nice. For $14.00 a night we have a comfortable bed and a super clean room. It is one of the nicer rooms we have stayed in. While the hot water is only barely warm, there is a working air conditioner in the room. We basically got our things settled into the room and we were out and about. Our tuk tuk driver took us to a nearby lake, where we took a boat out to the Floating Village of Chong Kneas. This village is made up of houses on bamboo rafts and the village moves as the water level of the lake changes. It is a very poor village where most people make a living from fishing, and from a crocodile farm. Yes, the crocodiles are raised for their skins and their meat and no, we did not try any. While at the village we visited the local school which is also a floating building. All the students attending this school are orphans who lost their parents to land mines. Most of them actually live at the school. The place was kind of an emotional impact so we wound up buying and donating a box of soup noodles for the them.
Then that evening we went out for a buffet dinner and a show. The show was of the tradition Khmer Apsara dances where they do the ‘finger’ dances that you see on so many of the carvings around here. (It is where the fingers and hands are bent in varying position, most which look impossible to do.)
That was our introduction to Siem Reap and Cambodia.

Next morning we were up at 4:30 am and at Angkor Wat by 5:30am. We walked onto the temple grounds in the dark (along with many, many other people) and stood in front of the temple to watch the sunrise. What an amazing introduction to the temples this was as Angkor Wat is the biggest temple and the most impressive. As the sky lightened the temple gradually presented itself to everyone. Then the sun broke the horizon and out lined the temples, making them even more majestic looking. Again, hopefully my pictures will show some of this.

From here we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then our tuk tuk driver took us to more temples: Prasat Kraven, Ta Prohn (Anglelina Jolie’s Laura Croft from ‘Tomb Raiders’ fell through the ground here) Ta Keo, Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, and then the big Angkor Thom. The temple at Angkor Thom is not nearly as big as Angkor Wat, but grounds are much larger. The carvings are also well preserved, as is the bais relief that surrounds the outer courtyard. We spent quite a bit of time here trying to see it all while hiding from the sun.
After Angko Wat we went back to actually see the interior of Angkor Wat but only lasted long enough to see the bais relief that surrounds the inner courtyard here. By then we were both pretty tired so we headed back to the hotel for a shower and nap. (Not as young as we used to be)

The next day we headed out at 8am, again with our tuk tuk driver, this time to see some of the temples farther out. This time we visited Preah Khan, the 3rd larges temple in the area, which may have been a residence of the king during the building of Angkor Thom. Next were a series of smaller temples: Neak Pean, Ta Som, Eastern Mebon, and possibly some others that I simply don’t remember. We then headed back to Angkor Wat so we could finish exploring its temples. And yes, we climbed the stairs to the top level, which is at the base of the tallest pier. We are both glad we didn’t try to do all of this temple on the first day as there is just too much of it. As is, we enjoyed our visit and when done we still had a bit of time so our driver took us into town to a ‘war museum, that was a collection of old weapons used during the civil war. Our guide there was a veteran of the war…joined when he was 14 and again at 18 in order to get food. He was also a survivor of a land mine explosion that cost him the fingers on one hand and some vision in one eye…his friend who tripped the mine did not survive. So many stories like that around here. One of the things he showed us though was what the mines look like. There are so many different kinds, most home made and designed for maximum damage. After that we were ready for our trip back to Pre Rup where we joined everyone else to watch the sunset over the fields and trees. Pretty, but we have seen sunsets before.
Then back to the hotel, dusty, sweaty, tired once more.

Day three saw us in the tuk tuk again, this time heading 16km out of town to a beautiful little temple called Banteay Srei, or better known as the ‘Pink Temple’ because it is made of pink sandstone. The carvings here are very ornately done and have with stood the elements quite well. We were here about 15 minutes before the tour busses full of Korean and German tourist arrived, making it hard to see anything. Fortunately we were pretty much done. From there we headed out another 10km or so to Kbal Spean where we then walked up a mountain trail for about 1.6 km. to get to the carvings. The guide books clearly state not to step off the beaten trail here as there is a very real possibility of land mines still being in the bush here. Anyways, these carvings are in a small river, above and below a waterfall. There is also a natural bridge under which the river completely disappears for a fair distance. I think of all the temples this is and Banteay Srei are two of my favorites. Kbal Spean is just in a nice setting and the pink one is simply pretty.
On the way back to town our tuk tuk driver had to stop for some gas…see the picture… the gas is really in plastic pop bottles. Then we drove through some very pretty country side where we saw people in the field harvesting their rice. They were using a sickle and wrapping and collecting it all by hand. We also saw them threshing it, spreading it to dry, and then throwing it to separate the rice from the husks. The rice grows here year round so the fields are in various states of growth.
Of course we also had a few more temples to stop of at, including the Rolous Temples which were the first ones built in Angkor. They are also in very poor condition.
Again, dirty, sweaty, and tired.

Today has been an easy day. Our tuk tuk driver picked us up a 11am and we toured the area around town. He kindly stocked the water cooler with a couple of beer which we enjoyed during the hear ot the afternoon. There sure is a mixture of the haves and have nots around here. It is not uncommon to see a very fancy 5 star hotel next to a very basic home. We visited a pagoda, a silk farm, had lunch and then did the museum thing. All in all an easier, but interesting day. Tomorrow we are off to Bangkok and Ko Chang Island.

But before we leave Cambodia, I must some up what this area is really like. The perception of Cambodia is that it is not a safe place to be and that it is very poor and backwards. Other areas may be, but not Siem Reap. From the moment we arrived at the airport, which appears be a wooden building (probably only looks that way) with gold coloured, tiled, peaked roofs, and best of all, between the tarmac and building are lawns and palm trees, we have found the area to be very welcoming. (and expensive). In the last few years foreign companies have been building huge 5 star hotels that dominate the city. Meanwhile, the citizens of the city are working hard to make the area welcoming to tourists, On any given day you will see people laying brick sidewalks and driveways - using chisels and hammers to make the bricks fit; spreading truck loads of sand with shovels; using buckets to pour cement for roadways; people sweeping the sidewalks, roadways, and curbs with straw brooms to clear away dust and dirt; when it rains, they use dustpans, shovels, spades, whatever, to clear away the mud and water. You will see people sweeping the sides of the road to clear away the leaves - everything is done by hand. And then there are all the tourist oriented jobs from hotels to restaurants to tuk tuk drivers.
The population of Cambodia is very young, most of the them are under the age of thirty but are trying hard to improve their lives and lives of everyone else. There are lots of toddlers around, but any child older than 4 or 5 years old is helping the family by caring for siblings, gardening, carrying stuff - teenagers are already working at adult type jobs. I couldn’t help noting that any of the older people look very worn…the years of the civil war show on them.
It was not uncommon to see men and boys fishing in the ditches along the road - they either used fishing rods, or more likely, nets.
At no time did we ever feel unsafe.

And I must correct a statement I made earlier in this blog. I said we hadn’t tried eating crocodile…..well, not so any more. Our last dinner was a Khmer barbeque with five different meats - chicken, beef, squid, crocodile and………….snake. The squid was good, the crocodile was very tough and rubbery, while the snake was more rubbery than tough. Taste wise they weren’t too bad. I didn’t ask what kind of snake we were eating.

Nov. 30

Camodia this morning, Koh Chang, Thailand, this evening. We missed the bus from Bangkok to here so had to take a cab. Still cheaper than flying or taking the hotel car.
Then once on the island we rode in a share taxi to the resort. The share taxi had 13 passenger and was just a truck with a covered back. That is where we road.

Our resort is very nice. We have a cabin with a king size bed and still lots of room. It has a tv, fridge and safe plus a modern bathroom. It is super clean and comfy. There is also a porch with a table and chairs on it, plus a roof top terrace. All this is beach front. I think we are going to enjoy this next week.

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Photos

Bantrey Srei
The 'Pink Temple'

School
At floating village

Ankor Wat
At sunrise

Angkor Wat
At sunrise

Comments

[Sue]

Siem Riep
Hi Janise and Darryl, so happy to have finally heard another update from you both.. wow looks like this leg of the trip was so pretty.. enjoy your week in your little retreat.. we have a bit of snow here, and it has warmed up supposed to be sunny this weekend so we shall see..those floating villages are something else now aren't they.. you sound like you are having a great time... we are going to put up our tree today and Mike is after me to get xmas cards out so ya thats what we are up to lol.. I'm off again next week having cataract surgery on the same eye I had the other surgery :( oh well be great to see again.. you both take care and will tty soon... xo Sue