Siem Reap, Cambodia 12 to 22 April 2013

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We soon got used to being on our own again, spending another couple of days at the City River Hotel before moving on to Navutu Dreams, a small hotel out in the countryside. There is not a lot to do in Siem Reap itself but we did have a brilliant visit to the Angkor National Museum where they had an amazing array of artifacts, all well set out in adjoining rooms that seemed to flow perfectly into the next. One room had thousands of Buddha statues and it was a good opportunity to learn more about the history and mythological stories behind some of the Buddhist and Hindu carvings that we had seen. We hired an audio guide which was really useful but there were also plenty of reading and video presentations throughout the museum. There were several 'big screens' giving additional information and we particularly enjoyed a short video showing the sunrise over Angkor Wat. When the video ended it lit up a huge model of the temple complex, putting it all into perspective as well as seeing the simple symmetry of the site itself. All in all the museum gave us a good insight into the history of Cambodia as well as the Khmer people.



For my birthday we paid one of many visits to Pub Street in the Old Town where there were so many jammed packed massage parlors, fish spas, restaurants and bars with insanely cheap beers at really great value - we usually had a good dinner and a couple of drinks for £9 for the two of us. There were plenty of cheaper places but we usually chose the ones that had an overhead fan (a little bit of luxury)! The night life was unbelievable with street entertainers on each corner but also plenty of beggars, again some sad sights of very young children selling trinkets and also many locals who had been badly injured with land mines.



Pub Street was the place to be in Siem Reap and whilst you ate you could just sit and ‘people watch’, there was always something going on and the tuk tuk drivers were always coming up to chat and see if you want a ride. The sights and smells knocked your senses as you walked along. The street is closed to traffic when it gets dark so there was no fear of the tuk tuk drivers or scooters running you down, although on the other streets you had to keep your eyes peeled as you crossed the roads. All round the area there was an abundance of Night Markets selling just about everything you could want and when you had walked your feet off you could get a relaxing foot message for $1, or put your feet into a tank full of little fish, if you were brave enough - - we didn’t. I think every single tourist to Siem Reap will end up in Pub Street at some point as it’s the most happening place in town. If you don’t like noise and crowds, then you will probably not like it, but we simply enjoyed walking along the narrow alleys and just watching life go by - very atmospheric.





We moved on to Navutu Dreams where we had another 15 days to enjoy Cambodia at our own pace. A driver picked us up, piled us and our suitcases into the back of his tuk tuk and we set off with the cases balanced precariously on the seat. As we headed out of town and turned down a bumpy dirt track, which was seriously pot holed we were wondering what we would find at the end. We passed farmland and fields and little homes dotted along the track and as our luggage wobbling away in front of us we finally turned down this even smaller track.......... However, the moment we arrived until the time we left, this hotel was wonderful and all the staff who got to know us by first names were extremely friendly and attentive - a small oasis in the middle of the countryside - a real good find. The hotel grounds, reception, outdoor restaurant, salt water and huge freshwater pools were immaculate and delightfully designed in lovely gardens. There were only 18 rooms and ours was huge with a living area, separate dressing room, shower and huge bath with a window view out into an internal garden full of plants. The hotel turned out to be one of the best places we have ever stayed, the fresh water pool which we usually had to ourselves was great. Yes, it was a lot more cost than the hotel we had stayed at in Siem Reap but no more that what you would pay for a pub room in the UK - it was nice to spoil ourselves for a couple of weeks and boy did we...........



Part of the deal of staying at this hotel was that you had a free tuk tuk driver, 12 hours a day for the entire time you were there. We had a young local lad called, Seng Prum, a good, safe driver who would drop us off and wait for us or come back and pick us up at any designated time anywhere within Siem Reap and the Angkor Archaeological Park. Seeing the sights by tuk tuk was very different than by air conditioned bus but it was such a great experience and very convenient. Did have a bit of a downside though, in that the tuk tuk, which is basically just a three wheeled cart pulled along by a motorbike, has no suspension so any journey was always a bumpy ride particularly if it had rained and the track became a quagmire. On the plus side though you got to see so much of the people in the countryside and their everyday life. Children would come out to wave as we passed by practising their English. The smells, some good, some very bad as lunch or dinner was being prepared and cooked outside their homes was indeed very notable. Many of these homes were very tiny and everyone seemed to live in the one room, so life was centered around this. Little shops were set up at the front of these homes spreading out on to the track or pavement. Life was going on all around, old people sleeping in hammocks or on wooden beds, men shaving or getting their haircut, babies being fed and children playing, even people cutting up whole meat carcasses right on the track front. One thing that we did notice was the rubbish, which has been very noticeable throughout all of our journey - here was no different, with it overflowing in some areas and amongst this there were often dogs trying to find some tasty morsel, as well as children happily playing and carrying on with their everyday life - they all have so little.



The Khmer New Year which is celebrated over three days took place on 13/14/15 April, aligned with the lunar calendar. This marks the end of the dry season and the transition to the monsoon and harvest season. During this festive period, everyone was decorating their homes, huge star shaped decorations were being sold everywhere and being loaded onto scooters to take home. People were gathering and celebrating at pagodas and offerings of food and drink were being placed on little tables outside homes and shops. During this period Cambodians come to Siem Reap and make pilgrimage to Angkor and the whole town was becoming more busy than usual. Some shops and restaurants closed down for the week and everyone seemed to be partying and having fun somewhere. The staff at Navutu Hotel held a staff party whilst we were there and everyone had a great time with plenty of fun and laughter as they played games and danced. All the staff received a gift from the management, selected at random with the star prizes being a TV and a Bicycle which would definitely come in useful here. All the staff were local, apart from one lad who came from the Philippines. One day he was having a discussion with one of the waitresses in English, the common language they could communicate in, on what was the difference between the words jealous and envy...... The next day they were still discussing words in English and asked us what the word ‘folk’ meant and asked if it meant country bumpkin........



Whilst in Cambodia I wanted to try to improve my photography skills particularly of people and landscapes. After some internet research I found a local photographer called Eric de Vries who was originally from Holland but now lived in Siem Reap with his Cambodian wife. Eric took us out on location within Angkor Archaeological Park with his own tuk tuk driver. They arrived early and picked us up before breakfast at 5 am, hopefully to catch the best light over the temples. Our first stop was Angkor Wat to watch the sun come up over the ruins, but sadly it was a cloudy morning, although we did get some atmospheric shots it remained very dark and cloudy whilst we were there. We had a most brilliant day and I found Eric to be extremely patient, highly proficient and a thoroughly engaging tutor. He made the technical process easy to understand and was so helpful in explaining light and depth of field etc which straight away helped me to produce better quality pictures. He also gave me so much advice and tips on how to be more creative with my photography, without being overloaded with technical jargon and for that I am truly grateful. Living in Siem Reap, Eric knew many of the locals as well as his way around Angkor Park, finding places away from the tourist crowds. We would never have found these places on our own and he also knew which temple to move on to to get the best out of the weather conditions on the day. He took us back to the Terrace of the Leper King which we had visited on tour but we found so much more this time to see with him.





In the afternoon Eric had organised a special workshop with three local monks, two of whom were children, one aged seven and the other eleven at a small stepped temple site where it was only us and them - a truly memorable experience which produced some nice scenic photographs. We met Eric's Cambodian sister-in-law who had brought along useful gifts for the monks for taking part in the photoshoot. We presented these to them at their nearby temple and afterwards they gave me a special blessing which they all recited together - a truly humbling experience. I would absolutely recommend Eric to anyone of any skill level as I had the most amazing day with a really knowledgable photographer. Thank you Eric, for giving me a very solid grounding in such a short period of time.



Life settled into a sedate pattern and we spent the next couple of weeks exploring temples in the mornings, when it was a little less hot, so that I could practice my new photography skills. Our tuk tuk driver, Seng Prum was always waiting for us in the hotel reception and happy to join us on our explorations. We returned to several sites we had visited with our tour group but because we had more time were able to find some hidden treasures. We particularly liked the Baphuon temple which is located in Angkor Thom near the Bayon and leads to the Terraces of the Elephants and Leper King, passing the ruins of the Royal Palaces on the way. At the back of the Baphuon was a huge Sleeping Buddha built into the wall but it was being repaired as it was in quite a poor condition we had completely missed this before. Once back at the hotel it was great to jump into the pool and have lunch and then later get the tuk tuk into Pub Street for our evening meal. Some days we were really idle and just lazed around the pool and ate in the hotel’s open air restaurant that was only a few paces from our room - we could soon get used to all this luxury.



One day we visited the Roluos Group of monuments which are much earlier than Angkor. This group of three are not within Angkor Park itself, so it took us about 45 minutes to reach them in the tuk tuk - a slightly rough journey but again saw much of the countryside up close. Here we visited Lolei, where we met a dedicated young monk who ran a school teaching about 80 local children. He showed us around the school and library which was very basic with little wooden benches and seats. In the school grounds some local ladies were filtering some food through a muslim cloth and he said they were making some soup for the monks lunch. Although the school did have a couple of computers his delight were two small world globes that someone had sent to the school after visiting them. We made a donation and wished him luck with his endeavors to make it a better place for the children. Lolei is the ruin of an island-temple built in a now dry baray and was the last temple built before the king moved his kingdom to Angkor. Loud music was being played, blasting out from several large loudspeakers in a courtyard, not sure why as no-one was around - could have been the end of the New Year celebrations. A modern temple building was situated right next to the ruins, which stood out with brightly painted interior walls against the plain brick walls of Lolei. Two of the complex buildings were in a bad state of repair and one hidden behind scaffolding, being thoroughly renovated.



Nearby we stopped at Preah Ko which had six large towers displayed on a stone platform. Some of the towers had beautifully preserved carvings on the side walls and lintels. Preah Ko (Sacred Bull) derives its name from the statues of bulls which sat at the front entrance to the platform and towers, although the bulls were very weather worn and hard to make out their detail.



Last in the Roluos Group we stopped at Bakong which was the most impressive building and much larger than the other two. Sitting at the centre of the first Angkorian capital and built by the king as his state temple it was quite magnificent - it looked very similar, but on a smaller scale to Angkor Wat. Bekong represents the first application of a temple mountain in the area and set the tone for the next 400 years of building. The temple uses a very early use of stone rather than brick, which we had seen at Lolei and Preah Ko. On each corner of the temple at each level there were these large carved stone elephants, but they were also weather worn and had all lost their trunks. Although they still majestically stood looking out over the jungle as if guarding the temple itself. It had been a long morning and we returned to the hotel, quite exhausted so had a nice relaxing massage by a couple of smiling local girls who could not speak English - well I though it was relaxing but Paul was not too sure...



I have decided that this blog is becoming rather long and as I want to mention all the temples that we visited I will spilt it into two - You obviously do not have to read all the detail but if you do then the next one will be published soon - see you there.............

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