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Published: June 18th 2007
Siem Reap
Angkor WatAfter a short flight from Laos to Phnom Penh, we headed up to Siem Reap to see Cambodia's most famous historical temples--in fact, Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world. The bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap was especially nice--all paved roads! Siem Reap is a nice little town in the northwest. When we arrived, it was mid-afternoon and extremely hot, so we decided to find a guesthouse and take a nap! We found a nice room at Shadows of Angkor, right along the riverside. After a little nap, we decided to see Angkor Wat at night and watch the beautiful sundown from Phnom Bakheng--a large temple on a hillside. Unfortunately, every tourist in Cambodia was thinking the same thing! It was super crowded, which shows just how much Cambodia's tourist industry is growing. The sundown was beautiful! Luckily, we got a great view despite all of the people. After the sun went down, we decided to get a little supper at the Adventist owned Balcony Cafe. Billy's tofu burger was excellent!
Tomb Raiders We woke up early the next morning to venture into the temples of Angkor Wat. At 8:30 a.m., the
Siem Reap
Bayon Face sun was already beating down hard proving that the day would be a scorching one! First, we went to the main temple--actually Angkor Wat. It was amazing! The Cambodians built this in roughly 1200 AD. The intricate carvings and tedious stone work was incredible and awe inspiring. We walked the perimeter of the wat before entering its center to climb the tallest tower to the top. The steps to the top of each temple were eroded quite a bit, but even in their heyday, they were quite steep and built to use hands to climb as well as feet! The monkies seem to like it though! We even saw one evil monkey at the top--we're pretty sure he followed us from Myanmar. Our next stop took us to Bayon. This temple is covered with 216 faces of the king who built it--King Bayon. From a distance, this temple looks like a pile of rubble, but when you take a closer look, you see the craftsmen handywork and really admire the talent that went into carving 216 identical and extremely large faces. By this time, the heat is melting us. We have lost most of the water we drank via sweating,
Siem Reap
Breakfast is served! Large grasshoppers anyone? so we decided to stop for lunch. After lunch next to Bayon, we headed to Baphuon. Baphuon is a temple that had almost completely fallen down, but the United States donated 10 million dollars to help the Cambodians restore this beautiful temple. It's not finished yet, but it looks completely different than it did when Billy lived in Cambodia. After Baphoun, we stopped at a couple more wats. Some were dedicated to elephants while others to leper kings and still others to lions and seven headed snakes (nagas). Our last stop, was at Ta Prohm where the first Tomb Raider was filmed. This wat will not be restored, because the Cambodian people want tourists to see what the entire temples of Angkor Wat looked like before restoration began in the mid-1900s. This temple was very interesting as many trees have made their homes throughout its walls and many rooms. If the Cambodians tried to remove any of these trees, the temple would completely collapse as the trees have become so intertwined with the building's structure and foundation over the years. One cool part was seeing the place where Angelina Jolie made super famous in Tomb Raider. By the end of
Sihanoukville
Stick a fork in us . . .we're done. that day, Billy had stopped sweating--not because it cooled off--he sweated out all he had! I was overheated myself and took a three hour nap in air-con to rejuice. That night, we ate Italian. The next morning, we got up and headed back to Billy's hometown--Phnom Penh.
Heating Up in Phnom Penh We got back to Phnom Penh in time to do a little tourist trip to Toul Sleng (S-21). This is the museum that originated as a high school, but during Pol Pot's regime it was converted to a prison/torture center for people who were eventually sent to the killing fields. This was a very heartbreaking experience. One that I will not soon forget. We saw and walked through actual torture cells where original beds and torture devices were still placed on blood stained tiles. Pictures of the tortured victims the way they were found when Toul Sleng was liberated festooned the walls. Throughout other buildings, we saw photograph after photograph of the faces that haunt Toul Sleng. From women to children and men--young and old, it was a sickening sight. Altogether, it is said that Pol Pot had somewhere between 2 and 3 million of his people killed
Siem Reap
Sunset at Phnom Bakheng or die of starvation--most of whom were the educated and non-ethnic Khmer. The next day, we just tooled around Phnom Penh . . .shopping, renting a moto, getting our Vietnam visas, etc. On Sabbath, we went to the mission church. Billy enjoyed seeing a lot of his old friends and students. After church, we cooled off in the room before heading out to the King's Palace. The best thing to see there is the Silver Pagoda--named so because the floor tiles are completely made out of sterling silver. Inside this pagoda, there is a emerald Buddha made solid completely out of emerald. There was also a solid gold Buddha weighing 90 kilograms with over 2,000 diamonds decorating its facade. Why is this country poor? The same reason they all are--Buddha is rich. Soon, it was Sunday, and we decided to spend half the day at the Killing Fields. We found our way there on our own moto--and saved $5! The Killing Fields were almost more depressing than Toul Sleng. Here some 9,000 bodies have been exhumed from mass graves. Although all graves have not been de-earthed, the say that there are probably over 9,000 more people buried in mass graves.
Siem Reap
Phnom Bakheng--a doorway to nowhere After a couple of depressing stops, we decided to go to the Russian market for some light-hearted good times. Unfortunately we got there when it was closing! Shopping will be postponed for another day.
Beautiful Beach, Wonderful Sun, Warm Water . . ."You buy something from me?!?!" Monday came, and we got up early to catch a bus from Phnom Penh to Kampong Som (Sihanoukville). We were ready to escape the blistering heat by dipping into some cool water. Okay, so the water in Cambodia is far from cool--it's almost far from warm--it's hot! It's a hot tub with salt. Billy was in heaven, and I did enjoy the cool spots every now and again! No, seriously, we LOVED the water and spent most of our time relaxing in the warm waves--mostly due to the fact that the water was the only place to escape the hasslers. When it's not tourist season, it's almost worse . . .they really need the business and you're the only white people for miles . . ."sarong, please, sarong!" "But I already have a sarong. I'm wearing it right now." "You buy another one. Have two! Buy one for husband." Yeah, Billy loves to
Phnom Penh
FRUIT! Luscious fruit! wear skirts around the beach. "Massage, pedicure, manicure, massage!" Hmmm, it is hard to turn down a $4 massage when someone is begging to give you one. So, we got a couple of massages--they were decent, but seriously, they should take a class from Brenda . . .hey, Brenda, we have a job for you when you graduate . . .what do you think about moving to Cambodia? Huh? Huh? Anyway, the beach was . . .a beach. We got tan.
When Motos Attack After four days laying around a beach, we decided to head for Kampot. Here, our plans were to rent two motos and drive up to Bokor--a national park on a close by mountain. The moto renting went well. The driving along the streets of Kampot went well. The drive to the gates of the mountain went well. The drive up the mountain did not go well. See, Billy has done this several times before in his life. The only problem is that the last time he did this was three years ago. We tend to think like Westerners since we are American, and he figured that three years later would bring better roads and easier travel.
Phnom Penh
Feeding the Elephant at Wat Phnom But in Cambodia, the progressive thinker is few and far between. The road to Bokor was hideous! According to Billy, it was like driving up a river bed sans the water. It had gotten worse than he had ever seen it, and yet . . .we still battled on. I was determined to see this abandoned casino and the view from the top. The one problem is that my determination was blind sided by a rock and some sand. My moto sort of "fell over", and my right leg fell nicely on the exhaust pipe and engine grill. I got cooked. After some hefty debating, we decided that the road had to get better, and my leg wasn't that bad . . .so we drove on. 11 kilometers and 3 1/2 hours later, we ran into some government road workers who told us we still had 22 kilometers to go . . .at this rate, we'd be there by supper--the next day! We finally came to our senses--mostly after they pointed at my leg and said "Kampot, pharmacy." Billy realized that to go up would be neverending and to go down would be the only option. For me, going up
Phnom Penh
Motos, traffic, no lights. was hard enough--I was not about to hit the large rocks going down! So, we gave my bike to the workers to drive down, and Billy gave me a ride down the rocky terrain. About an hour later (hmmmm . . .the time difference going down rather than up is amazing!), we were at the foot of the mountain and heading to a motel near you. It was great to get off of a moto and walk for a little bit!
Goodbye, Cambodia. Goodmorning, Vietnam! Our two weeks in Cambodia were packed with all sorts of fun and excitement. Billy taught me how to speak Khmer (well the beginings of it!), and he even had me use it--the people actually understood me! We saw much of the countryside and visited all the great sites in the cities. We even spent time with old friends. It was a good time had by all, and we will miss it . . .until we meet again.
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Mom
non-member comment
Lots of memories, huh?
Hi again. well it looks like you have seen the sites of Cambodia and enjoyed them. Sounds like a lot adventure once again. We will be seeing you soon, I'm looking forward to hearing about Viet Nam. Love you!