Indiana Jones and the Rather Pleasant Temples of Campuchia

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After a three-day excursion on the Mekong delta in Vietnam, Dan and I trundled into Cambodia’s capitol: Phnom Penh. We were told a few days earlier by fellow travelers that would arrive just in time for Cambodia’s water festival; where the Tonle Sap (the Great Lake) reverses its current and flows into the mighty Mekong. Whilst waiting for the party to begin we visited “The Killing fields”, a few kilometres out of the city. This was just one of the many spots around the country that the Khmer Rouge dealt out their thoroughly vicious party line in the late 70’s. Killing around 2 million (from a population of 7.1 million) through enforced labour, torture, execution and starvation; it was a pretty depressing place. The Khmer Rouge made the Nazi’s look like absolute sweethearts.
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In a bid to cheer ourselves up Dan and I went out to enjoy the festivities along the river banks. We passed various market stalls, performances, fireworks and “lightboats” as we made our way along the river. I became something of a minor celebrity as I walked along the street due to my being a good foot taller than the average Cambodian. The plus side it provided an uninterrupted view of any stage. The downside was the unsettling feeling of being watched at any one time by dozens of pairs of eyes and the comedic double-takes. Still, I’m sure they all thought I was all part of the celebrations (“Roll up! Roll up! See nature’s loftiest oddity!”)
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After a few days we headed off to Siem Reap and the numerous temples of the Khmer empire. We hired bikes and spent three days cycling under the baking midday sun to see tombs in various states of decay or renovation. It was a truly amazing experience; like being an extra in an Indiana Jones film. If you were lucky you could find yourself in an empty corner, away from the hordes of tourists and just spend a quiet few moments imagining what these places were like thronging with a population of a million people one thousand years ago.
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By the third day we were “templed-out” (“yeah it’s alright, but not as good as the last one”) and we decided to start the long journey to Laos. Keep tuned in to the next exciting installment (Nb. This is not a guarantee of excitement).

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Photos

Wall detail
Bayan Temple

The Killing Fields
A quite throughly depressing place.

The Killing Fields memorial
Housed in here are the skulls of those uncovered so far. More mass graves are yet to be unearthed.

Angkor Wat
The Khmers built Angkor Wat in the early 12th Century with a blatent disregard for Part M of the Building Regulations:Access to and Use of Buildings. Cowboys!

Comments

[Julian]

you can take the man out of the landscape...
excellent photo caption! Always enjoy a landscape related parody!