Day 2 - Saigon to Siem Reap

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Day 2 - Saigon to Siem Reap

After getting up early (I usually do after the day of arrival), a refreshing shower, an enjoyable breakfast, we were ready to head off. Breakfast was great. I had the western breakfast - an omelette, orange juice, fruit (I always enjoy the local food at lunch/dinner but usually prefer the western breakfast). Erin was ready to dig-in to the Vietnamese breakfast - a bowl of pho (noodles with beef). It was really good - a little on the spicy side especially after Erin added chilis to it. We chatted one last time with the owners as we paid our bill. They seem like very warm and hospitable people. Many of their family members live in the hotel building - their shoes are deposited on the steps outside the hotel. There was one rather large pair of running shoes - I thought these looked out of place but didn’t think anymore of it. As we were ready to head out after paying our bill, Erin commented ‘I almost forgot my shoes’ and went to get a pair of running shoes located on the steps outside the front door - I thought those shoes looked familiar. The first morning was a great start to our trip. The weather was beautiful - a little warm, and the people connected to the hotel were fabulous.

The breakfast server also acted as the bellman and carried our bags to the waiting taxi and bid us farewell. Our taxi got out of the alley and onto the street. We were besieged by motorbikes. I can definitely understand why they call this the motorbike capital of the world. They were everywhere. It was utter chaos on the streets - but I also had the feeling that everything was well choreographed. Traffic moves slowly along. There are very few signals and stop signs - cars and motorbikes just seem to merge together. It’s very interesting when coming to a roundabout - if you want to go left, you just turn left in front of oncoming traffic and they seem to know what you’re going to do and let you continue. It was very enjoyable to watch.

We made it to the airport early and after a brief stand in line, checked in for our flight on Vietnam Airlines and made our way to the gate. We backed out onto the gate and waited on the tarmac for a little while. Shortly, the captain came on, with a very British accent, and said there were a few mechanical problems that had to be corrected. Immediately, the flight attendants came around with either a Coke or Sprite to drink. After another 15 to 20 minutes of waiting, the attendants came around again with a box lunch - sandwich and cold water - while we were waiting. Now this is a one hour flight from Saigon to Siem Reap and we were getting drinks and a light lunch while we waited - boy was I impressed. The airlines in the United States could take a lesson in ‘pleasing the guest and making them comfortable’ - another example of just plain ol good guest service. The problems were not critical and would be corrected in Siem Reap. The crew finished their paperwork and we were off - to a very interesting take-off. As we headed down the runway, I had my usual brief discussion with the Lord. Thank goodness that I did. As we took off, it seemed like the plane started banking about 10 yards off the ground - imagine a car heading down the road on two wheels. The British guy next to Erin made a loud “whoa” and Erin gave a loud “oh my gosh”, dug her fingers into my arm and we headed off towards Siem Reap. I wasn’t sure what the problem was but the pilot got it corrected and we were landing in less than an hour in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Everyone, most likely, was arriving to see the incredible temple complex known collectively as ‘Angkor Wat’.

Ok, we had to go through the visa process again. Erin and I gave each other the ‘I hope this is better than last night’ look. In Cambodia, just about everyone waits until arriving at the airport to get their visa. Upon entering the airport - everyone exited the plane using a stairway that led to the tarmac and walked to the airport buildings - very nice looking. Upon entering, we were greeted with a ‘visa application’ form. After filling it out we noticed a long, somewhat curving desk with about 12 Cambodian government-looking people, in uniform, behind it. We turned our app, our passports and the entry fee into the first person. We were then directed to the ‘visa collection’ desk which was at the end of the curving desk. It appeared there was an assembly line approach and within 10 minutes, everyone had their visa - ‘Sweet’ I thought to myself. This was really efficient. We then headed to the customs desk to show the gentleman the paperwork we had just received and to get a picture taken of ourselves. After that, we collected our bags and headed outside. A young man, with our name on a card was standing waiting for us. All in all, it must have been 15 minutes (maybe 20) to get through the airport. While the young man went to get the car, I told Erin to take my picture while I held the ‘Opperman’ sign. After uttering the words, ‘what a dork Dad’ she took the photo. We headed off to our hotel for the next two days - Pavillon d’ Orient Hotel. It was number one on TripAdvisor.com for Siem Reap and we were soon to find out why.

The hotel was located just outside of Siem Reap (a relatively small city) in a local village. Once inside the hotel grounds, the plants and trees, the pond, the pool with waterfall at one end and the French colonial style buildings made for a very relaxing environment. The service staff was fabulous as we noticed upon arrival. We have found the Cambodian people to be extremely warm, hospitable and very relaxed about life. While checking in at the outside reception area, we were greeted with a cold towel and a very refreshing glass of cold ice lemongrass tea. A couple nice features about the hotel is that the airport transfers, breakfast and a tuk-tuk with driver are provided throughout our stay. The Cambodian-style tuk tuk is a metal three-wheeled open-air cart with padded seats attached to a motorbike. Traveling through the Angkor area in our tuk tuk (pronounced like the number two with a ‘k’ sound on the end) was a highlight of our time here.

After getting loaded up with mosquito lotion/repellent, we were ready to head to the most famous of the temple complexes here - Angkor Wat. The entire temple complex area is commonly referred to as ‘Angkor Wat’; however, Angkor Wat is just one of many temples in the area - all were built from the approx 8th century through the 13th century. After meeting our tuk tuk driver (Lep pronounced with a long e sound) who we will have throughout our stay, we headed off to the ticket booths to buy a 3-day ‘temple hopper’ ticket. With ticket in hand, we proceeded to the entrance to Angkor Wat. WOW! You read about something like this and then you realize you are finally there. It’s an absolutely incredible feeling.

Canby Publications (a Cambodian-based company with great information about the country) describes Angkor Wat as follows -
Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. Angkor Wat is the centerpiece of any visit to the temples of Angkor.

At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region, Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. It served as his state temple, though the temple’s uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Suryavarman II’s funerary temple.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 meters x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels surmounted by a central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings. Nearly 2000 distinctively rendered apsara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of apsara carvings in Angkorian era art. But it is the exterior walls of the lower level that display the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and the historical wars of Suryavarman II.

The northern reflecting pool in front is the most popular sunrise location. For sunrise, arrive very early, well before sunrise begins. The sun will rise behind Angkor Wat providing a silhouette of Angkor’s distinctively shaped towers against a colored sunrise sky. Some of the best colors appear just before the sun breaks over the horizon.

The visual impact of Angkor Wat, particularly on one's first visit, is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, its size and architecture make it appear two dimensional, like a giant postcard photo against the sky. After you cross through the gate and approach the temple along the walkway it slowly gains depth and complexity.

The afternoon was spent wandering through Angkor Wat trying to take it all in and just enjoy and appreciate being here. Since the sun was bright, I had my sun glasses on as we walked throughout. With camera in hand, I was to find out soon that it might not be a good idea to keep the sun glasses on at all times. They work great outside but when you get into the temples, it’s a little dark and hard to see. I don’t want to forget to mention that there are large blocks of the temples that have fallen and lay on the ground or floor. As Erin went into one of the temple buildings, I followed at a little bit of a distance. Trying to get around these slow people in front of me, I was hopping from one big block to the next - well almost the next. I didn’t quite stride far enough and just ‘bit the dust’. Unlike the slip I took in China a few years ago where I landed on my tail bone, this one was a full frontal plant - only my arm getting out in front of me kept this from being a full ‘facial’. I was up quickly, checked my camera (which was ok) and my body (one slight scratch on the elbow) and looked to see if Erin was laughing. She wasn’t. She was probably thinking “here we go again”. It wasn’t but 30 minutes before as we entered Angkor Wat that I mentioned to her she better keep her eyes open if she wanted to see the usual ‘stumble’ because I am usually so busy looking and picture-taking that I don’t see the uneven walkways.

After getting back to the hotel and getting the sun-screen and mosquito stuff off, we headed for our massage appointments. The massage area was a separate building - one large room with two distinct sections separated by a partition. Massages are very cheap here - $10 to $12 USD per hour. After an hour of relaxation, we headed back. I think the massage turned Erin into ‘Gumby’ - she was so relaxed she could barely walk. After a brief stop in the room and a quick change, we met Lep out front and headed off to the Angkor Village Hotel for the nightly Apsara dinner show. Following a Cambodian-style dinner, the 45-minute show was a traditional Cambodian dance show. It was really interesting. Lep met us out front at the end and took us back to the hotel. We couldn’t wait to get to bed because our 4:15 AM wake-up call was going to come early. We were heading back to Angkor Wat for sunrise. We scheduled a tour guide for the next day.

Will add pictures later.

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