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Published: August 29th 2009
Siem Reap is the town closest to the magnificent 11th- 15th Century temples of the Khmer civilisation. Built by God-Kings they are huge, magnificent and undoubtedly one of the wonders of the world. The town itself is clearly fundamentally a small town that has sprawled in recent times with the incoming tourists, and yet it retains a charm, even in the obvious tourist traps such as Pub Street.
On our first day there we did very little more than relax by the pool and wander into the town discovering a new favourite ice cream parlour/bakery: The Blue Pumpkin. In the evening we ate, and then ambled around a night market some of the profits from which support the work of the Red Cross out here, making it the obvious choice for the place from which to buy the hammock we have been after for months! The next morning we got up and took a trip out to a silk farm operated by Artisans d’Angkor which was a fascinating and illuminating trip. From there we returned via ice creams to the pool and here finally met up with the friends we had intended to meet on Phu Quoc. One look at
us relaxing by the pool with drinks tempted them to change their accommodation and join us.
That evening we ate in a Mexican restaurant, which was good, before another trip to the night market. This time Nicky had a pedicure, while our friends and the boys had a “fish massage” (actually a load of fish in a paddling pool, which nibble away at the dead skin on your immersed feet). In the Blue Pumpkin we bumped into the Polish girl from our cookery class with her girlfriend, who exclaimed -“Ahh you’re the lovely straight couple with the adorable children!” - not the worst way we have been referred to.
We had an early night that night with an early morning planned for the next day. At 05:30 we woke the boys for a 06:00 breakfast, after which we headed out on bikes to explore Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. Angkor Wat is the world’s largest temple, and is vast, an indication of scale is that the moat is 190m across. Words cannot do it justice - it really has to be seen to be appreciated - but one interesting fact that stuck was that the moat was built
first, before the stone was shipped 60km in to build the site, why? Because this moat was first used as the world’s largest spirit level! We were astonished by the sights, scale and atmosphere of the place. The children played happily while the rest of us listened to the guide we took. Refreshed by fruit smoothies from another branch of the Blue Pumpkin we set off to Ta Prohm, grateful that contrary to all we had been told the heat here was very bearable, in part as there is so much less humidity than we have experienced elsewhere.
Ta Prohm is most famous as the setting for the film Tomb Raider. It is in the process of being reclaimed from being reclaimed by the jungle - a battle that ultimately will only have one winner. There is an atmosphere and ambience here that is unique. The giant tree roots engulfing temples and bursting through cracks in giant building stones allows you to feel something of what it must be like to discover somewhere like this. Intricately carved stones lie in piles looking something like a lego set that has been half demolished and is waiting for a giant toddler
to return to play.
We cycled back, all awe struck by what we had seen, swam, ate and relaxed by the pool, basking also in the fact that England had regained the Ashes. In the evening we ate excellent food at the Tigre du Papier on Pub Street before ices for dessert at the Blue Pumpkin and home for drinks in our sitting room and chat. As we settled off to sleep, early again, Jake turned and said “I really enjoyed that, when you grown ups all started talking I thought it would be boring as usual, but when we started sharing our travelling experiences it was really funny.”
Another early breakfast, and then we were met by the tuk tuk drivers taking us out to further lying temples. The drive through villages was beautiful and we enjoyed
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chaz
non-member comment
Wow!
No need to say more is there, Joe! Chaz