There was not much sleep for Glenn after 1 a.m. and only on and off for me. We were up at 6 a.m. and met Mark for the Le Meridien $15. buffet breakfast at 7 a.m. Worth every penny! I only sampled about 10 per cent of what was available but it was all great. Wonderful sweet fruit (although I would pass on the Dragon Fruit from now on—rather tasteless and full of little black seeds. The papaya was a definite keeper however, as well as the pineapple, watermelon, and mmmm, the sweetest little Mandarin oranges!
Broadband Internet connection was available in our room, as well as handy outlets that accepted our USA electrical plugs. So, we didn't need those adapters and the heavy transformer we lugged along. The hotel wanted $6.00/hour for Internet connection and we decided it was worth it. This hotel is a few miles away from the town center and it would be a nuisance to run into town by tuk tuk to find a cybercafe. So, we bought an hour of Internet time and Mark made good use of our "Skype" Internet phone service to call American Express and cancel his missing credit card. To his great relief, no one else had been having a merry time in Singapore with his card—as there were no unknown charges posted. Now, he could enjoy the trip without that worry. At the concierge desk we noticed a poster advertising a "sound and light" show that was being held right at the famous Angkor Wat temple. You could reserve seats for just the show, or you could also have the buffet dinner prior to the show. It was spendy by our standards, eighty dollars for the dinner and show, but when would we next get to see a show with Angkor Wat in the background? Mark asked the concierge to get tickets and only Sunday was available. Not only that, Sunday night was the very last night that this show would be on. Whew! We barely made it!
Back in Salem, I had found the website of the “Three Brothers” guide and tour company in Siem Reap. They offered a variety of tours, and Mark had arranged for one of the brothers to meet us today at our hotel. After talking to us and realizing that Mark knew the Angkor temples area very well, he agreed to the route Mark suggested and then turned us over to one of his assistants. The assistant was a good driver, but zip as a guide, so basically, we got what we paid for—an air conditioned Camry and driver for the morning and early afternoon. $35. total, plus tip for the driver.
We chose the “Great Loop" tour, but Mark asked that it be driven in reverse so that the tour would end at Angkor Wat. This was excellent guiding on Mark’s part as we avoided the majority of our fellow sightseers. Our first stop was at the entrance to the Archeological Park. We had been told that our passes had to have our photo attached, and that it would speed things up if we brought a photo from home. But no, the friendly lady at the ticket booth preferred to use her high-tech digital camera to take our photos on the spot. A 3-day pass with our photo included quickly appeared. A swipe of our credit card paid the forty-dollar fee for each of us and we were on our way.
The only place we were stuck in the tourist crush was at our first stop, "Ta Prohm" where the ruins have been deliberately left pretty much as found by the French archeologists. Huge fig and silk-cotton trees grow from the towers of the temple and their roots still cover the rooms below. A portion of the original "Tomb Raider" movie was filmed at Ta Prohm. I checked out the DVD later at home and it was easy to recognize both this ruin, and the huge Angkor Wat temple. As we walked from the entrance to the tree-enveloped temple, we passed a group of musicians playing along the wooded path. Later I learned they are composed of men injured by the land mines and was especially glad that Mark gave them a tip.
It was about 91 today and seemed every bit that warm. We went through bottled water very quickly. The driver provided plenty, so we never needed ours. We took along our soft ice bag filled with beer and soda and mandarin oranges Barb filched from breakfast. All tasted great along our drive.
As we made our way around the Great Loop we stopped at some smaller sites, as well as the other two major attractions, "Bayon" and "Angkor Wat." The smaller temples were nice because they were almost empty of tourists and very peaceful.
The "Pre Rup" site dated back to the Hindu era and the 10th century A.D. The towers of the temple were a sample of what we would later see at Angkor Wat, but tufts of dry grass were growing in these towers. The next stop was at " East Mebon" where the temple-mountain once stood as an island in the middle of the huge " East Baray" (an artificial water reservoir), now silted up and dry. The barays were constructed right along with each city and provided vital water storage as well as serving religious purposes. In a land with definite wet and dry seasons, these reservoirs made it possible for the Khmers to irrigate their rice fields and ensure an ample supply of fish and rice for the large population (perhaps a million inhabitants at various times). Aside from the amazing artistry displayed on the sandstone temple walls, the ingenious engineering involved in constructing these massive temples and barays is mind-boggling. And this impressive civilization was flourishing when Europe was still deep in its Dark Ages. Wow.
"Ta Som" was another smaller site, and had been constructed by a later Khmer king who was Buddhist. So, here we saw some of the huge carved Buddha faces for the first time.
At the next stop, "Bayon" we were at one of the two temples to get four stars in the guide books, Angkor Wat being the other one. If a tourist has the sensation of being watched while at Bayon, he's not imagining things! This huge temple has 37 towers, and almost all of them have a huge face carved into each of the tower's four sides! And, just whose faces are these? Buddha? Or, the Khmer king, Jayavarman VII? Or ?? I prefer to think of them as faces of Buddha, because it is much easier to spell "Buddha."
Mark has good stories from his earlier visits to Cambodia and Angkor. When he came here with Austin friends in 1997 the area was still not entirely pacified. The general impression was that the temple ruins were safe enough during the day, but at night the Khmer Rouge might take over. They were busily looting the ruins and selling artifacts to keep their failing army afloat. When Mark’s group got to Bayon, they climbed up to the inner terrace and decided to stay awhile as night came on. The rest of the story from Mark's webpage:
"Later, when it was quite dark, we were startled by two men with automatic rifles and red scarves on their heads.
OH NO! - the Khmer Rouge still controlled the temple grounds at night! They waved towards the steps with their guns, saying 'YOU GO....NOW' .....We promptly scurried away, never looking back!"
Today was a "general survey" of Angkor for us, so we only walked along the lower terrace of the Bayon temple. We did stop at the " South Gate," one of five entrances in the walled enclosure around the royal city of Angkor Thom. This gate marks the outer enclosure of the city, an enormous square, which measures almost two miles on each side. Like Bayon's towers, there are huge carved faces on each side of the gate towers.
The Khmer kings really knew how to impress visitors! The causeway leading up to the South Gate was lined on both sides with huge sandstone figures who are basically engaged in a tug of war! What they are tugging on is a long, long "naga" (the mythical seven-headed cobra snake of Hindu mythology). The bad guys (the Asuras) pull the snake on the east side of the causeway, while the good guys, (the Devas) line the west side. I found these tug-of-war participants fascinating. Their expressions vary a bit and somehow they just seem pompous and funny—as though this whole game is really beneath their dignity.
A very nice website dealing with the entire Angkor Archeological Park had this to say about the tug of war carved in sandstone at this temple and on the walls of Angkor Wat. http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/angkor/angkorsite.html
"These elements derive from the [Hindu] myth of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. While not a literal representation of the myth (in this case two snakes are involved, one on either side of the causeway; each team is pulling at the head of their snake), certainly the naga balustrade in this form must have reminded visitors of the story, thus reinforcing the balustrade's protective and auspicious function."
It was getting on into the afternoon by the time our driver took us to the long causeway entrance of huge Angkor Wat temple so this was just a quick stop for a short picture-taking session. We’ll tour Angkor Wat in depth tomorrow afternoon, including the requisite views at sunset. Then, we’ll hang around there for the dinner and show we reserved this morning.
Tonight Mark got his wish that we ride in a "tuk tuk" (a motorcycle with a covered trailer attached to the rear). At least 80 per cent of the street traffic appears to be the tuk tuks. It only cost $3.00 for the three of us to take a tuk tuk into town for dinner. Besides the transportation, there was the "thrill" of watching the other motor bikes zooming in and around us. Many near-misses, but we never saw a collision during our stay in Siem Reap. A tuk tuk ride is at least the equivalent of the old "four-ticket" ride at Disneyland!
Mark told the driver to take us to “ Pub Street” in the Old Town section of Siem Reap. The tuk tuk was fun, but it was a challenge for the Honda motor scooter to pull us three heavyweights. There were two padded seats facing each other in the tuk tuk, but very little space for our feet. We had to learn to place our shoes "just so." The buildings here were all built during the era when this was French Indochina territory. Many had pretty balconies on their upper stories—not unlike New Orleans. The colorful buildings now generally house small restaurants and bars. It was easy to find a restaurant (The World Lounge") serving pizza (for Glenn & Barb) and “Prawns Amok” for Mark—served to him in a hollowed-out coconut. We could also have had "Chicken Amok, or "Laap" (Spicy Mice Salad). Yum! Pub Street was blocked off to motorized traffic in the evening—an excellent idea. Diners could stroll down the middle of the street until they found the right restaurant.
There was a fun feeling to Siem Reap—almost like a holiday mood, with twinkling lights outlining trees, pretty illuminated decorations and lots of people strolling along the tree-lined river near the center of town or down Pub Street. Mark tried to spot a barber shop—he’s in great need of a haircut and purposely waited to get it here, where it is not only cheap, but a neck massage comes with the deal. He found none tonight--maybe tomorrow.
We rode back to the hotel in another tuk tuk—this time for a total cost of two bucks plus small tip. Half an hour later we went down to see the hotel’s twice-weekly Cambodian dance and musician troupe. They staged this by the Terrace restaurant—out in the center of the hotels inner courtyard. The dancer's colorful costumes were reflected in the lily pond in front of them. Dining tables were set up on the courtyard grass. The cost of dinner? $32. The cost to just watch the show? Nothing, although we did order beer and tea. Downtown tonight our TOTAL bill was $15, including five “Anchor” beers at 75 cents each, a large pizza for Glenn and Barb and Mark's coconut which contained shrimp (BIG shrimp too) running Amok. Mark was pleased.
The weather so far?—warm and sunny. The moon is three days away from being full. It IS humid day and night, but the air was very pleasant while downtown or at the hotel's show tonight. Of course, the tuk tuk's motion created a cool breeze, we ate outdoors at the restaurant and they had fans whirring for the diners at the hotel show. We are definitely being spoiled and relishing it too.
Photo Album Jan. 19 >>
<<Main Cambodia page
<<Home