Monday, Jan. 21
We are gradually adjusting to the clock half way around the world. No long sleepless spells for Glenn and we actually didn’t get up until a bit after 7 am. Then, another super buffet breakfast before heading out for the morning’s sightseeing. The head of the “Three Brothers” guide service showed up in the lobby and Mark finally was able to settle up with him for our car tour last Saturday.
Today, we let the "brother" get us a tuk tuk and driver who would take us to one specific area of the park—Angkor Thom. This is a former royal city and covers a MUCH larger area than Angkor Wat. We wanted to have time to really see the main attraction in Angkor Thom—Bayon. Climbing to the upper platform of the temple brings you almost face-to-face with some of those huge carved faces.
The tuk tuk is really very pleasant to ride in as far as air temperature is concerned. They create a nice breeze even at their sedate pace. Probably a tuk tuk with one or two people zips along faster, but the three of us presented something of a challenge to the little motorcycle engine. Usually, there is some kind of hand hold loop on the side above the seats and with the rather bumpy roads we tended to hang on to those loops. Other motor scooters, small buses, vans, etc. all are riding along with the tuk tuks and there is a sense of being “part of the scene” that you certainly don’t get in a car.
As we were tuk-tuking along, suddenly a motorscooter passed us with a full display case of sunglasses on the back! I must have said something that the lady scooter driver heard, perhaps, “Hey! THERE”S sunglasses!
As we approached the South Gate of Anchor Thom we passed an elephant ride area. During the day, the elephants apparently await customers here or near Bayon, then in the evenings, they are stationed at the base of Phnom Bakheng, ready to transport riders up the highest hill in the area for sunset views overlooking Angkor Wat. The cost is $10-$15 for a 25 minute ride. The elephants were another exotic touch for me, but we had no desire to see the view from an elephant’s back! I suspected the elephants were imported just for the tourists from some other part of Cambodia, but perhaps not. When I asked one guide how on earth all of these sandstone blocks had been transported to Angkor from quarries at least 35 miles away, he said "they used the elephants."
When the driver let us off in front of the huge Bayon temple, who should pull up right behind us but the sunglasses seller! She wanted just the price I was willing to pay: five dollars. She held up a little mirror so I could see how the glasses looked. Glenn and Mark were unanimous; the shaded "Chanel" specs definitely enhanced my sophisticated appearance (with the sweat trickling down my face). So, the nice lady and I exchanged money for sunglasses. Then, she pulled out a cloth, cleaned the glasses, dug down in a box and came up with a nice little case and soft cleaning cloth. I felt I got good value for my US dollars although I had serious doubts about the statement engraved on the inside of the ear piece: "Chanel, Paris." Sure. You bet.
Luckily, most of the places we had visited until now were well-wooded and shady, but today we were out in the sun most of the time and it is tough to manage without sunglasses to cut the glare. Of course, the view through my spiffy new glasses was a bit vague—not quite as sharp as my trifocals, but way better than squinting!
Mark told the driver to meet us on the other side of Bayon temple in about an hour. That seemed long enough to climb up, and then down this temple but it took all of that time and probably more, partly because we had to share this experience with the usual crush of tourists and there was only one set of steep stairs with a railing. The two other stairs were too tricky for us to navigate without the reassurance of a railing. And then, there were all the photo ops! We traversed from north to south and the lighting was great on the south side, where the many Buddha faces were well illuminated. There were more lovely “apsaras” to enjoy as well.
The guide book says “If you see only two temples, Angkor Wat and Bayon should be the ones.” So, we have seen the best, and also had time for some of the rest. After meeting our driver, we took a beer break in the little “restaurant row” of tin-roofed, open sided shelters across from Bayon temple. Ahhh, a cold beer in this hot climate is absolutely a miracle. And the miracle only cost $3.50 US for a really BIG bottle of Angkor beer.
Refreshed, we were ready to walk about in the hot sun for a bit longer, and our tuk tuk headed for two other interesting ruins: the “Terrace of the Elephants” and nearby “Baphuon.”
The Terrace of the Elephants lived up to its names—carved elephants at the entrance to the stairs up to the top of the terrace, and bas-relief elephants lining the base of the 8-foot tall wall. We didn’t go up and walk along the top, but many do. Instead, we just enjoyed studying the great variety of sculptures in the wall. A guide said that one of the Khmer kings liked to sit upon the terrace and review his troops, many mounted on elephants down below, while the “apsaras” danced for him. Ah, the heavy duties of kings!
At the north end of the Terrace of the Elephants was the Terrace of the Leper King. Catchy name, huh! The wall supporting this terrace was covered with carvings of demons and other mythological beings. The guide books think the adjective "leper" was applied because a statue on top of the terrace was covered with lichens, no doubt looking a bit "leprous."
Our last stop was at "Baphuon." Baphuon is a VERY tall pyramidal temple-mountain in the heart of Angkor Thom. Unlike most of the structures we’d seen elsewhere in Angkor Thom, this temple was built when the area was ruled by the Brahmins, of Hindu culture—not Buddhists. It too, sits back from the present road, protected by a moat and accessible by a causeway, like Angkor Wat. Much of it was covered with scaffolding as it is in the midst of reconstruction. A helpful guide added that the temple once had 14 towers surrounding it, but apparently it was in the middle of battles during the 1970"s civil war" between the Khmer Rouge and who? The Vietnamese?
After Baphuon we had had enough hot sun and gorgeous temples and told our driver “Back to hotel, please.” He obliged and was paid ten dollars for our morning excursion plus a small tip. These are the most polite people I’ve had the pleasure to encounter. They try to make sure you are having a good time, and generally succeed. They seem to also do the little things, like even clearing away breakfast plates, with care and precision. Nothing sloppy about these folks! They also all look exceedingly neat and well-groomed. I have no idea what their homes look like, but I suspect most would be rather primitive by USA standards (excluding our city slums) but that doesn’t seem to stop them dressing neatly.
Enroute back to the hotel it was interesting to watch the passing traffic. Some motorcycles had been converted to open trucks and were stuffed full of people! More vendors put-putted by us, with their wares on the back of the cycle. Many cycles had HUGE loads of palm fronds tied on behind. It wasn't unusual to see a threesome of young men on one motorcycle zoom by. (Mark said he has seen even more riders on one cycle!) There were older and younger girls on bicycles, dressed in white blouses and short blue skirts—school kids? Then, there were the girls riding side-saddle on the motorcycles behind a young man. Blithely bouncing down the road and keeping their grip and balance with seeming ease. We speculated on how young these people were when they learned to drive a motorcycle. Mark guessed it depended on how soon your legs were long enough to let your feet meet the pedals!
We have now used up our three-day passes into the “architectural park” and will probably say that is enough time to devote to ancient Cambodian art and history, but it has been wonderful to walk among these amazing stone structures. Considering that we are here in a “cooler” time of year (“only” in the mid-90’s during the day) it boggles the mind to think of the thousands of laborers (slaves?) who worked under this blazing tropical sun—the stone-cutters, and the men who had to drill holes in each stone, so they could be lifted with rope and transported miles from the quarries to the construction site by elephants—Glenn speculates the stones were dragged behind the elephants. Sounds logical. And then, the artists must have gone to work on their painstaking sculptures and bas-reliefs. It makes building the Great Wall of China sound almost easy!
Our guide (Mark) offered to make a trip in the tropical sun, across the street to the market. He returned with more cold beer and a nice assortment of crackers, peanuts (with a little “heat” to them from little peppers scatted among the nuts). With the room well-cooled by the air conditioning I even enjoyed a hot cup of tea.
After a short rest, it was pool time. Glenn and Mark headed down, but the bed looked pretty inviting, so I rested and read the guide books for what to do in Siem Reap AFTER you have “done” the ruins. Going out to huge Tonle Sap Lake, about 15 km. away might be a good choice—we could see how people cope with living by a lake that rises and falls over 30 feet, depending on whether the Mekong River backs up the Siem Reap river during monsoon season, or a large portion of the lake disappears during the dry season. The solution for the locals is to build their homes on stilts higher than flood stage of the lake.
Oh, it is going to be hard to leave this hotel and pool! If the LeMeridien is typical of five star hotels then maybe there is something to be said for being filthy rich after all. Of course, the icing on the cake for me is that we are getting this at 1978 prices!
After our swim we headed into town via a tuk tuk. We have now learned to ask the doorman to call a tuk tuk—and all he does is wave at the group of tuk tuk drivers across the street—one of them immediately heads for the hotel entrance. We looked for a new place to eat and I nudged our little group toward the Blue Pumpkin which got good marks in the guide books. It was near Pub Street and we ate upstairs in an air-conditioned section. Very ultra-modern décor—all white, from floors to furniture to ceiling fans. There were even padded benches on two sides with bed trays if you wanted to stretch out while dining. Our waiter may have been a boy-waiting-to-be-a-girl, at least according to Mark. He had learned lots of funny English descriptions for the food we chose: My pork and sweet potato dish was “Awesome” which was encouraging, but then, Glenn’s chicken satay was “Super Duper” and Mark’s curried ravioli was “Cool” so I began to realize I hadn’t ordered anything all that special! All this was washed down with two of those BIG bottles of Angkor beer. We strolled a bit after dinner but decided we had seen enough for this night, so Mark flagged down a tuk tuk and told the driver to take Mom and Dad back to the hotel. He struck out in search of a barber and maybe a cheap Internet café.
A pleasant and cool ride back through the now-familiar streets of Siem Reap. The alert LeMeridien doorman immediately wanted to know what we had done with Mark. Later, Mark said on his return at 9 p.m., the same doorman reported to Mark that Mom and Dad had made it safely back. We are obviously being well looked-after here!
Mark returned shorn of his longish locks and ready to face the hot weather of Thailand after the 24th. The haircut AND a neck massage cost him all of two bucks. However, he found it hard to find a barber still open. On the other hand, the massage parlors are everywhere, including here at this hotel. On our rides around Siem Reap, we’ve seen a lot of creativity in the massage parlor signs. Some that we thought notable: “Hammer Massage, or, “Magical Traditional Massage.” Maybe the least appealing sign was for the “Dead Fish Massage.” This was located near the “ Dead Fish Tower” and adjacent to the “Dead Fish Guest House.”
No group decisions were made on what to do tomorrow—there are several options: the new Angkor Wat museum near our hotel; the Old Town area which is supposed to be a shopper’s paradise, and then there is that odd-behaving Tonle Sap lake. Stay tuned!
Later that evening I spent some Internet time sending the following e-mail message to many friends back in the USA:
Date: Jan. 21, 2008
Subject: Still in Cambodia
Hello!
Our five days in Cambodia are rushing by, but we’ve not been idle. Glenn counted one THOUSAND photo files and video stored on our laptop—so far. We’ve toured various parts of the huge Angkor Wat temple ruins for the past three days. We have two more days here, and will probably now explore a little beyond the town of Siem Reap where we are staying. We’ll fly back from Singapore on Jan. 24—which will, no doubt, seem like the longest day ever. At some point we will re-cross the International dateline and find ourselves getting home a few hours before we left Singapore!Our hotel is the most beautiful one we have ever had the good fortune to stay in. And the pool! Some days it has been a hard choice whether to go see more of the fantastic ruins or just stay at the hotel. Our solution—visit the ruins for half a day (about as long as we can tolerate the heat (93 degrees), humidity and fierce tropical sun—then we come back and enjoy the gorgeous hotel pool. I’m attaching some photos.
Last night, we went to a colorful outdoor program with the stage set right in front of the Angkor Wat temple—what a backdrop! Today, we climbed steep stairs to reach the upper terraces of another famous temple, “Bayon” where faces of Buddha have been sculpted into the sandstone towers throughout the temple.
The popular mode of transportation here is a Honda motorcycle. They are everywhere! When you attach a little “buggy” at the rear of the cycle you have a “tuk tuk” and we’ve tuk-tucked from our hotel to the ruins or to downtown Siem Reap—both just a few miles away. US dollars are the accepted currency and a ride in a tuk tuk is pretty cheap—a couple dollars will get you downtown; ten dollars will take the three of us out to the ruins for half a day. The “air conditioning” is included at no extra charge!
Hope all is well for you and we’ll give you fair warning when those thousand photos are ready to be viewed on our website!
Barb, Glenn and Mark
Photo Album Jan. 21 (Angkor Thom)>>
Photo Album Jan. 21 (Siem Reap Town)>>
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