1st Oct
I made my way to the meeting point hotel where we had a meet and greet with the tour group at a rather old, dilapidated hotel around the corner from where i was staying before. it was functional though and a hot shower was nice after the cold shower i had had earlier that morning!
Everyone seemed really nice- there are a lot of people that have chucked in their jobs back home and decided to travel the world. i seem to be the only one (aside from my new best friend Beatrice- a belgian property manager) who actually has a job to go back to! However, as all of you will have gathered by now, it doesnt matter where i am in the world, drama tends to follow me around. I'll have you know that this time it did not involve me! We all went out for a meal on the first evening and the drinks began to flow. What followed is a testament to why i refrain from drinking too much. So here goes...There are two couples on our tour from England (well, there were 2, now there is 1). The male counterparts of these couples had had a fair bit to drink and were engaged in intense converstaion through the evening. Looking back, the scuffle that ensued was inevitable. The next morning, hot news off the tour press was that one of the guys had punched the other one on the way back to the hotel! Why it happened was anyone's guess- all that remained as evidence of the incident was a bloody ear and a lost earring from the victim's ear.
The 6hr bus journey into Cambodia the next day was thus brightened up (though maybe not so much for dips- the guy who got punched) by discussions/theories about the night before. And to add fuel to the fire, the perpetrator was nowhere to be seen- we'd left for Cambodia without him and his partner!
We arrived in Siem Reap early evening and checked into our hotel. Considering the tour had been described as "basic" on the itinerary, I have been pleasantly surprised at the standard of all the hotels thus far. We'd heard about the predicted typhoon headed towards Cambodia and so were all rather anxious what was to come. It hadnt rained yet though and we'd seen no sign of disruption to the city, considering it had rained the night before, and so remained fairly optimistic that we'd scraped it. Oh how wrong we were!
The tuk tuk ride to the restaurant on our first night was like nothing i have ever seen and experienced in all my life. We turned one corner and were suddenly immersed and subsequently stranded in 2ft deep waters when the motor of our tuk tuk flooded. Great! we had broken down! Refusing to get out and wade in malaria infested waters, a troop of young Cambodian children pushed us to shore. In the end, there was no avoiding it, and we had to walk through the waters to enter the restaurant. We ate at a a place called "Cambodian BBQ" where one cooks and eats your own food. Seeing as i'm a semi-vegetarian, the main options of snake, crocodike and ostrich (ive never seen any of these animals in cambodia but anyway), weren't ideal so i had to settle for boiled vegetables and rice. Initially it tasted as boring and bland as it sounds, BUT after a bit of masalafication with chilli's and whatever condiments i could get my hands on, it was just about bearable- so years of observing mum in the kitchen have clearly come in handy!
Oct 3rd- ANGKOR WHAT?
The next day in Siem Reap was long and tiring. We visited Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples- one of the 7 wonders of the world. Here comes the history...
In the 8th century, after his exile in Java, king Jayavarman II was crowned king of Cambodia and ordered the construction of the capital, Angkor. The main temples of ANgkor were built between 802 and 1432. The Angkorian period beings with the rule of Jayavarman II. He established himself as god-king (devajara) whose power was all encompassing and expressed the qualities of Shiva.
First of all we saw Angkor Thom. This is a temple dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism. Angkor Thom is a 10km squared walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian Empire. At its height it may have supported 1million people. The surrounding wall has a sanctuary tower at each corner and 5 gates. Each gate is crowned by four faces of Lokesvara and the South Gate was particularly impressive, approached by a 100m causeway flanked by 54 gods and 54 demon stone heads. (i will upload pics soon i promise!)
Next stop was BAYON, also a Mahayana Buddhist relic. It was intended to embrace all the religions of the kingdom (including Islamic beleifs of the newly conquered Cham) but was consecrated as a Buddhist temple. When the state religion reverted to Hinduism the Buddha in the central sanctuary was torn down and thrown into the well below. Had the Buddha statue beeen there today, im sure it would have been an amazing sight but sadly after the war with vietnam and the political and religious turbulence that occurred over the years, it is difficult to appreciate just how beautiful this sight once was. The best part of Bayon however lay in its intricate stone work - called Bas-reliefs. These span over 1.2kms and contain 11000 figures. The reliefs on the southern wall contain life-like scenes of battles between the Khmer and the Cham as welll as unique and revealing scenes of everyday life including market scenes, cock fights, chess games and childbirth. These were stunning to look at and only wish i could have sneaked a stone in my bag to take home and hang on my wall! Alas, weight issues prevail as always and the small matter that it's a world heritage site!
After lunch it was onto Ta Prohm. This is perhaps the second most popular temple in the vicinity as it was where the Tomb Raider film and the recent Indiana jones film was shot. Scenes were split between Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. The quiet, sprawling jungle temple is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth to keep it looking the way it was discovered and help keep it standing. The huge trees and their exposed roots were majestic and incredibly powerful to look at, a definite photo opportunity with hoards of tourists waiting to have their pictures taken. I did join in on the furore and will upload mine soon.
Last stop of the day was the famous Angkor Wat temple. This was erected in 1150 during the rule of Suryavarman II. It is a Hindu temple comemorating the Hindu god Vishnu, the preserver who was widely worshipped during the height of the Angkor period. This is easily the most popular and well known of all the temples of Angkor, it is visually, architecturally and artistically spectacular. It was probably constructed as a funeral temple, and faces the west, the direction of the setting sun and symbolic of passing into the next life for the King. Sadly we could not muster the strength to stay until sunset, a supposedly beautiful experience, but the atmosphere walking around was calming and incredibly special. The surrounding greenery added to the scenery for breathtaking views, especially as we walked up the impressive causeway across the 200m wide perimeter moat. It is a 1500m squared complex which is composed of a 3tiered pyramid topped by 5 towers. I have to say i enjoyed walking around Angkor Wat the most out of all the temples. This was probably because it is the most intact and so it was easier to see it in its entirety. With the other temples falling apart and having to step over boulders evrywhere, it was difficult to imagine what the temples had once looked like.
Once we'd got back from Angkor and freshened up/snoozed for a while, we headed back into the wet city centre for dinner in another tuk tuk which also broke down. That night, we ate at place called Temple Bar where we watched traditional Apsara dancing whilst we ate our food. The dancing involved some beautiful Cambodian women and very limber Cambodian men who pranced around the stage enacting folk stories as they danced- an interesting sight! The women nevertheless were the centrepieces with their stunning outfits and ever so elegant mannerisms.
I had an early night that night, in preparation for our early start to Pnom penh the next day. Will catch up then!
Px
P.s. The name Siem Reap actually means "Thai's defeated", in reflection of the various times the ownership of Angkor fell by expansionist Thai kingdoms and was subsequently retaken by Khmers.
p.p.s Shell- all this history- you should be proud of me!
