Well, Cambodia was not on my original list
of countries to visit but several people told me that I have met along the way
that I should go see Angkor Wat. So I did! It seems kind of silly to travel 28
hours round-trip by bus for one day of sightseeing but it was well worth
it. The 14-hour trip there was
relatively painless, except for maybe the last two hours my tailbone was
getting a bit sore. We weren’t really on the bus for 14 hours but probably 12.
We had a few 20-minute stops and my first land border crossing went well. I was
on a good tour bus that took care of getting our Cambodian visas for us. I didn’t even sleep because I was glued
to the window. Cambodia seems quite a bit poorer from what I have seen of
Vietnam so far. Along the roadside, the houses were mainly shacks built on
stilts. It must flood in that area during the monsoons. Every once in a while
you would see a nicer house that was built out of concrete and was painted.
When we got closer to Phnom Penh there was actually a newly developed area with
a few mansions. Some of the interesting sights I saw from the window: after
crossing the ferry (which had several big dump tucks, a few tour buses, and
cars/motorbikes – good thing we didn’t sink!), there was a woman on a motorbike
and she had two pigs on the back tied together and a bamboo sort of contraption-
they couldn’t move at all – kind of like my bus ride last weekend- Ha! Ha! –
No, really I felt sorry for them, next unusual sight was a baby walker sitting
on one of the shack’s landing with no railing that was built up on stilts – I
sure hope they don’t let the baby use that walker there! , next sight that I
had to laugh at was a kid who was hanging half ways into an ice cream freezer
at one of the road side stands. The freezer stands about waist high and he was
hanging over it, head in and feet dangling in the air. J
So the next day, was a full day of touring
Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. First, we visited Angkor Thom, which
was the last and greatest capital of the Angkor era. The city is surrounded by
four huge defensive stonewalls. Along the main entrance, there is a stone
causeway lined with stone Buddhas representing the god images and on the other
side were stone sculptures representing the demon images. Within this city
complex, are several temples that we visited with Banyon being the most
impressive. Along the outside of the main part of the temple are history
galleries that are carvings in the wall depicting the ancient civilization. The
towers had stone cravings of the Buddha’s face on all four sides of each tower
representing: compassion, charity, equanimity, and immortality. Next, you will see in my pictures is
the Elephant Terrace. This is a huge terrace covered with elephant carvings
where the King and his High Priests would meet. Then we visited Ta Phrom, which
was originally built as a Buddhist monastery with approx. 12,000 people living
there. This place has been over taken by the trees and are destroying the
monastery. You will see what I mean when you see the pictures. The roots of the
trees have a mind of their own and don’t necessarily live under the ground! In
addition, to the trees, the Hindus destroyed most of the Buddha sculptures.
Also, for you moviegoers out there, it seems that part of Tomb Raider was
filmed here. Another temple Ta Keo was never finished because it was struck by
lightening and they believe that this is a bad omen so it was never completed.
Now, finally Angkor Wat (meaning city temple) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and very impressive built in the 12th & 13th century
as a mausoleum and temple for the King.
It represents the most artistic and greatest Khmer architectural sight.
The towers were designed to look like lotus buds. Also one of the highlights is
the reflection of the temple in the small body of water that lies in front.
I also was able to catch a show of the
traditional Khmer dancing, also known as Apsara dancing. The Apsara dancer
represents a half-woman, half-goddess entity and dances with poise and grace.
They have unique hand movements that represent a flower, stem, and a bud. They
also had some traditional Khmer dances with young men and women dancing
together. One was the coconut dance that is usually done at weddings and
another one was a fisherman’s dance. They were both really animated and
enjoyable.
I really like the little town of Siem Riep
where I stayed right outside of Angkor Wat. It’s not too big and has more of a
countryside feeling even though it is very touristic. It has still been able to
maintain its charm and traditional culture. I would have liked to stay longer
but was on a package tour. I found out about a couple of orphanages I would
have liked to check out. Also, I was impressed that some of the restaurants
have started a trend where their profits go to the local community (orphanages
and schools). There was even one restaurant where the customer does not pay for
the meal but makes a donation, which goes to a local orphanage.
The 14-hour ride back to HCMC was not as
interesting as on the way there and was rather long but not too bad. It’s the
next morning, and yes – I really am on another bus ride – but it’s only 5 hours
to Mui Ne a seaside village with sand dunes. This bus is a sleeper bus, which in a way is better than the
seats because I can stretch my legs and have room for my computer on my lap.
But this is one of the older ones that is pretty cramped. It has three rows of
lounge seats along the width of the bus. I am in a bottom seat and I keep
hitting my head on the seat above me. When I first sat down, it was almost like
being in that Chu Chi tunnel again but not dark. But as I cooled off, I have
gotten use to it. But I sure wouldn’t want to have an accident in this bus. I
believe I would be crushed! Ok, let’s not have anymore of these thoughts! Well,
we are almost to Mui Ne and I have used my bus time wisely.
