Day 1:
Sua s'dei!
Here in Siem Reap we are staying at the Golden Temple Villas, right in the heart of town. The best bit about this place is the lush leafy garden complete with chairs and hammocks. There is also a nice bar/restaurant with really friendly staff. The downside: our room is cramped, no proper shower (basically a hose that floods the bathroom) and the massages are terrible (the girls skills extend only to their ability to provide symmetrical bruises on all limbs, impressive in itself however not what we paid for).....but, there is free coffee/tea, bananas and wi-fi.
Kampuchea is the Kymer name for the country.
After check-in, we head to the river and we are in luck the most important festival in the Kymer calendar is today - the Bon Om Tuk festival (Water festival) is in full swing. The festival celebrates the victory of Jayavarman VII who defeated the Chams occupation of Ankor in 1177 and also, to mark the natural phenomenon of the reversal of the current of the Tonle Sap river. Thousands of people line the banks, it is a wonderful and hectic hive of excitement and activity! The President, the Royal family, and high-level officials arrive soon after we do, just in time for the boat races. This part of the festival could be likened to the Oxbridge boat race in the UK. Although these boats looks heavy and cumbersome and contain 22/23 rowers. The races kick off, first the ladies, then the men. There is so much excitement especially when the boat with the National hero is ready to race. People scream, jump up and down, and some people are so overcome with delight that they fall into the river! It's good fun and we chat to local guy who gives us a detailed account of what's happening.
There's a great atmosphere!
Come on what every yer name is!
After a few races we stroll to the local branch of the Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) for some tranquillity and Ankor beer.
The city is still busy when we emmerge from the FCC, and clogged with rubbish and dirt. The river is filthy. There are many beggars. Many children and teenagers, both male and female, walk around arm-in-arm or holding hands. Along the riverside we notice the police 'collecting' money from the street stalls - we are later told this goes straight into their own pocket.
'Tis all too much for this tuk-tuk driver
Back near our accomodation we head to 'The Alley' and 'Bar Street' where drink, food, people and fireworks are plentiful.
The Alley
It's all very touristy, but many restaurants offer Kymer-style food. We try the Kymer Barbeque restaurant, which is very tasty. There is a good buzz about the place.
Siem Reap, the city, is a dirty, dusty place. Not much to write home about.
The language is so difficult! I have just about mastered hello and thank you, 'sua s'dei' and 'or khon'. There are many many bugs here - we are covered in mozzie bites and they, like the massage girls in the hotel, have a knack of symmetry. Symmetrical like the Temples of Ankor...what we are here to see!!
Day 2:
A snippet about Cambodian history.....
Contemporary Cambodia is the successor state to the mightly Kymer empire, and the remains of the Empire can be seen at the temples of Ankor (easily accessed from Siem Reap). The Ankorian period ran from AD 802 to 1432, beginning under the rule of King Jayavarman II who proclaimed himself god-king (devaraja). He built himself a temple-mountain to honour Vishnu, and began the trend where Kings built temples to worship their Gods and a as a place to house their remains - resulting in a period of outstanding architecture. This era eventually went into decline, Cambodia was colonised by the French during the 19th century. King Sihanouk displaced the French, and Cambodia lived through a golden age in 1960s (where Phnom Penh was the 'in' place to be in south east Asia). However, the Vietnam war had a terrible impact on the country. The suffering peaked during 1975-79 with Pol Pot and the Kymer Rouge executing (most likely) over a quarter of the population - focusing on the educated, cultured, the city dwellers. The horrific regime was overturned by the Vietnamese in 1979, who occuped Cambodia until the 1990s. For the past 10 years, there has been relative peace.
Our trip to Ankor
We organise a tuk-tuk and English-speaking local guide for the next 2 days through the hotel (who are most helpful). Mr. Ni is our local guide, and Mr. Lo is our lovely driver.
We cover a lot of ground in two days - 22 temples and religious sites! I was never bored, and did not suffer from temple fatigue as each building/ruin is so different and the history is fascinating.
The humidity and heat is an issue, but travelling in tuk-tuk between sites (which are often kilometres apart) enables some cooling-off time!
The temples and places of interest we visit on our first day at Ankor:
Ankor Wat
South Gate Ankor Thous
Bayon
Baphoun
Phimpanikas
Royal Palace
Elephant and Leper King Terrace
Lhav say Tevada
Thamanou
Takeo
Ta Phrom
Banteay Kdei
Srash Srang
Kravan
Without doubt, Ankor Wat (built over a 30 year period during the 12th century) is the ultimate expression of Ankor genius. The 4.30am start is worth it! Magnificant, but expect crowds.
Sunrise at Ankor Wat
Our first introduction to the beautiful and sensual Apsara (dancers)
I reccommend listening to Excess Baggage, Radio 4 (15th November 2008) for a great (albeit over romanticed!) podcast about the history of dance in Cambodia.
The centre point of the vast complex
Pounding our chests in the 'echo room' for luck
Floods after the rainy season
Looking back at Ankor Wat
Amidst the culture, we rescue a little lost bat - awww!
This young lady is up to mischief!
The Bayon temple is surely one of the world's most unusual buildings!
Elephant terrace
The variety of styles, carvings, materials and locations are truely fascinating.
Each of the stones are strategically placed to create these structures (no binding substance used)
Wandering around Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider temple, Ta Prohm, is busy but the narling branches and roots, choking the ancient stonework, is fun and atmospheric to explore. On the whole, Mr. Ni does a great job of dodging the tour groups so we often shared sites with a few strays.
These steep steps in the heat are a killer!
Roosters, roosters everywhere....
We notice that many of the older women have shaved heads, Ni informs us that if there is a death in a family there is a ritual during the ceremony where the hair of spouse and children are shaven off.
Day one at Ankor has finished, and we head back to Siem Reap.
Les Chatiers Ecoles
In the late afternoon, we visit Les Chatiers Ecoles (free entry and guide) - a school specialising in teaching wood- and stone-carving techniques and silk painting methods to impoverished and sometimes, disabled youngsters. We are shown around the factory and see the work in progress. Our guide tells us that students receive a salary and get a percentage of what they sell in the shop, however, they have to pay for their own materials. It is an interesting trip, and the shop - beautiful, but incredibly expensive. We just about afford some table coasters! The price (and physical size/weight) of the price of the goods make us wonder how many items in the shop are sold? However,there is a lucrative market in the hotels and guesthouses who are looking to decorate their premises - our hotel is a prime example.
During the Kymer Rouge era, culture, craft, dance, music were squashed, and there is now a drive to revitalise Cambodian traditional culture (this is also mentioned in the 15/11/08 episode of Excess Baggage Radio 4). This centre is one of the many examples of culture revival.
Later on, we visit the appropriately named, "Dr. Feet" for some Reflexology to soothe our aching limbs!
Tonight, we are both tired and enjoy relaxing back at our hotel garden. Later on, a great dvd is played in the bar, telling the story of Ankor in detail, reinforcing and consolidating what we learned and viewed earlier.
Day 3
Ankor - "The Grand Tour"
We begin our second day of exploring Ankor at the more sociable hour of 8am.
Today, we visit the following:
Preah Khan
Neak pean
Ta som
Mebou (East)
Pre Rup
Banteay Srei
Banteay Sam Re
Within the grounds of Ankor, there are a number of canteen-style restaurants where tourists are carted to for some over-priced, unimpressive noodles or rice (certainly not the type of food that locals eat). It's nice to sit inside to cool off. There are stalls and children selling postcards/bags/books/bracelets EVERYWHERE. It is impossible to escape. They ask where you are from, are reply with some facts about Ireland, or the Irish phrases they have learned, some even count in Irish! The kids in Cambodia are beautiful. Cute as they are, we have been advisednot to give money to them as most likely is gets passed on to someone else.
The greatest demon of them all
Without doubt, our favorite temple of all is Banteay Srei, or Ladies temple (citadel). Located about 35 kilometres away from the main site. This beautiful temple is magnificant.
The women work hard here, even laying out the roads
Red earth, constant dust
Motos are made for 4
On the way back to Siem Reap, we are stopped by the police. It turns out our driver does not have a license plate on the vehicle or on his jacket that is "required" for being a tuk-tuk driver. We look around and see that most tuk-tuks do not have a license plate! Bad luck being pulled over - the policeman wants money. Ni, our guide, explains to us what is happening - shrugging his shoulders he remarks "this is not my problem, this is not your problem", he laughs. For me, this sums up the attitude of many of the people we have met here. People switch on and off charm as is appropriate to sell what they need. The ordeal takes about 15 minutes, and Mr. Lo's wallet is emptied.
Tonight, we eat at the Kymer kitchen - we try the famous Cambodian dish AMOK and a delicious Kymer-style curry. Our last night in Siem Reap is unbearably humid and torrential rain lasts for hours. Next, we are getting a bus to the capital, Phnom Penh.
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