Siem Reap, Cambodia

Mom in the Singapore Airlines Lounge
Arrival at Siem Reap
The long road to the first temple
Good looking fella with horses in the background
Living history
Again with my nephew Elijah! He is everywhere!
Awesome sights
Hindu carvings
More
Lots of places to hide
Happy Buddhas
Happy travelers
Hey hey we're the monks.
Setting sail for the floating village
Commerce on the water

Boys using cooking pots for boats
For US$1 you can take a picture of snake girl and her little friend.
Wally Gator - my old client
Lunch ladies afloat
Little naked boy and his modest brother
The floating school.
Cooking up some water snake on the BBQ
Graceful dancers
Teng says hello
Up the stairs and onto the elephant
Big Booty

Hi kids!
We're being followed
Put your stuff in the trunk
Our little gentle giant
Hard to pet the big dude
Carvings at the famous elephant terrace
Stampy!
Stampy's great great grandfather, in stone
Dumbo's ancestors were there too
Not taken at the Buddha Bar
Mom shows Teng how to be a good Buddhist
The temple of Doom
Ok, not Doom, but lots of roots
Carvings everywhere
A tree grows in Angkor
And an even bigger one
I could have lived here in 1200
The serpent root
Trees have no respect for history
Buddha with a naga
Lovely bridesmaids on picture day
The went thataway-

The long road to Angkor Wat
Part of the famous bas relief
More relief
Looking out from in
The ancestors of the dancers we saw the previous night
Ancient cheerleaders doing a pyramid

Through the ballistrades
Great lunch - Fried snakefish and Khmer Curry in a coconut shell
Our hotel

The pool

I heard about Siem Reap and Ankor Wat soon after arriving in Singapore. I knew there were lots of old temples there. My knowledge of Cambodia was only as a place where there was fighting during the Viet Nam war. The Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields sounded familier but I really can't say I knew many details of the area or it's history.

Having now been to Siem Reap and seeing and meeting Cambodians I have a new understanding and appreciation for their history and their culture.


We arrived at the little Siem Reap airport mid morning on Tuesday and were met by our guide Teng Sreang. Teng came recomended by several of friends and collegaues in my office. A very personable man who has worked very hard to become both proficient in English and knowledable about the history of the Siem Reap area. Here is Teng's website - http://www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-sreng.htm

We stopped to check in at our nice little hotel the Shinta Mani http://www.shintamani.com/ . There are so many hotels in Siem Reap from large to small, expensive to cheap. Most appear to be new or only a few years old. The Shinta Mani was just right - small, clean, nice people, a cute little pool and a small spa. It is about a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Ok, there were a few mosquitos in the room and a bunch of geckos on the walls in the hallways (like our house in Spore), but the rooms were big and the beds very comfortable.

After a brief rest we headed out. Teng said that most of the tourists were on package deals from Korea, China and Japan. Passed the large moat of Angkor Wat on our way to the Bayon Temple. the temples are all in the 900 year old range and are partly in ruins. a recent Wall Street Journal article sheds some light on the subject better then I can. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120123557265716325.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Suffice it to say that the temples are amazing. Hindu and Budhist with a very strong Indian influence. Beautiful statues and carvings and many nooks and cranies to explore. There were quite a few tourists in sight but it wasn't too crowded.

After the temple we headed off to visit the local floating village on Tonle Sap (lake)http://www.canbypublications.com/siemreap/srtonlesap.htm. The trip to the lake gave us a look at how people live. Pretty basic at best. The boat to the floating village was good size and we were lucky to be the only passengers. As we headed down river to the lake we saw river life in full swing. Several small boats zipped along the river. One pulled aside our boat and a small girl jumped on board. She was carrying a box with cold drinks, trinkets and bananas for sale. We passed and she quickly hopped back onto her own boat. Probably would have better luck on one of the tourist filled boats nearby. Another little kid jumped aboard later and I bought a couple of bananas for a buck. I could have gotten the whole bunch but I really didn't want the banana, just wanted to give the kid some coin. A common problem in Cambodia (just like in India). I just wanted to give money to all the kids.

Next we stopped at Artisans D'Angkor, a really well run place for young people to learn the crafts of Cambodia - silk painting, wood and stone carving, laquoring and more. We bought some gifts and few few things for ourselves in the very nice shop. We also spent a few more in their shop next to the Angkor Wat temple. If that wasnt enough we browsed in their shops in the Siem Reap and Penom Penh airports and also discovered they have a new shop in Singapore Changi airport. Smart marketing! And if you still want to pick up a trinket you can order online! http://www.artisansdangkor.com/


The people of Cambodia are very good looking and seem very happy. While there are some nice homes in the Seim Reap area most people live in very basic, primative housing. Very open with no frills. Not very urban like Manila or Jakarta and not quite as dirty and dusty as most of India.

That night we went to a very touristy buffet place with a cultural show. The food was ok and the crows was pretty amusing but the show was actually very good. Nice music and dancing by a very well trained, beautifully costumed, group of young dancers.

The next morning we again headed out to the temples.


Before the real temple visits by foot we headed back to the Bayon temple try something Mom had been wanting to do since she heard it was available - ride an elephant. She was excited and a bit nervous as we approached the first stand of elephants. Sadly we were turned away as all the elephants there were booked to take a large group of Japanese tourists on a ride. Luckily, Teng knew of another place where the large mammals were available for hire. We pulled in and saw 4 or 5 of the pachyderms hanging around, wagging their tails, flapping their ears and swinging their trunks. for $10 a pop we got to ride around the temple. Mom and Teng went first climbing up the 2 story stairway to get onto the elephant. Each big dude had a driver, a nice barefooted Cambodian, behind the driver who straddled the big guy's head and steared with a rope between his toes, was a wooden saddle for two. A little shakey but solid. The driver wore a vest with a well placed pocket in the back for tips. The elephants may work for peanuts but these guys work for greenbacks. Mom and Teng were on Dumbo and Sophia and followed on Babar (ok I don't think those were the real names). The ride was nice, bumpy and a little smelly, but nice. I took some nice pix from aboard the saddle. After the ride Sophia was petting one of the elephants and he nuzzled her with his trunk. We wanted to bring one home for a pet but remembered the Simpson's exerpience with Stampy and thought better of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Gets_an_Elephant


We saw the jungle temple noted for being the site where parts of the very bad movie, Laura Croft Tomb Raider, was filmed. Teng and other guides touted this and rightly so for as lousy as the movie was it did bring some publicity to Cambodia and the temples. It is also where Angelina Jolie adopted one of her kids. The really cool thing about the jungle temple is that it is so old and abandoned so long that many trees have rooted right up, through and into the walls. The trees give the place a real enchanted look.


After the jungle we headed to the Grandaddy of them all, Angkok Wat. This giagantic complex is subject of many books and treatises. Before heading in we sat down and enjoyed some fresh coconut, 2 for about $1. The milk of the young nut is not as sweet as an older one but still very nice. The meat is very soft and rubbery and tastes so good when scooped out using a sharp spoon made from the cocnut shell. Mom had a sip and Sophia passed - both for hygienic reasons. I forged ahead as I have been a little less cautious with my 3rd world eating recently. So far so good but soon I will probably pay.

The temple and grounds were spectacular. Especially the 1000 Buddha room and the amazing bas relief which cover the walls surrounding the inside of the complex. I understand it is the longest bas relief in the world. http://justinsomnia.org/gallery/v/siemreap_2003_may/DCP_4924.jpg.html

Check out the linx for a taste.


Later we went to the very new Angkok National Museum. http://www.peaceofangkor.com/angkornationalmuseum.htm Although it would have been better to see this first it was still a sight to see. They have recreated the 1000 Buddha room and it is very powerful. Also nice new, modern displays, video and historical narrative. Definitly worth a visit.

After a rest and a great oil massage ($45 for 90 minutes) we headed to dinner at the restaurant of the very hip and trendy Hotel De La Paix. http://www.hoteldelapaixangkor.com/ Once inside this hipster heaven it was easy to think you were in a W or another boutiquey place. The restaurant was nice and the food was not bad.

After dinner and a dusty walk home to the Shinta Mani, we called it a night. The next day we headed back to Singapore, with a brief stop in Penom Penh, on Silk Air.