Kingdom of Wonder...

We arranged to have a tuk-tuk for the 3 days we would be visiting Angkor. The area itself is about 15 km outside of Siem Reap and the complex spans a region of 400 Sqkm…far too big and WAY TOO hot to take everything in on foot. We originally had planned on renting electric bicycles but since this much easier and much less sweaty option came to us, we happily committed for the length of our visit.
Angkor Day 1
Shugree picked us up at 5am. In the darkness of the early morning, we bounced along the route out of town. We stopped at the gate entrance to purchase our passes and carried on towards the main attraction. We were a little early, being eager not to miss anything, so we stopped for (really bad) coffee at a small restaurant by the temple. Sunrise at Angkor was a magical sight to take in despite the crowds of onlookers. We spent the first couple hours of the morning watching the colours develop in the sky and satisfying our sense of wonder as we explored the grounds. Besides the main temple another highlight of the day includes the temple of Bayon. This one is known for its many gigantic face carvings. The famous Ta Prohn was another site which blew us away. This is the area which was basically swallowed by the jungle. On and around the entire property are monstrous trees, roots, and stems which seem to devour it. We saw so much this day, basically taking in the designated “mini-tour”. Shortly afternoon we decided we were pooped for the day and headed back to the city to get cleaned up and fed. Before dropping us off at the hotel, Shugree suggested we see the traditional Cambodian dance of Apsara. He picked us up in the evening and drove us to a nice hotel which offered dinner and a traditional show. The music and dancing were both lovely and it was nice to eat buffet style for the first time in many meals.
Angkor Day 2
We decided to start in the afternoon for day two since we wanted to catch sunset and spending the entire day in the heat seemed very unlikely. Shugree picked us up at 1 and we headed to amore distant and older group of temples including Pre Rup, Preah Khan, and many more. These locations were much further away from the main attractions making for a more private and enjoyable walk-about. We ended our day with sunset at Phnom Pakheng, mountain temple. This is a classic sunset destination but unfortunately for us the clouds were heavy that afternoon. Still an amazing hill-top view nonetheless. We finished off our day with a trip through the old market and the night market and some dinner at the nearby Khmer Taste.
Angkor Day 3
Last night some celestial bodies aligned as we sat in our hotel room watching the National Geographic Channel. As fate would have it we were introduced to a program, Riddles of the dead, which was focused on the mysteries of Angkor Wat. We were thrilled as we were about to start our last day there in the morning. We stayed up until nearly 2am watching the program but it was incredible to learn more historical details and view everything in the program which we had just taken in with our own eyes over the past 2 days. It still almost seems like a dream…
Cambodia managed to strike another beautiful cord with the two of us today. We woke early, around 430am, to catch sunrise on our third and final day visiting the temples at Angkor. Shugree picked us up at 5 in order to travel the 10km outside of town to Bakong Temple. The sunrise at Angkor was striking but totally over-run by tourists so we hoped to find something peaceful this morning. We encountered some different sites as the city set up for a busy Saturday. Many streets, once clear for traffic, were down to a third of the size with all the market vendors sprawling the wide dusty roads. Baskets and totes filled with various produce, specialties, and goods, as far as your can see. As we motored along in our tuk-tuk, the morning breeze actually made us feel a chill, maybe the first in the past month and a half. We drove out of the city, down unlit roads, and through villages along the way. Shugree explained to us that no tourists, or anyone for that matter, would be at Bakong for sunrise*fingers crossed. In the black dark we hopped out and walked in, even arriving before the park guards. Guided by the light of our trustee maglites, we scrambled through the temple in awe of the silence and the almost eerie sense of emptiness. A nearby Monastery had begun its morning prayers which echoed in the hallow ruins. We took the root around the temple rather than through (we could hear the many, many bats within the darkness of the walls). The only other person we encountered along the way was a Buddhist monk who was enjoying the tranquility while he performed his prayers. We tackled the stairs to the top and scouted for the ultimate sunrise viewpoint. The peace here was heavy and truly amazing. The sun coming up wasn’t much to see or record but the experience was exactly what we were looking for. After the sun began to light the day, the village came to life around us. Children in their white dress shirts and blue bottoms (skirts for girls and shorts/pants for boys) seemed to be popping out of every corner. We saw children doing chores in the few minutes before starting their day in the classroom. Today there seemed to be an added bounce in their steps as they filed through the streets. Saturday is the last day of the school week so I am sure the kids look forward to Sunday and Monday as their “weekend”.
On our way to the next temple, Banteay Srei, we travelled about 20 km. We passed rice paddies, small villages, and life existing almost independent of the tourism impact on the country…So many beautiful things to take in. One unfortunate thing about much of the rural area is the overwhelming amount of loose trash which is pretty well everywhere. Perhaps many of the locals lack education on the subject or maybe they have an expectation that it will go away on its own, perhaps the mess doesn’t bother them. It is definitely a reflection of the economical state of many of the regions. There is no dependable waste management and therefore trash seems to filter down to the very poor. Anyway, coming from Canada, it is an obvious problem which we both can’t ignore.
As for the temples we saw today, many of the carvings stood out due to their immaculate condition and great detail. We rounded out our morning with a sobering visit to the Cambodian Landmine Museum. This is an organization (in partnership with Canada) which was started by a man who set landmine fields during his time in the war, claims he laid thousands per day. After his service in the army he witnessed the devastation many of these unexploded weapons, were causing to children and members of so many communities. Landmines aren’t designed to kill you, but more so meant to blow off an appendage. Well, this organization probes and clears fields as an attempt to reduce the number of victims of these ticking time bombs. Educational and reflection-provoking experience that’s forsure. We picked up some souvenirs and donated in support of a good cause, worthy of a visit.
After a great morning, we headed back to the city for a late lunch. We ate at our favorite local place, Khmer Taste, for lunch AND dinner, and relaxed in our hotel room after a stroll around the city. We agreed that we are both very fond of Siem Reap. We hit the sheets at a reasonable hour as our day w0uld start with a 730am bus to Battambang.