Ancient Stones of Angkor
Trip Start
Nov 08, 2008
1
6
20
Trip End
Jan 17, 2009
Siem,
Cambodia
Monday, December 1, 2008
And it's not just the ancient stones...it's everyday life among the ruins that fascinates, too.
Anyway, I will attempt to give some semblance of my own personal experience.
To pick up the travel thread where I left off, I booked a mini-van out of Koh Chang in Thailand, perhaps foolishly thinking it would take me straight into Siem Reap, Cambodia, a stone's throw (pardon) from Angkor Wat and other marvels of the Khmer empire. Ha! The comfort of the minivan ended at the Thai-Cambodian border. Fro there, it was a cramped, un-air-conditioned bus that thrashed around on the main highway, which is under construction
01. Me at Bayon
. Rough travel. I have the bruises on my forearms to prove it.Having consulted my Lonely Planet guide, I managed to make a good choice of lodging: Prince Mekong Villa ($18 a night, hot water and AC), a wonderfully friendly, helpful, comfortable guest house down a bumpy dirt side road. Breakfast, laundry and use of a bike included.
The owner mapped out a biking route for me the next day, and I was off exploring on two wheels by 8 am.
On the owner's advice...actually insider tip...I entered Angkor Thom through the massive south gate and immediately escaped the tour bus crowds by pushing the bike up the hillside, onto the boulevard-wide wall. There, it was just me, the water of the moat below, the ancient stones and butterflies. The wall route ended at the west gate, with its huge enigmatically smiling stone faces on the four sides. Off the bike and into Bayon, where I was at eye level with more of those compelling countenances. After another couple of stops at ruins, I headed back to the guest house, sore but satisfied.
Early the next day (4:30), the guest house owner arranged tuk-tuk transport for a small groups of us to outlying ruins, beginning with sunrise (and engaging kids hawking books, postcards and tourist trinkets) over Sras Srang pool and ending around 3 in the afternoon at the sprawling, multiple-cruciform Preah Khan
02. A stop along the Angkor Thom wall
. Along the way were stops at Banteay Srey (dedicated to female power, with some of the best carvings), the Land Mine Museum (where they all belong, in my opinion), Banteay Samre, East Mebon, tree-root-covered Ta Som, and watery Neak Pean.More than that, however, was the slow travel across the Cambodian countryside -- busy villages and quiet countryside, people working in conical hats with hand tools in rice fields, water buffalo grazing, old women in long colorful skirts and cloth-wrapped heads pedaling bikes laden with firewood and produce, people with friendly smiles for a strange foreigner, substantial houses of masonry (some with signs out front announcing they are sponsored by foreign groups and individuals in this poorest of countries), basic houses with thatched roofs and dirt floors, a happy little girl skipping down the road, two (or three?) people on a motorbike with a load of woven baskets piled high on the back...
Only a small sampling of the day.
The next day, I slept in until 6:30, planning on seeing only two ancient sites -- Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat itself.
Visiting VIPs with two military helicopters and massive police and army presence had closed Angkor Wat for the morning, so I started at Ta Prohm, the "Lara Croft" temple, so called because scenes from the movies were shot there...and I can see why
03. Face on the west gate of Angkor Thom
. It's root-covered, crumbling walls and towers are as atmospheric and photogenic as monuments come. I will try to restrain myself from uploading too many photos.But the high point was yet to come...Angkor Wat, well-planned and intricately carved. A truly magical, haunting place. Because I arrived shortly after noon, when the tour groups leave for lunch, I had portions of the site to myself. The only disappointment of the day was the closure of the upper portion of the central tower and a small portion of the "Churning of the Sea of Milk" bas relief, which visually explains the significance of the man-handled naga (serpent) used as balustrades throughout Khmer sites.
Oh, yes...and I saw monkeys.
I was sated of stone, with images overflowing my brain.
That night, I had appetizers at the quirky Dead Fish Tower, a combination of rustic, industrial and funk. A young couple was on stage on one of the many levels of platforms singing Christmas songs. I had to keep reminding myself where I was.
Tomorrow, on to Vietnam.
Comments
Ruins...
Ron -- Simply 'awesome'... I'll bet you could hardly believe you were really there!! Love, Kristi