Angkor What?
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2002
1
105
129
Trip End
Sep 22, 2003
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Thursday, June 19, 2003
20th June - We decided to buy a week's pass for the temples at $60 so that we could take our time and really explore but most people go for the three day pass at $40. It was lucky we did as we spent nearly 5 hours just in Angkor Wat! As we pulled up I was a little surprised that it didn't look as I had pictured it but I later found out that I was getting it confused with something else. Although Angkor Wat is undoughtedly the most famous in name and reputation, you are more likely to have seen pictures of some of the other temples and you may not realise that there are over 100 Angkor temples in the area and not just 'that' one! We were also a little dissapointed to find out that it was still being built! The blue tarpaulins and cranes rather spoilt our first impressions but as we went through the huge surrounding walls we got a sense of the scale and majesty of the place. What can we say. Breathtaking. The bas-reliefs(wall carvings) were stunning and the place is nearly 1000 years old! We won't bore you further with historical and architectural points but suffice to say we were constantly left wondering 'how?'. Another amazing thing was that we practically had the place to ourselves! Most people avoid the middle of the day but the temperature was perfect and it meant that we could get fab photos without having strange people in our shots.
In the afternoon we visited the Landmine museum. It's a bit controversial as the police keep arresting the owner as they want people to go to the military museum instead (owned funnily enough by a senior police officer). He therefore has to keep it very untidy and pretend it's not really a museum and if we are asked we have to say we are visiting the children there as he takes in victims of landmines and westerners volunteer there and teach them English and French. Mr Akira fought with the Khmer Rouge (from the age of 10!) when they killed his parents and then was forced to fight with the Vietnamese when they invaded and then with the Cambodian Army after they had gone. Now he clears the mines they laid and keeps them in his sheds, alongwith other bombs and articles (which once he has made them safe, the police come and confiscate for their own museum). His stories and those of the victims are often heartbreaking and often defeating the odds. For example, a family whose ox cart hit an anti tank mine and the parents were instantly killed and catapulted into a mine filled field. Akira couldn't get there for 3 days but miraculously, the baby who had been protected by being carried in the mother's arms, managed to survive by suckling on the dead mother until she was saved. Now for a few stastistics - in Cambodia more than 2 people every day are killed or injured by landmines. Children (who are the most expendible part of the family) walk first to make sure the way is clear for the adults and animals. An estimated 3 million landmines remain in Cambodia. It will take between 30 and 100 years to clear them all. 52 countries are laying landmines today. America took many landmines to Iraq this year. A few weeks ago, a detonator was found on the road to Angkor Wat. Tourists also have to be careful as many mines were laid around the temples and people have been killed and injured even within the last few years. Makes you think doesn't it?
But back to the temples! Phnom Bakeng is the place to be for sunset (phnom meaning hill) and as such sometimes more than 500 people crowd onto it's summit. Thankfully there were only about 100 when we went, probably partly due to the previous rain we had had so needless to say we didn't see much of the sunset. It's quite a steep and rocky slippy climb up and coming down in the half light was an adventure, especially as my fairly new Vietnamese shoes had decided to wear through and the bottoms were flapping off. So much for my bargain!
21st June - We had decided to use a new means of transport called a remorque-moto or Cambodian tuk-tuk. This is a little carriage pulled by a motorbike and is perfect for couples and we managed to negotiate a daily rate of $8 the same as our small motorbike. When we left the guest house they interrogated us as to who our driver was and how much we were paying and we then understood why he wouldn't pick us up from the door. The suddenly dropped their prices for the bikes but we really like travelling in our little cart as we can look around, chat, take photos, shout hello to the kids, and it has little plastic curtains in case it rains too!
We headed for Angkor Thom which is an absolutely huge complex (a city in fact) and contains the amazing Bayon. This is probably what you think of when you imagine ancient undiscovered temples with four faces around the tower. The Bayon has hundreds of faces altogether and it took us ages to explore. Next up was the terrace of elephants where the elephants are carved onto the base. We also had a quick visit to the Baphuon before our little cart took us into town for the main event - England V Australia rugby IN Australia. We got through most of the NZ V Wales match and a storm blew up and knocked out the one sattelite dish that serves the whole of Siem Reap. There were tears and tantrums but there was nothing we could do but sink a few more glasses of Angkor (the local brew but not a patch on the Vietnamese efforts) and chat with other miserable fans in the bar. Amazingly it popped back on in time for the second half and we were amazed to find England winning. The Cambodians in the bar were a little puzzled by this game where you throw the ball and knock each other over but even they were cheering by the end. Bring on the World Cup!
