The Temples of Angkor

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  Siem Reap, Cambodia
Tuesday, March 21, 2006

It seems like many days have passed since I last updated this, but it hasn't been as long as it has been full of new places and interesting journeys. I set out to leave Vietnam on the 16th of March, taking a two day trip up the Mekong River into Cambodia's capitol city of Phnom Pehn. The first part of this trip mirrors the beginning of the search for Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, and during the journey there were several times when you felt like you were heading into the Heart of Darkness, but for the most part it was pretty populated along the way. I started by taking a 2 hour bus ride from Saigon to Cai Be, where I got on a medium sized boat sailing northwest through the Mekong Delta. I arrived in Vinh Long after about three hours. Here the river became too narrow to continue, so I had to travel overland to Long Xuyen. At about 4pm I boarded my last boat of the day to travel up to Chau Doc, where I would spend the night before returning to the river the next morning for the journey into Cambodia

01 Boating into the Heart of Darkness

. The river banks along the Mekong River in Vietnam were full of stilted houses comprising fishing villages. The late afternoon was bath time so the first part of the final boat ride for the day was comprised of waving at little children while they were supposed to be taking their evening bath. Truthfully I wished I was in the river as well, as the temperature was around 94 degrees and the humidity was fairly high. The boat was supposed to arrive before sunset, yet nothing ever goes by schedule and this was no exception. Around 5pm we made a pit stop to drop off one of the crew, and when we tried to steer the boat back into the middle, the rudder stopped working, so the captain spent the next hour and a half diving under the boat making repairs. This didn't really seem like a problem, as I didn't care what time we got into Chau Doc, but I was a little hasty in thinking that. As soon as the sun started to disappear beneath the horizon, the mosquitoes and fruit flies started to ascend form somewhere. The last 3 hours on the river were filled with seeking cover from the swarm to no avail. I didn't make it into Chau Doc until after 9pm, and even with swallowing a lot of flying insects, I was pretty hungry and managed to thumb a ride into the city center to find a restaurant indoors away from the flies and mosquitos.
I wasn't sure how well I would sleep that night, as several lizards had taken up residence in my room, but they kept the bugs away and left me alone, so I had a very peaceful night

02 Bath time in the Mekong Delta

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Early the next morning I left Chau Doc on a row boat, where I went to a small Cham village on the river before rowing out to a larger boat for the journey to the border crossing. Around 11:30, I arrived at the border crossing where my guide dealt with the border police while I waited in a little house and had lunch. There were also hoards of little girls who were happy to exchange your remaining Vietnamese Dong for Cambodian Reil. I didn't need to as after my lunch and stocking up on water, I was out of dong. I boarded a Cambodian boat at 1pm and we went about ten minutes down the river before disembarking yet again to get my Cambodian visa stamped. The rest of the day was simply boating up to Phnom Pehn. Immediately upon crossing the border you could tell you were in another country. Whereas in Vietnam, the banks of the river were filled with houses, in Cambodia you didn't see many at all. Instead, the banks were occupied with farms going back into the country with plenty of cows grazing and water buffalo working as you passed. The sun and heat also became a little more oppressive, so I spent the majority of the ride with my feet dangling over the side into the river, which cooled me off considerably. The boat docked at around 5pm about 30km south of Phnom Pehn, where I took a bus into the capitol on a dirt road that was little more than a series of potholes. So what should have taken less than an hour took more than two, and I acquired a few bruises on the top of my head as we bounced our way into the city and toward paved roads

03 Sunset on the Mekong River

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The first thing you realize upon entering a Cambodian city or village, is that they are very unlike the Vietnamese. The Cambodians are brown skinned with round eyes and a little larger. The most noticeable difference though is in their demeanor. Where the Vietnamese have a very serious and at times stern disposition, the Cambodian people are quick to laugh and never seem to stop smiling. The Vietnamese seem to work non-stop, while the Cambodians are very content to relax and socialize at any time and are quite fond of the midday siesta, which considering the heat seems more than reasonable. Politics are the topic of many conversations, as everyone is quick to share an opinion and no two people ever agree. The result of these differing ideas, as well as a propensity for a fare amount of corruption by government officials, has led to no clear direction and keeps the country in constant turmoil. Which is what you start to learn in Phnom Pehn. The capitol city is the home to the Royal Palace, where the King still resides, but it is also the home to many reminders of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot. In Phnom Pehn, the main attractions other than the stunning Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, are the Toul Sleng Gencide Museum ( also called S-21) and Choeung Ek Memorial ( better known as the killing fields.)

In April of 1975, the Khmer Rouge, under the leadership of Pol Pot, marched into Phnom Penh, completing their overthrow of the existing government

04 The swarm is about to begin

. Within days of capturing the country's largest city, totaling 1.2 million at the time, they began a forced evacuation of all the inhabitants to labor camps. Within weeks the city was deserted, save for S-21 prison. Pol Pot's regime put everyone into the rice fields, working 15 hours a day, and those he feared he exterminated. Toul Sleng was a high school in Phnom Penh, which he turned into a prison. Over the three and a half years the Khmer Rouge controlled the country, nearly 2 million of Cambodia's 5 million people were killed, either via torture, starvation, or mass murder. The S-21 prison saw 20,000 prisoners during this time, of which only 7 people survived. The purpose of the prison now is to remind people of what went on during this regime, which they do very effectively with photographs of the captives and stories of those killed, as told by surviving relatives.
Choeung Ek is south of Phnom Pehn, and this is one of several places, albeit the most famous, where the Khmer Rouge slaughtered people and buried them in mass graves. So far, this site has yielded the remains of over 8986 bodies, with 43 of 129 mass graves left untouched. The killing fields are extremely important to the Cambodian people and they are very determined that as many people see them as possible. It is actually extremely unsettling to visit, as there are scraps of clothing and bones littering the pathways as erosion washes away the top soil. The most amazing thing about the Cambodian genocide, is that virtually none of the Khmer Rouge leaders were ever brought to justice

05 Feeding fish on the fish farm

. Pol Pot died in 1998, living in the mountains in the Northwest, and the commandant of S-21, is actually still alive after having decided he was a born again Christian. In 1979 Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew the Khmer Rouge, which stayed in existence into the mid 90's thanks to the support of the USA, China and the UN.

Other then these grim reminders of the recent past, Phnom Penh is a very agreeable city, with several beautiful Wats, a nice river walk and wonderful people. After two days, it was time to move up the Tonle Sap River to Siem Reap, and the temples of Khmer Empire in Angkor. I left on a speed boat at 7am, and arrived a little short of the destination, as the boat started taking on water and I was gratefully moved to a smaller boat for the last 30 minutes of the 5 hour journey. The river becomes a lake around Siem Reap, actually the largest natural lake in all of Asia. The size of the lake made me feel like I was in the middle of the ocean, which isn't a very good feeling when you are told your boat is taking on water.

Everything was fine and once onshore I was bombarded by tuk-tuk drivers offering to take you into Siem Reap. The cost was ridiculously low, as they would make commissions from the hotel they took you to. The road (I am being extremely generous with calling it a road) weaved through simple huts and fishing villages into Siem Reap

06 The river in Cambodia after a shower

. After a bit of looking I found a suitable guesthouse in an old French Colonial building next to the Old Market. I immediately called the guide I had been emailing from before I left the US and set up a time to meet for a beer that evening. In the meantime, I was far too enthused to see the temples to wait until the next day, so I hired a tuk-tuk to take me out to Phnom Bakheng and watch the sunset. This temple is near Angkor Wat and is built on one of three hills in the valley, so the sunsets are supposed to be spectacular. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only person to have this idea and it was more like a carnival with all the people climbing the hill and some taking elephants to the top. The view was indeed great and it was a good way to get a taste for what i would be seeing over the next few days. That night I met Mr. Khiue Thy, the same guide Richard and Natasha had used when they were in Cambodia. He was unavailable, as he was working with a group of archeologists during my stay, but he helped me determine a itinerary and arranged for a Mr. Shrae Thy to guide me and his nephew Nara to drive us. I say us, because Bella and Michael decided to join me with the guide, which made me very happy as they could share in the cost.

The next morning we set out rather late at 8:30, to see the Roulos group of temples, which are the earliest from the Khmer Empire, dating back to 850 AD

07 Entrance gate to Royal Palce Phnom Pehn

. This group consisted of three main temples; Bakong, Preah Ko and Lolei. We went back to the hotel in midday, as the heat becomes a little too intense and planned to set out again at 3pm. Bella opted out in the afternoon, so Michael and I went to Prasat Kravan, Sras Srang (Royal swimming pool), east Melbon and Pre Rup, where we stayed til the sunset. The temples in the afternoon were mostly built in the late 9th century and early 10th century. We decided for the next morning to try to start earlier, and possibly beat the heat and the Japanese tour buses. The Japanese tour buses are far worse than the heat, because at least you can find some shade to get a break from the heat whereas no such relief is available from the touring Japanese. We started the second day by travelling about 37km north to Banteay Srey, which is a very small temple with incredibly well preserved carvings. We were the first people there, and the pink and yellow sandstones used to construct the temples actually glowed in the early morning light. From here we went to Ta Phrom, which is called the jungle temple, as archeologists decided to leave it as it was found to show people what all the temples were like when they were discovered by the Western world. This temple has been used for movies and the photos are very recognizable. The trees grow from the roofs, walls and seem to encompass everything. We weren't as lucky here, once the tour buses arrived, Thy decided we should depart. We decided to get an early lunch and plan what to do next

08 Roof top in Royal Palace

. The main factors were obviously the heat and the crowds, which was especially true since we planned to go to Angkor Wat next. We decided we could deal with the heat, if that meant less people, so we went into Angkor Wat shortly after noon. Angkor Wat is the grandest of them all as the size of it dwarfs all the other temples. It is surrounded by a massive moat and is most identifiable by its 5 towers, that appear on everything in Cambodia, including their flag. What you don't know is the quality and quantity of bas reliefs that await you inside. We spent 2 hours inside. The trek to the top is precarious as you must ascend stairs that are near to vertical. Thy told us that just 3 weeks earlier a guide fell while trying to come down and didn't survive. The view from the top and the carvings in the top are absolutely mind-boggling. Angkor Wat was built in the mid 12th century and took over 30 years to build. You might wonder why someone would need or want a guide, as you can certainly have a tuk-tuk take you around and try to figure things out from a book. In Angkor, the guides actually go to school to become licensed and the knowledge Thy shared thoroughly heightened the experience.

That evening Thy wanted to take us to dinner at a restaurant with Cambodian classical and folk dancing. Thy and Nara joined us and really seemed happy we agreed to go with them, even though everyone was exhausted by the time it was over

09 Metal gate at Silver pagoda

. The next morning we started early again, and once again it was just Michael and I. The main temple we went to this morning was Angkor Thom, which occupies the most real estate, but the main attraction is the Bayon temple in the middle of Angkor Thom. This is the temple of 200 faces, as it has 54 towers, each with four faces carved into each side. No one is for sure who the faces are as they think they are either Jayavarman VII (the king who built it), Buddhism's Bodhisattva, or Hindu's Loksvara. Whomever it is, Jayavarnam VII liked their face enough to have its likeness carved over 200 times. This temple was really unlike anything else, and the photos would provide a better description than my words.

Cambodia has been great, and I wish I were spending more time, but I head to Thailand tommorow. With all the interesting things to see here, the Cambodian people far exceed any historic sites that you can see. Cambodia is an extremely poor and underdeveloped country, yet the people are some of the happiest people you could ever hope to meet. I hope you enjoy the pictures, as I think they are better than my writing. I have included a movie of pigs being carried on the back of a motorbike, which I thought was hilarious. There is also a picture of my favorite Khmer dish, fish amok. Fish covered with coconut milk, lemon grass and curry cooked in a banana leaf.

I will update you all as I travel in Thailand. In the meantime I hope everyone is healthy and well, and I will update you soon.

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures & Videos

10 Stupa in Silver Pagoda	11 Frescoes in Silver Pagoda	12 A rival to Bevo	13 S-21 prison
14 Photos of prisoners in S-21	15 More photos of S-21 victims	16 S-21 cells	17 The mass graves of the Killing Fields
18 Bones on the pathways	19 Around the killing fields	20 Memorial at Killing Fields filled with skulls	21Çentral market Phnom Pehn Hungry?
22 Outside Phnom Wat	23 Selling books in Phnom Phen	24 Fish Amok	25 Streets of Phnom Pehn
26 Water buffaloe on the Tonle Sap River	27 more buffalo	28 Angkor Wat as seen from Phnom Bakheng	29 Phnom Bakheng
30 Bakong temple	31 Apsaras carved into Bakong	32 From the top of Bakong	33 Elephants protecting Preah Ko temple
34 Preah Ko	35 Pigs to market movie	36 Prasat Kravan	37 Pig picture in case you can not play movie
38 Shiva relief in Kravan temple	39 Sras Srang....Royal Swimming pool	40 Elephant at East Mebon	41 Tower at East Mebon
42 Pre Rup temple	43 Glowing bricks at Pre Rup during sunset	44 My roommate	45 Dawn at Banteay Srey
46 Carvings at Banteay Srey	47 Banteay Srey	48 Colors of Bantreay Srey	49 Monkey kings fighting
50 Little girl and dog at Banteay Srey	51 Ta Prohm	52 jungle temple Ta Prohm	53 Trees holding Ta Prohm together
54 Cambodian Mona Lisa	55 More Ta Prohm	56 Me	57 Tomb Raider...gate into Ta Prohm
58 Moat around Angkor Wat	59 Smiling Apsara in Angkor Wat	60 Angkor Wat inside the main gate	61 Monkey having lunch in the shadow of Angkor Wat
62 Bas relief in lower level of Angkor Wat	63 More bas reliefs	64 Going up the stairs to the top platform	65 Central tower at Angkor Wat
66 Apsara with eyes open at top platform	67 Shrine to Buddha in Angkor Wat	68 Trail off central courtyard in Angkor Wat	69 Walking back to main entrance of Angkor Wat
70 Happy baby in Angkor Wat	71 Outside the main gate of Angkor Wat	72 Classical dancing	73 Real life Apsaras
74 Final Bow	75 South gate entrance to Angkor Thom	76 Army holding naga on Bridge	77 Looking into the moat
78 Close up	79 Three headed elephant on the gate	80 Bayon in Angkor Tom	81 Reliefs at base of Bayon
82 Faces of Bayon	83 The faces on every tower	84 Smiling	85 Looking up at face
86 Alter for praying	87 more Bayon	88 Peaceful face	89 face used on the currency
90 from the ground looking up at Bayon temple	91 Leaving Bayon temple	92 The Leper King at Angkor thom

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