Wat more temples?
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
5
82
Trip End
Dec 30, 2009
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Butter was rancid in the hotel restaurant, It rather spoilt my morning roll.
We have lots of photos from the last few days but I am struggling with the hotel's slow internet connection, so be patient, dear reader, I will add them later.
Morning temples
Banteay Kdei
Peaceful
Banteay Kdei
. Stories of Hindu god vishnu (check) whose human embodiment Rama's wife Shiva was tricked away by the demon king, Rana retrieved her with the help of the monkey king after helping him to kill his twin brother. Lots of carvings depicting this saga in this and other templesTa Prohm.
Built to honour the king's mother. Also the Lara Croft/tomb raider temple. Heavily touristed esp Vietnamese groups. Also Europeans. Apparently there are usually lots of Thais but they are staying away because of recent border trouble. Overgrown by trees whose roots are prising the stones apart but also form spectacular scenes as they envelope the walls and towers of the temple. Walls decorated with "beautiful ladies" or apsaras.
Then on to Ta Keo. It was another temple. It was hot, we were very er.... sweaty so we didn't climb up the steep steps. Instead we found spider holes. The holes are about 3cm in diameter, so these are big boys.
Banteay Kdei
Our guide, Kim, reports that they are very tasty. We didn't volunteer to find out.Next Thommanon and Chausay Teroda, two smaller temples opposite each other, the latter having been badly restored in the recent past. Then it started to rain. On the way back to the hotel, it became heavier we were glad to be in an enclosed car and not a tuktuk.
In the afternoon, we spent 2hr+ looking at Angkor Wat, a spectacular temple on a huge geometric site surrounded by a wide rectangular moat accessed by a single causeway. Apart from the site, the other key features are the huge and detailed wall carvings mainly of the Hindu legends such as detailed above. It was busy but so big that we were able to dodge the crowds.
Next stop, Phnom Bakheng, a 9th century temple on a hill that has become symbolic as a representation of the hill in another Hindu legend, "churning the milk". It is an elevated viewpoint over the surrounding plain and tourists like us are brought to watch the sunset. This particular sunset was a disappointment but the real treat was people watching at the top as some (of a venerable age) struggled up the steep steps
Banteay Kdei Gate
. Think Japanese or Korean men in white vests and shorts with long black socks and you get the picture. Some people were brought up the access road by elephant. (20 USD to climb up, 15 USD to come down).(J) Traffic chaos on the way home. Cars containing 10 people, tuk-tuks, push bikes with no lights and 3+ people on them (the + depends on whether there is a baby in the front basket or not). Mopeds transporting families of 4, trucks crammed with people in the back and with men sitting on the bonnet. Not a hint of road rage and everybody queuing patiently to overtake the elephants - brilliant.
Siem Reap old market for supper. After a frozen margarita, we ate in the Khmer Kitchen, an excellent local restaurant recommended by our guide - total bill = 10 US$. We realised half way through the cocktail that we have been paranoid about only drinking bottled water, even using the stuff to brush our teeth, we were happily drinking ice slush in our cocktails. Must be more careful....
Tuktuk ride back to the hotel fulfilled all usual expectations of road travel in this wonderful town.
