Cambodia Day 4- The Large Circuit

Our last morning in Siem Reap our driver picked us up at 5 a.m. and took us to a lake where we could see the sunrise. More interested in photographing the ruins at sunrise than just seeing the sun come up over the water we asked him to take us back to the Laura Croft Wat (This is where part of the Tomb Raider movie was filmed) where we had been the day before but the lighting hadn’t been ideal for photos. We hoped that in the early sun photos would turn out better...and they did! For the first hour we had the Wat all to ourselves. It was so peaceful and serene as we moved about photographing various angles and details. Slowly other tourists began to show up as well as a few young boys that set up their “shop” of trinkets to sell. I watched as one boy swept the leaves from the dirt and surrounding area giving it a tidy feel, while the other boy laid out a cloth and then began to set up very systematically the mini metal statues of various gods and wat replicas.

The plan for today was to hit several wats that were further out (which is why we paid $3 more than the previous day) and which is referred to as the Large Circuit. We started with the Bantea Siray (Fortress of Women) which was a special treat! To begin with, the road to get there was lined with Cambodian life. Children riding bikes to school in their uniforms, children playing in the dirt, cows and chickens in the front yards, basket weaving, cane sugar being boiled down to make crystalized sugar and many more activities. We saw a man on a motor bike with a basket on the back filled with young pigs. There were flat carts on the back of motorbikes overflowing with charcoal. So much life taking place. Then we reached the women’s fortress which is the smallest of the temples but also the best preserved. The stone has a pink hue to it. The carvings in the stone are so intricate. Unfortunately, it was hot and very crowded so I didn't get a chance to admire it as much as I would have liked.

We moved on to other temples which were much less crowded since they were further out than the temples in the small circuit that we had enjoyed the day before. As the day progressed and it got hotter and hotter we lost our energy and enthusiasm for climbing the steep stone stairways to the tops of the eroded edifices. When we learned that we had just a few temples left to see we decided to stick with it and keep the end in mind. Some of the sites were more interesting than others I have to admit and at some point they all start looking the same...tall stone structures with really steep, tall stairs to climb, with much of the engravings and carvings worn off. That's about all we saw in the end as it all became a blur. But, we knew we only had 2 full days to see it all. Probably not the best plan but it’s what we had. While it was an intense 2 days I think we would have enjoyed it all a bit more if we had planned one additional day in order to avoid being out during the hottest parts of the day.

At several of the temples there were groups of landmine victims playing music and selling recorded CDs. We decided to purchase one as it claimed to have traditional music. The CD is described as “A group of the cripple musians at the east Prasat Preah Khan Buy one CD of the cripple is that you have supported the cripple musians projested in Cambodia.” No, those are not my typos. I've typed it exactly the way it is written. :-) It made us chuckle. The music, I have to say, is pretty good.

So, that brings to an end our time in Siem Reap. I mentioned in a previous blog that we had the companionship of a monk for a little while. He asked us what we thought of the temples. I told him I was amazed by all the work that went into the construction and how well preserved it all was. He admitted that the buildings left him empty inside but that he did have a sense of pride for his country. The artistry is tremendous! Imagining what these buildings must have been like when they were first built (some dating as early as 800! The most recent dates to about 1300). It really is spectacular.

Cambodia Day 3- The Small Circuit

Sorry for the intermission...I ran out of juice. Here we go again.

Ok, to remind you were we left off...I'm on a trip with Nate and Cheri. We took a bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We entered the Angkor Wat park for sunset and now...the story continues.

We arose at 4:30 wiped the sleep from our tired eyes and met the driver who would transport us from the temporary hotel (you'll remember that the hotel we booked had put us up in a temporary location since they overbooked) with breakfast in hand. Breakfast consisted of an egg, cucumber sandwich with green tomatoes. It was not delicious. The driver took us to drop our luggage off at the hotel we would stay at for the remaining 2 days and then were were off to Angkor Wat for the sunrise, again finding ourselves among throngs of others also hoping to catch a glimps of and photograph the rising sun behind Angkor Wat. After a frustrating experience of trying to avoid getting heads in our photos the sun purched high in the sky giving off way too much heat and we made our way into the Wat to explore the ruined temple. What a joy it was when we found several monks in gold colored robes inside the temple making the experience picture perfect. We then wittnessed what I can only imagine was a monk initiation ceremony where a young boy (around age 12) also dressed in a yellow gold colored gown with head shaved except for a pig tail on the crown of his head. There was chanting, gift giving, water flicking and then the ceremony was crowned by the shaving of the remaining pig tail on top of the young boys head. It was a beautiful ceremony.

Afterward the ceremony and exploring Angkor Wat we continued to several other sights including the Bayon where Cheri and I rode and elephant eager to go on break and get some rest. I’m pretty sure he was running to the finish line as we caught up and even passed the elephant in front of us leaving him in our dust. We then happened upon a group of monkeys and several young girls selling bananas to feed the monkeys. I declined purchasing the bananas despite the continued assurance that “monkeys don’t bite.” I glanced over my shoulder and found that one monkey had begun to climb up Nate’s leg. Knowing that monkeys are never to be trusted I got a bit nervous for Nate and was glad to see the monkey jump off him without injury. I took my camera over to get some photos and soon enough I found a monkey climbing up my own leg. Not having any food to offer him he began chewing on my leg. Luckily it didn’t hurt but it was starteling. I went back to the tuk-tuk to join Cheri and was again approached by a young woman selling bananas insisting that "monkeys don’t bite." “But he just bit me!” I told her. “That’s because you have no banana’s she replied.” We both laughed at the irony.

The day was unbearably hot and we must have spent $20 on water alone! Finding shade was difficult and even then...we had to keep moving finding relief only when seated in the breeze of the moving tuk-tuk. We stopped for lunch at a foodstall inside the park and negotiated cheaper prices than what they had advertised for the simple meals we ate. Cheri and I ate yellow noodles with veggies and chicken and Nate ate the Anok curry. The young woman serving us said she was 12 years old and off school that day. She was a good negotiator as she offered us discounts on the rates advertised.

After lunch we continued on our way and came across the most darling 4 or 5 year old girl repeating the phrase “10 for one dollah”. Looking in her hand to see what she was selling I found 2 magnets one of which was broken. We wondered how she could sell 10 for one dollah when she only had 2. Trying to talk to her we discovered she spoke no english except to say "ten for one dollah." Sweet little girl learning the trade of her family I’m sure as she was not the only child vendor we came across. In fact, anywhere we went, as soon as the tuk-tuk came to a stop we found ourselves surrounded by children of various ages begging us to purchase (normally 10 for one dollah) whatever they were selling. Their wares included bracelets, post cards, whistles, books, water and much more. Most of the children, while they were very pushy, were polite. Unfortunately, we ran into 2 young men who were not. One approached Cheri and she wasn't interested in what he was selling but she did make a purchase from another vendor. The young man who had approached her first told her she was "a bulls$%# lady." He was quite bitter and let us know of his disgust. Another young man approached me and told me that if I didn't purchase from him I'd make him cry. Well, I didn't purchase from him and as I was leaving he cocked his arm as if he intended to punch me.

We made our way to a number of ruined sites taking countless photos and trying to bear the heat. The ruins were decorated with Buddhist and Hindu gods and their stories. Some were well preserved while others almost completely destroyed. To think about what the sites would have been like in their heyday was not difficult and left me with a sense of awe for all the hard work that went into the construction yet sadness to think of the forced labor that was used to construct the edifices. At the end of the day we found ourselves atop another Wat enjoying the sunset which was over as quickly as it began. We then made our way down the ridiculously steep stairs (which were intentionally made difficult as it was explained that reaching heaven is no easy task). The driver returned us to our hotel just in time for the rains to begin falling and not just falling but POURING! It lasted less than an hour but the lightning and thunder that accompanied the rain was most enjoyable.

For dinner we decided on a Khmer restaurant that had a traditional dance show. Cambodian dance is very similar to Thai, slow moving with similar leg, arm and hand movement. After dinner we stoped for what was advertised as foot massages but which we would refer more descriptively as leg rubs. Nate said it’s like they read a copy of a copy of a copy of how to do a Thai massage...a perfect description that made us laugh. But ya know...for $5...it was alright. We walked back to the hotel, crashed in bed, trying to prepare for another early, early morning.