Cambodia Part 3 - 1st Day at the Temples!

Today was the day we were off to the temples!  Knowing it was going to be a hot one, we got up around 7am and made our way to the patio for breakfast at 7:30.  Filling up on a delicious western breakfast, we suited up with plenty of bug-spray and sunscreen and made our way to the van, heavily anticipating the wonders that lay ahead.

Our first point of order was to ride on an elephant around the Bayon Temple.  Our tour guide, Mr. Santhou, thought it best to start here as most people start at Angkor Watt, the largest temple in Cambodia (the three-point temple which is incidentally also the symbol on the Cambodian flag).  We arrived at the elephant site and piled all 4 of us in.  Each elephant was suited with a platform-type saddle.  At first, the girls were a bit worried that we carried too much weight for the elephant; however, our guide assured us that the mighty beasts are quite used to carrying much more weight than the 4 of us (and let’s face it, Brianna and Elaine hardly weigh anything at all!).  We all enjoyed the scenery at the Bayon Temple, and riding around the perimeter made Terry and I quite excited about visiting later.  However, after our ride was over, Mr. Santhou suggested we go to Angkor Watt as much of the traffic had died down a bit.

When we walked up to Angkor Watt, the first thing we noticed were beautiful girls all dressed in bright orange.  Mr. Santhou informed us that this was a wedding procession and the beautiful women were there for wedding photos.  It was then that we also noticed a few men who vaguely looked as if they belonged.  As in America, the women were much more breathtaking than the men (hey, it’s all about the bride, isn’t it??!!).  Our guide explained that in the local folklore, each Cambodian must see Angkor Watt at least once in their lifetime…why, I don’t know...that’s just what he said!

Angkor Watt at first glance was beautiful…it was a bit surreal, and to be honest, I don’t think I truly appreciated it until we left Cambodia.  It is perfectly symmetrical, and almost every detail that went into the structure has some symbolic meaning.  The apsaras (female guardians whose carvings number in the thousands), the bas-reliefs…this all came to life for us, mostly due to our guide, Mr. Santhou.  He expertly guided us through this monumental piece of architecture and ensured that we saw the key pieces and understood their significance.

I learned about the 30-some-odd levels of hell which progressed from minor sins and minor punishments to the most severe level of hell, which was reserved for females who chose to abort a pregnancy (interesting to note that abortion was controversial even back in the early 12^th century!).  I also learned about the ‘churning of the sea of milk’, a very famous story from Hindu mythology, which became my favorite (for details, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudra_manthan).

I also learned that Angkor Watt was built largely as a religious monument, originally thought to have been dedicated to the Hindu God, Vishnu, by a King of Khmer.  It was definitely the most culturally rich temple we visited by far, and many many many great stories were to be had.  Having a guide at Angkor Wat I believe is essential for a true appreciation of why this great temple is so historically significant.

However, as amazing and rich as the journey was, the morning wore on and the sun was relentless.  While we tried to keep cool in the shade, this mom made a rooky move and forgot to bring snacks!!!  So, we called it an afternoon around 11:30 and agreed with Mr. Santhou that we would meet up with him at 3pm for the next round of our journey at the Angkor Complex.

Back at the B&B, Andrea invited Brianna and Elaine to join her and the children at the Community Center (which they founded, and happens to be in the same complex, through an adjoining gate) for an art class offered to the local kids.  Afterwards, they were invited to stay for swimming and snacks.  Terry and I quickly jumped on the chance to go touring without them and rushed to meet our guide for the next leg of our tour, the Bayon temple.

I understood why we were advised to take the afternoon easy.  The heat was definitely intense; although not as suffocating as I had expected…perhaps because I had been expecting it…perhaps because I had come from a humid climate (although TPE was REALLY cold when we left!).  We met our guide, Mr. Santhou, around 3pm and headed straight to the Bayon Temple (also known as the ‘smiling temple’).  Terry and I felt remarkably fast and light as we were travelling sans children.  With traffic (keep in mind that the Angkor complex was only 3 miles away!) we reached the temple around 3:45.  While this temple is about 100 years younger than Angkor Watt, is it not nearly as robust and is quite small in comparison.  However, I found the architecture much more eye-catching. 

The temple is a fraction of the size of Angkor Wat, and seems to be falling apart, when compared to the robust architecture of the larger temple.  I learned that one of the great mysteries is learning where the builders obtained the stones for Angkor Wat, as the stones are not believed to be located close by.  Those that built Angkor Wat chose a much more durable stone, whereas the Bayon builders were in more of a hurry (the King who built the Bayon was the most prolific builder in the Khmer history) so they used what was closest.  I find the stone to be more beautiful in color and more interesting, as the stones to me appeared the size of bricks.  However, as one can see walking around, the temple is in far worse shape and needed quite a bit of restoring and structural assistance to keep from crumbling.

The one aspect of our temple touring that bothered me somewhat was how accessible the temples are….which can be seen as a precious and rare opportunity, but somewhat disturbing.  Walking in, on and through the temple just felt…..sacrilegious.  Something as rare and precious as this sacred temple should be treasured…walking all over it just felt weird.  I felt some small relief that there was no vandalism and the trash around the complex was quite minimal; however, I still couldn’t help but wonder with the increasing numbers of tourists who visit the temples every year, how much longer will the country allow this to happen?  Then again, this is a 3^rd world nation with one of the most corrupt governments known to man, so, I shudder to try and answer my own question.

After taking some gorgeous photos at the temple (Terry definitely was having a blast with his mid-life crisis purchase!), we headed to Phnom Bakheng, which is not exactly the most beautiful temple, but just happens to be the oldest, and also happens to be built on the highest hill at the Angkor Thom complex.  It is where Terry, Mr. Santhou, and about 3,000 of our closest friends sat to watch the sunset.  While it sounds romantic, let me tell you it’s overrated!  We practically ran up the hill (which is the equivalent to running up the P-town ridge) to get there in time, as we spent too long at Bayon.  Once there, the temple is quite steep.  We clamored our way up to the top and squeezed in with some other folks to get a decent glimpse.  Yes, the sun was beautiful, and I can’t remember the last time I stopped to simply watch it set (wait…yes I do…it was yesterday, March 30 in Taipei!!); however, it was VERY VERY crowded.  The way down was quite treacherous.  This is another thing I am amazed at…there are no waivers one must sign before climbing to the top…anyone of any fitness level is welcome.  There is no mention that the stairs are about 6 inches deep, but each stair was about 18 inches tall….and one must climb down at about a 40-45 degree angle.  Terry and I quickly decided that we would NOT be taking the kids to see the sunset.  Our guide reluctantly acknowledged that there had been 2 accidents that previous year. 

Quite happy with our visit, we headed back to the B&B to see how the girls were faring.  We discovered them upstairs with Andrea’s children, watching American cartoons (in English, what a treat!) and relaxing.  They participated at the art class and had made Valentine card holders, then went swimming and after a snack, were relaxing.

We ate a meal in town that night (uneventful…the food this night, unfortunately, was not very good and the service was SLOW!) and headed back to get a good night’s sleep before our next temple excursion!

Cambodia Part 2

Earlier than we wanted, we boarded the plane for the unknown. I knew from the bit of research that I had done prior that ½ of Cambodia’s population lives well below the poverty line, making about $1.50 USD per day. I had also been warned about the food, the cleanliness, disease, the corrupt government, etc. Needless to say that I was VERY nervous about this trip.

We arrived in Phnomh Penh on time after a beautiful and relaxing morning. The girls sat together on the plane, allowing Terry and I some ‘adult time’ and also to get caught up on what we were going to be doing in Cambodia. Terry’s been so busy with work that he did not have an opportunity to learn what we would be doing in Cambodia until we were on the plane!

In Phnomh Penh, we learned that our flight was running behind. This wasn’t that big of a deal as we discovered that there was a Dairy Queen at the airport…ice cream for lunch…yummy! I have to admit being VERY nervous about eating ANYTHING given the warnings given to me; however, we were really hungry, AND it had been a long time since we’d had real ice cream (TPE mostly has ice milk or shaved ice…NOT the same :)), so we took our chances.

Small airports are rather funny, aren’t they? The airline employees really had no information and could not tell us why our flight was delayed…nor when we’d board. We were feeling a bit grumpy about the whole ordeal until we realized that many of the people at the gate with us had been waiting for about 2 hours LONGER than we had…so we shut up real quick!

After a 45 minute delay, we were off…on an airplane with propellers? Boy, I don’t remember the last time I’d seen one of those! Well, at least Terry was excited. You can see here that he wasted NO time putting some miles on his new camera!

We started the day around 7am and arrived in Siem Reap around 4pm. We were picked up by our host company, Journeys Within (www.journeyswithin.com), a B&B and travel agency recommended to us by a friend.

The drive to get there was beautiful…and also made me a bit nervous. Just when I was thinking ‘what a cute little road this is’, our host said…’this is the MAIN highway…it’s about 2 years old…before this, we only had a dirt road (!)’. Yikes…we then saw unspoiled country side, complete with young children, most of whom were half naked (some completely naked and bathing in shallow pits by the roadside) playing along the roadside, again I thought ‘WHAT AM I DOING!!’. Then….we arrived at our B&B.

This place took our breath away. It is off the highway, and felt like going in to a compound. The main house is quite roomy, with a large living room, where we were greeted by Andrea, one of the owners of the B&B and our travel expert! She provided us with a ‘cheat sheet’ with recommendations of where to go to shop and eat, as well as tipping guidelines, which was VERY useful! The girls were quite excited as we soon learned that Andrea and her husband, Brandon, live there along with their 2 children, Callie and Cooper (5 and 3). Other kids??!!! Boy, this place got better by the minute! After a brief introduction, Narla, the tours director and night front desk staff, showed us to our room…..AMAZING! We walked through this beautiful garden oasis, complete with a small bridge and fish pond, next to the HUGE, beautiful pool, to our bungalow. It was quite lovely…it had 2 double beds, PLUS an extra cot in case the girls didn’t want to share a bed…Andrea had also provided us with 4 cute small cotton scarves just to help us feel more ‘fashionable’ :). The girls DOVE into the suitcases immediately, trying to find their swimming suits, and were just about to go change when Narla informed us that there was a change in plans. The family which was supposed to stay in the ‘family suite’ had to cancel, and Journeys Within would be upgrading us to the family bungalow at no additional cost…SCORE!!!

So, we moved across the pool to a beautiful townhouse-type bungalow. The downstairs had a full-kitchen, stocked with soda and water (complimentary) and beer (for a whopping $1.50/can…you better BET I would be drinking that night!). The upstairs had a beautiful queen-sized bed and a balcony with 2 tables overlooking the pool. The bathrooms were definitely something worth writing about. Each bathroom had a rain shower with no door stall. Instead, the outer rim of the shower floor was riddled with small pebbles which covered the drain. We were told by Brandon, Andrea’s husband, that she decorated the place herself….remind me to call her to ask her for tips here in Taipei about decorating…she did a superb job!

Now that we were settled, the girls dove right in to the pool….and were joined by Andrea’s children as well as 2 other children who belonged to some of the staff. I was surprised and very pleased to hear Andrea tell me that some of the staff are invited to bring their children to work, after they are done with school (if applicable). The kids have an English tutor twice a week and a Khmer tutor once a week. Andrea then has a nanny who watches over her own children as well as the staff’s children. It felt like one large happy family! With 6 kids in the pool, my girls looked happily up at me and told me…’Mom, you did GREAT…we LOVE it here’. OK, NOW I started to relax a bit more :).

Andrea then invited the girls to come with her and the other kids the next day to an art class, which my girls could help at. She mentioned to me that Terry and I were welcome to leave the girls with her and her staff while Terry and I explored more temples. OK…now I’m REALLY starting to like Cambodia!

Narla arranged for a tuk-tuk to take us in to town for dinner (which we learned is a Thai word…the Khmer word is actually different; however, as so many tourists come from Thailand into Cambodia, most drivers in tourist towns call it tuk-tuk as well). The evening was perfect…nice and cool, especially after we had cooled off in the pool!

We went to downtown Siem Reap, about 3-4 miles away from our B&B, to a local place called Khmer Kitchen, which served local food. Each plate was about $3…our drinks cost just as much as our meal at $3/pop (Sprite was $1 and my mojito was $3!!!). We ate to our heart’s delight for a whopping $18 USD. Service and food were excellent….day #1 so far was excellent.

After dinner, we walked around downtown Siem Reap, the tourist area of which encompasses about 3-4 blocks. The ‘happening’ thing to do there is the ‘fishy massage’. For $3, you get a beer and 30 minutes of small fish eating the little dead skin off your feet….imagine about 20-30 small fish kissing the bottom of your feet. Elaine and I both tried it out. She loved it so much that she kept asking to go back again and again for the ‘fishy massage’! Of course, we didn’t stay for the 30 minutes…we paid $1.50 for 10 minutes each :).

By that time, we were all quite tired and REALLY REALLY ready for bed. Thankfully, our tuk-tuk driver was waiting for us when we were done….

We completely collapsed as soon as we got back to the bungalow. I was DEFINITELY feeling more positive about the trip and was looking forward to going to the temples the next day!