A haphazard chronicle of my inevitable misadventures during a year in Vietnam and points east.

p.s. I'll be pitifully grateful if you send me email during my exile: TravelerKaty@hotmail.com

October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 February 2006 March 2006 May 2006

 
Okay, Angkor Wat. It's hard to know where to start in describing the Angkor temples, but I guess I'll start with a little history, which may or may not be entirely accurate.

Around 2000 years ago, the various peoples of the Cambodia area were slowly being incorporated into one "country", for lack of a better word. Emperors and various religious leaders would annex parts of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand, lose it again, and so on. But from about 900, things really got rolling for the Cambodians, with the advent of the Angkor civilization. These rulers, sometimes Hindu, sometimes Buddhist, ruled a vast empire stretching across Southeast Asia and based in central Cambodia. The more successful of these rulers built huge temples, the remains of which are scattered all across the region but are primarily located just outside of Siem Riep. In the mid 1860's a Frenchman "discovered" the temples (some of which were still being used by the locals for religious purposes), crumbling and being overtaken by the relentless jungle. His later book sparked huge interest in the area, and at the beginning of the 20th century French archeologists moved in to start the restoration process. From the first it attracted tourists, with good reason.

There are three absolutely must-see sites: Angkor Wat, the Bayon, and Ta Proem. A "wat" is actually a Buddhist temple, and Angkor Wat is the largest and best restored temple in the complex. It's the one you see in postcards, with its walls and three rounded conical spires reflected in a moat. It's almost fully restored, and though some of the carvings were destroyed as religions changed back and forth in Cambodia, even after a thousand years it retains an incredible amount of detail and impressively complicated stonework.

The Bayon is a very deceptive temple. From a distance, its towers and walls look muddied and indistinct, but from up close the detail is astonishingly creepy, with hundreds of faces of the god A____ (name escapes me at the moment) who was central to the sort of Buddhism practiced by its builder in the 12th century. This temple is in a medium level of repair, with hundreds of restored carvings and intricate bas reliefs, but a courtyard strewn with giant stone bricks and partial carvings that have yet to be put in place.

The third must-see is Ta Proem, which is in the worst repair but is one of the most interesting sites. It has basically been left to the jungle, and apart from some efforts to ensure that the ever-encroaching vegetation doesn't take down any more walls, the temples look much as they did in the 1860's when the site was first seen by outsiders. Huge trees have become part of the very structure, intertwined with walls and doorways in a very primeval and Indiana Jonesish sort of way.

These are only the three most visited sites -- there is really so much to see that it is difficult, if not impossible, to fully explore the Angkor area in one day. And although Siem Riep has an absolutely staggering amount of hotels and guesthouses (and many more under construction), there is no organized shuttle bus to take tourists between sites. As in all of Asia, private enterprise is alive and well, and thrives in a vacuum like Siem Riep. Most visitors, from the lowliest of budget travelers to those staying in the fabulous and historic Grand Hotel, arrange their tours through their hotel or guesthouse.

There are several basic methods for touring the site. Large organized tour groups ride around in air-conditioned buses, and while I loathe large groups, I did envy them their air-con. More independent travels can hire a car and guide to take them around, and the more frugal among us just hire a motorbike or tuk-tuk driver for the day. I seriously considered hiring motorbikes without drivers, since I was sure that that 10 minute motorbike driving lesson I received at 1:00 am last week in a tipsy haze was sufficient training, but in the end sanity prevailed. I suspect my family will be relieved to hear this, since they are rather prone to slandering my driving ability, even in a more stable four-wheeled vehicle.

Our Day 1 drivers were nice, but had considerably less English and guiding ability than promised. We started off a bit slow -- Roza, my driver, had a flat tire so I began my tour of Angkor with a 25 minute visit to a roadside motorbike repair "shop", consisting primarily of a large air compressor, a folding table with vehicle supplies, a set of tools, one plastic garden chair, three stools, and a hammock. On the plus side, I took several pictures and was able to solve the mystery of the aged soda bottles -- they do indeed carry motorbike fluids.

After this hiccup, we had a great three days wandering around various ruins. The only unfortunate element was the temperature -- it was approximately 157 degrees and humid. After 20 minutes of clambering up stone stairs and around ruined buildings I was sweating like a racehorse after the derby and ready to jump into the weedy moat. My pores had more of a workout in three days in Cambodia than they had in the previous decade. Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous place with irresistable photo opportunities around every corner. I am alarmed to report that I took nearly three rolls of film. Now that it's too late, I have to wonder whether 90 photos of ruins are absolutely necessary, particularly when the camera is in the hands of someone as inept and unartistic as myself. I'm sending my film home with Heike when she goes back to the states, and I'm starting to feel sorry for my parents who will be subjected to such an overwhelming volume of crumbling rock walls and reliefs. Oh well, can't put the film back in the camera now.

All in all, had a fabulous time at Angkor Wat, and are now much relieved to be situated in a country that has a more rational temperature. Of course, now we're cold -- you just can't win with me.

Copyright 2003 Katy Warren



posted by Katy at 2:37 AM