A Tale of Two Cities: Part II

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Wait, this isn’t so great… oh wait, WOW – Angkor Wat 

It's 3:45am and it's still dark, and still loud outside from people out at the bars. But, it's time to get up for what some argue is the only reason for coming to Cambodia - the temples at Angkor Wat. This is a perfect image for Siem Reap – people getting up for the temples, and then partying the night away when they return.

To note how important this site is to Cambodia you need only look at their flag, beers, hostel names and just about everything else, which is either called Angkor-something or has a picture of the championed temple on it. I had high expectations of these temples, but also didn’t know what to expect, having very little prior knowledge coming in. Bottom line – for a pre-4am wake up time, I was ready to be impressed.

By 4:15 we were on our way with our tuk tuk driver (pronounced “ren” not sure of actual spelling) to the archaeological park. We were sleepy, but overcome with excitement to see the sun rise against the backdrop of the single largest religious building in the world.

(Our driver Ren, ecstatic to see us at 4:15am)

(I was somewhere in between these two emotions - insanely tired, and insanely excited)

We arrived earlier than necessary but it was a perfect time to get some breakfast to fuel up for the long, sweaty day ahead. Thankfully there were a couple carts on the side of the road selling made-to-order egg sandwiches on fresh bread. This was simply wonderful. Also, we got to talk to one of the kids who ran it. What a life - at age 16 (looks more like 8) he wakes up every morning to make breakfast for all the tourists, then goes to English school afterwards, and ends the day in town selling stuff at the market. Surprsingly, and inspiring was what seemed like a pretty firm commitment to educating young people in Cambodia. I can’t say that this has been the case in other countries I’ve visited.

(Freshest vegetables I've seen in a while, breakfast was delicious)

The only thing I envy about him is his absolute determination. It's just another instance of me not comprehending how good I have it. Upon further discussion, the hard sadness of his situation came out. His English was very good so we were able to carry a conversation very easily. When I asked what he would do when he was done with school in a couple years, run the family business I suggested, he laughed and said he wouldn't really do… anything… like everyone else. Seeing this was more sad than any poor, street beggar because he has the potential to make a life for himself, but because of the place he lives, nothing will happen. I couldn't help but think how different his life would have been in the US. The image that popped into my head was a timeline of a Cambodian boy –starting out by selling and begging as a child, moves onto school age and starts working in a stall or hostel, finishes school and works full time in the hostel or tuk-tuk business. And that’s it. Fucking depressing for a people so committed to education, but without a government to support them beyond it. In fact, Cambodia only had two universities circa 1990.

After breakfast we walked, in complete darkness, down a path, across a moat the size of a football field, and down to the entrance to Angkor Wat. After purchasing a water we were offered seats right in front of the moat slash reflecting pool with the hundred or so other early-risers to take in the sunrise that would happen thirty minutes later. This was another time when I desperately wanted a D-SLR, and gives me good reason to return to Angkor.

To say the least, the sunrise was magnificent and really illuminated how incredible, magical, huge, powerful and other insufficient adjectives, the temple is. I haven’t been around for many of them, but sun rises are really quite special and different from sunsets, I think. There’s something about the first light of the day, almost biblical, that creates the environment for us to view and operate in this world we inhabit. They are also incredibly fast – which turned mild skepticism about waking up so early into sheer amazement and joy (hence the heading).

(First signs of light)

(The tourist lineup)

(Adding some color)

(Circa 6am)

(Simply magical)

(It's almost hard to differentiate this from a sunset, a little more energetic I think)

(He's probably thinking: "Man, I really wish I had slept in today")

(Glory!)

Angkor Wat

After the sunrise, we entered the temple compound as others went back to their hostels to get a few extra hours sleep before returning later that day.

All of the temples and other structures are made of stone that was taken from quarries some 40 miles away during the 11th century - yeah, that's a thousand years ago. From any distance, they almost look like naturally occurring structures like in Bryce Canyon in the US. But then, when you get close you can see all of the exquisite work from carvings along the towers (not sure if that’s the correct word to use) to the unbelievable bas-reliefs along all of the walls, which conveniently, tell the story of the honored-king’s life and of Angkorian history.

We walked around the Angkor complex for probably three more hours before returning to our tuk-tuk to go to the next temple. The entire site of all the temples is absolutely huge. And Angkor Wat is just one complex of many that you can visit with your day pass. The one piece of advice that we read for us one-day-tourists was to take your time and not try to see too much.

(Just in the entrance - we were all trigger-happy this morning)

(For $100 you could take a balloon up for the sunrise for like 15 minutes)

(Looking at the exit/entrance of Angkor Wat - this area is above the moat)

(War scene)

(Reliefs were all over every single wall around the entire temple - so intricate, and with zero room for error)

(Stil very well-preserved. They were doing lots of restorations around the temples here)

(Here comes all the famous-looking ones)

(Embracing it all)

(We win at life right here)

(I tended to like this pose throughout the day)

(The massiveness of this complex is hard to capture)

(9th Century version of window blinds - you can tell it's sunny a lot here because they are stone!)

(Re-energizing in some shade - still over 100 F though)

(Money shot)

(Even the monk has an SLR!!! Gosh I'm behind the times)

(This whole area is really just in the middle of nowhere, but Siem Reap used to be the capital city until it was attacked by the Thais)

(Balloon finally coming down on the horizon)

(Up top in the third level, at the actual temple site)

(We're pretty high up here)

Angkor Thom

Our next stop was to see the Angkor Thom complex, home to the famous Bayan temple, Hanging Elephants and old palace.

Bayan was amazing. The best part of these temples is that they were so different in what they brought to the table. For Angkor Wat, it was the sheer immensity and grandeur of the temple, coupled with some excellent preservation and restoration and magnificent reliefs.

Bayan was a whole different ball game. It was much smaller and personal. You could walk up and around pretty much anywhere and get lost in what seemed like a maze of hallways and levels. These famous heads engraved in stone cannot be accurately described. Most amazing to me was how, in such a tight space, they were able to construct these immense statues with such care and purpose. Also, this definitely gave me a flashback to the times of Legends of the Hidden Temple on Nickelodeon from so long ago (think Olmec).

(Looking back at it, it barely looks real - so amazing)

(Olmec?)

(They were really tall too)

(But we climbed up pretty close)

(I wanna go back....now)

(I feared this guy would keel over and pass out given how hot it was, and how close I was to collapse in shorts and a t-shirt. This is when I really came to terms with the idea of cultural thermostats)

(Taking a midday rest in the tuk-tuk. I think there's some kind of market misallocation here - we should pay a flat rate for a driver, and be able to take any one freeing up more drivers to do other things, but I guess they are underemployed)

The next spot in Angkor Thom was the old palace and hanging elephant terrace. The palace, which at the time was on something like 8-sq km of land, is no longer standing because it was built of wood (I'm still unclear on the reasoning for that). But what remains are the outside walls and a temple on the inside - both are truly incredible.

I just realized that I forgot to talk about what made this trip into a totally unique experience - having it be well over 100 degrees ALL THE TIME. No matter what you were doing - inside or out, sun or shade, day or night - you would sweat profusely. I never thought a human could sweat as much as I did that, and the following, days. Add to the heat an ever-present dusting of the red soil, and you get the most disgusting feeling you've ever had, and get to enjoy it for the entirety of the 12-hour day. A fun image for you all is that when I took off my shirt at the end of the day, there was red stuff everywhere from where I tried to find the lone dry spot to wipe my face every 17 seconds. Eventually, there were none to be found.  This is when I began to thank God for eyebrows and their prehistoric function of keeping sweat out of your eyes.

(Elephant relief walls surrounding the once-was palace)

(I became an expert at walking in between shade)

(Lots of restoration ahead)

(Temple in the palace? - I'm not too positive, we went up to the top)

(At the top!)

After the palace it was probably about 11am, which meant we were way overdue for some lunch. We stopped on the side of the road across from the third temple we would hit that day, and had an extended 2.5-hour lunch - mostly to rest up during the hottest part of the day. In fact, the stall we were at had actual hammocks that I completely took advantage of - getting back an hour of the sleep I didn't get the night before. To hit the point home, even while we were sitting, and even eating, child after child would approach us to sell little flutes, postcards, bracelets or books. The ploy, an admirable one if I may say, that almost got me to buy something, was when a boy asked where we were from and I said the States, and New York. He promptly started listing off the NY capital, NY governor, senator and then went on to the past two and current president. If I weren't a stingy student, I would have given something just for the effort, but alas, I am a cheap backpacker. I later tried the kid with a more obscure state of New Jersey, and as I suspected, they had no response. Still though, a very commendable strategy.

Ta Phrom

After lunch we spent a couple hours at the last temple, Ta Phrom, famous for its combination of stunning manmade structures with natural wonder and beauty. These temples, also of stone, have trees and vines growing in, around and through them. I can safely say that this was the coolest temple, and one of the coolest sites I have ever seen in my life. There were points when we would be standing, literally, inside of massive trees, which were in and around temple walls. Seriously, just the most incredible thing – especially when I recall how tired, hot and sweaty we were to come up with such energy to explore there.

We would climb in and around the trees and it just seemed like a fun place to be curious. These pictures were all taken by Floor because simultaneously, mine ad Niclas' batteries and spares went dead. These do not do this sight any justice, but can give your imagination a taste.

(Entering Ta Phrom)

(This tree was HUUUGEEE (Donald Trump style))

(Just chillin, you know how it is)

(It's really close to the size of that building)

(The tree goes straight through that temple)

(They were kinda small back then I think)

(I want a tree house in one of these things - I'm looking for an engineer with some free time...)

(It reminds me of some kind of goops spilling over the side of a table.... except it's a huge f'ing tree)

(Hangin' out like it's no big deal)

(Words can't describe, sorry)

(Niclas is a bit of a boy scout and was climbing everything)

(Wawaweewa!)

Around 4 we headed back to Angkor Wat to watch the sunset. This was really wonderful, and gave this nice feeling of coming full circle. We got to go back up to the top level of the temple and watched as the complex was lit up with the orange, setting sun, casting dramatic shadows over the already dramatic structures built there.

Wet, dirty, hungry and exhausted we went back to our hostel for some R&R before going out for dinner.

The night was mostly uneventful except that at dinner I had my first garlic bread and legitimate salad in three months. It was glorious. Also, I will be stealing there recipe for the dinner I had – grilled chicken breast with a tropical fruit puree on top of it with French fries (sub in mashed potatoes) and a salad. Other than that, we just hung out at one of the many bars, chatted and met some other backpackers - as always, one of the best parts about traveling, and something you can easily lose out on in a bigger group which tends to be more insular.

(Mmmmmmm fooooodd)

After dinner we walked around the night market buying all the things they were selling outside temples that we didn't want to overpay for or carry around all day. Then, by 12 we were all more than ready to get to sleep to wake up early yet again to catch our bus to Phnom Penh at 730.