The Snowlady Chronicles: Finally, I'm Going to Siem Reap!

Monday November 16, 2009

Siem Reap, Cambodia: Day 3

Hot and Humid: OK, getting used to this.

We arranged for a 545am wake up call and I set my watch on my alarm to 530am but we really did not need it as Sandra was up around 4am and I woke up naturally around 5am. We finished our packing and went down for a specially arranged 6am breakfast as we had to leave the airport by 630am. I had another traditional breakfast of chicken soup with rice noodles and the green mango smoothie. Kasol arrived exactly on time and off we went to the airport.

I learned more about Kasol during the ride. During the off-season for tourists he is a civil servant. Apparently, the average salary for the civil servant is only about 30 USD per month. A teacher gets up 100 USD per month. That is the reason why we don’t see many locals eating at the restaurants we go to and shop where we shop. Life still is tough where the government does not provide education and health care.

We got to the sleepy airport in about 30 minutes during the morning rush hour – people start early in Cambodia because of the heat – and made our way to the Air Cambodia ticket counter where we checked our bags and went to the gate.

The 35 minute flight in the impeccably clean cabin was uneventful although we were a bit concerned about the weight of the plane as it was a turbo plane loaded with luggage. Everyone on the plane was white. I think I was the only person on the plane besides the staff that was non-white. Anyhow, we made it to Siem Reap safely, got our luggage and was met by another wonderful guide – Hemoan.

We were whisked away into another air-conditioned Camry driven by our new driver – Mr. Kea. I had a bit of a problem getting used to Hemoan’s accent but he gave us an overview of Siem Reap on our way to our hotel.

Siem Reap means “defeat of the Siam Army” which occurred between the 13-15th century. Quite an interesting name for a city near Thailand! Siem Reap is a city and also a name of the province that is 15260 square meters. When driving to the town, I felt like I was going back in time again until I saw these gigantic hotels and resorts dotting the main street. Although tourism is the lifeblood of Siam Reap, I hope it does not become a crazy Vegas like environment. Our hotel fortunately, was in the heart of town in the old French quarter and had a Wild Wild West well I guess East is more appropriate term. Again, we were in a very charming and lovely hotel (Steung Siem Reap) that although it was “standard” class it could easily be a 4 star hotel in the US.

We had the whole morning free as our room was not ready and as we were right by the town market, we decided to explore it and hunt for the stone mortar and pestle we’ve been looking for since arrival in Phnom Penh. As Siem Reap is a pretty sleepy town despite the hordes of tourist, the market was not as crowded and more manageable. We spent about an hour inside but could not find what we were looking for. We did, however, find a place to get my passport photos, which are needed to enter Laos (I forgot them in Japan). Now that was quite an experience as I went to the back of the store in sweltering heat and got my photo taken with a polaroid. Oh, I forgot, the first time we went there there was a power outage in the town so they could not take a photo so we went back after our lunch. Speaking of lunch, we went to Jim’s Café and had some very inexpensive local food, wine and cold drinks while listening to American country music – very surreal.

Mangosteens for sale

Ladies were pulling carts selling these mini clams. I wonder if they are smoked.

Tailor shop inside the central market.

Food courts inside the central market.

Pigs for sale

The butcher

The bored vegetable lady

The banana lady

The hairdresser

The tuk tuk driver

We got back to the hotel around 2pm, checked into our wonderful room with a very good air conditioner and got ready for the rest of the day activities.

Hemoan picked us up at the hotel and introduced us to our private tuk-tuk driver Mr. Vei. Our first stop of the day is the world wonder – Angkor Thom.

Our private tuk-tuk driver

Angkor Thom was built by Jayavarman VII or as the Cambodians affectionately call – King No. 7. His dynasty lasted from the 12th century to the 13th century. Angkor Thom is believed to have been built at the end of the 12th century, over 100 years after Angkor Wat.

On the way, we got a teaser view of Angkor Wat.

Angkor Thom means “Great City”. It is a Buddhist temple city with influence from Hinduism. You have to see it to believe it but it is awe-inspiring. It is believed that over 1 million people lived in the gated city during the reign of King No. 7. There are 54 towers in the complex representing the 54 provinces from the Khmer Empire at that time (today there are only 24 provinces). Each tower has images of the 4 Buddha’s: Compassion, Sympathy, Love&Kindness, and Peacefulness. The complex is surrounded by an impressive wall and there are two entrances: The North entrance for royalty and monks, and the South entrance for the common people. There is also a Dead Gate which was used in 1177 to carry the dead soldiers back to the temple from the war with the Chams. And there is a Victory Gate which was used to welcome the soldiers back from the victorious war with the Chams.

Hemoan was such a great guide that we entered the East entrance cuz all the tourists enter from the West so we avoided the crowds.

Our first stop inside the complex was the Bayon temple with the 54 towers. The layout is pretty complicated by no matter which entrance or “window” you look through, one always get a view of one of the images of the Buddha. Quite an architecturally feat! No wonder they call it one of the “wonders of the world”. Although it is Buddhist, it was Hindu for about 5 years and one does see the influence on Hinduism in that in front of the main gate stands giant statues of 54 gods and 54 demons holding a snake which apparently is taken from a Hindu story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The Bayon temple is now under a preservation effort with monies from the Japanese government, which is a fabulous as the grandeur of the place, needs to be preserved for generations to enjoy.

Look closely, a Buddha is looking at you.

The three headed elephant

Another image of Buddha

Street children of Angkor Thom

Everywhere you go a Buddha is looking at you.

Sandra getting to know one

Different views of the majestic Angkor Thom

We then went to visit Baphuon, a temple in the complex that was built during the 11th century. It was the grandest of all temples in the heyday but was under renovation with monies from the French government so was closed to the public. We were able to walk on the elevated walkway made of sandstone with pillars shaped liked elephant trunks supporting the walkway. Another impressive feat in that the pillars are lined up perfectly straight!

Our next stop was the Elephant Terrace where beautiful carvings of elephants decorate the 350 meter long and 30 meter wide wall. The wall is divided into 3 platforms. The middle platform is the highest where the King sat to enjoy games and acrobats. Across from the platform is a plain with 12 towers. Ropes were tied between the towers for acrobats to perform!

Elephant image on the elephant wall

Elephant Wall

Ropes were tied between these towers for acrobat shows

Our last stop was the Leper King Terrace. There are many theories about this. One is that the King suffered from leprosy after being bitten by a snake. The other is that he got it from one of the 100 or so concubines he had. There is a replica of a statue on top of this terrace, which is a mystery. (The original is in the national museum, which we saw). Some believe it represents the King with leprosy and others believe it represents Yama, the god of death. Whether or not the King had leprosy, it is believed he built 102 hospitals and 212 guest houses for the people. The walls of the terrace are decorated with intricate carvings of apsaras and other figures.

View from the Leper King terrace

It was then time to go back. But wow, what an introduction to Siem Reap. How did the people build such a majestic and grand complex? I can’t wait until tomorrow where we go see Angkor Wat which is the world’s largest religious complex.

Mr. Vei, our tuk-tuk driver took as back to our hotel where we refreshed for about an hour and then headed to our special dinner where we go to a local Khmer restaurant to enjoy a home cooked meal.

The tuk-tuk ride was fun as we passed the center of town into the residential area where the roads were dirt roads and bumpy. We arrived at a “house” and were greeted by the whole family and served a FABULOUS home cooked Khmer meal. We started with a chicken/basil/coconut soup. Our main dish was snake head fish from the river sautéed with spices and ginger and a dried shrimp and mango salad that was spicy! Dessert was 2 coconut based cakes (one with pumpkin, the other custard) and sopadilla( a local very sweet and good fruit). The dinner was fabulous! The younger sister of the family is the chef and the older sister was our host. We saw photos of the family but none of their father. Apparently, their father passed away when they were young. It was obvious they did not want to talk about it so I’m wondering if it had to do with the Khmer Rouge. But the oldest sister said that although life was tough it is much better now and their mother is very happy now. They were so nice. I asked about the mortar and pestle and she showed us one that they use and bought from a province that specialized in stone mortars. Well it was gorgeous! She offered to sell it to me but my god, it weighed at least 50 pounds. I really was tempted to buy it but there was no way, I was lugging that through Laos. So decided to wait until I get to Thailand. I’ll probably pay more but at least my back will be happy.

Beautiful table setting