The second part of my mini-tour of Cambodia was to Siem Riep. We did a minibus transfer that took the best part of the day, with several comfort stops and lunch at a community-run silk farm – fascinating.
We arrived at our hotel at around 5pm – a really lovely hotel, with a fabulous pool, which I had made my way to within 20 minutes of arriving! After a shower, we made our way out as a group for an orientation walk and some dinner. The city has a lovely vibe; plenty of stalls selling food, clothes and souvenirs. It felt similar to how Chiang Mai felt after Bangkok! Back to the hotel around 10 and to bed, ready for an early start the following day.
Thursday was Angkor Wat day. My alarm went off at 04:15, because our first ‘activity’ was to go to Angkor Wat to watch the sun rise over the temple. At 5 a.m., I could have taken or left it, but as the sky began to brighten and the sun peeked through, I was glad I had made the effort… it was really beautiful and my photos really don’t do it justice.
We returned to our hotel at about 7:00a.m. for some breakfast, and were out again by 8:00 to start our visit proper to the temple complex. At risk of sounding as if I’m comparing this visit to any number of the others I’ve done in recent years, my impression of Angkor Wat is akin to that of Petra, in Jordan. I had seen pictures of the main Angkor Wat temple (in the same way as I had seen pictures of the Siq and Treasury of Petra), but had no idea of the sheer size and the number of different temples that there are. You could spent multiple days visiting, and a normal human would probably need transportation between the temples… and that’s just the main site without taking account of all the ‘minor’ temples around Siem Riep and Angkor.
Anyway… We visited three temples. Angkor Wat itself, then Ta Phrom and Bayon.
Angkor Wat temple is set behind a moat, gardens and a number of subsidiary buildings (e.g. libraries) before you ascend the steps to the main temple. It was as beautiful on the outside as all the pictures show, and inside the galleries, towers and corridors contain amazing architectural features and intricate stone carvings. We walked around and climbed up to the highest permissible point of the main tower, from which the views were amazing. It was also fiendishly hot up there, unless you were lucky enough to catch a breeze through the ‘windows’.
After Angkor Wat, we drove to Ta Phrom, a temple made famous by the Tomb Raider movies. The most awe-inspiring things about this temple were (a) the way that trees had grown up through the buildings, and (b) how parts of it were being held up either by scaffolding, or not much!! At least much of the site was shaded, which made exploring it slightly more bearable than being in full sun. The last temple we visited was Bayon, another well-known site with stunning carving on the towers. This temple was mid-restoration, which must be a truly painstaking and skilful job.
Our visit ended with a blessing by one of the local monks, and then we headed back into Siem Riep for a late lunch. The remainder of my day included a well-deserved swim, an even more well-deserved foot massage and a light dinner (a plate of veggie noodles and a coke for $2!!)
Friday was our final day in Cambodia, and the main activity was a visit to a fishing village at the mouth of Ton Le Sap – a massive and very important lake near Siem Riep. Kampong Phluk village’s houses are built on stilts, as a way of working with the level changes of the river beside which they stand. They were mind-blowing! We took a boat trip, from which we disembarked to wander along the main road of the village to look at the Pagoda, school, library and shops, before heading out on to the lake itself. Immense. Our guide told us that as well as being important to the Cambodian fish trade (175 different species live in the lake), the area is also home to 225 different bird types, 43 mammal species, and 46 reptile. It’s over 53km wide!
The rest of the day was pretty chill – a visit to a street food market selling every conceivable part or chickens and pigs, plus ready-to-cook sparrow and snake should you want it! Then watched the sunset at a veg farm before heading back to Siem Riep for our farewell dinner.
Cambodia has been a blast. Such an interesting country. Onward to Vietnam tomorrow.
50shadesofbrave 