The peanut gallery is growing restless for this post, and since this gallery consists largely of my family I'd better listen up! You know though how much more daunting a task is when it's large...it's been difficult to get this post started. We spent an amazing week in Cambodia in October with J's parents, and we saw and did so much it's difficult to find the time to describe it all.
I am sensing I am becoming a bit too cavalier about the packing routine. "Oh, it's just 5 days in Asia...not a big deal. Yes, it's with 2 small kids and yes, it's an international trip, but it's just 5 days and it's a relatively short flight". Um, yeah. Well, you can probably guess that this arrogance was a hindrance when the day before we were leaving it took me hours to pack and I ended up forgetting quite a few necessities. Serves me right, I know.
The flight did go smoothly however. We changed planes in Singapore and had enough time to eat and let the kids romp. Singapore airport is a great airport. It isn't massive, but it has plenty of shopping and restaurants, as well as a kids play area. It is easy to find one's way and the growing familiarity is comforting. We met up with J's parents there. They were coming off of a massive Asia cruise (visit their
website for details of their adventures) that conveniently ended in Singapore. They had already been to Indonesia to visit us so we thought it would be fun to go somewhere in Asia where we haven't all been. If you know J's parents and their love of travel, and you know our love of travel, you may guess that this doesn't leave us with a whole lot of options. It was between Cambodia and Malaysia and obviously Cambodia was the winner.
We flew directly from Singapore to Siem Reap, which is the nearest town to the
Angkor temples. I found Siem Reap to be a surprisingly nice town - one that still holds some colonial romanticism while still being obviously Cambodian. From what I understand the town has grown exponentially in the last few years, filling up with numerous hotels to accommodate the growing number of tourists. I'm sure to frequent visitors the town is worse for wear because of it, but to me it didn't seem to have a bad effect. Or maybe I just wasn't there long enough. There were several good restaurant options, a nice new museum, some shopping, and it was easy to get around. All in all a good town. And this being our first stop in Cambodia, this is where we discovered how delicious Cambodian food is! We ate very well while we were there and I'm wondering if there's anywhere in Jakarta where I can find a Cambodian restaurant...
The highlight of this part of the trip, and really the whole trip, were the temples of Angkor. If you've heard of them, you probably heard they were amazing. And simply put, they are. There are some 1,000 different temples (all generally known as "Angkor Wat" or Angkor temples, but Angkor Wat is actually just one temple. Angkor is derived from Sanskrit and means city) which were built between the 9-13th centuries. The temples are now a
UNESCO World Heritage Site and are the #1 tourist destination in Cambodia.
The first thing I noticed about Cambodia was how nice their airports are. I suppose I was expecting them to be more like Indonesian airports (run-down and uncomfortable) because Cambodia isn't a rich Asian country, but instead they had wonderful style and were very clean and updated. The day we arrived we had little time left in the day to do anything other than make sure our hotel's room A/C was fixed (Cambodia is very hot and humid!) and go out to dinner. And this was fine with all of us as it had been a relatively long day (as traveling with 2 small kids can only be...) and we knew we had a big day ahead of us.
The next morning we started out relatively early in order to get a jump on the heat. We met up with our guide who would show us some of the temples over the following 2 days. We knew that 2 days only to see the Angkor temples was not nearly enough; however, we doubted that our kids' patience levels would last any longer. And, we weren't sure ours or J's parents' would either given the heat and humidity. In the end we were all satisfied with 2 days as we were able to see 6 major temples and our kids didn't hate us at the end of it.
Our first stop was the south gate of Angkor Thom, which means "the great city". It is an enclosure for the Bayon temple. The south gate is entered by way of a bridge with many statues lining the bridge on either side. The gate is enormous and beautiful, and it was brimming over with tourists. And while it was really gorgeous, we didn't stay long because it was so annoyingly full of tourists. So we walked through the gate and met up with our car on the other side, and headed off to our first major temple of the trip - Bayon.
The Bayon temple was built starting the end of the 12th century. It was built as a Buddhist temple and is famous for the faces on many of its towers and its abundant bas-reliefs. Bayon temple is impressive and amazing, and is a must-see for any visitor to Angkor temples. However, it was also the most taxing temple and the hottest - there were few opportunities for respite from the sun and there was quite a bit of climbing. There were also a lot of tourists, so it was very crowded. We also tried putting LC in the backpack carrier and unfortunately he wasn't a great fan. So between the heat, the physical exertion, the crabby kids and the equally annoying tourists, it was one of our least favorites. And this is a shame, because it is definitely considered to be one of the very best temples.
From the Bayon we walked a short distance to see another structure (the Royal Palace?) which we decided not to explore, and also the Terrace of the Elephants. This monument is a 360 meter long sandstone wall covered with reliefs of life-size elephants that date back to the end of the 12th century. We (just me and J's dad) didn't spend very much time here because the rest of the family was back in the air-conditioned van and we were growing jealous. So we took a fairly cursory stroll by the wall and then took sanction in the A/C as quickly as possible.
After a short drive we reached our next destination, Preah Khan temple. This ended up being one of my favorite temples, mostly because there were so few tourists there, there was a nice long shaded walk to get to the temple, and the light in and around the temple was amazing. Unfortunately the kids were restless by this point and weren't very interested in exploring the temple, but they were happy to sit outside, eat bananas and charm the Cambodians.
Preah Khan, which means the sacred sword, was built as a Buddhist temple, monastery and center of learning in the 12th century. It is a large complex of buildings and corridors and land. It is set deep in the forest and there were gorgeous old trees everywhere, and the light diffusing through the trees and into the corridors was mythical. The flooring was uneven and a bit treacherous for J's mom, so she stopped part way through and instead had a very pleasant conversation with a Cambodian man. J stayed back with the kids most of the time, so J's dad and I were left to explore the temple for the group. It took us a while, but it was well worth the journey.
After visiting Preah Khan we headed back to Siem Reap to grab lunch and a nap. The necessity to allow LC to have a nap every afternoon proved beneficial to all of us - the heat and humidity along with physical exertion tired us all out, and we all crashed in the afternoons.
Once we all recovered from the morning and were well fed and rested, we left for the piece de resistance - Angkor Wat itself. This magnificent temple must be considered the temple of temples, for it really is extraordinary. Angkor Wat, which means pagoda city, was built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu temple and is the largest complex at Angkor. For far more detail and photos, including a couple nice aerial shots, click here.
To reach Angkor Wat you have to cross a huge moat, which is really more like a lake. The immensity of the temple seen from across this "lake" is humbling. Once across the moat you enter through an opening in an enclosure that encompasses the entire complex. You then walk on a stone walkway for several hundred meters to the temple itself, which consists of a 3-tiered pyramid and central shine. There is much to describe when speaking of Angkor Wat - many beautiful bas-reliefs, tall stone towers, numerous causeways and steep stairs, beautiful light and shadows. However, it is a place to be felt, not described. The photos above may help you get a bit of that feel for it though, I hope.
(I am starting to loathe having to write this post, so I'm afraid I'm going to try to wrap this up quickly, which means I'm going to skim over the rest of the trip. Sorry, but I started this 1 month ago and now it's 2009 and time to write something else!)
Our second day of temples included a long drive out to Banteay Srei and Banteay Samre, and in the afternoon a visit to Ta Prohm. Banteay Srei was beautiful - red clay and intricate beautiful bas-reliefs in every nook and cranny and facade. Banteay Samre was the least interesting temple we visited; however, it was also the least populated so it was also beautifully quiet and serene. I checked it out quickly, but mostly my mother-in-law and I stayed outside with the kids and tried to relax from the heat.
Banteay Srei
Our final temple was the favorite of the group. It was amazing. This is the temple that was featured in Tomb Raider. There are huge trees growing through the roofs of the temples, and roots draping over the sides. It was also towards the end of the day and a storm was coming in, and the whole atmosphere felt otherworldly. It was built in 1186 but was not well maintained. As such over the centuries the surrounding forest moved back in and has taken root, literally. For me, the result gives it a far stronger spiritual presence and a feel unlike any of the other temples.
With our visit to Ta Prohm, our temple exploration came to a close. The following morning D and I fit in some more shopping to the market, and then in the afternoon we all left for Phnom Pehn. We arrived in the evening rush hour, and felt like we were back in Jakarta with the endless traffic and roar of motorcycles. We made it to our hotel and found that it was very centrally located, within walking distance of the Royal Palace and a row of nice restaurants. We filled our 2 full days in Phnom Phen with a visit to the Royal Palace, a tuk-tuk ride around the city, some more shopping, lots of walking, lunch at the Foreign Correspondents Club, and dinner at a wonderful tapas restaurant. We had a nice time in Cambodia's capital, but I wouldn't recommend it as a tourist stop. In retrospect I'd rather have spent those 2 days in Siem Reap or another place in Cambodia, or in Singapore.
Before bringing this post to a close, I want to talk a bit about the land mine victims and other victims of Pol Pot's regime. One of the main reasons to go to Cambodia is to learn more about this time, to go to the Killing Fields, etc. Unfortunately we weren't able to visit any of these historic places, as we were afraid that they would scare C. But we were still surrounded by some of the effects of this time period, by seeing limbless men and women trying to make a life, the poverty, the organizations that have popped up trying to provide these victims with aid. Many of the street musicians we saw were landmine victims, and there were many children roaming the temples and streets looking for handouts. Some of the shops we visited were organizations formed to employ mostly victims in order to provide them with a living. One of the shops we visited is part of the Tabitha Foundation. The site is: http://www.tabithastore.com/, and they had a huge selection of crafts for sale. Many of their products are made out of hand-made Cambodian silk, which is exquisite. Another Cambodian organization I've heard of is Riverkids, and they also have online shopping. Their site is http://riverkids.myshopify.com/ Please consider both organizations the next time you need to do some shopping.
And if you ever have the opportunity to visit the Angkor temples and this beautiful country with fantastic food, you should definitely take it!
Getting in the car on his first day of school...he couldn't wait long enough for me to take a photo!
Having fun playing with all the new toys
