Day 7 - Touring Angkor

Woke up around 4am to head to Angkor to see the sunrise across the lake at the Angkor Wat entrance. We thought we were going to be the first ones there but a ton of other people decided to come around the same time to catch the first light of the day. The moment was slightly marred due to the overcast weather, but still an incredible moment to see the reflection of the trees and temples on the waters.

Angkor refers to the political and religious center of the Khmer Empire, which ruled from the 9th to 15th century. The region houses many temples that are considered architectural wonders, and are still standing today. Some of these temples were built following Hinduism (where the main entrance to the temple is on the west side), while others were built following Buddhism (where main entrance is approached from the east), depending on when they were built and what the religion was at the time. Many of these temples are currently being restored, so access to some of the areas is restricted. There are many temples to visit, but it would take a while since each site is so grand, and you have a limited amount of time each day, unless you can tolerate walking in the extreme heat around noon. Tickets to all the temples in Angkor cost $20/day, $40 for 3 days in a week, or $60 for 7 days in a month.

Angkor Wat, which was built and dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, was smaller than I had imagined. I guess seeing as this was the most popular tourist site, I assumed it would be more grand since it is considered to be the world's largest single religious monument. I was thinking it would be similar to the size of the Forbidden City in Beijing, but it is dwarfed in comparison. Nonetheless, it was incredible to see the architecture of the temple and the surrounding grounds. You could only imagine how life was like when the temple and city was actually inhabited during the Khmer Empire.

We moved on to Angkor Thom after touring Angkor Wat. The type of rock used for this structure was different than Angkor Wat. AngWat was mostly built using sandstone while AngThom was built using laterite. It took quite a while to walk through the entire Angkor Thom "city", which housed many different temples, including the most recognizable, the "Bayon." The entire area was nearly 4 square miles. The towers of the "Bayon" are all decorated with faces, consisting of many large pieces of stones. In fact, the entire structure is made of individual stones piled on top of each other and carved different shapes. Each piece of stone fits like a piece of a puzzle. Pretty incredible to think about how long it took to build such a structure.

The last of the temples we visited on this first day around Angkor was Ta Prohm. This temple was under major construction when we visited. The most memorable attribute of this temple were the trees growing through many parts of the temple walls. Giant trees towered over the temple, its roots taking a hold of the pieces of stones used to build the structire.

It was only around 10am by the time we decided we needed to take a break from touring Angkor since the heat was starting to get to us. We did start at 5am, so we got a good 5 hours in. Tomorrow we will tour 2 or 3 additional temples within the region, hopefully catching the sunset.

We went back to the touristy restaurant area to have lunch, and I decided to try the "fish" massage, which really wasn't a massage, but an exfoliating service where the fish ate the dead skin off your feet. The first 2 minutes were spent squirming and giggling because my feet were ticklish, but after that, I got used to it.

The rain came pouring down at night before we had dinner, but it only lasted for about 30 minutes. I heard from many people that the monsoon season rainfall in S.E. Asia produces a lot of rain, but in short periods. Let's hope it doesn't get too wet wherever I go.

Sunrise across the lake at the western entrance to Angkor Wat

Just outside the entrance to Angkor Wat

Inside Angkor Wat

Carvings of Apsaras (celestial dancing girls) line the walls of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Just outside the Angkor Wat temple were monkeys playing around. The girl pictured above decided to purchase a loaf of bread to feed to them. She fed the alpha male monkey, who then proceeded to snarl angrily at her and scratch at her. She threw the bread in the air in defeat and he ended up hogging the whole loaf!

Entrance to Angkor Thom

The Bayon

The Bayon, and some of the pieces that still need to be restored

The Bayon - Smiling Faces made up of many pieces of carved stone

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom

A tree growing through Ta Prohm

Restoring Ta Prohm

This little girl was selling bracelets, repeating "3 for one dollar" as we walked towards our taxi. We decided to give here some money for her troubles. It's sad to see so many little kids working like this to help their families. It's ever sadder seeing how many orphans there are.

"Dr. Fish Massage"

Day 6 - Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia by bus/tuk-tuk

Spent another full day travelling from Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We woke up early in the morning to catch our 8AM bus to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. There was a lot less traffic and congestion on the roads at 6:30 in the morning. We got there early and were able to take the 7:30 bus headed to Aranyaprathet. The entire bus trip took over 4 hours to get us to the border, with stops along the route to pick up and drop off other people. Good thing there was air conditioning! When we got to Aranyaprathet, we took $2 tuk-tuk rides to get us to the border, where we saw a bunch of other foreigners so we knew we were at the right place.

Again, we were overly cautious during this process because of the scams we heard where tuk-tuk drivers would take you to shops to obtain your Cambodian Visa on the Thai side, only to find out that these were fake. Luckily we got our Visas online and printed them out before arriving.

After leaving Thailand and before enter Cambodia where you technically aren't in any country, there is an area where there are plenty of Casinos, which I though was pretty random. After entering Cambodia in the city Poipet, everyone is shuttled to a tourist terminal, which took about 5 minutes. At this terminal, you can request a taxi for $12/pp or a shuttle bus for $9/pp to take you to Siem Reap, the city where Angkor Wat is located. Our taxi driver told us that the rates are a lot cheaper if you hail a taxi outside of the tourist terminal or even opt out of taking the shuttle to the terminal and find a taxi yourself.

Cambodia uses the US dollar more than their own money, perhaps because of the stability of our currency. Most of the larger purchases should be made with dollars, while small purchases for drinks and small snacks can be made with the Cambodian Riel.

The taxi ride took another 2 hours before reaching Siem Reap. Along the way, I saw numerous billboards about "protecting the Cambodian children," which I think was in reference to the significant problem of sex trafficking in the country.

After getting settled in our hotel, which had a resort-like feeling like most of the other hotels in the area, we took tuk-tuks to the street markets. The feeling was different compared to Thailand and Vietnam because it was so touristy. So many tourists were walking around the area, and many of the restaurants didn't look very authentic. One of them boasted that they had the best Mexican food in Asia... We settled on a dingier restaurant that looked like it served real Khmer Food. Again, small plates, but everything was delicious.

At the end of the night we walked the night markets, where you could dip your feet in fish tanks where fish ate at the dead skin on your feet. $2 for 20 minutes with a free beer included. There were also $1 foot massages everywhere. There were so many stalls selling the same things, and supply was extremely greater than demand, that you could easily bargain down the price of anything. If you don't get the price you want, walk away hoping they change their mind, or find another stall that sells the same items. I made my first purchase with my own money on the whole trip, which was like opening Pandoras box because I bought more than I should have. I told myself that I wasn't going to buy many souvenirs because I didn't want to carry them throughout my trip, but I ended up purchasing some tanks, South East Asian style traditional wrap around pants, and a traditional button up shirt. The total was no more than $20. I figure I'm going to trash some of my clothes anyways, since it's becoming a pain to hand wash my own clothing every couple of days and dry them in the hotel rooms...

The weather was nice and cool at night, again, different compared to Thailand and Vietnam. I am already falling in love with this country! Initially, I was a little cautious and uncomfortable, but I think it all goes away once you familiarize yourself with where you are. Anyone and everyone feels uneasy when they think they are lost or are in new surroundings, but that goes away once you just walk around and immerse yourself in the culture and life of the people. I think it usually takes a day or even less.

I hope to learn more about the history of Cambodia. There are many pictures of the King and the father and mother of the King around the city. Both Thailand and Cambodia have a monarchy. Makes me wonder how one country has a monarchy while another has a president... Does it have anything to do with the dominant religion in the country?

I've read little about the genocide that occurred during the Khmer Rouge rule. Around 2 million of the Cambodian people were killed in the span of only four years. And what were other countries doing about this genocide? The street markets were selling many of the books that were written about the atrocities that occurred during those four years. Hopefully the tour guide will have more information to share with us in our 3 days here, although I hear that many people don't even know much about what happened during those years because they are too young to remember. There is a museum dedicated to the genocide, but it is located in Phnom Penh...

Tomorrow, we head to Angkor Wat to sightsee and hopefully catch the sunrise around 5am. We hired a taxi driver to take us around the whole day for $25.

A welcome sign prior to entry into Poipet, Cambodia

Khmer Food - Fried Spicy Tomatoes with Beef

Khmer Food - Lok Lak Chicken with Steamed Rice

Khmer Food - Shrimp Lotus Root Salad

Night Market in Siem Reap - The kids are so adorable here!

Night Market in Siem Reap