Siem Reap

We decided to take a taxi for the 5 hour drive north from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Aside from the vehicles you would expect, we shared the road with oxcarts, wagons being pulled by horses, the weirdest tractors we have ever seen and motorcyles pulling trailers carrying more than you can imagine would be possible.

The main reason tourists go to Siem Reap is to go to Angkor Wat. The guide book explains: Angkor literally means 'Capital City' or 'Holy City'. 'Khmer' refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. 'Angkor has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the area of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries AD, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civilization. We opted for the 1 day tour. There are actually dozens of temples in the Siem Reap area and we only had energy to visit the 3 most significant/popular. And, although we had a guide and he shared an encyclopedia of information with us, I am going back to the guide for a brief description. We started at Angkor Thom which was constructed in the late 12th century. It is a 3square km walled and moated royal city and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured the Ankorian capital from the Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new capital city. He began with existing structures such as Bahuon and Phimeanakas and built a grand enclosed city around them adding the ouer wall/moat and some of Angkor's greatest temples including his state-temple, Bayon, set at the center of the city. There are 5 entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory gate leading to the Royal Palace area. Each gate is crowned with 4 giant faces.
The second stop of our tour was Ta Prohm which dates back to the mid 12th century. Of similar design to the later Jayavarman VII temples of Preah Kahn and Banteay Kdei, this sprawling monasic complex is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth. Intentionally left partially unrestored, massive fig and silk-cotton trees grow from the towers and corridors offering a 'jungle atmosphere'. This temple was one of Jayavarman VII's first major temple projects. Ta Prohm was dedicated to his mother. It was originally constructed as a Buddhist monastery and was enormously wealthy in its time, boasting of control over 3000 villages, thousands of support staff and vast stores of jewels and gold.Our final stop was Angkor Wat also constructed in the mid 12 century. Angkor wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three tiered pyramid crowned by 5 lotus-like towers rising 65 meters from ground level. At the apex of Khmer political and military dominance in the region Suryavarman II constructed Angkor WAt in the form of a massive 'temple-mountain' dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. It served as his stated temple, though the temple's uncommon westward orientation has led some to suggest that it was constructed as Sruyavarman II's funerary temple. Angkor Wat was surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 x 1500 meters. The temple itself is 1km square and consists of 3 levels surmounted by the central tower. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-relief and carvings. Nearly 2000 distinctively rendered aspara carvings adorn the walls throughout the temple and represent some of the finest examples of aspara carvings in Angkoraina era art. Bit it is the exterior walls of the lower level that display the most extraordinary bas-reliefs, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and the historical was of Suryavarman II.

Siem Reap is a relatively small city. Tuktuks are the primary mode of transportation. We had some days where didn't leave the pool. But on most days we ventured in to town - at least to eat. As with most of our stops, the markets are key attractions. We really enjoyed the night market in Siem Reap. They have a little movie house showing movies about the history of Cambodia. Of course there are lots of stands selling the usual tourist necessities, several massage places and a nice restaurant/bar. One night Chase was complaining about his very loose tooth. Our waiter asked if he could see. We thought he was pretending to pull it out - but he really did it! No one was more shocked than Chase to see his tooth in his hand.

We made a trip out to the war museum one afternoon. It is an outdoor field with all kinds of war machines, bombs , etc. At the end of our tour, we sat with a gentleman who had lost his entire family to a landmine incident. He gave us a very personal view into realities of living in Cambodia.

We had heard that the Tonle Sap Lake floating village was quite a sight so we took a ride out there one day and hired a boat for a tour. The village itself was pretty amazing. Schools, stores, houses, restaurants - everything necessary was right there on the lake. The residents went about their daily routines of cooking, washing, napping in their little homes. Apparently, they move according to the depth of the lake. The only frustrating thing was that it is quite a tourist trap and we felt like walking ATMs.

On Saturday night, we went to the Beatocello concert. It is a performance put on by a Swiss doctor from the local children's hospital. He plays his cello and describes his experiences in building the hospital - and tries to get donations of blood or cash to keep the hospitals going. Dr. Richner is an amazing, inspiring man who has been in Cambodia since the mid 90's. He has raised the funding to build several hospitals (I think they keep out growing the one in Phnom Penh and there is the one in Siem Reap). The government doesn't give any money so he raises millions of dollars every year to keep the hospitals running. He has given the concert every Saturday night for the past 18 years! Remember I mentioned that the average Cambodian makes 50 cents a day. These hospitals are staffed entirely by Cambodians (except 2 people) and they make at least $120 per month - even the non-medical staff.

We spent one day at the Cambodia Cultural Village. Each area is displays the various types of villages that are located throughout Cambodia. There is also a wax museum, and a miniature display of the most notable places in the country. A troop of dancers moves through the park, stopping at each 'village' and performing a story of life in Cambodia.

We discovered Viva - a Mexican restaurant on our first day in Siem Reap. We ate there almost every day. They served 50 cent beers and $1 margaritas (alcohol free for the kids) and of course some authentic tasting Mexican food.

On our last day, we left the hotel at 8:00 am and drove to Phnom Penh. From there we flew to Kuala Lumpur and finally to Dubai, arriving at 3 am.

Enjoy the photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/rdzcadventure/SiemReap?authkey=Gv1sRgCOqM3ubv_dz6sAE#