Siem Reap: June 2015
on the way to Siem Reap. Are those crocodiles?
We arrived by bus and were just in time to catch the afternoon monsoon. After settling in at the hotel, we walked a few blocks to the famous “Pub Street.” We didn’t really know what to expect, but quickly found out, it’s a cesspool. There were tourists everywhere. The only locals are working at the restaurants, offering tuk-tuk rides, sex, or drugs. Over dinner, Javier and I were commenting on how we felt dirty just being there. It’s the kind of place where a whole lot of stuff goes on that we’re just not into.
Angkor Wat
We spent the following day touring the temples. It was hot…so hot. We started with Angkor Wat. Our guide gave us the history as we walked around the complex. Ankgor Wat was originally a Hindu temple, dedicated to Vishnu, and built as a funeral temple for the king. Later it was transformed to a Buddhism temple. This can be seen in some of the bas-relief images on the walls that have been changed from Hindu images to that of Buddha. Much of the structure is original, but some that had collapsed or was in danger of collapsing, has been restored by the French. We stood in line for over 30 minutes in the blistering heat just to walk up the steps to the central tower and view the Buddhas and some of the other artwork that is protected from the elements and therefore, in really good condition. On the way out, we took more pictures of the temple reflecting in the water. Angkor Wat was definitely on my bucket list, and it didn’t disappoint.
Bayon
After what was quite possibly the worst lunch we’ve have ever had, we made our way to the Angkor Thom complex where we stopped at the Bayon temple. Of all the temples we saw that day, Bayon was my favorite. Bayon has numerous towers with faces of buddha on all four sides. It is not as restored as Angkor Wat, and much smaller. We were able to walk around it a couple times, and appreciated the more natural feel of the whole thing.
The Tomb Raider picture,
Our last stop was Ta Prohm, or as our guide kept referring to it, the “Tomb Raider” temple, thanks to Hollywood and Angelina Jolie. This temple has not been restored at all. The trees are growing in, through, and around the entire complex. In some places the trees are growing on top of pillars with roots crawling all the way down. It was neat to see what could happen when left to the elements. It is a stark reminder that in the end, nature will always win.
On our way back to the hotel, we weren’t exactly hungry, but decided that we needed something refreshing. Our guide asked the driver to stop by the grocery store where we bought some much needed fresh fruit. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were exhausted, I more than Javier. We were both so sweaty and sticky after spending the day in the sun. We showered, snacked on our fruit, and rested until dinner. Our hotel showed a different movie every night, so at 7pm, Javier went down to watch the movie, while I continued to rest. When the movie ended, we decided to grab some soup. When we were dropped off at our hotel, our guide told us that he was going to have a bowl of soup just around the corner. When we told the receptionist that we wanted to try the soup, she made a face and told us that, while she really likes the soup, she was not so sure a tourist would like it. As a side note, Javier and I have been a little annoyed by something. When we ask the local people where to eat local food, they ALWAYS send us to the tourist restaurants. We tell them that we want to eat where they eat, and they still send us to the tourist places. We have tried to communicate this concept in every way possible, but we are always pointed in the direction of a tourist restaurant. The soup by the way, was delicious. We sat on the street outside of this woman’s home. All she serves is soup, and it was cheap and delicious. Just what we had been looking for.
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At the circus. fun!
I had been fighting a cold since we arrived in Cambodia. After running around in the sun all day, I was tired. I slept the entire next day. Javier watched TV and worked on the blog. The ‘Friends International’ restaurant that we found in Phnom Penh also had a restaurant in Siem Reap. After sleeping all day, I was feeling better and was ravenous. We decided to take the tuk-tuk to the restaurant, where we battled the flies during our meal and waited out the storm and power outage. We walked through a rather dark alley, my doing, to get to the CIRCUS!!! We had heard that the performance was quite good, and that it was ANIMAL FREE- SOLD!!! The circus is part of a large NGO that was originally started by a small group of children and an art teacher upon returning from refugee camps after the fall of the Khmer Rouge. It has since grown into a large NGO that offers free education and a chance for young people to learn the arts. Along with free schools, they also offer music, theater, and circus school. The performance is something like a Cirque du Soleil act, just on a much smaller scale. The performers however, were just as good. The performance followed a local story of a small village, a curse, and the lifting of that curse. It was held under a small, big-top tent and provided hand-held fans, as well as large and powerful fans along the perimeter to try and keep the temperature bearable. We were so pleased at the whole experience, from the small, outdoor cafe, to the souvenir shop, to the performance itself. We give it two enthusiastic thumbs up!! 🙂
“Pink lady temple”.
I think I could have slept the entire next day as well, but since it was our last, we needed to get out and see at least one more temple. We were advised to see the Banteay Srei, aka the “Lady Temple” or the “Pink Lady Temple.” Most of the temples in the Angkor Complex are close together, which make it easy to jump from one temple to the next, but the Lady Temple is over an hour away from the rest. We slept in, had breakfast, and jumped in a tuk-tuk for our hour-plus ride through the Siem Reap countryside to the Lady Temple. Out of all the temples we saw, this one was our favorite.
Our favorite temple in Siem Reap
It is very small compared with the others, and is almost completely in ruins. The parts that are still preserved however, are absolutely amazing. It is called the Lady Temple because its modern name, Banteay Srei, means citadel of the women. It is pink because it is made of red sandstone. The details of the bas-relief are unparalleled to any other we saw. It is absolutely amazing. These parts are so well preserved and intricate, it’s no wonder it is so highly regarded.
Our tuk tuk ride back to the hotel
We were still in search of local food, but again, had difficulty communicating this with our driver. Instead, we asked him to stop by the grocery store so we could buy more fresh fruit. While we were there, we went ahead and bought a whole meal: barbecued chicken, beef, fresh veggies, fresh fruit, bread, chips and a Coke for good measure. Our eyes were a little bigger than our stomach, so we had a little leftover, which we ate for dinner later in the evening. Sadly, after all of the bad restaurant food we had eaten, this was quite possible the best meal we had in Siem Reap, aside from the soup, of course.
Pink lady temple
Overall, we had a great time in Siem Reap. The temples were amazing and I’m glad we made the extra effort to see the Lady Temple. It was too bad that I was sick, but I think we did pretty well despite this. The only thing that would have made this experience better, would have been to eat good local food. Maybe next time.
To see more pictures of Siem Reap, click HERE.