Siem Reap

During our travels in the past, we have commented that every place is starting to look like every other place. Well, Cambodia looks like another planet, light years away from our western world.  The sights, the smells, the sounds, the feel, the tastes and the HEAT are so new to us.  Discover and learn along with us.

We first visited Angkor Archeological Park. The park features some of the most mind–blowing wonders of the world, Khmer compounds constructed between the 9^th and 16^th centuries. They include a dozen varied Khmer fortifications and their Hindu temples, forgotten for centuries until French explorers stumbled upon the ruins buried beneath the jungle canopy.  Even though today 96% of Cambodians are Buddhist, they harbor a Hindu past.  Many Hindu beliefs and practices have been integrated into the Cambodian Buddhist culture, but the caste system has been uniformly rejected here.

The location of the park once was the capital of Cambodia, but when it was invaded by Siam (Thailand) in the 14^th and 15th centuries, the king decided to move the capital to Phnom Penh. This area was renamed Siem Reap, which means “defeated by Siam.” Today it is a huge tourist destination.

Until about 15 years ago, tourists were forbidden to go into this area because of civil war and the literally millions of hidden land mines planted by the Khmer Rouge (Cambodian reds, or communists). After the UN took over the country and kept the peace in the 90’s, European archeologists and UNESCO followed.  They began to restore the national treasures and opened them up to visitors. Too bad tomb raiders have stripped the temples of the opulent jewels – once embedded in the temple walls – and many of the statues. Fortunately, museums around the world have decided to return some of the Khmer pieces to the original temples.

Our first stop in Angkor Archeological Park was Angkor Thom (meaning “Great City”), surrounded by rectangular defensive walls and a moat. In the center of the walled city is the temple mountain of Bayon, known for its huge smiling stone faces.  The restored bas-reliefs of daily life carved in sandstone are stunning.

To read the captions, click on the first picture and use the arrow keys to navigate the gallery.

Ta Prom (“kingdom of trees”) might look familiar because it is the setting of the film Lara Croft: Tomb Raiders.  The trees here have taken dominion over the ruins. Built around 1186, it served as a Buddhist monastery and university. Archaeologists have left it in its original state because of the dramatic effect of nature taking over the works of humankind.

Banteay Srei (meaning “citadel of women”) is unique because of the reddish tone of its sandstone, the elegant carvings of Apsara (beautiful celestial nymphs) and the statues of mythological monkeys guarding the sanctuary. It is called the “jewel of Khmer art.”

Although we were insulated from the natives here in a tropical golf resort, we ventured out and explored the city on our own by way of tuk-tuk.  We all decided to have fish pedicures.  The fish – kissing garra rufa – tickled so much that we could not stop laughing.  We had a choice of little nibblers or big nibblers.  What an experience.  Afterward our feet were as smooth as a baby’s butt. In the evening we were entertained by Apsara dancers.  The girls train their fingers for years to bend in inhuman ways.  Ouch!

The next day we watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the most iconic of all the Angkor temples and the largest religious monument in the world.  Although it was built in the 12^th century to honor the Hindu God Vishnu, Buddhists today use it as a place of worship. The five towers embody the cultural identity of the Cambodian people.

Tomorrow we will be driving through the countryside to meet our Amawaterways boat on the Tonle Sap River and begin our river journey through the Mekong Delta.