We arrive at Siem Reap airport early in the morning; the airport is tasteful, calm and clean. The visa-on-arrival process is fast-it costs US 20$ (add 1$ if you do not have a passport pic with you)-in return you get to have a cool page on your passport, featuring "Kingdom of Cambodia", oh yeah, and permission to enter the country! You can also apply for the visa online, but as I said, the process was quite fast there. Remember to pick up some US$$$ from the ATM in the airport.
The first thing we do is buy tickets so that we can visit the temples (wat-s) in Angkor (meaning great, or holy city). A ticket that gets you inside all the temples for three days costs US$40 (there's also a one-day and one-week ticket), they even print your picture on the ticket, and it is quite entertaining to note that the camera that they use makes everyone look like a criminal. Maybe some special filter brings out our true inner selves.
In order to get to the temples, you may use the tuk-tuks (!!!) or hire a driver to take you around for the day, you could most probably do so via your hotel.
We first make a stop at Srah Srang lake, a big lake of rectangle shape, and it is beautiful to see the trees mirrored on the quiet waters. This is where the king came to see the sunrise.
Young girls sell guide books for the temples or the whole of Cambodia for 1$. If you play hard to get, you might get more than one guidebooks for a buck.
We continue to reach Ta Prohm.. a MUST-SEE! The temple is surrounded by walls, and this is the first gate that we encounter:
We walk to the main entrance, exotic butterflies fly around us, and music plays in the background...a group of musicians, cambodians who have suffered amputations due to the landmines.
The temple dates back to the 12th century, and it looks as if it has been swallowed by the jungle. The striking difference is that the wild animals that one would expect to find in such an environment have been replaced by hordes of tourists, ourselves notwithstanding. Even before entering the temple, it is quite weird to see the old 'spung' trees dominating... everything!
Inside, the roots look like giant fingers, grabbing what has been left of the temple.
Walking throughout the temple is like a maze, and many parts have collapsed, forcing us to whirl around the greedy roots of the spung trees and the ruins. I get completely disoriented after a while, but it is quite hard to get lost : just follow the crowd, and queue for the photo-spots!
We exit through the other side of the temple, and looking back one last time, we cross a bridge. The river below us is covered with little green seeds, and looks like a green carpet. On the other side, a small wooden building with a disproportionate terrace. Someone is lying on a hammock there, I wonder if it is the guard. Another gate marks the exit. Back to the real world, there is mud everywhere, lots of noise, people, mini vans and tuk-tuks, and lots of children trying desperately to sell all the things they carry around, hoping that we will find something interesting enough to start bargaining with them.
The next temple we visit is Ta Keo. The architecture is quite different than Ta Prohm; here, the temple has been expanded upwards, one terrace above the other, each one getting smaller. The temple was never finished, most probably due to an omen signalling bad luck. We are the only visitors when we get here, which makes the experience quite unique!
I get dizzy just looking at the stairs. This is one of the stairs we have to climb:
The steps are steep, and slippery on the edges. Climbing the way up is very rewarding! I feel like the queen of the surrounding tropical forest, ehhh sorry, I should say queen of vertigo. Much closer to reality.
The actual temple resides on the highest terrace, which is a much easier way up.
Somewhere in one of the guide I read that is is not supposed to be easy to get to the gods, thus all the stairs. Well, it is more difficult to leave god, if you ask me. Climbing down is a bit worse (I may be lacking the motivation that got me up).
On leaving Ta Keo, a very skinny cambodian girl, wearing just some shorts and proud of her earrings is waiting for the few visitors of the temple, selling her cards. Her mother sits a bit further away, holding a baby.
There is a passage leaving Ta Keo, which leads to Ta Nei through the forest. On the fork, take the right (we actually had a guide with us). The pathway is muddy, lots of BIG ants make their way around us, and we spend some time admiring a spider's sophisticated web. We keep listening to a high-pitched, penetrating noise; the insects are having a good time 'singing'.
Ta Nei is completely deserted. Lovely Apsaras carved on the walls, ruins, and of course, spung trees... altogether a less impressive (i.m.h.o.) version of Ta Prohm, but very quiet. We walked around and inside the temple without seeing anyone.
Time for lunch... nothing special, except for the fabulous watermelon and papaya juices! Outside the restaurant there are children playing, but once we approach, they set off to work, they have books, bracelets, flutes and other artifacts to sell. When we leave the restaurant they are running around, laughing and shouting. Two of the girls are pulling their dog's ears, and hug him happily. Another one marks the ground with her finger in preparation of a new game, some of them have bikes and others are hiding behind the tuk-tuks. This little girl gives me a huge smile when she sees my camera, and then starts putting up different poses. After the one below, she laughs, sticks her tongue out, and runs to find her friends.
After lunch, it is time to get to Angkor Thom, a city of about 10 sq km, dating back to the 12th century. The city is walled and there are 5 gates. We reach Victory Gate, the gate leading to the Royal Palace. The gate carries four (N-E-S-W) carved faces on top, and elephant tusks on the bottom.
We climb up to the wall, and walk to reach the Death Gate, on the east side of the walls. It seems the gates are identical. This time, we encounter the gate from a higher angle:
This is the gate, from which the convicts would be thrown out to the jungle. Climbing down the wall, we exit Angkor Thom (for the time being), and take a closer look at the elephant tusks here. Check out the braces.
Getting back to the car, we continue to the Terrace of Elephants, where the King used to stand to address the people. This is what he would see today:
Notice the
towers standing on the background. Archaeologists still disagree on the actual purpose of these towers. The nice version is that the towers were used for anchoring the ropes, which acrobats and dancers used during performances which were fit for a king! The ugly version is that the towers provided a way to settle disputes : the disputers were imprisoned, each one in his own private tower, with no food, water etc. and the one to suffer most during the imprisonment was deemed to be wrong!In the middle stand interpretations, such as using the towers to store the royal jewelery or as seats offering special views during important ceremonies, such as a king's inauguration for noble families.
On the north side, sits the (replica of the) Leper King. The origin of his (her?) name is another subject of
controversy. Check out the offerings!
We walk to a hidden terrace below ground level, where beautiful, scary and funny carvings have been preserved:
Next stop, is what else but the temple of the many faces... Angkor's Thom Bayon! I probably should not say this, lest I reveal my complete ignorance, but I got a similar feeling than the one I had on the roof terrace of Gaudi's Casa Mila (Dear reader, relax! I can tell the differences, although I will not list them, because they're so many the process is tedious. Drawing connections is way more interesting, and also more difficult, dare I say.) Anyway, back to the Bayon! The Bayon is a must see, so I was more focused on seeing what was around than taking pictures. Sorry about that. Just take my word for it and go see it yourselves! Here are some to get you started:
(*** checkout more pictures of the Bayon on Siem Reap trip, day 2!)The sun is about to set, so we head out to Phnom Bakheng. This temple resides atop of a hill and offers great sunset views. Once we are up the hill, though, the idea of climbing on top of the crowded temple is not so enticing for me:
so I stay right where I am, and chat a bit with two monks who happen to have the evening off:
It is time to head to the hotel. Turns out the Golden Mango Inn is beyond my expectations! The staff welcomes us with the widest genuine smiles. Although we have expected a hostel, the place is an above-average hotel. The beds are great, the rooms are big and clean, exotic fruits and water bottles are on offer. Free internet in the lobby, and a really nice, accommodating garden. The location is not the best possible, but tuk-tuks to the city centre never cost us above US $2 for 4 people, and the hotel offers free transfer to the airport.
Even wider smiles await for us at the
Touich, a lovely cambodian restaurant that is definitely recommended! It is not easy to find in the dark, so make sure the driver knows where they're going. Great food, outdoors colonial-like sitting, cutest service ever. The highlight was the fish, covered in salt and cooked in the ground. Our table also featured local salads and a variety of cambodian barbecue. We also had crabs stuffed with pork, which were not as tasty.We hit lively pub street next, walk around, passing the night market, and end up having a multi-threaded message (the owner managed to find 9 people to accommodate all of us at the same time).
Home-made ice cream at the big place in the upper corner of pub street -try the banana, and we're off to sleep....
USEFUL LINKS & REFS :
Lonely Planet & National Geographic guides.
Also, the guide on the Angkor temples sold by the local girls for around, or less than a dollar gives quite a few details on the construction, architecture and, sometimes, history of each temple.
highlight 2: playing with the white horse
cambodian elephant
view from cambodian elephant 
cambodian elephant
view from cambodian elephant 
are much thinner and taller than european ones! 