Bye Bye Siem Reap

Siem Reap, yet another great Cambodian experience!  We stayed at the SideWalk Hotel which was centrally located had a pool and included breakfast.  Easy walk to night market and pub street.  We tried to stay away from these more touristy areas but were not always successful.  The surrounding area is beautiful and we enjoyed it even more because we hired a taxi from Mr. John (www.siemreaprivatetour.com) for 3 days.  This splurge only cost us $135.00. As we travel in our 50's vs our 20's we both enjoy some luxuries and feel able to afford them.  The hardest part of being here was the constant requests to buy something.  It felt heartless to just ignore or walk by. We learned early on not to sit in the seat closest to the sidewalk while at a cafe - people of all ages would come up to you to offer a service or item and just stare at you.  The food was amazing and cheap.  We could both go out to dinner for $10.00. Cambodians are friendly and helpful. 

Our favorite spot to eat is the Golden Pumpkin, a quaint little restaurant with great food, a few doors down from the Sidewalk Cafe Hotel. Laundry is also found next door.

The Sidewalk Cafe Hotel. Also listed on Airbnb

This area is filled with many tourists from all over the world.  It feels sad to leave Cambodia. This country is special to us, but we will be back. 

Floating Village

The Village that Floats

Where to begin? After a 45 minutes drive, we arrived at the boat launching section of a canal-like river that flows into and out of Lake Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. We hopped on boat #02 as it pushed away from the string of boats on the river bank.

Boats ready to ferry you to the floating village or islands in the lake.

The river widens as we sailed downstream, and as we came around a bend we were greeted with the first structures of the floating village. I was a bit in awe as I did not know what to expect. 

Leaving the launch area

It soon became obvious that we are in actually a living working village with stores, petrol shops, school, fish and crocodile farms, pets, chickens, you name it. Kids were bunching on trampoline and hanging with parents. The structures actually float on drums, bamboo, or other materials that allow for floating. The structures are steaked or anchored to hold them in place until they are ready to be moved to the next spot as the water rises and falls. Boats are used to pull or push the structures from place to place.

Grocery store

Shopping

Family home

Fish processing

A rooster on the roof

school

Basketball court

School

Fruit sale and delivery

Family home

Harvesting fish

Angkor Wat Sunrise

Sunrise

We woke up before the break of dawn on our fourth day in Siem Reap to be driven just outside the walls of Angkor Wat to get a premium spot from which to watch the sun as it rises over the Temple. It did not disappoint...here are some progression pics.

Temples: Day 2 Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

This is what all the talk is about, the mother of all temples. The size of this place is mind bothering. According to recorded history, it took 39 years to build this complex. Built in the 12th century, it sits on 402 acres and is one of the largest religious monuments in the world. Like a lot of the temples, Angkor Wat changed hands from Hindu to Buddhist...others went the other way.  

Angkor Wat at sunrise

A section of the mountainous structure

In the center of the complex is the mountainous structure on which stands the towers in the first picture. This represents the Hindu influence, while the outer structures display the Buddhist influence.

On the inside of the lower structure

On the outside of the lower structure

The inner walls of the lower structure that surrounds the central mountainous temple is a storybook of carvings, depicting the lives and kings and queens, gods, men at war, tortures, and life in and out of the walls of the temples.

The Temples: Day 2

Hindu Temples

The Hindu temples we visited predates the Buddhist temples nearby. They were built in the 10th century either on natural or artificial hills. Until Hindus arrived from India in and around the 5th or 6th century, no religion was practiced in Cambodia. Buddism soon became the dominant religion, however, and based their temples on the Hindu design, but on flat land. Hinduism still maintains a strong influence in the Khmer culture where some Hindu rituals are practice alongside those of the Buddhist faith.

Phimeanakas temple

The Phimeanakas temple was built like a pyramid and sits at the center of the Royal Palace of Angkor Tom or Terrace of the Elephants.

Part of the Terrace of the Elephants

On the Terrace of Elephants

The Baphuon temple is a rather large structure, referred to as a Temple Mountain. with its towers, it is estimated to have stood about 164 ft tall. Without the towers, it is about 114 feet tall. The base measures approximately 984'x656'. The temple sits to the right or south of the Royal Palace and was the state temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. 

The Baphuon temple

The Temples: Day 1

The Bayon

The Bayon temple aka the temple of 300 faces

With many temples in the Siem Reap area, we opted for the 3-day pass to give us time to see most of them. The first day we went to the least popular temples to avoid the crowd at Angkor Wat. Our guide Robinhood (his nickname), sketched the day out for us and took us on a great excursion, walking through unbeaten paths not usually taken by tourists, through the forest from temple to temple. He took us to his favorite temple, one he refers to as the temple of 300 faces. As he explained, the Bayon temple was built around the 12th or 13th century and is referred to as the temple of 300 hundred faces because each of the many towers is four-sided with a smiling face on each. This temple is a Buddhist temple but was later converted to a Hindu temple with the removal of all Budha status. The temple marks the center of what used to be the Jayavarman's capital.

4-sided tower

The temple also boasts some intricate and detailed stone carvings such as the one seen below.

Ta Prohm Temple

Ta Prohm is a vast Buddhist Monastery and University on the south side of what was the Jayavarman's capital. It is said to have had 1000 Buddhist professors at its peak and was the place for Buddhist teachings.

The Library

Holding the light

The Many Use of a Cambodian Scarfs - a Demonstration

Scarfs are plentiful in Cambodia, are sold on the roadside, stores, and markets. They can be had for $2 to $10 and up, and come in cotton, silk (most common), and other fabrics, large and small.

We got a demonstration on the many uses of scarfs from our very funny guide to the Angkor Wat temples.

Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap after a very long 9-hour van ride from Senmonorom in Mondulkiri Province in the east of the country, close to the border with Vietnam. We got a late start due to some unruly European travelers who wanted premium seats instead of the back seats, after booking late.

Siem Reap is as described, a bustling city with lots of hotels and other accommodations catering to the very large foreign tourist population, visiting the temples of Angkor Wat, one of the wonders of the world. As can be imagined, the nightlife is very lively...there is a Pub Street of wall to wall bars and eateries of all types. It's like being in New Orleans without the live music.

As expected, every street corner has a massage parlor or two. You can also get fish massages, which Sherry enjoyed but Prov is too ticklish to even attempt or think about :-)