The following are the temples I visited while on my tour of Angkor Wat in the northern Cambodian tourist town of Siem Reap.
Day One - the "Small Tour"
Angkor Wat – the main temple with the lake around it.
Within the inner Temple you must wear a tee shirt and clothing to below the
knees for entrance. The inner temple is stunning and despite being graced with
the great God of Scaffoldious (that’s scaffolding to those not familiar with my
constant encounters with scaffolding around the world, first named at the
Acropolis hence the Godly name) it is a sight to behold. The intricacy of the
building including amazing 12th century patterned “wallpaper” leaves
you rather in awe of the craftsmanship. The stairs are a taster of what is to
come so if your in a wheel chair or like my Mum would prefer the lift Angkor
Wat is not for you!
Ending in Bayon is probably one of the more
recognisable ruins with its many faces of Buddha. Climbing it was rather
impressive to see the great faces. I wish I had taken more time to get some
photos here but again company sometimes distracts you along with fatigue….lesson
learnt!
I started at the further sight of Banteay Srei some 37 km from town. The intricate red construction
in the 1st century has some fine detailed monkeys which reminded me
of the scary monkeys in The Wizard of Oz - protecting the inner (inaccessible)
temple. The temple is surrounded by a moat. Within the Temple walls the inner
temple has four outer temples on each corner all in intricately detailed in the
red stone. It is rather a sight to see and very different to other Angkor
ruins. It seems to have been one not created by the monarchy but Hindu settlers
of yesteryear (if yesteryear can actually be the term for 967AD!)
East Mebon - home
of some rather cool elephants which guard it on the four corners. It’s a sweet
temple with a relaxed atmosphere.
Ta Som – caught my attention mostly for its lack of
ruins. It is merely a walk way of what once might have housed ruins with only
the doorways of an avenue to marks its place. Here I had a lovely experience
meeting local Angkor children all asking me to buy bracelets or photocopied
books for “$1Lady!” some of the smart kids started counting to me in English,
French and Spanish and when I responded with Maori they no longer begged for
money but for lessons. It was a delight to not here “Lady you want, Lady a
dollar” but “Tahi, rua, toru, wha”! Walking directly to the back of the ruins I
found an amazingly overgrown tree standing on top of the last entrance to the
once temple. It made me wonder how long it would take for this to force a
collapse. There are no support structures to try and uphold the weight of the
tree growing on the entrance. I can only hope that some of our entrance fees go
to the protection of this – but that is another story of corporate demise of
national treasures. This is also a near
empty ruin with no tour buses stopping for a gander. I would highly recommend it for this alone!
Preah Khan – its name is not the only Hindu thing
that draws the crowds. The ruins were built on the site of a great victory. It
has a fair few trusses holding the tree shattering structures in place and is
neatly designed with many Hindu gods amongst the art. Wallpaper in the 2nd
century was really rather beautiful. Also it’s the first time I had seen full
statues of human like nature. All the heads had been taken as during the 1970’s
Khmer Rouge, when no protection was provided to the ruins and all heads from
statues stolen. Such a devastating loss to a national treasure.
Day 3 Mr Rolls Royce (sorry I forgot his name as it was
Cambodian and he said it very quickly!) was waiting for me at 5am when we set
off for Angkor Wat to see the ruins at dawn. As I had already been I knew the
best photo opportunity would be on the left of the temple but with the growing
masses already crowding the site I opted for the right of the temples
thoroughfare and was sneaky positioning myself next to a German with an English
speaking guide explaining where the sun rose from and some of the highlights of
Angkor. There are no signs around the ruins so much of the time you have no
idea what Temple you are seeing unless you have a guide or a guide book. My LP was sufficient but by no means a
comprehensive guide. I had had feedback from a lovely @ReineOG from Twitter
advising on her route around the ruins which helped immensely and what order to
do it all in. Now that my friends, is what social media is for – sharing (and
many of you know I do love an epic advice email for travel – thanks Charlie for
your ones too. Using them often!)
Take – Toilet Paper
and heaps of Water, some kind of map or guide – you can get easily lost and
there are no signs. A Torch for dawn, good walking shoes/sandals, plenty of
camera battery and memory! A bit of snacky food is always good too. Local
currency is a good way to get a fair price otherwise everything is “adollar”
Be warned the Ruins are now managed by a foreign company and
are not a state asset. The ticket money you are paying does not mean that this
goes into the restoration of the site. The people working there are on low
incomes and many bring their own children to work – these make up the bulk of
the child beggers. They are sweet and often think Helloadollar is a greeting
gestured with an open upturned palm. Smiling is the best solution or small
change in local currency is always welcome along with food. I shared a lot of
fresh pineapple!
I hope this is a helpful blog for those visiting or those dreaming
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| Angkor Wat |
Day One - the "Small Tour"
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| Oh Scaffoldious I pray to you |
Ta Prohm – One of the Temples over run by trees
causing massive destruction over hundreds of years. The temple was made famous for the filming of
Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones. They have roped off areas to take your photos in
the same places as you might see Miss Jolie in if you were a fan. As the first one I saw with the tree
infestation I was rather impressed…but I think others are just as amazing. The
trees are literally hundreds of years old so enormous and unsurprisingly
overtaking the the structures and turning them into rubble
Terrace of the Elephant – where I was completely
distracted about Ingo’s tales of the Silk road and completely missed the
Elephants. I know weird of me. Alas there is so much to see in Angkor it is not
entirely surprising in 35d heat and god knows what humidity!
The Royal Palace & Phimeanakas where the steps
were step and the view over the massive complex of temples was broad. It has an
amazing elevated path to the entrance to the Royal Palace which is lovely.
Pol then took us to the isolated West gate which @ReineOG
had recommended. This was part of the Sports Bra Assault Course of Cambodia and
led us to an isolated lake and the far edge of the ruins territory. No other
tourists were out here so it was rather cool and the gate offers you a little
slice of the untouched with locals using it as their route home.
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| Bayon |
During Day 2 I undertook the “Grand Tour” and this was by
far my favourite day at Angkor Wat. In part because I took a Rolls Royce Tuk
Tuk to see the sights and my driver was friendly and kind. Pol promised to wait
for me but I rudely slept in! What goes around comes around (that one was for
you Ingo)
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| Banteay Srei from across the Moat |
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| East Mebon's Elephant Guard |
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| Ta Som |
Neal Prean – Along a water causeway you enter into a hidden temple
which in rainy season I understand is mostly flooded. It is a fascinating sight
and captures a whimsical sense of remoteness with its beauty.
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| Intricate motifs at Preah Khan |
Finally we ended with Bayon where I had visited the
day before to snap a couple of pictures of my Rolls Royce and the many Buddhist
monks that adorn the structure.
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| Angkor Wat at Dawn with the masses |
I was welcomed into the Temple with full covering in some
very fetching new poo pants – toned down compared to some travellers pants but
I sure feel like breaking into some Hammertime when I wear them – ddodododododo Hammertime (wearing them right now!)
The entire Angkor Wat ruins are absolutely massive so I
would encourage people to take their time there – particularly if you like
taking photos. It really is a great spot. Although I thought it would be
teaming with Monks. Those I saw were as interested in taking photos of us
taking photos of them so I am still awaiting for what I see as a traditional
Monk image….talking on mobiles with laptops over their shoulders on the back of
a moto is not really my preconceived idea! Travel sometimes really bursts the
beautiful bubble we live in!
If you plan a trip to Angkor Wat I recommend you wear good
strong walking sandals (my AUD 25 from Rivers work the trick still after 2
weeks of wear thanks Irene!) Jandals/Flip Flops would definitely be difficult
and were the reason for a few sprains I saw around town and at the ruins by
other tourists. And take lots of water. They sell idonised water not pure water
out at the sight…agh!
If you go at dawn – TAKE A TORCH! Especially if you haven’t
been before – you may twist an ankle while you try and navigate your path with
the masses
Highlights for
visitors
Tickets - 1 day USD20/3 Day USD40/7 Day available (not
sure the price) / Free for Cambodians– Put on a smile they need a picture for
your ticket!
Entry from 5am
until 5.30pm 7 days a week – seemed busy over the weekend and quieter on the weekdays
to me but might not be! Suggest going early (7am or before) to avoid heat and
tour buses.
Transport - Tuk
Tuk for a Day USD15 can haggle for less/Motor approx. USD10
Toilets – free with
tickets and at or near to many of the ruins – Cambodians need to pay for the
loo – they have Western toilets and squats, all very clean but bring Toilet
paper.
Guide – you can
buy a book for USD1 at the ruins. And human guides are available from tour
agents and hotels. There is no signage so consider what you are looking for
from the ruins…I did it with the LP and that was sufficient for my budget and
interest in photography although the guides have amazing historical knowledge
of course!
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| Bunch of Ozzie lads inappropriately dressed for the Temple |
I hope this is a helpful blog for those visiting or those dreaming
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