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We took the short (40 min) flight from Saigon to Siem Reap in Cambodia. This town is famous for the legendary temple ruins of Angkor. We were forced by the hot weather to book into a hotel with a pool. It really has been hot too. 35 degrees which is enough to cook anyone's goose!
Unfortunately, this is not the secret backpackers hangout it used to be. The world of package tours has arrived with a thump. Masses of Japanese people in tour groups following flag waving guides! It was pretty crowded at times and difficult to get that perfect photo. The best time was lunch when the majority of tourists went back to their hotels for food and rest.
We are of course no different in our own way, traipsing round with our camera, tutting at people who get in our shots, (french mostly!).
We visited the most famous temple first, Angkor Wat. It was immensely impressive. An outer wall reveals a large field within. There is a long causway that leads up to the temple which rises up with four outer towers and one huge central tower. The images are classic and familiar to anyone who owns a TV. But to be there in person was a humbling experience.
We spent a few hours exploring its courtyards and passageways, looking for an oppertunity to get an unspoiled photo or some treasure that the milling crowds had missed. The fact that this structure is 1000 years old is impressive. The fact that it stood abandoned to the jungle for the next 800 years is unbelievable! The detail remains in places. Intricate carvings of dancing Asparas, elephants, flowers, kings and divinities abounded. The architecture and building techniques are truely mindblowing and we wandered around constantly in awe, a permanent "wow" on our lips.
We took to going off in less trodden directions and were rewarded with monkeys playing in deserted parts of the compound and children at play. There were some tragic cases though, kids selling books and trinkets, unashamedly harrassing the visitors. "you buy book, mister". We knew they were acting on their parents instructions, just trying to scrape together enough money to get by. But there is something intrinsically annoying to westerners when you are shouted at indesciminately to buy water, fruit, postcards, books, bracelets or constantly asked "tuk tuk? Where are you going? Buy my book. Buy my drink. One dollar, One dollar!"
There are of course many ruins in the area of which Angkor Wat is the most famous. There is the massive Angkor Tom, four times the size of the Wat with faces carved into the towers. It also has the Terrace of the Leper King, the Elephant terrace and a dozen other ruins within it's walls.
We visited the excellent Ta Phrom which has been left virtually as it was found, given over to the jungle. There are simply massive trees growing on and in the buildings, splitting the stones with their roots. This place reminded Stephen particularly of The Jungle Book and old king Louie! He went around most of the day humming 'I'm the king of the swingers'!
There was also a temple called Banteay Srei that was 30km from the main site. This had been recommended to us by a Canadian couple, and so we went. It was the Womens temple and even though it was small it had the most intricate details of all the Temples we have seen anywhere. It was also the only one built from a pink sandstone that gave it a glow and colour that stood out from all others.
We can go on and on. Suffice to say there were a few more ruins visited, Pra Rup the cremation temple, Preah Khan the passages of Vishnu and the mountain temple which gave spectacular sunset views over Angkor Wat, the lake Tonle Sap and the jungle. It was like a Rock Festival up there with people jostling for the best spots. But the instant the sun went down all the Japanese filed down the mountain to their buses leaving but we few who remained for the best colours which always come after sunset. We were eventually kicked off at 6pm, as it was getting too dark to tackle the downward path to the bottom.
All in all it was a satisfying visit to Siem Reap and we have much more to explore if we decide to return. It wasn't as cheap as it once was and there will only be more tourists and more swanky hotels coming in the future. It is the Boomtown of Cambodia and how that tortured country needs and deserves some of our cash.
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