Recap: Our last few days in Thailand were wonderful and we were sad to say our first goodbyes. We made it up to Chaing Mai with no story to be told. Our two full days there were of a lazy sort, sitting in cafes, wandering the back lanes and alley ways, stopping into a few temples. Aside from the continual ring of traffic around the outside of the old city and the shock of there now being 4 (yes, 4) Starbucks, it was a quiet visit to the 'cultural capital' of Thailand. We ate wonderful fish dinners at the night markets, enjoyed the old medieval fortress, and did a spot of tourist shopping. We were happy to have made the full journey north (originally, we weren't planning on it).
Our last post highlighted the trek down from the mountains, back into Bangkok, across the border, and into Cambodia. Which gets us to the last 4 day here in Siem Reap.
Ah, Siem Reap. An amazing little corner of the world, it has changed so much, yet remains the same; like the hawkers and the market stalls "same same but different." A brand spanking new international airport opened outside of town just after I left here in 2007. With it, it has brought many western high end hotels, a fancy shopping center, and tour buses. Did I mention tour buses, because now, there are tour buses. Lots of them. The town center along the river is very much the same with it's markets and dusty sidewalks. The restaurants, tuk-tuks, motos, cars, and buses have quadrupled, forcing you to share your experience here with others.
We both agree, the temples of Angkor are simply awe-inspiring. Words do not describe and pictures do not do justice. Amazing, spectacular, moving, a revelation, calming, other-worldly, impressive. Starting with Angkor Wat at sunset was overwhelming with the views, the size, and the crowds! We were happy to sneak out there for the evening just to begin processing the enormity of the Angkor Kingdom. The first full two days we hired a tuk-tuk driver (a nice guy who's birthday was on Valentine's Day and ended up buying James a cowboy hat. Little strange, but good guy) and toured the further reaching temples. Trying to see the temples in chronological order, we started with the Rolous group, which are the first temples to be built and about half an hour away from Angkor proper. For the late morning and afternoon we followed the 'Grand Circuit' an outer ring to Angkor of some smaller, yet very impressive temples.
The second day, we went out to Bantay Srie (about an hour + drive) to see the temple 'build by women.' It is said that the stone carving and detail is too fine to have been done by man, therefore only women could be built. A site very different than any of the others, it is smaller, made with pink sandstone, and the intricate detail is everywhere! But, pulling up, I was completely flabbergasted. When I was at that site in 2007, there was one other couple at the temple with me, it was along a dirt road with a few market stalls around the entrance. No one bothered making the trek out to the small but wonderfully detailed temple. This time: there's no dirt road, no road-side vendors. Instead, they've built up a massive parking lot (all those tour buses have to park somewhere!), proper cafe's and shops, a mini museum, nature walk....the list goes on. The amount of people made it hard to enjoy and we spent little time there. The afternoon, spent on the 'Small Circuit' where the crowds weren't so bad and we were able to feel the sites, not just 'see' them. We enjoyed being able to really hike around, and even up some of the very tall mountains. There were some small moments of fear when we looked down the steep stairs, but we rallied and enjoyed the views. We both agreed that although it's hotter, going around mid-day, when the tour groups are having their air conditioned lunch, makes the best viewing time. It's hard to really experience the reverence that belongs to these massive sites of worship when you are surrounded by others who are only there for the photo opportunities.
Our last day out, we got up early to rent bikes, biked out to one of the tallest mountain temples to see the sun rise, and made our way out to the pinnacle: Angkor Thom, the city, and Angkor Wat. The morning was priceless, watching the mist burn off on top off the tree tops and the peeks of Angkor Wat. It was a beautiful way to start the day. We took our time making our own way in the vast ancient city and spent the heat of the afternoon in the cool shade around Angkor Wat's impressive moat. Equally impressive to the size and grandeur of the temples themselves are there external lay out. Most are built around a huge moats, and some are build on an island in the middle of entirely man-made lakes! The kings who built these monuments were trying to replicate the mythical Mount Meru. In doing that, they wanted to build tall 'mountain' temples, reaching towards the sky. No one is sure why the giant moats came with them, some guess it was an impressive feat that they could do, so they did. My theory: air conditioning.
All in all, it's been a great visit to Siem Reap and Angkor. I am so happy that I've been able to share this sacred place with James, and we've really enjoyed the time. It will be a hard Valentine's Day to beat, if not romantic-wise, at least on the grand-scale. We will upload photos at a later date. (It's a James thing, I'm tired, the internet is slow, and they aren't on the computer yet.)
Today, we have a Noon bus down to Phnom Phen. I met a lovely Argentina couple who've recommended a guest house and a few other things for us that we'll check into tonight. We'll have two nights there before making our good-byes with Cambodia and heading into Vietnam for our last week on the mainland of SEA. Time flies.
And for those keeping score: I'm losing on bug bites now too! The Thai mosquitoes didn't like me, but the Cambodian ones sure do! No sun burns or blisters to report!
Our last post highlighted the trek down from the mountains, back into Bangkok, across the border, and into Cambodia. Which gets us to the last 4 day here in Siem Reap.
Ah, Siem Reap. An amazing little corner of the world, it has changed so much, yet remains the same; like the hawkers and the market stalls "same same but different." A brand spanking new international airport opened outside of town just after I left here in 2007. With it, it has brought many western high end hotels, a fancy shopping center, and tour buses. Did I mention tour buses, because now, there are tour buses. Lots of them. The town center along the river is very much the same with it's markets and dusty sidewalks. The restaurants, tuk-tuks, motos, cars, and buses have quadrupled, forcing you to share your experience here with others.
We both agree, the temples of Angkor are simply awe-inspiring. Words do not describe and pictures do not do justice. Amazing, spectacular, moving, a revelation, calming, other-worldly, impressive. Starting with Angkor Wat at sunset was overwhelming with the views, the size, and the crowds! We were happy to sneak out there for the evening just to begin processing the enormity of the Angkor Kingdom. The first full two days we hired a tuk-tuk driver (a nice guy who's birthday was on Valentine's Day and ended up buying James a cowboy hat. Little strange, but good guy) and toured the further reaching temples. Trying to see the temples in chronological order, we started with the Rolous group, which are the first temples to be built and about half an hour away from Angkor proper. For the late morning and afternoon we followed the 'Grand Circuit' an outer ring to Angkor of some smaller, yet very impressive temples.
The second day, we went out to Bantay Srie (about an hour + drive) to see the temple 'build by women.' It is said that the stone carving and detail is too fine to have been done by man, therefore only women could be built. A site very different than any of the others, it is smaller, made with pink sandstone, and the intricate detail is everywhere! But, pulling up, I was completely flabbergasted. When I was at that site in 2007, there was one other couple at the temple with me, it was along a dirt road with a few market stalls around the entrance. No one bothered making the trek out to the small but wonderfully detailed temple. This time: there's no dirt road, no road-side vendors. Instead, they've built up a massive parking lot (all those tour buses have to park somewhere!), proper cafe's and shops, a mini museum, nature walk....the list goes on. The amount of people made it hard to enjoy and we spent little time there. The afternoon, spent on the 'Small Circuit' where the crowds weren't so bad and we were able to feel the sites, not just 'see' them. We enjoyed being able to really hike around, and even up some of the very tall mountains. There were some small moments of fear when we looked down the steep stairs, but we rallied and enjoyed the views. We both agreed that although it's hotter, going around mid-day, when the tour groups are having their air conditioned lunch, makes the best viewing time. It's hard to really experience the reverence that belongs to these massive sites of worship when you are surrounded by others who are only there for the photo opportunities.
Our last day out, we got up early to rent bikes, biked out to one of the tallest mountain temples to see the sun rise, and made our way out to the pinnacle: Angkor Thom, the city, and Angkor Wat. The morning was priceless, watching the mist burn off on top off the tree tops and the peeks of Angkor Wat. It was a beautiful way to start the day. We took our time making our own way in the vast ancient city and spent the heat of the afternoon in the cool shade around Angkor Wat's impressive moat. Equally impressive to the size and grandeur of the temples themselves are there external lay out. Most are built around a huge moats, and some are build on an island in the middle of entirely man-made lakes! The kings who built these monuments were trying to replicate the mythical Mount Meru. In doing that, they wanted to build tall 'mountain' temples, reaching towards the sky. No one is sure why the giant moats came with them, some guess it was an impressive feat that they could do, so they did. My theory: air conditioning.
All in all, it's been a great visit to Siem Reap and Angkor. I am so happy that I've been able to share this sacred place with James, and we've really enjoyed the time. It will be a hard Valentine's Day to beat, if not romantic-wise, at least on the grand-scale. We will upload photos at a later date. (It's a James thing, I'm tired, the internet is slow, and they aren't on the computer yet.)
Today, we have a Noon bus down to Phnom Phen. I met a lovely Argentina couple who've recommended a guest house and a few other things for us that we'll check into tonight. We'll have two nights there before making our good-byes with Cambodia and heading into Vietnam for our last week on the mainland of SEA. Time flies.
And for those keeping score: I'm losing on bug bites now too! The Thai mosquitoes didn't like me, but the Cambodian ones sure do! No sun burns or blisters to report!
My vote is they built it for air conditioning too...I'm always looking to stay cool though.
ReplyDeleteI love reading the blogs you and James are posting (even if I am a month behind). Keep it up so I can continue to live vicariously through you both.
xoxo