July 23, 2013 Tomb Raiding at the Angkor Temples
It was a cloudy day but our trip to the Angkor temples still went through. The night before it rained so hard and the evidence can still be seen early morning. Homer and I arranged a US$25 grand and mini tour around the temples at the hotel front desk, same time we did the Tonle Sap reservation. Come 8AM, the tuktuk driver came to fetch us at the hotel. It turned out that the driver, Mr. Sam, was the same one who fetched us at the airport the other day.
We drove through the streets, passing by some posh hotels and other notable landmarks of Siem Reap like the Angkor National Museum. I felt the cold breeze as we drove by along the streets with my camera on action. The excitement just went up as we saw Cambodian architecture around. And so the adventure continues.
Mr. Sam took us to this toll gate like area which turned out to be the ticket booth. Here you will purchase an Angkor Pass costing US$20 which serves also as a permit. On some temples, an officer at the entrance will ask for it so be sure to keep it safe and ready to show it once asked. A "mugshot" was taken at the queue of the ticketing booth and my photo was imprinted on rectangular piece of paper. After taking the pass from the ticket counter, we rode back our tuktuk and showed our passes to an officer at the departure lane.
Prior to boarding the tuktuk at the ticket booth, Mr. Sam explained to us the route info for the day. We will start from the Angkor Thom and end the day at Angkor Wat. He's been doing this a lot of times already so he knows where the most number of tourist are in the morning and in the afternoon.
We were asked to step out of the tuktuk at south gate of Angkor Thom where Mr. Sam waited for us at the other end. The south gate has a bridge that connects to the city of Angkor Thom. At both sides of the bridge are devil like guards. I noticed also the on going restoration of some heads of the guards. The topmost part of the gate has a face which according to Mr. Sam, these kind of structures are dedication to the Buddha since Buddhism is the majority of the religion.
Check out these photos at the south gate.
Dark clouds was looming over the area trying to ruin the day. We headed next to the Bayon temples. Here, I've seen more of the smiling faces. I was told that this was were Lara Croft of the famous movie, landed her 4x4 and made way "around" the temples. I will not give more details of the temples cause one could easily google them for a more correct and detailed information. I will just share my tomb raider like experience from here.
Moving on, several tourists were making good angles for their shots. We climbed from here to there. A portion of the temple was being restored by a group of experts spearheaded by UNESCO. The temple is huge and consists a lot of passageways. Mind you, some were creepy because of dark corridors. I wonder what was it like during the old times of this area.
We were almost done going around the temple when it started to drizzle. I immediately put my camera to its bag and just made use of my Iphone to steal some more shots. More of the Bayon from the next gallery.
Moving on, several tourists were making good angles for their shots. We climbed from here to there. A portion of the temple was being restored by a group of experts spearheaded by UNESCO. The temple is huge and consists a lot of passageways. Mind you, some were creepy because of dark corridors. I wonder what was it like during the old times of this area.
We were almost done going around the temple when it started to drizzle. I immediately put my camera to its bag and just made use of my Iphone to steal some more shots. More of the Bayon from the next gallery.
Homer and I made a few leading to the Baphoun temple. We're almost near the bridge like structure when we saw tourists riding on elephants. Nice one. The drizzle had stopped when we're inside the Baphoun. Great! Never-the-less I did not slip from making running on the wet grounds. Thanks to the grip of my Nike shoes. Chesslike pieces perfectly arranged just below the central temple. Getting into central temple involves a steep climb and to add to the challenge, wet steps. One could slip and had a great fall, Humpty Dumpty like perhaps, if you will not hold on to the railings.
A short walk behind a wall along trees is the Royal Palace. There's not much to see on this one. We did the slippery steep climb though to find an altar on top. The area may be ruins but Cambodian considered them to be sacred, thus the burning of incense and lotus flowers on the altars. We made our way to this long platform where elephant heads were commonly seen. If you will stand on the road and spread you're eyes, you will notice a terrace, thus the name Terrace of Elephants. On the parking lot, we searched for Mr. Sam who was waiting for us.
Next destination was Preah Khan. This is a large complex. Entrance is via a bridge. More of the moss covered stones and ruins sprawl the area. Restoration works were on going on one side of the complex. There's a conservation center explaining the temple and the art elements of Angkor architecture. The main temple is still far that one has to walk deeper into the forest. We passed by a small temple among the jungle until we reached the what remains of the main temple. The main temple has a lot of compartment and corridors. At the central part of the temple was a stupa being illuminated by natural light coming from the roof openings. There were several fertility shrines along the corridors with the lingam is commonly seen. Several local offer some tour services in the temple. They will charge you US$5 once you entertain them. US$5 is US$5 my friend. An hour was spent here exploring the place. On our way out, I saw this tree which its roots claiming one of walls. It added again to the excitement. Photos from the complex can be seen from the gallery below.
Exiting Preah Khan, there was this view deck of the "lake" on one side of the road. Some bushes reclaimed part on the "lake" making it not of a good view anyway. We then went to Neak Pean, a water reservoir divided into four squares. A wooden bridge along the cleared forest lead us to this massive reservoir. This was the lst stop before we had our lunch at a nearby rest area. During lunch, we were able to exchange conversation with Mr. Sam on the culture and practices on their area. We also learned that by the week end, it will be their election day for the national president.
Ta Som is another small temple at Angkor Thom, at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. Every now and then, Mr. Sam gives us information of the temples. As for me, I really did not absorbed much of those information. I did remember only the temple names. More of Ta Som on the photos below.
Next stop was a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. Hinduism was one time introduced into the county. Some of the Buddhist temples were even converted to Hindu temples. But today, Buddhism is widely recognized. Still the sun was hiding behind the clouds. In this temple, one has should have a strong legs to climb the stairs leading to the sky. It's good we went here after lunch.
A smaller version of East Mebon was the Pre Rup. This temple is also of Hindu design.
We spent just 20minutes at Pre Rup, and soon we found our way passing though rice fields, then came a community and passed through the area where we drove earlier of the day. By then, I no longer felt the jungle state. Mr. Sam drove us to Bantay Kdei, a Buddhist temple, dropped us at the entrance and waited at the other end. The sun managed to show itself for a while this time.
Next stop was Ta Prohm, made famous by the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Troy and Transformers 3 showed also some clips of the area. It is in this temple area where one can the the battle of nature vs. man built structures. Plenty of the "wall eating" trees thrive in the area. Another restoration work was also on going during our visit.
A short quick stop over we made at Takeo Temple. We just took photos here cause we still have to proceed for the last temple: Angkor Wat.
And to end our temple run in Siem Reap, the highlight of the day, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a city itself with a body of water surrounding the complex. There complex can only be entered via the western bridge. From there, you will get through the old high walls. Once you get passed through the wall, one will notice the temple at the center of the wide span of land. There is this walkway that leads to the temple. Palm trees tower on some parts of the area.
Here are photos of the inside and outside complex.
Going to the main temple was a never ending climb. The main temple is located on the highest part of the central complex. A visit here has strict rules since the temple is very sacred. I was about to climb the stairs leading to the main temple when I was told that sleeveless shirts are not allowed. It was good that I brought with me an extra t-shirt for changing my perspired shirt. We stayed till sundown though we did not see the sunset due the dark clouds on the horizon. It's almost 530PM and we need to get going. Prayer time for the monks was about to begin though most us tourists were still inside the complex.
Our exhausting day at the Angkor temples was really filled with fun, learning, and adventure. It was really energy draining after all those walking, running (to take shelter from the rain) and climbing, the experience was worth of it all. I enjoyed the marvelous architecture and the stories behind the temples we visited all day. Truly, Cambodia is a Kingdom of Wonders.
More finds at the Market
After an exhausting day at the temples, we decided to check the old market area to cool down. It was our last night at the city so we explored more of what's in store. We started walking along Pub Street where a lot of resto/bars line up the area.
A lot of shops offers massage ranging from body to fish foot massage. Rates for body massage are at US$5-6 while fish foot massage are at US$3 with freebies like free soda/beer and Wi-Fi while being serviced.
Okay, here's something for fear factor challenge. We were told about exotics foods being sold at the market. Mr. Sam took us to this store selling fried crickets. I knew there were a lot of this in the province but never had I tried one. So out curiosity and to complete the challenge, I managed to try 3 crickets followed by downing a can of beer. Homer, fear is not a factor for me. Haha.
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." -- Jawaharal Nehru