Kafil and I have spent 5 fabulous days in Siem Reap Cambodia. It was of the most interesting places we have visited in recent times.
We were both drawn to the area, by the famous collection of temples and palaces built in times gone by when the Cambodian kingdom was a vast and rich land. The temples which are now part of the Angkor Wat architectural complex where built in the period between 8th and 13th Centuries. Angkor Wat is the largest place of worship in the world.
The stone edifices are found peaking through the lush jungles of Siem Reap. They conjure pictures of swashbuckling archaeologists and undiscovered treasures. No wonder Lara Croft Tomb Raider and one of the Indiana Jones movies were inspired by the exotic locations.
Siem Reap is just 2 hours direct flight from Singapore so we set off on an early 6.00am flight to make the most of our 5 day break.
We were immediately enchanted by the warmth and friendliness of the local people, despite being one of the poorest nations on the earth the Khmer people were welcoming and friendly.
On a friends recommendation we stayed at the delightful Golden Banana Bed and Breakfast.
The accommodation while fairly basic was extremely clean and well located just a short walk from the old "French " part of town. The staff had been recruited for their willingness to learn and to better themselves as poverty is rife in this war torn area.
We went about visiting the myriad temples with the tuk tuk drivers. Tuk tuks in Cambodia consist of a motorbike pulling a small roofed trolley behind them. Due to the fact there was not a lot of traffic this was a good way of getting from town to the temple complex, the nearest of which was only 7 kilometres away and the furthest being about 40 kilometres away.The temples and building vary in size and condition of remains, they have been built with sandstone, laterite and other stone. Any wood that was used in construction has rotted away only leaving the massive stone blocks with their intricate carvings. Some of the sites are enormous covering several kilometres while others are much more compact. The temples were often in the shape of a pyramid with five or so floors of stone layering reaching to a small chamber at the top.
The most spectacular sites included those which had huge trees growing through the remains; the trees whilst adding to the spectacular sites, also caused the remaining foundations to crack and drift apart.
We visited a very interesting site Kbal Spean where the river ran over the remains of the sculptures carved into the black river rock, including Vishnu lying on his side. This remote temple was 1.5 kilometres up a hill but well worth the climb in the heat to see the figures carved in the wet rocks.
Many of the structures had very intricate carved scenes of battles of the kingdom and daily life. I particularly admired the carvings of apsaras or dancing ladies who adorned many of the buildings. Elephants, lions and various religious deities adorned the surrounds of the temples.
The temples featured both Hindu and Buddhist Gods as the people of the time worshipped a blend of these two religions. Many of the religious figures had been beheaded and plundered from the sites. Few of the actual free standing deities remain and must feature in museums throughout the region.
We spent many hours wandering and admiring the intricate architechtecture and intricate carvings of the complex. It was amziing to consider how the Khmer civilization was able to build these engineering marvels with the limited equipment and technology at their disposal.
We will return to Angkor Wat and Cambodia, as we could easily lose ourselves in the labyrinth of temples once again.
Mornings spent exploring, climbing admiring these wonders, afternoons spent having massages, eating tasty food and exploring the markets. Indeed a wonderful place for a holiday.
Kafil gave blood at the local hospital, as the hospital relies heavily on donations from tourists to supplement the much needed blood supplies. Visiting the hospital itself was quite an eye opener, literally 100 of mothers and small children waiting on the courtyard as the queues of patients overflowed from the already packed waiting rooms.
Kafil has a quite rare blood type so his donation was gratefully accepted.
A marvellous five days, which will remain a highlight of our South East Asian adventure, for years to come.
I am going to post this as is....... Kafil usually perfects the photos organising and arranging them for better viewing, but I feel the time has come to send it.
We are off to Shanghai next week for a week with our friends Brad and Janine, can't wait for the next adventures to begin.
