Day 210 - Angelina Wuz Here

We spent most of the day at Tha Prohm, better known as "The Angelina Jolie Temple," or "The Tomb Raider Temple." As such, it is nearly as visited as Angkor Wat. When we arrived, there were a half dozen or more tour buses parked in front, and as many or more cars and tuk-tuks. That was at about 11:15. According to Lonely Planet, most tour groups head into town for lunch, leaving the temples pretty empty. We expected a thinning of the hordes, but nothing like the mass exodus that happened at noon on the dot. By 12:30, we had the ruins virtually to ourselves - a far cry from the maddening crowd when we arrived.

The temple itself, once everyone left, is a huge, eerie place where trees are slowly engulfing the remains of an enormous temple complex. Over a relatively short time, the Angkor Empire defeated the Jungle to build a massive capitol city. As soon as they left, the jungle set to work reclaiming its rights. In Tha Prohm it seems to be winning. Preservationists can do nothing to stop the forest, as many of the trees have wound their roots around and through the structures to such an extent that to remove them would destroy the buildings anyway.

In the afternoon, we decided to forgo further temples in favour of exploring the modern town of Siem Reap. It is amazingly Western complete with CD shops, sidewalk cafes, and bars with slick interiors and names like "Soho". There's even a gay bar called "Linga" (the word means Shiva's phallic symbol) . After scoping out the neighborhood by day, we headed back to our guest house to shower and wait until dark to see the neighborhood all lit up.

It did not disappoint. Narrow alleys came ablaze with lights and sidewalk seating. If not for the Khmer menus, it could easily have been Paris or New Orleans French Quarter. We ate dinner at Dead Fish Tower, which proudly proclaims "Don't serve Dog, Cat, Rat, or Worm"- a real concern when ordering 'unidentifiable bits soup' from street stalls. The owner of our guest house once even had his dog stolen - he found her the next day tied up in a kitchen about to be made into soup. Dead Fish's other claim to fame are its resident crocodiles. These fellows lounge in a pool near the back waiting for fish or the occasional drunk Aussie to fall their way.

After dinner, we and our friend decided to hit Linga for a few drinks. After all, how many people do you know who have frequented a gay bar in Cambodia? Linga oozed style, and would have felt just as at home in NYC or San Francisco. The clientele were an eclectic mix of backpackers, Asian 'moneyboys', and mustachioed ageing Castro Street types. We had a lovely time sipping overpriced martinis (only one each - one cost almost as much as dinner!) before that over-priced-ness, and knowledge that we had to be up at 5:00 to catch the bus to our boat tomorrow sent us home....but not before stopping at Warehouse, a pleasantly chilled out place where we opted for non-alcoholic treats for the reasons stated above.

Day 209 - Culture Vultures

That's the self-explanatory name for a tourist who wants to snap up every aspect of the culture they are visiting. And we were some intense culture vultures today. We woke up at dark-thirty in order to get a good place to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It is more impressive in half light, but I was too distracted by the pony who came down to drink in the reflecting pool than any heap of stones. As the sun rose higher, we puttered around the complex admiring the light.

Soon we tired of our old friend Angkor Wat, and headed to Angkor Thom, whose main temple, Bayon is known for the giant faces carved on each side of most of its towers. We arrived early enough that the light still strafed across the faces and the tumbledown structure, making for some very dramatic shadows. Furthermore, the building had not seen so restored, and the jungle not so hacked away, so it felt much more like stumbling into an ancient world.

Best of all though were the monks. A group of monks from one the the Eastern provinces were visiting the temples of Angkor on a two day trip. Two little monks were fascinated by American tourists, and whipped out their cell phone camera (Yes, even monks carry the latest in cell phone technology) to take pictures of California Boy (a friend we met in Bangkok), and I. As we were leaving, we ran into their group again, and took turns taking pictures of each other. It was pretty funny to be the favourite subject of the Monk's pictures, when every Western tourist I know hope for a monk to cross into their frame as they snap away at the monuments.

From Bayon, we crossed the Terrace of Elephants (a terrace supported by hundreds of stone elephants), the terrace of the Leper King (a terrace supported by hundreds of stone...figures. I don't think they were lepers), and several minor temples. Finally we arrived at Preah Kahn, a good warm up for the 'Angelina Jolie Temple'(the temple that Tomb Raider was based on)

Preah Kahn from the front appeared deceptively small. Once inside however, the center corridor stretched on for 800metres (nearly a kilometre!) and the side corridors spread out to 600metres. We liked to call the palace the ranch home of Angkor Wat, as it was all one level, but sprawled out in a labyrinth of corridors and chambers. It too was partially consumed by the jungle, with parts collapsed completely. Signs warned tourists to check for 'live stone movement' before going under/any arch, as the last big collapse wast as recent as 1999.

By early afternoon, we had been looking at ruins for over eight hours, and were pretty well knackered. It took some doing to find a tuk-tuk driver willing to take us home for a reasonable price, but finally we agreed on a fare and returned to the guesthouse for showers, naps, and postcard-writing.

At 5-sh, we visited the local market street where hawkers offered everything from fake designer jeans to whole roast quail. I bought myself a fish and some fruit so I wouldn't be as hungry when we arrived at the swank restaurant where we were scheduled to have dinner.

We were having a swank (as in $6 a head) dinner in order to watch a shadow puppet and traditional Khmer dance performance. What we didn't know was that the entire performance was to be performed by children from a home for disadvantaged and orphaned kids. Not only that, but all proceeds form the show went directly back into the program to help in the kids' education, housing, and placement with families.

The children did a great job, and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Best of all, the format was very informal, so we were 'free to move around and watch the puppeteers and musicians at work. It was a good way to spend the evening - a great show for a great cause, and a dose of theatre to boot.

Day 208 - Say Wat?!

We slept in a bit today before heading to Angkor Wat. As the largest religious building in the world, Angkor Wat rivals the Taj Mahal in fame. Unfortunately, because I had built it up so much in my mind, seeing it in person was kind of a letdown. Sure it's big, but it is very compartmentalized, so it doesn't feel that big. The area around it has also been thoroughly cleared, so the structures sit on a dusty field broken only by the admittedly impressive reflecting pool.

All that said, it is still a pretty impressive complex of buildings with many really lovely bas relief sculptures. Furthermore, there are several alleys and galleries occupied by Buddha statues wrapped in saffron with offerings at their feet and monks and tourists alike paying their respects. And, despite being a a little disappointed in it, there is still definite spark of excitement simply by being in the middle of Angkor Wat. It could simply be a heap of rubble, and the name and connotations alone are enough to make it feel exotic and exciting.

It might not feel so big, but it did in fact take us most of the day to visit. When we were finally 'templed out', we ate a late lunch at Angkor Cafe, and headed back to our guesthouse. Strangely, the cafe was not hugely overpriced despite being slap-bang across the street from the wat. I suspect that this is the case because most of the tour groups head into town for lunch and a rest in the middle of the day. Which has a double bonus of cheap eats at the ruins, and if you are willing to brave the sun or choose shady temples, you have the monuments almost entirely to yourself.

After a short rest and shower - Angkor Wat is DUSTY, we piled back into a tuk-tuk to take in the temple at sunset. Keen to avoid the zoo on the hill, we opted to watch the light change over the big temple itself. It was sort of nice walking into the complex as everyone else was leaving. I don't understand why the hill is so popular. The view was far superior (and far less crowded) right in the temple.

Day 207 - Sunrise, Sunset

We woke up this morning hours before daylight to catch the 5:00AM bus to Aranyaprathet, the Thai border with Cambodia. Unfortunately, I was wide awake for the dark part of the ride, and fell asleep just in time to miss a lovely sunrise.

Thai tourist buses are generally a scam, but are very easy to avoid simply by buying all bus tickets directly at the bus station. The bus station sells tickets only for state-run bus companies, and the quality of each class of travel is strictly regulated. The express buses to the border are all first class, which means not only are there air con and reclining seats, but someone comes by with little snacks and water. On the VIP buses, the service is upped once more, including meals, movies, and essentially barca loungers for seats. (We haven't gotten to ride one of these yet). On the downside (or upside depending on your opinion) karaoke is just as popular in Thailand as in the rest of SE Asia, and often the bus's audio visual system is set to en route karaoke. This is less than amusing at 5:30AM.

We arrived at the stop closest to the border at about 9:30AM. After a quick trip to the toilets, we negotiated a tuk-tuk to the border. The driver initially asked for 150baht per person. We ended up agreeing on 20baht per person. He was very cheerful about the whole thing - I suspect that when they ask for such ridiculously high rates that it is more a game than actually trying to get it.

The border was a little dodgy, as visa scams are common. We ended up having to pay a little more for our Cambodian visa on the Thai side of the border because Cambodia was temporarily suspending visas on entry for foreigners unless they could provide proof of onward travel. I would call it a scam, except that this particular hitch was government sanctioned - which makes it no less scammy, but at least I don't feel like a chump for falling for it.

Visas in hand, we walked across the border without a hitch, took the government bus to the taxi stand on the Cambodian side, and had soon negotiated a fair price for the bumpy 3-hour ride into Siem Reap. Bumpy because the road is largely unpaved. Having been to India and Nepal, we were unfazed by the unpaved road, and in fact felt pretty swank as we sat in air con comfort watching the dust billow past our sealed up windows.

Once in Siem Reap, we were surprised at how lovely the town is. Unlike Agra which knows people will come to see the Taj no matter how nasty the town, Siem Reap retains much of its French-Colonial charm, despite the recent boom in tourism.

By the time we finished a late lunch and showering off the road dust, it was nearly 4:30, and time to meet our tuk-tuk driver to take us to the ticket office and sunset point. Sunset point is a tiny temple perched on a hill over the plains and Angkor Wat in the distance. Unfortunately, it is VERY much on the tourist map. Resulting in the more striking view being red-faced tourists puffing their way up the hill and crawl-climbing the extremely steep steps to the top rather than the sunset. It felt like a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting.

It was still nice, though, if very strange. Monks in saffron robes peppered the crowd, and the Buddha statue in the center of temple had offerings of fruit and incense laid at his feet. I liked these small reminders, that despite being a UNESCO site, and tourist trap, it is still a working temple.

Tomorrow we follow the hordes once more to the mother of them all...Angkor Wat.