The Ancient City of Angkor (we knew there had to be monkeys somewhere!)!)

Once the most powerful Kingdom in South East Asia, the Khmer Empire (now Cambodia) was responsible for the vision and construction of the great city of Angkor, beginning in the year 802. Throughout this period, the Khmer empire built towering stone temples and striking palaces, all contained with high walls and surrounded by long, deep moats. When most think of Angkor, they conjure up images of the iconic Angkor Wat, however Angkor means "city" and a true city this was. All of Angkor is most awe inspiring when considering the advanced and complex architecture and marvelling at the ornate carvings and decorative towers. The resources and planning it would have taken to construct these monuments without the use of modern building tools and techniques boggles the mind. As our guide Bouna remarked before his departure, "How did this happen? Once we were the most powerful empire and built these incredible buildings and now we have and know so little?"

It was in the 15th century, after attacks from neighbouring Siam (now Thailand), that the city of Angkor was abandoned and left to weather time in the jungle. The western world's discovery of Angkor occurred when French Missionaries uncovered the lost city during the 19th century.

Our sole purpose for visiting the city of Siem Reap is to use it as a base for exploring these fantastic ruins. More than one hundred Angkorian monuments share 3000 square kilometers of space surrounding the Siem Reap area. Our three day pass we will only allow us to barely scratch the surface, but with our seasoned guide, Alann, at the helm, we are confident that we will see the best of the best.

We begin our first ancient city visit early in the morning in order to avoid the heat (we later learn this is impossible), at the famed Hindu temple of Angkor Wat (or, City Temple). With its lotus bud shaped central towers rising 43m to greet us as we enter through the east gate, it is easy to see why it is often dubbed the "eighth" Ancient Wonder of the World.









But, first we have dodge the temple guards! Don't look them in the eye or wave any food or drink around. They're vicious, these guards. And for goodness sake, don't try to touch them.







The best thing about visiting the Angkor temples is that, rather than viewing them afar, one is actually able to climb the stone steps and witness the architectural symmetry and design artistry up close.
















It is thrilling to walk around the temple and imagine life here over a thousand years ago. Every wall tells a story — quite literally. The bas relief carvings share all the history — fact and fiction! It was a privilege and a joy to bask in such seminal history.









In fact, it made us want to jump for joy!

Jenna!



Keir!




Brett!




Jenn!




Our tour of Angkor Wat takes over two hours as we make our way slowly (so as to appreciate the intricacies of the building and prevent death by sweating) through the three levels. We stop on the other side of the moat on our way to the west gate for a coconut water refresher and a few shots of the
reflecting pool.








By this point, our clothes are truly soaked through and we are all red faced and slippery with sweat. We duck back to the hotel during this hottest part of the day and take advantage of the time to cool off with a swim in the pool.

We reconvene mid-afternoon for our tour of Angkor Thom. Built at the end of the Ankgor period (late 12th/early 13th centuries), this massive walled city was the last and greatest capital of the Angkor era, home to an estimated 1 million inhabitants.




Eight meter high walls surround the complex, as does a 100 meter wide moat. The buildings were mainly made of wood and have disappeared over time. However, the religious stone monuments remain creating a stirring spectacle. Bayon, or the "Temple of the Smiling Buddhas", has a large Buddha face carved into all four sides of each of the 54 towers.










Strolling amongst the large welcoming faces is a highlight of the day for us as we work our way through the halls, walls, and stairs of this temple. The late afternoon sunlight makes the faces appear as if they are glowing.




















After leaving Bayon, we saunter over to walk the Terrace of the Elephants which is adorned with intricate carvings of the majestic beasts. The Terrace provides us access to Phimeanakas, the Royal buildings (including the King and Queen's bathing pools). From here, we walk out through the Terrace of the Leper King before heading out through Angkor Thom's magnificent south gate.













By this point, it is late afternoon and although it is cooling down, we are shattered by the day's heat. We had hopes of returning to Ankgor Wat for some sunset shots, but the low cloud cover assures us that there will be no sunset tonight.

Still feeling unwell, Keir and I find a quick Thai dinner and opt to head right to bed. The odd combination of heat exhaustion and a cold and cough has taken its toll. Still, we are overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of history that we encountered on this day and look forward to sunrise at Angkor Wat tomorrow.

Siem Reaping

We arrive in Siem Reap shortly after 12 noon. The heat is stifling. Just standing still and breathing causes sweat to pour out of us. Shortly before arriving, we learn that our guide, Bouna, has experienced a death in his family and will be leaving us in Siem Reap to travel back to his village.

We are saddened to be losing Bouna as our guide, but more saddened to hear of his uncle's untimely death. Bouna has been excellent, so good natured and possessing a true caring spirit as he looks after everyone in our group. We will miss him dearly our last few days.





We have an small farewell lunch around the pool at the hotel and are introduced to our new guide, Alann, who will be taking us around the Angkor temples and then accompanying us back to Bangkok. I am pleased that we have a woman (only our second female guide on this trip). I soon learn from Alann that it is frowned upon for a woman to do this job because there is unaccompanied travel involved and the family cannot guarantee that the girl will be "pure" for her "future husband" as she is not under the watchful eye of her family. Alann, who at 27 is already considered by her village to be a spinster, speaks about how it was quite difficult for her parents to support her at first, but now that they see how knowledgeable she is about the countries that she travels to and how she is able to earn a good wage, they are much more open to her decision.

You learn to manage more than a few cameras as a tour guide...




Alann tells me proudly that she will be using the money she makes to build a school in her village. "If we want, as Cambodians, to improve our situation we need to improve our education. It is very easy for me to get a job because I speak several languages and if my village is to succeed then they need access to good education" she posits, "I will hire a teacher while I am still working as a guide, but eventually, I will teach there too". This is a girl with a vision! All the power to her to persevere in the face of the expected tradition. That takes determination.

The afternoon is our own, and once we get our room, Keir uses it to try to sleep off the cold bug he has picked up. I head down to the town centre with Jenna and Brett to check out the local market and have a wander round.

It is so ridiculously hot that it feels that we are almost moving in slow motion. Siem Reap is made for tourists and seems to it lack the charms and authenticity of the other places we have visited in Cambodia. People come here for one thing and one thing only -- the temples - and that is evident. Everything seems catered for "Western" tastes, which I have to say, here, are not to my liking.

Returning to the hotel I find a very sweaty Keir. The power supply to the hotels and restaurants are so taxed that daily brown and black outs are a common occurrence.

With both of us still feeling nauseous, and with Keir's cold, we opt to call it a day and crash. With a 7:30 am departure to the Angkor Wat temple and another sure-to-be-stifling day, we want to be feeling as best as possible.

Home stay

We bus our way up to Central Cambodia, about 30 km northeast of Kompong Thom, where there are some ancient pre-Angkor temples/ruins to view. It is here, in one of the seven surrounding villages that we will also have our home stay visit, spending the night as guests of a Cambodian family in their home.




Constructed during the 7th to 9th centuries, Sambor Prei Kuk once boasted hundreds of Hindu temples built of sandstone brick. Over the thousand plus years, most of the temples have crumbled, been bombed, robbed and/or seemingly swallowed by the surrounding forest. However, several groups of temples have been rediscovered and remain somewhat intact. Only 5000 or so foreign tourists visit this site every year (as opposed to the 2 million that visit Angkor Wat), so that allows for a very intimate viewing experience.




All the temples are known as The Flying Palaces for the relief images of winged horses holding up the gods in their palaces that are etched into the stone. While only a few of the images are still clearly visible, what can be seen are remarkable given the test of time they've withstood.











Walking into the two main temples is a breathtaking experience. Cooler by several degrees once inside, they swallow up any sound, our words floating several stories up towards the pyramid like ceiling. The clever folks who constructed these temples used a mixture of resin and sand to create a natural adhesive — essentially waterproofing the stone.






















Trees and vegetation grow under, on, through and over the remaining buildings and ruins. It is as though the earth is purposefully reclaiming its resources.













Our local guide, Tent, taught himself English and, through UNESCO'S archeological support, has been educated by visiting archeologists about the temples' history. Programs such as this, and the homestay initiatives, have helped the local communities appreciate these remarkable treasures and rebound from poverty. This was one of most informative tours we've yet had.

We are excited for the authentic experience of spending the night in a rural Cambodian village and home, although we are a touch unsure what to expect. Tent guides us to our two home stay locations. The families greet us warmly with smiles and respectful greetings, which we return. The houses are traditional Cambodian homes, very basic and built with wood up on stilts to avoid flooding during the rainy season. There are two outhouses with fresh water from the well. It's a bit like camping, except there's cows and pigs for company. As guests, we sleep up on the top level and the family will sleep below, underneath the house.









Tent then walks us through the village to the local market. Again, the locals are friendly and welcoming. We feel a bit like celebrities with everyone staring, waving and children chasing after us, repeating, "Hello, hello!" They are happy to let us take their photos as long as we show them the images afterwards.



This is real life in Cambodia. It's a difficult, hot, not so sanitary existence. Touring the local market and walking about the village brings forth a range of emotions from pure joy at the simplicity of it all to dismay at the poor conditions. It's a wonder how they manage to eke out a living and survive, but somehow, with a smile, they do.
























We walk to the nearby rice fields and the lotus flower fields for the sunset.










Returning to town, we stop by another family's house for our dinner. To build and utilize the community's resources (and to "share the wealth"), some families are trained in sanitary food preparation, while other houses are set up for the homestay overnights (simple mattresses on the floor with mosquito nets overtop). Fried local "little fish", banana flower soup, rice and vegetables are on this evenings menu.

Afterwards, we separate into our two home stay locations. Keir and I go over to the house where earlier we'd watched the family make rice noodles by hand. Although we are expecting a rough, overheated, noisy night (the cows, pigs, dogs and roosters that every household seems to own never seem to fully quiet down), we somehow manage to knock off some zzz's in our individual bunks (the comfy memory foam style mattresses help no doubt!).




Before we know, it the sun is coming up and we are waking to a town that is already bustling. Working hours are early in the morning and later on in the afternoon (when the heat is less intense). We are the late risers and it is only 6 am! Down below, the home stay family is hard at work together grinding, pressing, making, boiling, rinsing, cleaning and folding their fresh rice noodles. Today they will make 200kg of rice noodles... all of which have already been ordered for a funeral, a wedding, and a festival. Each neatly folded basket weighs around 6kg and can fetch the family about 12,000 Riel (or $3 US dollars). So with the sale of 200kg's on this day, it is a very good sales day for our family!