Cambodia


Our tour guide wastes no time in taking us out for a big dinner upon our arrival in Siem Reap. Garlic kushinsai, fish stew, and some noodles. Plus Angkor Beer!!	The bridge across the moat is lined by statues of people trying to pull-back a seven-headed snake. The cool thing about the gate is cars drive through it as if they were going to the market...	This is one of the guys struggling with the snake. I think this head replaced an earlier one that was stolen, because it looks a bit too clean. Nice smile, though.

One more shot of the bridge and the moat. This is completely separate from the moat and wall system that surrounds Angkor Wat, down the street. This was the city, Angkor Wat was a temple.	A close-up of the gate. Within this city, probably 100,000 people lived. However, since the common houses were made of wood, there is nothing left to show of the city itself.	Uh, I though this was kinda artistic. Remember there are five of these things spaced along the perimeter of this massive wall.

Detail of the gate.	Our guide, Seiha-san speaks Japanese perfectly. He enjoys telling us the history and facts of the various structures left within the city of Angkor Thom.	The walls of the Bayon are covered in detailed carvings which tell the history of the Angkor period, but also give insights into daily life. One could spend days just reading through all of the stories here.

The main story told on these walls involves a war between the Cham (pictured here) and the Khmer (Cambodian) armies. Aside from the battle scenes, you can also see people carrying provisions and cooking for the troops.	The Cham came across Lake Tonle Sap (the biggest lake in Southeast Asia!) and sacked the Angkor area. However, the Khmer troops (shown here) were eventually victorious and built more temples and whatnot, including these walls telling the tale.	As we get closer to the main part of the temple, we get glimpses of the 200+ smiling faces that awai inside.

After climbing atop the first terrace, we get a view of the covered walkways that still surround The Bayon almost 900 years on.	This is the money shot. There is literally a line to get into position for his photograph. I wish I could tell you I am a good photographer, but honestly, everyone goes home with this shot.	Now this shot, I take full credit for...

I count six smiling faces here. Which one do you think is the best looking?	And how about this one? These guys are just so photogenic that anyone could spend a whole roll of film here.	I made a new girlfriend...

Another cool thing is that this still an active temple. This simple altar sits at the very center of the structure under the tallest tower of smiling faces.	The backside of The Bayon is not ideal for taking pictures because the sun is shining from the south. However, if you take the picture just right, you look like a rock star!	This picture gives you a good idea of the entrance to the main temple. This is actually from the back door, but you can see how many doors and stairs you have to pass to get up and into that sacred chamber inside the main tower.

And further out, you can see the full glory of The Bayon one more time. From an even greater distance, the place looks like a pile of rocks, which makes the smiling faces that much more impressive when you get up-close.	The Baphuon is literally a stones-throw away from The Bayon. The cool thing about this temple is the raised walkway leading up to it. There are reflecting pools on each side.	While wandering around we startle a couple little lizards who begin darting in and out of the rocky ruins.

Seiha-san takes a break in the shade while he explains The Baphuon to us. When asked asked about his choice of professions, he replied "I get to be outside, and I get to meet new people." He particular seems to like meeting Japanese women...	Another random scupture around the Baphuon.	Another stone's throw away and we are at the Elephant Terrace. It continues about the length of a football field, but in fact it was probably used by the royalty and important people to observe parades and other public performances. Cool place.

Okay, I could not resist the chance to help holding up the Elephant Terrace. Not an easy job...	After lunch, we go for the main event: Angkor Wat. Again, surrounded by a moat, and then a wall. This enclosure was the home for monks, religious scholars, and all the people who took care of this place.	Random carving on one of the perimeter walls. The windows with columns in them effectively screen out all animals while letting the wind blow through.

And again, without the distracting people...	Again, there are stories galore on the walls of this temple. The man in the center here is supposed to be a king, because he had more servants bearing umbrellas for him than the other important people.	The bas reliefs are protected from the elements by this covered walkway. I believe it has been rebuilt, but original materials anyway.

And this is the second set of covered walkways.	I think these were fig trees. The cool thing is the way the rock shines. It has been rubbed smooth by local people who used to walk the length of the wall rubbing the carvings for good luck.	Remember it is about 30C and we have been walking around all day. The back step makes a good place to rest before we head up to the upper terrace.

Another random scupture. You could roam around here for days and still find new things. Since entrance to the area will set you back 40USD for three days or 60USD for a week, you might as well take your time.	Another little side corridor with women waiting for you at every door.	This is the mother of all staircases. It is amazing that they still encourage people to walk up and down this thing. I think they are going to close the top part off in a couple years for repairs.

And the view at the top reveals some of those covered corridors and the surrounding jungle.	This system of columns and scuptures makes up the central tower. Unfortunately, acid rain and whatnot have eaten away some of the detail. Nonetheless, an impressive sight.	A view of the middle terrace and the surrounding jungle. That hill in the distance is supposed to be a good spot to watch the sunset.

I love these door pictures. This one looks out the north entrance to the third platform. Just out this door is another one of those really steep staircases. These monks were giving emotional support to people struggling with the climb.	I kept looking for a good specimen of the seven-headed serpent, but this was about the best I could find. Considering how many things have been stolen or destroyed, you appreciate the well-preserved ones that much more.	Of course any respectable tour has to include a good ethnic dinner show. The unique thing about this dance is the way the dancers bend their fingers and toes back as they slowly promenade around. Looks painful.

The unique thing about this temple is the hard red stone which must have been a real bear to carve. However, due to the strength of the stone, the carvings here are so well preserved that it is amazing.	Detail of the carving above the entrance.	The main part of the temple is not accessible to visitors anymore, but we get close enough to see how beautiful the decoration is.

Detail of the roofline.	Seiha-san explained that these are water lillies and not the lotus flowers preferred by Buddha. The leaves of the lotus flow come up out of the water, but otherwise the plants can look quite similar.	After another meal in town, we spent a couple hours in the afternoon at Ta Prohm. I wish we could have spent a couple days here. This place is huge and it is cool because it has not been reconstructed much, so it is still half-consumed by nature.

You can get an idea of the size of the place, but what you see here is still only a small part. Supposedly there were almost 3000 monks who studied here, as well as another 3000 residents. The grounds are beautiful.	Oops, I don't actually remember what this was about. I think the woman at the top is the goddess that the whole temple was built for. Anyway, it looks cool, eh?	I had my camera set for indoor photographs, so the lighting is a little funny here. Anyway, you get as idea of what is going on here. This place was literally abandoned and left to the trees.

There are some supports in place to keep more walls from collapsing, but generally, everthing is left to the elements. It leaves a lot more to the imagination.	As we wonder through the grounds, we just find more and more rooms with amazing scultures and decorations. All existing in harmony with nature.	And again, an unresistable photo opportunity.

And another...	And another...	And more trees out of control.

This is one of the courtyards in the very rear of the grounds. Wonder what they did here all day...	And...flash forward 900 years to present day Phnom Penh. This is where the king lives, right in the center of the city. He actually was heading out (to the beach?) on the Saturday morning that we were there. The cavalcade came right at us before it turned out the front gate!	This is the modern version of the four-sided smiling face. The design of the building is similar to what you find in Thailand. I believe the number of roofs (like the number of umbrellas) indicates that this is a building for royalty.

This is the temple of the Emerald Buddha. Again, if I remember properly from my travels in Thailand, this small statue has made the rounds in Southeast Asia. The real thing resides in Bangkok now, so Cambodia is stuck with some alternate.	Out the back door of the grounds of the royal palace we found this strange tree. Or maybe it is a normal tree with a really intricate set of vines living on it. At any rate, I thought this was a good angle for a photo.	And only a block away, we find my old alma mater! I assume this is where the secret service or royal police get their training, but it also makes for a great photo backdrop.

Then, on to the National Museum. All of the smaller treasures from the Angkor area which weren't broken or stolen, were brought here for display. The building itself is worth a look. You make your way around the perimeter, but you can step into the courtyard at any time and take a break, if you like. Nice design.	Honestly, a room like this gets pretty tiring, but some of the things you see will really blow you away. For some reason, I did not take any pictures of those.	The Russian Market has lots of household items as well as some tourist souvenirs, fish, fruit, etc. I bought some rambutan fruit and a few lotus flowers.

We checked out the dried goods here. I love these kind of shops; shelves up to the ceiling packed with anything you could imagine. I also picked-up a lighter and some razors at another market.	We spent Christmas evening at the Foreign Correspondents Club. The rooftop terrace had some happy hour specials before many of the expats came in for their Christmas dinners. The weather was perfect and plenty to look at too.	The moon comes out over the junction of the Tonle Sap River and the Mekong River. In 1866 a French explorer by the name of Garnier took a group UP the Mekong from Ho Chi Minh City to China! The idea was to find an easy trade route to the Kunming area of Yunnan, China. It took almost two years, but eventually he made it and actually came back down the Yellow River to Shanghai...

We spent the next morning wandering around the Central Market. We got some gogles for the beach and looked at some paintings. I bought some clothes and had a tailor hem the legs while I waited. They have everything here!	The center of the market almost feels like an expensive department store. This is one of the brightest and most spacious markets I have ever seen. Very cool.	And, on to the beach. A full four hours away by car, but luckily that is on the best road in Cambodia (built by Americans, they say). The Sokha Resort is also supposed to be the newest and greatest. Unfortunately it is run by the same oil tycoon who collects all of the 40USD fees at Angkor. At least Sokimex is not without rivals: BP, Total, and Caltex all have outlets in Cambodia.

This is the most popular billboard: for the Cambodia People's Party. Democracy here is still pretty young, and many of the people in power are left over from the Khmer Rouge era. Still, things seem to be going in the right direction for this country. Highly recommended!

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