Angkor Wat

Wednesday, June 24, 2009--Siem Reap

I stayed inside and rested most of the day. I am reading a very good book, and the heat is just too bad to want to go out much before late afternoon.

In the afternoon, however, I went out walking to investigate outer areas of towns. I walked downs unpaved streets where people were surprised to see a tourist passing. I stopped and rested along the river and watched some boys playing soccer. Eventually, with my circular route, I arrived at the gardens of the Royal Palace here. They are so pretty and peaceful and have so many big shade trees. I sat on a bench across from a small temple where many people were brings flowers and incense as offerings. There was a Cambodia traditional band inside the temple grounds, and they played music on their drums, gongs, string instruments, etc., when paid to do so. A man sat beside me on another bench. While I was there, a woman approached him with a large metal platter piled high with fried grasshoppers. She was selling them to people in the park. He didn't seem to want any, but she insisted that he try one. He moved his fingers around as he looked them over, then he selected one and popped it in his mouth. UMMMM!

I ate the best meal I have had in Cambodia tonight. I found the place while I was searching for a bicycle for my visit to the ruins around Angkor Wat tomorrow. Just next door was a small restaurant operated by the same family with nice atmosphere and reasonable prices. I had the national dish of Cambodia--Chicken Amok--which had paper-thin slices of chicken in a slightly spicy coconut sauce with green beens and onions. The meal came with a pot of green tea and a small plate of sliced fresh pineapple. It was a big portion, too. For the first time since leaving Canada I felt stuffed after eating.

Speaking of eating makes me think about my diet. I was able to weigh myself in Phnom Penh several days ago. I had lost 15 lbs. (almost 7 kg) since leaving San Antonio. I will lose that same amount again before returning to Texas in October.

Thursday, June 25, 2009--Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

I left my hotel at 5:30. I had to wake up the guys who work here to get them to open the gate, but they are used to that, since going to the ruins (which open at 5:00 a.m.) at an early time is common as a way to avoid the heat, avoid the rush of the tour groups, and, for some, to see the sun rise over the ruins. When I got to the place where I was going to rent a bicycle, it was not open either (although they had told me they opened at 5:00 and I had told them I would be there around 5:15-5:30). I banged on the door. I yelled, "Hello," several times. Eventually, I climbed the stairs leading to the home above the shop and restaurant and banged on the outer wall. The woman recognized me immediately when she came out and was apologetic. She opened the shop and got me a bicycle and lock to use for the day for only $1. And it proved to be a nice bicycle--easy to ride and smooth with decent brakes.

I headed off on one of the roads in town where I had seen a sign saying it was the way to Angkor Wat. I knew that it wasn't the main road from looking at the map, but the two of them are parallel and are close together. I didn't want a road with lots of traffic, since "driving" here is like being in India. I figured there would be a sign showing me where to turn to buy my ticket, since the ticket booth looked as if it is located between the two roads. Well, before I knew it, I was near Angkor Wat at one of the checkpoints to be sure that foreigners have paid their extravagant entry rate for the site. I discovered that there is no sign on my road and that I would have to go back approximately 3 km (2 miles) to the ticket booth on the other road. Off I went. When I got there, buying the ticket was like getting a rental car in that it came with a push to purchase more and lots of warnings. They wanted me to buy a ticket for more than one day and cautioned me about the fact that I could not use that ticket after sunset today, that I could not get into the ruins if I lost it, etc.

Note: One of my pet peeves about all these major tourist sites is that they charge foreigners so much. Most of them are being restored and developed using funds from the United Nations, since they have been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites. So, it is the developed countries that are paying for the restoration. Then they gouge us again by making us pay so much to enter. Cambodians get into this site free, which means that at every stop there are hawkers bothering the tourists who have paid $20 to be there! It is rediculous, and there should be a rule by UNESCO that if it is funding restoration of a project the admission price for foreigners cannot be more than it is for locals!

I returned the 3 km to Angkor Wat, arriving there at 6:30. I was still early. It was nice to be able to see it without too many tourists (but with WAY TOO MANY touts and hawkers trying to sell anything and everything). It is nice, but it was essentially what I expected--not much better, than any, of the many similar ancient capital sites that I have visited in other countries (Ayutthaya and Sukothai in Thailand, Bagan in Myanmar, and Anuradhapura and Polonarua in Sri Lanka. They all consist of many temples spread over a large area that used to also have homes with people. The temples were built out of stones and bricks and still exist, but the homes have disappeared due to having been made of thatch. Of course, Angkor Wat has Khmer design, but is seeing that design worth the effort and cost of coming here? I'm not sure, since the general idea is the same as the others and the inner construction is definitely the same.

From Angkor Wat, I went to a few of the other temples including Bayon, Baphuon, Ta Prohm, and East Mebon. I also stopped at some smaller sites along the way. I managed to stay ahead of the tour buses until my last stop. And I probably should not have gone there, since it added 6 km (3.5 mi) to my distance without being a very special temple. By then, it was 10:45, and I was tired and getting hot. I returned 3 km and stopped at the Sras Srang which is the ancient reservoir for the site. A few orphans walked across the street to visit with me and to ask me to visit the orphanage, but I had already decided not to visit any based on what I had read in my guidebook. I moved further down the road and found another spot beside the water. I relaxed, ate some roasted peanuts and some dried sour plums, and watched boys swimming and bathing in the water. Then I started the rest of the long 13 km (8 mi) ride in the heat of the day back to town. I stopped several times to rest and to drink water. I finished 3 liters of water that I took with me on the trip. And my guess is that I traveled by bicycle about 45-50 km (27-30 mi). I'll feel it in my seat tomorrow!

Back at my room by 12:15, I had been gone for almot 7 hours. I took a cold shower, turned on both the ceiling fan and the air conditioner, watched the news on TV, read a bit from my novel, and then took a nap which involved a deep, deep sleep.

It's now evening. I will return to the restaurant where I ate last night and find something different to try there. I also need to try to arrange my bus ticket to return to Phnom Penh on Saturday. I met a nice Italian man while touring the ruins today, so I am also hoping I might run into him and we can have a drink and visit together.