Doshisha Days

It was around 6 pm when we touched down at the Bangkok International Airport under overcast skies; our plan was not to stick around very long, simply to find somewhere to hang our heads for the night and head out as soon as possible to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the closest towns to the glories of Angkor. We dropped off out bags in a rundown guest house on the notorious Thanon Khao San, grabbed some street food, and arranged for our transport. The following day, the bus was an hour late, and we arrived at the border in the afternoon, and did not board the bus on the Cambodian side of the border until 4 pm, which was when things started to get interesting.

Our Cambodian bus did not have the amenities such as air conditioning, nor did the road have any modern trappings such as pavement. Our bus ambled along the road, torn up due to the eventual construction of a paved road. Being one of the larger vehicles on the road (fortunately) the bus was playing a constant game of chicken with the oncoming traffic and was passing every vehicle in our lane with abandon. We finally arrived at a guesthouse on the outskirts of Siem Reap around 10 pm, 150 kilometers in 6 hours! After some negotiations, we were driven closer to the city center where we found a place to stay.

The following day, the 11th and our first full day in Siem Reap, we hired a tuk tuk – a motor bike with a two wheeled trailer capable of fitting up to 6 people – and made our way out to the further afield ruins of Angkor. Our first stop was Kbal Spean, River of a Thousand Lingas”, a carved river bed deep in the jungle to the Northeast of the main sites. After a 50km ride on red clay roads, we arrived at the site, hiked into the forest and up to the part of the river where you can see the carvings, intricate symmetrical pillars that have been worn down over the ages as well as carvings of the Hindu gods such as Shiva and Vishnu.

After climbing down we headed to our next destination, Banteay Srei – “Citadel of the Women” - known for its treasure trove of Angkorian art. Dedicated to Shiva, the sandstone here has a reddish tint and the carvings are some of the best preserved of all the temples. Although not as majestic as Angkor Wat, or as eerie as the Bayon, the carvings in the red rock were a site unto themselves.

Having wrapped up our sightseeing for the day, we made our way back into town to sample the local cuisine. Amoc is the local dish, steamed freshwater fish from the Tonle Sap in coconut cream served in a banana leaf. While lacking the fiery taste of the Thai curries, the Amoc was delectable in its own right. The beer of choice was Angkor, which was your standard lager, but at the price, no complaints seem appropriate.

The following day we woke up an hour early due to a watch error on my part and so spent our time wandering the local market and sampling the local food, coconut rice and banana, and various fruits. Once our driver arrived, we made our way to the mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Over 5 kilometers in circumference, with moats almost 200 meter's wide, Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world and the slow approach to the temple, watching it unfold before your eyes, is simply breathtaking. Comprising both Hindu and Buddhist sculpture, it would take days to take it all in. While there were throngs of people in the central areas of the complex (particularly on the upper levels where you almost need a running start to get up the steep, eroded stair case and death grip an iron railing when coming down), it was still not too hard to make your way to the back part of the temple where you could find some more serene environs. Neither words nor pictures truly do it justice. Please see it for yourself!

We next went to Angkor Thom, which was the main palace of the Angkorian empire. We focused most of our attention on the Bayon where every pillar is dominated on four sides by these giant faces of the king, Jayavarman VII. Whether it was just the result of one man’s ego trip is beside the point, it lends the temple a mystifying appeal.

We finished our trip with two more lesser know temples, including one that was overrun with massive trees that have done more damage than any person could. The temple was in this case literally swallowed whole by the jungle. It was an appropriate end to the glories of Angkor and there is no doubt in both our minds that some day will return.

Rest of the photos from Milo and I can be seen here.