Angkor Wat in Cambodia
November 25th, 2005
written by Nancy Lee Sirman

Our year in Thailand and proximity to the rest of Southeast Asia was nearly over.  We were out of time and still hadn't visited all of the many places that interested us.  We had to choose just one or two trips in the time we had left.  I had always dreamed of seeing Angkor Wat and some of the other ruins nearby and Neil agreed that we could add days on to a planned business trip to Bangkok and fly on to Siem Reap, Cambodia to make my dream come true.  In Bangkok, we started the visa process for entry into India and looked for some boat parts we had been unable to find in Phuket.  Finally we were on the flight to Cambodia.
Our plane landed in Siem Reap just behind a much larger Vietnam Air flight  The passengers on that flight stampeded  toward the airport buildings ahead of our plane load.  It  would be a bottleneck at the visa desk. We were jostled into a small room for visa processing. There was a line of sorts to hand waiting officials our passports and we filled out visa applications. Then we all stood like cattle at feeding time waiting while they politely filled out visas, stuck them in passports, and held each passport up before the crowd. The owner struggled through the herd, grabbed his/her passport, surrendered the US $20 visa fee before heading off to baggage and customs. 
Siem Reap is a small, dusty town that hosts thousands of visitors yearly. Their economy is built on tourist dollars and the most used currency is the US dollar. Locals prefer it to their own riel. We had made reservations at the Golden Banana Bed and Breakfast and were pleased to see their driver there to pick us up and ferry us into town.  The ride in was an eye opener. The outskirts are lined with luxury resorts and hotels far beyond our means. Stuck between the fancy places are  tiny dwellings  where some developer hasn't yet convinced the local owner to sell. Many of these shelters are poor indeed. People here seem less well off than those of Thailand. Heavy traffic of cars, trucks, bicycles, motor bikes and tuk-tuks stir up the roadside dust as they hurry along.
The Golden Banana is clean and well kept with a very pleasant open air dining room and bar surrounded by a lovely garden. Our room is old fashioned with white walls and a red painted double door.  The bed is comfortable and we have an old style tiled bath with shower.  We love it.   


Tuk-tuks and motor bikes are the main transport in Siem Reap.


Our first look at world famous Angkor Wat

We spent our first day walking the streets and visiting the Cambodian Cultural Center to learn something of Cambodia before beginning our three day assault on the temples. At one place along the walkway paralleling the Siem River, we found a destitute family had set up a camp right on the sidewalk.  It was a shock to step off the path around a small fire, a sleeping adult and several naked tots. They had almost no possessions in this very public living space.  Again, we were faced with the realization of what poverty is and how rich and comfortable our lives are.  We encountered people who had lost limbs to land mines and were begging on the streets. We don't know what the "right" thing to do is, but we changed some dollars into local currency and gave each enough to buy a  meal at local eateries.
The Cultural Center has a small museum of the history of Cambodia as well as full scale models of a variety of Cambodian homes. Shows are done twice daily demonstrating fishing, traditional dance and music, and an enactment of a Khmer wedding ceremony.  The Center is fairly new and still working on perfecting their offerings, but was a good introduction to the country and its history.

Breakfast at the Golden Banana was tropical fruits with yogurt or muslie served in elegant style with individual pots of coffee or tea. We  had a side of baguettes with butter and jam. Everywhere we have been that was once French-occupied territory has kept the tradition of French bread. Wonderful, but not good for the waistline!
Our guide and driver came at 9:00 am and it was time for the main attraction. The guide, Park San, was excellent. He had been to a guide school and was very knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. We taught him new words while he told us much about local culture along with the information at each ruin. Mr. Prak was our driver and was also excellent. We hired him for the rest of our stay. He was a careful driver and a good source of information about what we were seeing. Both young men helped make our stay worry free and enjoyable. We highly recommend them to any visitor.
The first stop was the main gate of the park to buy three day passes for US $40 each. The passes are for consecutive days. We had decided on leisurely visits to a few ruins rather than quick surveys of as many as we could cram into three days.  We took a guide on the first day and went by ourselves the remaining two.  Passes purchased and into the tuk-tuk, we drove out of the gate complex and started for Angkor Wat. The temple ruins are extensive and cover many square kilometers. Angkor Wat is only one of  perhaps hundreds of temples throughout Cambodia dating from the 6th century or earlier.


Apsaras grace the walls of Angkor Wat.


Nancy and Neil at the lily pond, Angkor Wat in the background.


One of hundreds of huge carved wall murals in Angkor Wat  galleries.

At the main gate to Angkor Wat, we were greeted by a small city of vendors, open air restaurants and an air conditioned cafe for the squeamish foreigner. The causeway over the moat is covered by blue plastic tarps for restoration.  A little disappointing, but that was the last time we felt that way. Once into the wat  itself, we were properly impressed. The large open spaces around the temple had once been filled with wood constructed housing for officials and priests. We had Park take the expected photo of us at the lily pond with the wat in the background.  We made the trip around the four outer galleries marveling at the bas reliefs telling myths and legends. The walls are filled with gods and historical facts mixed with magic. It is hard to imagine large numbers of carvers on scaffolding chiseling these intricate images into stone. The temples of the park have been both Hindu and Buddhist depending upon the religion of the political group in power. Angkor Wat is Buddhist at present. We moved next to the center of the wat and climbed the steep steps to the base of the middle tower and looked out over the countryside. All through the temple, we were amazed at the immensity of the building stones, the height of the walls and the beauty of the carvings that cover every surface.


Long gallery leading down one side of Angkor Wat.


Gallery carvings record historical evens and retell old stories and myths.


Nancy and our capable guide, Park San, in one of the outer galleries.


"Cruciform cloister" ponds leading to the upper levels of Angkor Wat.


Angkor Wat is now Buddhist and has several places of prayer.

Even though it left little time for dallying, we planned to visit three temple complexes on our first day. After several hours at Angkor Wat, we were ready to move on to the larger Angkor Thom which covers nine square kilometers and was a royal city containing residences, places of worship and government buildings and is the largest Khmer city ever built.  The complex has five gates, each topped with four giant faces. Four of the gates are at the four cardinal points and the fifth is a ceremonial Victory Gate.  We entered the city by the causeway to the south gate over the moat, flanked by large stone demons and gods.  


Neil and Park at the base of the central tower in Angkor Wat.


North view out the Angkor Wat Central Tower.

After passing the gate, it is several kilometers to the first of the ruins, the Bayon. This is the state temple of the ancient royal city complex and is known for its giant faces and the marvelous bas reliefs that depict everyday life and historical events. Detailed carvings of land and naval battles, court life, commanders riding elephants and cavalry in wild charges adorn the walls. Some of the relief is humorous such as a woman holding a large turtle which is nipping the man in front of him on the buttocks. The panels were a fascinating look at ancient ways of life as well as lovely works of art carved in sandstone.
Inside the Bayon, we made our way through long corridors toward the center of the temple. The inside is a maze of galleries, doorways and windows. Some lead to new hallways or small rooms that once held statues of the gods. Windows offer views of the towers or the grounds around the temple. One source book we read says that the Bayon was added on to and remodeled at least once with a change in rulers. Being the state temple, it needed to be in the direct center of the complex and it was easier to remodel than to tear it down and rebuild. This seems to account for the rabbit warren of doors and corridors within the original walls. 
Climbing up to the central tower brought us close to the large faces that look out from the thirty-seven lesser towers. According to our guide, almost all of these smaller towers have four faces. We were unable to see any that did not. They were magnificent. One visit to just one temple was overwhelming. There is so much to see that it seems one could stay here for years and never take it all in. 


Three of the four  faces atop the tower of the main gate into Angkor Thom.


This mural at the Bayon depicts everyday life of the past.


Doorways leading to the center of The Bayon.

The Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King are wide plazas possibly used as review stands for the kings and nobles during military reviews and games held on the field below. The sides of the plazas are decorated with elephants standing out from the wall and garudas, a half man/half beast. We were getting hot, tired and hungry. Park took us back to the open air restaurants for lunch. We bought a fresh pineapple and a galan to supplement our lunch of pork ribs. Galan is a rice, black bean, and coconut mixture stuffed into a bamboo section and cooked in an open fire. You eat it by peeling back the bamboo wood.


A Bayon face through a chamber that housed divinities.


Several of the 37 standing towers in The Bayon.


What a stone face!!
After lunch and several bottles of water, we were ready for our last temple of the day. We would visit Ta Prohm. This site has been left largely as it was discovered with minimal restoration. Trees grow over the walls and on the remaining roofs. Small parrots were screaming in the foliage as we made our way through tumbled pieces of stone laid out in some order for restoration.


A typical open air lunch spot.  The pork ribs were tasty.


Neil at the entrance to Ta Prohm.


An encroaching tree in Ta Prohm Temple.

The buildings at Ta Prohm are similar to others we have seen, but are less visited, quieter, and more explorable. We peeked into partially fallen corridors and climbed into dim rooms and passages to view hidden carvings,  always mindful of "critters" that  might be lurking there. Part of the film, Lora Croft, Tomb Raider, was filmed here. The locals are very proud of this fact and it was mentioned often. Many of the interior walls had never been carved. The artists' etchings for the planned carvings are still visible. The peaceful setting and the semi-restored site gave us the feeling that we had just come upon it while hacking our way through the jungle.


We are dwarfed by this massive tree root.


Waiting out a sudden shower at Ta Prohm.


 This little piggy went to market! Ingenious transport.

As we were ready to leave Ta Prohm, a sudden rain shower came up. It was pleasant sitting in the temple chatting with Park while waiting for the shower to pass. Park is 34 years old with a wife and two small boys. He has studied English for ten years and says he has been a student up until the time he became a licensed guide. Guides must attend university and speak several languages as well as  pass a test on general knowledge of the area and detailed knowledge of  all the temples before they are granted their licenses. As the rain lessened, we started for town. On the way, we passed several motor bikes carrying pigs to market. Park says they are still alive.  They seemed to be unconcerned about their fate as they rode along behind their drivers. We had had a wonderful day, but were glad for a rest in our room at the Golden Banana before walking into town for dinner.
The town of Siem Reap has restaurants and bars galore in all price ranges. We opted for the Khmer Cafe where good, plain, local food could be had for a reasonable price. We were interested to find that Cambodian food is not as spicy as the Thai dishes we had been eating. After dinner, a stroll through town brought the vendors and the beggars running. We gave small money to those who looked as if they needed a meal and avoided the vendors. The children selling bootlegged books and postcards were the hardest to say no to. The tourist office encourages visitors not to buy from children as they tend not to stay in school if they can make money on the street.


The dining area at the Golden Banana was a pleasant place to relax.


Land mine victims making a living playing Khmer music at temple sites.

Prak, our driver, picked us up at 9:00. We plan to explore on our own the next two days. We purchased Ancient Angkor, an  excellent guide book by Freeman and Jacques, so we have some idea of what we will see and the interesting features to look for in each temple. Our first stop is Neak Pean, a small island temple in the center of a lotus pattern made up of eight pools. The water here is thought to have healing powers. The temple itself sits in the center of the main pond.  In the middle of each side of the main pond is a  stone basin with a conduit that leads through the walls into four smaller ponds. The water emerges into the small ponds through the mouths of large stone animal heads. It was the dry season so we were able to climb down into the small ponds and view the water spout heads. Having no guide, we could choose a shady spot to sit and look closely at the detailed carvings on the central temple and the horse figure saving drowning sailors in the main pool.  We had the place to ourselves between tour groups. We listened for the disabled musicians playing at the entrance to the temple. Each time they began a new tune, we knew another  group was on its way in. As we left, we bought one of their CDs to help their efforts to support themselves without begging.


Neil  at the edge of the main pool of Neak Pean.


Neak Pean island temple with the horse saving drowning sailors.

The way to the eastern gate of Preah Khan is over a very bumpy track the locals call a "dancing road" because passengers bounce and "dance" all over the seat of the transport as they travel. After a short way, we had Prak leave us to walk the kilometer to the entrance. He went back and will meet us at the west gate. As we neared the temple we were met by the insistent vendors with all manner of two cent goods to buy for a dollar. We politely pushed on past the tall marker stones inscribed with garudas (half man/half beast), across the moat with its naga balustrade, and into the city itself.


Seven headed naga balustrade.

Preah Kahn was a monastery and university housing nearly 1,000 teachers. The living space was between the outer wall surrounding  the city and the inner temple enclosure. The carvings are marvelous, but  in some places not finished. The etchings of the carvers' designs are still evident. In the left picture background, you can see a building with round columns, one of the few such in the Angkor temples. Standing in the east entrance to the temple we could look clear through the passage to the stupa in the center. This spot is still an active place of worship. We sat and looked at the wonderful carvings at our leisure.


The stupa at the center of Preah Khan.

Most of the temples in the Angkor Wat Park Temple Complex have been used by  people of several different religions, depending upon which group was in power at the time. In the picture below, there are three empty niches in the stone wall. We saw many such in all the temples. These once held figures that were chipped out when temples were taken over by a new group of people. Other carvings and statues have been stolen by artifact hunters who then sell them to private collectors. It is not uncommon to see lovely stone figures missing the head. These have been broken off and hauled away by someone with a rich buyer in mind. The temples are now heavily patrolled in an effort to stop this sort of thing from continuing.


Intricate carving inside Preah Khan covers every surface.


Bicycling home from school .

Our day in the temples at an end, Prak took us to the Golden Temple Villa where we reserved a room for the next two nights. This would be our last in the Golden Banana. We did not wish to move to a new hotel, but the Golden Banana did not have space for our whole stay. We knew this when we checked in, but had hopes for a cancellation that did not materialize. Our stay there had been most comfortable and we were sorry to leave.
The next morning we checked out of the Golden Banana, took our bags to our new digs and then set out in the open air tuk-tuk the thirty-eight kilometers to our last temple, Banteay Srey. We saved this one for last as it is reputed to have the best carvings and to be one of the most beautiful of all the temples. The added bonus was a glimpse of the rural life of Cambodian people. The day was lovely and we putted along in the tuk-tuk while big tour busses and car taxis roared, honking, around us. We were in no hurry. We were enjoying the scenery. Our guide book reminded us that although it was all very picturesque, these people must work very hard to feed, clothe and school their families. The villages, rice fields and gardens were well kept and the people industrious. We stopped several times to ask permission to take a few pictures. Everyone was very nice to us. 


Motor bikes are used for everything.


Village school on the way to Banteay Srey.


Deep, intricate carvings at Banteay Srey.

Banteay Srey is a miniature in comparison to other temples in the area. It is constructed of pink sandstone and is carved with some of the most  beautiful, deep, and ornate images and designs. It is said to have a fairyland ambiance. After our first look, we would agree. The temple is surrounded by a laterite outer wall and moat, complete with pink and purple water lilies. Walking from room to room, we marveled at the exquisite carving and could not imagine how long it would take to create just one of the walls. In keeping with the fairytale feeling, we found the "princess" sitting in a doorway waiting for her mother to get off work.


Child waiting for her mother who works at Banteay Srey.


Nancy at one of the densely carved doors.

The innermost enclosure and courtyard was roped off and we had to content ourselves with craning our necks around corners to see it all. The stonework in this area covers every bit of space on walls, doorways and even roofs. The details are so tiny we wondered how they could be fashioned in stone. As you can see from the photo at the right, this temple too has been the victim of artifact thieves.
A walk outside the walls and around the moat gave us another view of the towers, chapels and galleries reflected in the water. This was truly the best. It is small enough to see the whole thing and the workmanship is astounding.


Is the statue stolen from here in a private collection?


Garuda and naga guard the doorway corner.


Center courtyard of Preah Khan.

After two hours in Banteay Srey, we reluctantly started back to Siem Reap. We wanted to leave enough time to see palm sugar being made and to buy some of the beautiful watermelons we had seen at roadside stands.


Pink sandstone apsara decorate the walls.


 Banteay Srey across the protecting moat.


Clay stove and pan used to boil palm sap down to palm sugar.


Neil buying palm sugar candy at a roadside stand.


One of many places outside the city to buy watermelon.


Rural Cambodian farm home.


The children found us pretty interesting.


Home surrounded by growing rice.


Bullock carts are still used in the rural area.


Road crew spreading hot tar over crushed rock.

The three pictures of the road crew working are for our friend, Paul Windust, who has a lot of experience with this sort of thing. These workers did everything without the aid of road building machinery. 


Heating the tar over an open fire.


The crushed rock was carried where needed in a basket.

The sights, smells and sounds of the countryside swept by us as we drove toward town. Many farms had rice spread out to dry in the sun and women were winnowing rice by throwing it into the air and letting the breeze blow away the chaff. At one farm, nobody was watching the rice and we saw a wiener pig helping himself. Youngsters on old style bikes rode home from school, the young ladies ramrod straight and the small boys sitting low on the crossbars so they could reach the pedals. It began to cloud up and we wondered if the rain  would catch us. We were in luck. It passed in front of us.  Back at the Golden Temple Villa, our new room is OK. We have cable TV with a few English channels.  We had a big lunch at the Dim Sum Cafe, excellent dumplings and interesting people watching. It can't get better than this!


Houses in a  village between Siem Reap and Banteay Srey.


Silkworms in cocoon stage.

Our last full day in Siem Reap would be spent at the National Silk Farm. Prak drove us the twelve kilometers through semi rural countryside to the farm. It is set up to teach students the process of producing silk cloth from silkworm egg to fabric. It is aimed at bringing the silk industry back to villages, giving young people work in their home setting. In the bargain, the center is a tourist attraction with a gift shop outlet for the students' work. 
The guide took us to the worm tending rooms first where we saw silkworm eggs and thousands of worms of different sizes being  tended and fed fresh mulberry leaves. There was a room filled with worms in the cocoon stage. Some of these would be allowed to mature to moths to lay more eggs. Others cocoons were set aside for making of silk. 


Winding the fibers off the silkworm cocoons.

Winding the silk fibers off the cocoon is a delicate operation that must be done by hand. The cocoons are floated in hot water to soften the "glue" holding them together. A tool of bundled twigs is swished near the floating cocoons until a fiber is picked up. Once the workers have a single fiber, they can start the process of winding the silk on a spool. The fibers are spun into thread, dyed and then woven into lengths of fabric and lovely scarves. Spinning, dying and weaving each involve many careful steps before a finished product is ready for sale. After seeing these people work, we understood why silk is an expensive fabric. 


Silk after being spun into thread.

The students at the cooperative learn how to construct the looms and other hand machinery that they need to produce silk. We recognized bicycle wheels, PVC pipe, engine parts and  fan belts in some of the equipment they had manufactured. These skills will be taken back to the villages and new industry will be started there. 
After a visit to the gift shop and the purchase of a scarf for Nancy, we went back to town for lunch and a last look around before gathering our things together in preparation for our flight back to Bangkok in the morning. Nancy took the camera out to take some last minute photos of the market in the town.


Weaving the dyed silk thread into a gorgeous silk scarf.


The local gas pump in Siem Reap.


Chicken anyone?


Street food in Siem Reap.


Beautiful fruit could be bought in the market.


Flower stalls had lovely blooms for sale.


Nancy couldn't resist the pattern made by stacks of dried fish.


More dried fish.


Baskets are used for everything here.


Nancy with Prak, our wonderful driver and source of information.

Prak picked us up the next morning for the drive to the airport.  Foreigners are not allowed to rent vehicles here so the choice is hiring a car, tuk-tuk, or motorbike driver. We have been very pleased with the open tuk-tuk and Prak was an excellent driver for us. We have enjoyed our stay in Cambodia and wish we had more time to travel to other parts of the country. The people are lovely.  Few are rich, but they are clean, hardworking people who keep up their homes. The children seem happy, loved and cared for.  The homeless poor were not so much in evidence in this tourist town, but we know this is a huge issue in this country. Siem Reap has several orphanages and an enormous hospital for children on the edge of town. We wish we had more time to do some volunteering at these places. We saw only this one small area and cannot say what the rest of Cambodia is like. Friends who have traveled more extensively say that the road system is difficult and that other areas are less recovered from decades of war than the tourist center of Siem Reap. We probably have not seen the "real" Cambodia, but are happy with the tiny glimpse we have had.

Nancy and Neil
Yacht Haven Marina
Phuket Thailand