Angkor Wat

Kih kih kih kih... honestly, we've been here for 5 days 4 nights, but there was no sunrise at Angkor Wat for us at all. What do you expect when at time we woke up, breakfast was almost close at the hotel!

Despite the scorching sun at mid noon, on our DAY-2, Mark and I still think it was a great idea we come to the temple at then. We both agreed that there were much less tourist, due the heat of course. :P

Paid like $40 for 3-days pass, then move on to Angkor Wat as our first stop.

The moot surrounding the temple itself look majestic enough! What more of the temple itself!

Ahhh... and the Angkor Wat look majestic even from afar...

We took this while waiting for our sunset at Phnom Bakheng, not bad...

Walking nearer to the temple, we found that the Apsara authority finally doing something I could see with my eyes, that is they've put on smaller wooden steps all around the temple. In fact, later on when we visited other surrounding smaller temples, we found them to be covered with similar steps too. Its great compare to literally hiking up the stoney steps.

Contrary to popular believes, this temple was never lost in the jungle at all. And another less know fact was that, the temple was build more for the tomb of King Jayavarman VII. How do we know??? The book says so of course... kakaka... no lah... we know because we can see the main gate was facing the east side, symbolizing the direction of death in Buddhism teaching...

What can I say about this place, it looks so empty really...

looting were rampant ages ago...

Some of the carvings were patched by, but got looted again... geez...

While most are looted years ago, the remained ones are kept by the Ministry of Cultures together with relics from surrounding old temples. Private viewing are by invitation only. Apparently there are still loads of good stuffs being kept there, but who knows where it will be lent to eventually and never return???

Loads of carvings around. the wise man... Buddha figure, apsara dancers... still looking fine despite the years gone by. Most famous are those surrounding the outer walls.

And one of the most well known one is the Churning of The Ocean Milk -- The War Between Good and Evil, cheered by Angels churned out from the bubbles of the sea. Heh...

By the time we reached the center court yard, we were greeted by these tall pagoda like thingy, with such narrow stairs. And so they say, the footsteps to Heaven is never easy!

Mark decided he is going to try going up despite me being the wet blanket. He succeeded actually, only to find that he got weak knees after clambering all the way to the top! How to get down???

Summore got these kind of signs all around...

Surprisingly it didn't take us that long to finish with this first ever temple... oh well... we are not really temple freak I guess.

Plus the hot season weather is really killing us... you can see how many drink stalls on the left side of the main temple building waiting to sell you something...

While the right side most tourist decided to hide under the tree... gosh!

It is a dilemma really whether to come in Dry season or Wet season. Dry = Eat all the dust; Wet = Get all muddy on your favorite shoe. Take your pick...

Tonle Sap: Home is wherever the heart is

After our lunch, we begin to realize how hot the weather can turn to be. We chose to run back to the 4WD that we hired for the day, sweating profusely at all time. Not sure where to go next, I quickly suggested that we should just as well go to the Tonle Sap for a lake cruise.

Well... before we even begin the journey, we were brought to the boat agent in town to get the ticket at USD$20 per person (only 30 min ride). Along the ticket, there were some loose change that were suppose to be a "bribe" or sort at the check point before arriving at the lake.

Then, the driver drove over the bridge that link the older market, into what eventually turned into a laterite road that is full of potholes.

It is my first encounter with how local people live their lives here. Not surprisingly most house has a nipah roof and knitted walls. I bet it must've been leaking on rainy days.

There was a market when we just moved out from the city, mostly displayed on the ground laden with plastic sheets.

The further we went, houses eventually turned into hut. Mostly doesn't have electricity nor water supply.

Drinking water is supplied by a truck in those plastic blue containers, while for normal washing, people walked to nearest hand-pumped well for supply. Most of the wells we found around Siem Reap were donated by various bodies. They all have a sign on them saying who donated this and that well.

Though most doesn't have electricity, but they keep in contact with the outer world with a small back and white tv connected to a 12 volt car battery.

These huts are mobile it seems. When the water rise too high, then it will be the time for them to collapse the walls and roofs, moving everything to higher ground. Like a hermit crab...

Arriving at the so called pier, mostly just boat parking aside, we were whisked into a boat start our journey. The waterways... together with the whole lake is really muddy, musked with a very strong fish smell. Water level is so low, that people is standing in the mud doing some fishing here and there.

There are some work done here, probably to dig the bed deeper but I really doubt it will work with the amount of siltation going around the whole place!

There's much to see here with that $20 we've paid. Past a NGO funded floating school, then cruise around the so called floating village.

Everything looking rather glim here, even the boat house look so simple and empty. But still I managed to see someone snoozing away like in wonderland feeling at peace. Guess home is wherever the heart is!

We then stopped at a floating souvinir restaurant. There really aren't that much to buy here, seeing most of stuffs look similar from what you can get in both Thailand and Vietnam, at a more expensive price of course. All the tourist were being push around for drinks, or walk to the catfish enclosure, or the crocodile enclosure.

Not surprise, 'villager' around started coming nearby by row boat making the kid to sell us something. This cute boy was asking $1 for a bunch of bananas.

Hmmm... it was tempting really seeing how anxious he wants the sale done, but I hold back as I don't really need to carry bananas with me.

Rain soon announced its arrival with thunderous noise and splitting lightnings. Our boat guys was not at all keen in letting us go as we hardly bought anything here. But alas, they've got no choice when I angrily told him to go. Still, when we came back, they actually demanded big time tipping from us, something like more than $1 one person!!! So be warned!!!

Viewing Siem Reap from A Top and From Real Life...

Viewing Siem Reap from atop in the air, I managed to get a glimpse of the town (not city really) at my own leisure.

I've been to many places throughout the years. And each time prior landing, that I think it is the best chance to get a feel how the country economically by just looking from afar.

I saw that mostly are unplanted paddy field, which I think that it is actually dry season now. Probably that explain why the town seemed to be enveloped by a thin layer of dust.

There are not many buildings around, mostly congregating at this so called National Highway 6, ending up east at an intersection, with one side leading to the Angkor Temples, while the other side at the old market.

There are big rivers flowing around the Mekong delta, and flood into the Tonle Sap when wet season come by.

Can’t really see the temples from sky, probably they were covered by the trees around the temple area. But apart from there, there were very little trees around. Words were flying that the Cambodian government had them all chopped down, sold them and pocket all the money after that.

After being around here for 3 days, I tend to felt that there are much more that can be done on this big flat piece of land. However, everywhere we go, we were stricken by the look that everyone seemed so poor, and country seemed war torn. There were beggars without leg, children pulling our clothes hoping we would buy something from them, mother with babies asking us to buy something as well.

Most people can be seen trying very hard, means and ways to make ends meet, but there are just so little to do around Especially on a dry season like now when they can't plant any rice, you really catch them sleeping everywhere, anywhere.

On the other side, rich people thatpaved the road to a certain tourist attraction and charge heavy tolls, police guarding temples asking entrance fee. There is also this Sokha that does the ticketing ($20 a day) for Angkor temples but keep most of the money for their own 5-star hotel investments elsewhere. Biggest joke of all is the USD$25 airport tax being levied onto us prior departure, when the airport was offering nothing special at all!

Thus, it is not too long before I come to a conclusion that the Government in reality has done very little for their own people. Worse is that since NGOs are everywhere here, and that the Government decided to let the foreign fund help its own people, eventually it become a norm the top level pocketed the funds siphoned from various channels.

It is sad that in past the country was one of the most populated and advance country, yet now turned to such war torn condition. Perhaps the Angkor Temples will stand another thousand year looking at their people suffer, but will this country able to rise up improving its people’s living condition by maximizing what the Angkor Temples has to offer?

I won't know about that, but for now I do know I had enough of being make a charitable tourist by the people peddling their poverty around.

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Pictures of Siem Reap and Angkor from danachow

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/danachow/sets/72157600115099195/