Angkor and Siem Reap

My final day of Angkor did not disappoint. We went about 80 kms outside of the city to a temple that has been left totally to the whims of the jungle. Much of it has been reduced to rubble as a result of trees and roots growing through, and then breaking down the walls. It is much more overgrown than the Tomb Raider one of the previous day. This temple was was used in the filming of the movie "The Brothers" about a couple of tigers. During the filming, they built a few wooden walkways through the ruins to accommodate the film crew and tiger cages, but Samso accompanied me into this temple and ensured that we didn't take the easy way through. I was glad I had him with me as I never would have found my way around the ruins without him. We spent the morning scrambling over rocks, climbing crumbling stairs , walking along perilously high walls and generally scaring me silly. I should have paid more attention to the guidebook which called this a "true Indiana Jones experience" and worn something a little more practical than a knee-length skirt. It was very comfortable and cool, but I think poor Samso got to know a bit better than he expected. I spent much of the morning with my skirt up around my waist or doing a Marilyn Monroe imitation as I jumped off of rocks - am very glad that I had chosen comfort over attractiveness in picking my undies that morning :-).

As Samso had promised, there were only a handful of people at this temple so it was very quiet. He was very patient about letting me stop and sit in particularly beautiful spots and just soak up the atmosphere. It was really special.

Following that temple we came back closer to town and visited a group of three temples which date back a bit farther than most of the others (9th century as opposed to 12th). They are entirely Hindu and built as shrines to Shriva. They are quite different from the others, and two are quite small, but they still held a real interest for me and I was entirely alone in the largest one of them for a while.

Samso took me for Cambodia's national dish for lunch. This is called amok and is a curry served in a fresh coconut. It was absolutely awesome and I don't want to eat anything else while I'm in Cambodia. Those Khmers can chisel and cook - what a great combination. Samso filled me in a bit on his family's history and his memories of the civil war. He lost several family members in the killing fields but his parents both survived. He suspects his father's good luck was that he was the youngest in his family. He was one of only two men in his village to survive. The stories here are absolutely horrifying and heartbreaking, especially since they are told with such nonchalance. I can't even get my head around losing a quarter of a country's population to civil war, but this is just a reality for Cambodians.

After lunch we went to my final temple. This is built on a hill so it affords great views. Because of this, it is the most popular spot to watch the sunset. I chose to be down from the temple by 4:30 when the sunset crowds began their ambush, which proved to be a brilliant plan on my part. I had the place almost all to myself and could see miles over the Cambodian countryside. There are great views of Angkor Wat as well as other points of interest in the area. As I was descending the hill, I fought against the tide of people on their way up for the sunset. I had a nice chat over a beer later in the evening with a Swedish girl I found in a market restaurant. No room in my belly for dinner after the amok at lunch.

I haven't been sleeping well here and was hoping for a nice late lie-in this morning. Alas, the street noises had me up just after 6:00 so I'm tired and cranky today. I'm doing my best to be polite and cordial to everyone, but am afraid I might have to punch out the next tuk-tuk driver to solicit my business. It's particularly frustrating here because they are just so aggressive but also so needy. Half the people trying to sell you stuff are either missing limbs from a landmine or are under 7. The guilt is enormous but you just can't give money to, or buy goods from everyone.

I wandered around Siem Reap this morning and found that once out of the market area (similar to Ottawa's market area) things got a bit better. I took a nice walk along the river and was left in relative peace there. I even stumbled into a totally non-touristic part of town where the kids all called out hello without trying to sell me anything. It's nice to know that that part of the country still exists, even though it's hard to find.

Tomorrow I'm off to Phnom Penh by boat. The ride is suppose to be somewhat less comfortable than the bus, but there is a lot to see along the lake and river so I think it will be worth it. It's about a 5 hour journey. I am hoping my room in PP is a bit quieter than the one here. I'm sure a little sleep would go a long way towards bolstering my tolerance for the touts.

By the way...Bill Clinton was at Angkor the day before I arrived and apparently made quite an impression on the locals.