The Eighth Wonder

We awoke early on our second day (first morning) at 4:15 am to head out of Siem Reap to Angkor Wat. As I mentioned previously, we spent a long time planning this trip, reading Lonely Planet and talking to friends who had been to this area for traveling tips. The universal conclusion from these sources was that one day is not enough time at Angkor Wat; however, if you are dedicated and willing to put in a very long day, you can manage to see quite a bit. As we only had one day available to us at Angkor Wat, the decision of one day, three, or a week (these are the types of passes you can buy) was taken out of our hands. Rather than give you a step-by-step summation of my wanderings through Angkor Wat (which could get a little boring – example, I walked down more stone corridors) let me tell you a little about Angkor Wat itself and fill you in on some my thoughts and impressions along the way…

Angkor Wat is actually the name of one particular temple that was built outside of Siem Reap, but has come, in modern times, to refer to the original temple and a large group of temples that now surround the original structure. Angkor Wat itself (the first of the temples/palaces in this area) is incredible and the outline of the building can be found on the Cambodian flag, seal, etc. There is no way to properly describe Angkor Wat, it is simply too grand and too amazing. To reach the temple itself, you must first cross a bridge that spans a huge moat and then pass through a gateway that allows entrance through the large walls surrounding Angkor Wat. The building itself is amazing, filled with columns covered in Khmer writing and statues from Hindu and Buddhist religions. Angkor Wat feels sacred in some indefinable way. No one visiting the temple would feel comfortable running or shouting. Instead, we wander through the hallways in silence, with only the occasional whisper, as if to speak up would disturb or offend this place that remains a beloved religious symbol to this day. Angkor Wat is the most well preserved temple at the site, having survived the effects of time due to its huge religious significance and the Khmer Rouge’s temple destruction due to the fact that Pol Pot thought it represented the ingenuity and creativity of the Khmer people before the “imperialist corruption.”

Subsequent kings commissioned other temples to be built on surrounding land, creating a large group of huge stone temples and temple complexes that served as Cambodia’s capital and religious center for centuries. While all the temples are beautiful and noteworthy, there are a few that have more colorful backgrounds…

Angkor Thom stands to the left of Angkor Wat, a quick five minute tuk-tuk ride away. Surrounding this temple complex is a series of gates at the cardinal points along with a fifth gate that was termed Victory Gate. The main temple in this complex is Bayon. Bayon is an incredible structure that has a squished feel to it. The temple has as much stone as Angkor Wat, but occupies a much smaller space, making it feel cramped and jammed together. The outside walls are covered in friezes and bas relief, which depict ancient battle scenes. Rising high above the outer walls are fat, circular spirals that have giant, smiling faces, which look out over the landscape. Now, this sounds like an impressive sight, and even in its current state, it cannot help but impress the viewer; however, the temple is not quite as well put together as my description depicts. You see, in 1905 or so the French colonizers of Cambodia “rediscovered” Angkor Wat and undertook a project to excavate this series of temples. When they reached Bayon, they evidently decided that it would be a good idea to take a temple apart to see how it works. Therefore, they took down the temple, stone by stone, carefully labeling each and drawing up a map so that, once done, they could reassemble the entire structure. Although I detest the thought of anyone tearing apart such a magnificent structure, I suppose they were working under a decent plan…decent that is, until they lost the map. Yes, my friends. The French lost the map of how to put the temple back together again. For the past sixty years or more, the French (and others) have been working to put Bayon back together again and it is still not done. Row upon row of stone blocks can be seen sitting and waiting outside the temple and as you wander around within, it is easy to find areas where they have clearly reassembled it incorrectly, where lines do not match up and faces are a bit off. For this reason, Bayon is now known as the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle. :)

Another temple of note is Ta Keo, which was built by a king of Cambodia to honor his mother. This temple was also featured in the movie Tomb Raider (for those of you up on your pop culture), although only a small bit of the outside of the temple was used in filming. This temple is particularly noteworthy as it is covered in trees! By “covered in trees” I do not mean that trees are growing inside the temple and the forest has retaken it. No. I mean, that trees have grown on top of the temple. Stone walls are now topped with huge trees that soar above the canopy of the surrounding forest. No trees grow on the ground in the temple, but are instead content to slowly crush the stone down, sending roots through the roof of the temple and down the sides to reach the earth. It is an amazing sight to see; trees bigger around than ten people, slowly eating the temple away.

Our time at Angkor Wat was incredible. We hired a tuk-tuk for the day through our hotel, which meant that we drove from one temple to another, with our driver waiting for us as we explored each building for hours. We began our day by watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat, before continuing the circuit around to the other temples and sights. While I have told you quite a bit about the beauty of this place and a bit of its history, Angkor Wat also has several detractors. I knew before going that this was a huge tourist destination where hundreds of people visit each day, but for some reason I was surprised by the huge amount of people visiting. The temples (particularly the main temples – Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, etc.) were crawling with other tourists so that no picture could be entirely people free. Outside each temple, were stalls and tents filled with wares being sold by local people, paintings, scarves, books, mini-temples, etc. As soon as you begin your walk toward the temple or leave the temple you are surrounded by Cambodians shouting for your attention, “Lady, lady! Visit my shop.” “Lady, nice silk scarves, good deal for you.” “Buy a painting, lady?” etc. Each face carries a look of desperation and every time you say no, they appear a little more crestfallen.

We caved to the pressure to buy only once, when I bought two books from one man. Cambodia does have several bookstores, but the best place to buy a book is on the street or from people carrying books to sell in a plastic basket. These books are seconds – having had some defect that prevented their sale to Western nations. In most cases this was caused by some minor misspelling on the cover or a double printing on one page. Natives then take these books and sell them to tourists for very low prices (I bought one oversized paperback for $3). The only trick you need to know when purchasing these books is that you should flip through them to make sure all the pages are there and all are legible. The first book I bought was a book about Angkor Wat, so that I could read a bit more about these temples and Cambodian history. The second book was one that was recommended by Lonely Planet and Talia as a MUST read. “First They Killed My Father” by Loung Ung is a book written by a woman who lived through the rule of the Khmer Rouge when she was a child (5-9 years old). It tells her story and the story of her family from the period just before the start of the Khmer Rouge, until she left Cambodia for a refugee camp in Thailand after the Vietnamese liberated Phnom Penh. It was an incredible book and one that I would recommend everyone read. I read it while traveling on my various 5+ hour bus rides, which was incredible. Reading this book while in Cambodia made me look at the country and city with new eyes, finally understanding some of Cambodia’s idiosyncrasies as I read one account of what life was truly like under the Khmer Rouge for these people. If you have been inspired at all by my blog to learn more about Cambodia, please read this book.

We ended our day in Angkor Wat earlier than we expected, at 2:00 pm. We had originally planned to stay at the temples from sunrise to sunset, but a day of walking on hard stones had made our feet, ankles, and knees ache and the constant barrage of desperate pleas to purchase goods from the people made our heads ache. At 2 pm, therefore, we retreated to Siem Reap, heading home to our hotel for a quick rinse of our dusty legs before we set out again for the Old City of Siem Reap to find a place for lunch.

We ate lunch at a restaurant, Angkor Palm, along the main road of Siem Reap. Our lunch was delicious, a sampler of native Cambodia cuisine, which is quite different from its neighboring countries, featuring actual seafood and fish. After lunch, we headed over to a spa/massage parlor (the legitimate kind, not the prostitution places that are all over Phnom Penh) for an hour long foot massage to revitalize us. The massage felt good once again, although nothing they could do could completely cure my feet of the pain of walking on hard stone steps for over nine hours. After our wonderful massage, we headed over to the Night Market area where Saem and Zenia had another type of foot massage…

All over Siem Reap there are stores and sidewalk vendors advertising the amazing “Dr. Fish Massage.” What is the Dr. Fish Massage, you ask? Well, it is a tank of water filled with small fish that eat the dead skin off your feet! Yup. Stick your feet in the tub and the fish will attempt to eat you alive, bite by bite. Now, I have long had a fear (some might call it irrational, but after this who can really say that?) that small fish would eat my toes. You see, when I was around 12 years old, my brother Scott took me and my sister Jana fishing at Amador Lake. While Scott was off buying our permit to fish and swim for the day, an old man told us a story of a large white bird landing on the lake one day. The bird was quite large, weighing around twenty pounds or so and it simply sat in the center of the lake, content to swim in the pleasant water. Just as the bird was ready to take off, to fly somewhere new, an enormous fish rose out of the water and swallowed the bird whole. I’m sure you’re now thinking, “But that’s ridiculous, Lauren. The fish wouldn’t have done that and why on earth would that give you a fear of little fish if it was a big fish that ate the bird?” I’m not really sure. I know the story is probably outrageous and not true, but that day, when Jana and I went swimming, we saw a ton of little fish swimming around our toes beneath the surface of the water. I’m not sure if Jana suggested they might be thinking about eating me (she had a tendency to tell me outrageous things like that when we were young) or if I thought it up on my own, but I became convinced the little fish were plotting to eat my toes. I am still convinced. And now…I have proof! These “Dr. Fish Massage” fish are actually eating you! How is the whole world in denial that the little fish are evil?! Nothing could convince me to join Saem and Zenia in the fish foot massage exercise. Instead, I watched from a distance, snapping photos of the horrendous sight – hundreds of little fish slowly eating my friends alive while they thought it was funny.

After we extracted what was left of my two traveling companions from the jaws of death of the little fish, it was time for the Night Market to begin and we began to wander through the stalls once again, enjoying our final night in Siem Reap. After we had completed some necessary purchases (be prepared for some souvenirs people!), we went to “Pub Street,” which is an alleyway full of bars and pubs. We ate and drank (well…sipped in my case) at a bar called The Temple. By 11 pm we were exhausted and ready for bed, so we called it an early night (after a LONG day) and headed back to our hotel, where I was asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.