Cambodia Travelogue

February 4, 2004 - 3:45 pm - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - 31 C Partly Cloudy

(Tony) Hello from Cambodia! We arrived here in the capital on February 1st, and were met at the airport by a familiar face - Bruce from Chetwynd! It was a very nice change being picked up at the airport, and combined with Bruce booking a room for us, it was easy to settle in.

So far, most of our time in Phnom Penh has been similar to our arrival - laid back and relaxing. This has been good, as we've done a lot of catching up with Bruce. The weather here keeps one from doing too much, as it's so hot in the afternoon, all I want to do is stay in the shade (or better yet, in air-conditioning!). However, we have battled the heat and dust to see the surprizing sites of Phnom Penh.

We arrived in the afternoon, and after having some dinner, we headed down to the riverfront for a walk. On our way to the riverfront, we saw how many open areas there are in Phnom Penh. This is quite a contrast with cramped roads and sidewalks that we have been seeing throughout our trip. The lanes of one main road is separated by a wide green space lined with trees, and a wide brick sidewalk runs on either side. Krista said that it reminded her of Paris, which shouldn't be that much of a surprise, considering the historical French influence on this area. We also passed by a park where some musicians were performing in a small ampitheatre. It looked like about a hundred people had gathered to listen. What was particularly interesting was the fact that this seemed to be a drive-in concert, and all people listening were still perched on their motorbikes or scooters.

As we approached the waterfront, the sidewalk became busier and busier. Sidewalk versions of restaurants were everywhere. These consisted of a large wicker mat laid on the sidewalk, with a small, gas fired cooker in front, and the chef/waitress does the preparation and serving.

Besides the sidewalk restaurants lining the riverside of the road, a multitude of sit-down restaurants line the other side. These are mainly aimed at tourists, and serve anything from local (Khmer) food to French to pizza to western food. The riverfront was filled with people, both tourists and locals, and the air had a very positive feel to it. I wasn't too sure what the safety situation was like in Phnom Penh, but my mind was put somewhat at ease by the many families that were out. It was a nice introduction to Phnom Penh, as we even walked past the Royal Palace, and caught a glimpse of the spires of the various buildings over the surrounding wall.

The next day we visited a Wat, the central market and the royal palace. This was a rather long day, with lots of walking in the afternoon heat. Wat Phnom is set into a small hill, and is one of the highest point in the city. Luckily, it is not too high, as Phnom Penh is a rather low city, due to that fact that, historically, it was forbidden for one person to stand above another. The Wat was very nice, and contained some newly repainted frescos of the story of the Buddha (some old ones still remained and showed how badly damaged they were from incense smoke). The lush green surroundings provided some protection from the heat and a nice breeze kept us up there for some time.

One thing that we found at the Wat was the abundance of beggars that were missing a limb or several limbs. I am sure that this is mainly due to the abundance of landmines and unexploded ordinance that I have read about. It is impossible not to want to help these people out, but very difficult to know who to help. When I saw one man with no arms past his elbows, I had to give him at least a small amount, but when I did, many others showed up asking as well. As I said, it's impossible to help them all (I read that 1 in 250 Cambodians has lost a limb from mines and unexploded bombs). It's just another sad reminder of how much these people have been through.

After leaving the Wat, we had a seat in a park, where there was a small "incident." I was reading about the central market, in this nice, clean, green area with lots of trees and shade. There were several people around, playing with their kids, enjoying the relief from the heat and chatting quietly. As I was reading, I felt something on my foot, and thinking it was a fly, just wiggled my toes to get it off. It was still there, and as I felt it start to crawl underneath the strap on my sandal, I looked down to see a millipede on my foot! It was only a couple of inches long, but it was the last thing that I expected at that time, so I jumped up (yelling at the same time), and kicked the thing off. I saw it quickly move off into the grass, and I looked around to see almost everyone looking at me. Many were laughing, so I think they knew what happened. It was pretty funny, and I think that I yelled quite loudly. After all that excitement, we moved on to the central market.

The central market is housed in a large building that is surrounded by smaller, ramshackle vendors. You can buy clothes, watches, silver, and electronics there. Krista and I both picked up watches for relatively cheap (I paid $10 for a "New Swiss Army" watch).

After looking at knock-off watches and CD players, we went to meet Bruce and visit the Royal Palace. I'll continue this story a little later, as we are going to watch the sunset from a riverside restaurant...

February 5, 2004 - 3:35 pm - Siem Reap, Cambodia - Extremely hot and not a cloud in the sky

(Tony) Back to my story...Once we both bought watches at the central market, we walked over to the Royal Palace to meet up with Bruce. From the outside, it is easy to see that the Royal Palace is magnificent, as golden spires and multicoloured, tiled roofs rise up over the tall surrounding wall. Inside, the large complex is a grand display of large wats and chedis, with lots of well-groomed green space. The pagodas are built for several purposes, such as dinner halls and throne rooms. These buildings are single story (with very high ceilings) and rectangular, with a ceramic tiled roof and a tall spire topping it. The roof tiles are mainly yellow, with a green and blue border, and all colours used in the various parts of the pagodas have meaning. For example, gold (or yellow) represents the colour of Buddhas skin, while greens and blues are supposed to bring good fortune. The building itself represents a (or several) naga, which is a mythical multiheaded serpent, with the tall spire on top of the pagoda representing the nagas tail pointed upward - another auspicious sign.

There are several tall and very detailed chedis also around the complex, usually containing the ashes of a King. However, the single biggest highlight was the silver pagoda. This is a building that houses a great amount of treasure, including solid gold Buddha statues that weigh up to 90 kg, and are covered in large diamonds. The floor of the inside of the building is made of silver tiles (and this is not a small building). Our guide mentioned that all of the tiles amount to many tonnes of silver. It is a spectacular building, and quite suprising to see that much wealth concentrated in such a small area (especially considering that Cambodia is such a poor country).

For our tour of the Royal Palace, we hired an english speaking guide, and that was well worth the 5 USD. He was very informative and was definitely proud of his country, his King and the Royal Palace. His passion for his country made his stories all the more interesting.

After that long, hot day, we decided to keep our itinerary rather short the next, heading to the Russian market for a little while and then visiting the Killing Fields located just outside of Phnom Penh. We discovered that the Russian market had nothing to do with Russia, but was cheaper than the central market. There was still a wide variety of goods for sale - clothes, music, software, electronics, and souvenirs. It was very cheap, and I was able to buy the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies on DVD for 5 bucks! (I just hope that they work) It has been easy much easier to buy things now that we are close to heading home, and the low prices here make it even easier! It's also a nice feeling to add to the economy of Cambodia (in my opinion).

After giving the Russian market a thorough going over, we headed in a tuk-tuk to the Killing Fields. It was a dusty ride out there, as the roads outside of the city are not paved, and Cambodia is surprisingly dry. I wasn't sure what to expect, except that I knew that a memorial to the victims had been built. For those of you who don't about the recent history of Cambodia, it is a very sad tale of a ruthless leader coming to power and forcing his ultra-communist ideals on the country. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, and from then until 1979, they tried to create a society of labouring peasants. To accomplish their goals, they abolished currency and mail systems, cut off contact to the outside work, and also began killing any opposition. The killing targeted the educated in particular, and it is estimated (depending on the source) that up to 1/5 to 1/3 of the population at that time was murdered. In the Killing Fields close to Phnom Penh, the skulls of 8000 victims (men, women and children) are on display in the memorial tower. These were unearthed in numerous mass graves around the site. Many more mass graves were not unearthed, and the clothes and bones of victims are easily seen, only partially covered by the ground around the site. The site is very emotionally powerful, and it is almost unbelievable that such a thing could happen. There have been many times during this trip that I have felt very lucky to be living (and to have been born) in Canada, and this sense was particularly strong after visiting this site.

The next day (Feb 4) was rather slow in comparison to the previous days, but a bit of a rest was needed, as the heat was definitely wearing me down. We had a second visit to the Russian market, did some work on the internet, and then went down to the river front for dinner and drinks in the late afternoon. Again, the walkways and grassy areas by the river were very busy with both tourists and locals alike. One common activity of local men is similar to hacky-sack, except the "sack" is a pile of poker chips with a hole drilled through the centre and a feather pushed through. Some rubber bands give it some spring, and a group of guys kick it around. The kicking sometimes involves letting the poker-chip birdy go over one's head, behind the back and kicking it with the bottom of the foot. They are remarkably accurate with this, and can launch the birdy quite far. It's great fun to watch, with the clicking of the chips on each kick, and a terrific show of accuracy.

Another past time of the locals (not just men) is snacking on small mussels from the river. I'm assuming that the mussles are cooked, but we only see them spread out on a table, covered with a spicy powder. When eating one, it is put between the teeth and chomped on to open it, the insides are sucked out, and the shell tossed on the ground. The tell-tale signs of these snacks are found all over the streets of Phnom Penh, and particularly along the river front.

After enjoying some food and drinks at a couple of the open air cafes, we headed home, looking forward to a flight to Siem Reap the next day. I have been looking forward to Siem Reap for some time, as it is from there that we can visit the Angkor Wat.

We arrived in Siem Reap in the late morning, and checked into a hotel recommended by our hotel in Phnom Penh. The Golden Angkor is a good place to stay with large doubles, A/C, fridge and private bath for 15 USD/night. We arrived a couple hours before Bruce, who had taken a boat from Phnom Penh that same morning. The boat would have been a great option, if we had known about it. Our guidebooks had only mentioned that the boat ride was not all that pleasant. From Bruces experience, the boat was a great way to travel to Siem Reap, with lots to see along the way.

Once settled in Siem Reap, we grabbed something to eat at a great restaurant called Amun. Our waiter was of particular note, as he was only 10 years old, and spoke excellent english, knew everything about the items on the menu, and was very professional. In fact, he was probably one of the best waiters that we have had in Cambodia!

That night, all three of us went to an open-air dinner and traditional dance show at the Chao Praya Restaurant. The buffet dinner was excellent, if expensive, and my only wish was that I had a bigger appetite. The traditional dancing was very well choreographed, and even included several children dancers. There was even a very entertaining reinactment of the Hindu tale of the Ramayana. All the dancers seemed to enjoy what they doing, and that fact added to the entertainment value of the show.

The next day was one that I had been waiting for - visiting the Angkor Wat. Some pre-planning was needed, as the Angkor area has a multitude of temples, the Angkor Wat being only one of them. A variety of entrance tickets are offered and have varying degrees of value. We opted to not buy the 4 day pass, for 40 USD/person, instead buying a one day only pass for 20 USD/person. Most of the major temples can be visited in one day, and one could get "temple-overload" with a several day pass, I think. We also arranged a "Cambodian tuk-tuk," which is a motorcycle pulling a two wheeled, two person covered wagon with a bench seat. The driver agreed to pick us up at 5 am (so that we could catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat), and drive us around until sunset - all for 10 USD!

The next morning we woke up at 4:30 am, and got ready for our big day at the Angkor temples. The first thing on our agenda was to get to the Angkor Wat for the sunrise. It was surprisingly cold outside at that time of morning, and it was a brisk trip to the Angkor Wat. The Wat is surrounded by a thick wall, and it was pretty creepy going through in the dark. Once inside the large complex, details of the main temple could be seen from the light of the full moon. It is hard to keep your eyes of the spectacular building with it's main cone-shaped tower reaching up over 200 m in the air. It is surrounded by 4 smaller towers that are on top of the corners of a wall around the main tower. We watched the sun rise from a few hundred meters outside the wall surrounding the main tower. The sunrise was itself was not all that remarkable, as some clouds covered the horizon, and prevented the sunrise from turning the sky pink or red. Instead, the amount of light steadily increased, revealing more and more detail in the temple.

After watching the sunrise, we visited several other temples including Angkor Thom and Ta Phrom, as well as a few other smaller temples, before heading back to Angkor Wat. The sheer number of temples, as well as the size is one thing that makes the Angkor temples so impressive. The design is another - combining both architecture and art. In Angkor Thom, the temple towers above the tall palm trees, and huge smiling faces protrude from towers and walls. Detailed bas-reliefs cover the lower levels, depicting anything from famous battles to everyday life. Still another impressive feature is the jungle location - some temples are still being "reclaimed" by the jungle. At Ta Phrom, the temple has purposefully been left only partially restored. The effect one gets from walking around the site is that you are discovering the site, after many years of only the jungle knowing of it's existence. Trees are going on top of temple roofs, and have sent roots through the stone structure - in some cases collapsing part of the structure, and others simply becoming part of it.

We returned to the Angkor Wat around noon. As I said before, the main tower is surrounded by a square wall with a smaller tower set into each corner. Around the inside of wall run bas-reliefs that are said to be the longest reliefs in the world. They are highly detailed, beautifully carved and depict scenes of Hindu mythology, as well as historical battles of the Khmer people. Inside the main tower are two separate levels, one level housed one thousand Buddhas at one time (only a few remain), while the upper level . All of the towers have a pine-cone like shape, consisting of several small steps that are lined with small statues. The overall effect is that the outline is very distict and original. Some good photos can be seen here.

Two of the temples we visited, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were actually cities, protected by the outside walls and moats. The wooden houses are long gone, but the stone walls and temples remain. The Angkor Wat itself was built around 1130 AD, and is well preserved, with fine detail still in the bas reliefs. This site definitely ranks up with Macchu Pichu and it was a terrific experience to have been there. The only bad experience was the pushy vendors at the temples more frequented by tourists. I would like to say that it's not the tourists that cause this, but I'm sure that it is, as Cambodian people are very kind and gentle everywhere else.

With the sheer number of temples in this area, I am sure that it is an archeologists dream. It is a photographers dream, with the different light at different times of day providing one endless photo opportunity.

That's it for me for now!

February 5, 2004 - 4:09 pm - Siem Reap, Cambodia - Too hot for the mercury to read

(Krista) Well, I must admit, Cambodia is by far the most exotic, and politically unpredictable country I have ever stepped foot it. Only 28 years ago, in 1975, the Khmer Rouge took power, with their Moaist ideologies, and began a massive genocide that rivals, if not surpasses anything that took place in world war II. Anyone who has seen the movie, "The Killing Fields" will definitely know about the atrocities commited by the Khmer Rouge, led by the infamous Pol Pot. Millions of people perished by starvation, overwork, or outright massacre because of this leader's desire to create a peasant society complete void of any intelligence, ambition, foreign contact or political opposition. He massacred ministers, teachers, foreigners, doctors, lawyers, intellects, journalists, and their families. Even those deemed intellectual (ie, people who wear glasses) were punished by death. He essentially wiped this country of a future. In only four years, between one and three million Khmers had perished at the hands of this regime.

Luckily, in 1979, the Vietnamese stepped in and ousted Pol Pot. He ran into Northern Cambodia jungle to hide and control guerrilla activity. Here he increasingly paranoid, culminating in him ordering the murder of his ministers and entire family, and then his own death in 1998; signalling the end of the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot aside, however, the continuing rule of this country has been rife with corruption, extortion, assassinations and civil wars. First with Vietnamese rule, creating wars with the US and other western countries (who, at this point were supporting the Khmer Rouge because they weren't a communist threat, only a threat to their own people). I'm not going to go into any details of these wars because, one I don't know all of the details, and two, there is plenty of reading material available surrounding this. Check out any guidebook on Cambodia, or "Off the Rails in Phnom Penh", by Amit Gilboa.

The recent wars taking place on Cambodian soil, both international (US and Vietnamese), and civil have left thousands of undetonated land mines and UXOs throughout rural and urban Cambodia, which are to this day still killing or maiming thousands of Khmer a year (Apparently the US is mainly to blame for this, as they are the ones who planted these weapons of war). For this reason, travellers are all warned not to step off heavily trodden paths when going into rural areas, or even when wandering around the Angkor Wat area. Tony and I have yet to see the famous "Land Mine" signs, however yesterday, while making our way back from Angkor Wat to Siem Reap, we passed a number of fields that were bordered by signs stating "Battlefield Clearance Areas", or "Demining Zones". Today I saw a "demining" truck driving down the street.

I would love to go into detail about Cambodia's current two-party government system (two prime ministers!), as it is full of shocking amount of corruption and almost weekly assassinations of polictical representatives, public personages or opposition media folk, but I would be going on for hours here. Nevertheless, only one scan through the "Cambodia Post", sold through the ubiquitous underage street vendors (ie, child labour) on Phnom Penh streets is enough to fill you with horror as you read about an assassination that took place only a few days before your arrival, and only two blocks away from your hotel.

In addition to political assassinations, apparently common folk and tourists are subject to shootings and murders. One trick of the Phnom Penh "moto" drivers (scooters that function as cheap taxis) is to take unsuspecting tourists into back alleys, instead of their expected destinations and rob them, or even murder them. This almost happened to an unnamed friend of ours only a few days prior to our arrival. He and his expat friend (who was entirely familiar with Phnom Penh) were riding home at 11pm at night on separate motos. Suddenly they turned down a dark alley, and the expat friend started grabbing at his moto driver's neck, obviously in some form of a struggle. The driver then turned around back onto their intended route. Needless to say, Tony and I were very wary of travelling on motos at night, and resisted walking down any back alleys, or travelling solo. As much as we could, we'd travel with Bruce in a "cyclo", a four person trailer attached to a motorcycle, rather than solo on a moto.

One aspect of a country that Tony and I have taken to observing is the citizen's age of majority. This country is the most unique, as almost everyone is under the age of 40, married and with many children. I believe this is due to Pol Pot's mass extermination 25 years ago having eradicated up to 25% of the population. Once ousted, survivors underwent a baby boom, which has continued to this day. Although not as insane as Nepal, children of all ages are seen everywhere. The difference here is that the children are part of the workforce, and are very well-spoken in English. I have had many decent conversations with children, between the age of 7 and 12, who were trying to sell things to us, or were serving us in restaurants. One of these children that most stands out was a young boy, aged 11, who was serving us at the Amun Restaurant here in Siem Reap. He was by far the most professional waiter and well-spoken we have had in weeks. Any question I asked, he could understand and answer, and would even offer helpful suggestions. Further to this, when we was finished serving us, he was outside doing work for their guesthouse when other employees resorted to sitting around. What a guy.

Because of their recent history of civil war, corruption, and political mis-governance, this country obviously suffers from immense poverty, with the average income being about $150 US a year. Even so, their is an optimism and sense of peace that gives it much wealth (although some seem to have large animosity towards the Thais). Even the annoying and overly-aggressive beggars, touts or street-vendors can be joked around with and do not leave one feeling exhausted like those in Nepal, India or Egypt. Actually, the begging and touting for small trinkets is the most aggressive here than anywhere, likely because of our teeming westernized wealth, but when we refuse, they don't get angry. In Egypt, when one refused, the touts would get sometimes become very angry or agressive, mumbling things about how we should contribute to their economy or even make threatening statements such as "welcome to Saddam you Americans".

One jewel about this country is that it isn't quite overtouristed. The infrastructure isn't up to par with many countries we have travelled (ie, roads or travel agencies, and the overall lack of guided tours), and most people must resort to independent travel here. For this reason, tipping at bars and restaurants hasn't become an expectation yet. By just leaving a few cents for someone really makes a difference, evidenced by the huge grins we get when we tip someone. The most remarkable reaction to a tip we have had ever came about when Bruce Jaques (who we have been hanging out with alot here), Tony and I finished up at a restaurant and left our server a tip of $1.50US. She looked at us with the most shocked eyes, and asked. "Is that really for me?". We nodded and she stood there silently shocked while we packed up our stuff and walked out.

Because this country is stumbling to get its adminstration together after the Pol Pot regime, and recent independence from the Vietnamese, they don't quite have a solid footing in economics, health care, tourism, environment, and the list goes on. As a result, non-governmental organisations (or NGOs), their pristine SUVs and their staff of expats are everywhere. United Nations, Oxfam and other high-profile NGO vehicles are seen plying the roads and parking lots of hotels in both Siem Reap, and Phnom Penh (moreso in the latter). Job wanted ads in the two national newspapers are rife with NGOs looking for people to help. This country is so populated with them that, an ad I read in Phnom Penh actually labelled central Phnom Penh as "NGO land".

One thing these NGOs have been active at is the education of their people in human rights and HIV. I understand that there is ongoing education in the use of condoms, which has drastically reduced the incidence of HIV here. As for human rights, an active advertising campaign we have seen often on TV is oriented towards the rights of children - their right to an education, health care, a home, privacy, and a right NOT to work at such young ages. I could only imagine what has led these NGOs to put together such agressive campaigns.

With respect to currency, this country is the least independent, and the most unusual we have ever visited. They do have a paper-only currency, called the Riel, commonly found in denominations of 50, 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 (other larger and less common denominations are found). Like Malaysia, their currency is fixed to the US dollar, at 4000 Riel per dollar. Unlike Malaysia, however, US dollars are the main currency for purchases over $1. Thus, one does not carry Riel, they carry US dollars everywhere (except for small purchases like tuk-tuks or motos). All prices in hotels, stores, restaurants and even at markets are quoted in US dollars. The thing that confuses me is when making cash transactions that include fractions of a dollar (such as $1.20), you must speak in thousands of riel. For example, $1.50 is actually $1 and 2000 riel. Or when paying for a $10.40 meal using a $20 bill, you get $9 and 2400 riel in change. I guess this really confuses my brain, as I am totally used to dealing with a decimal system (ie, $1 is composed of 100 units of cents), rather than 4000. Thus, I end up thinking that $1 is composed of 1000 riel, instead of 4000 riel. For this reason, when I have to pay $0.50, I start to give 500 riel, or 600 riel as $0.60, and thus intially underpay until I am looked at with blank looks or until Tony politely corrects me. I don't know if this makes sense to anyone except for my stubborn decimal-based brain...

Because the US dollar is the main form of currency for tourists, prices are much higher in this third-world country than any other. My understanding is that locals use the riel, foreigners use the dollar, and thus a major two-tier pricing system exists. Even so, we rented a tuk-tuk (a motorcycle that pulls a two-person carriage) and driver for a flat rate of $10 US. Even though we only took up 7 hours of his time, our originally agreement was to hire him for 13 hours - a very economical rate. Our hotels, with huge rooms, AC, TV and hot water have costed us $15US a night. Besides the Angkor Wat entrance fees (at $20 US per person per day....), food is the most expensive thing. Meals for two people in a decent restaurant (no street food here), including one drink each and tip, sits at around $12. This is likely the highest average for food we seen yet. Needless to say, however, in most countries, we have been snacking on street food, but not here in Cambodia - too risky given their lack of health standards and infrastructure. Bottled water is not cheap either, but I think that has to do with their two-tier currency system, whereby they know us tourists will pay more, so they charge more. All other third-world or developing countries we have visited have had cheap, and posted prices for water, not so here.

Surprisingly however, name-brand liquour is extremely cheap. In grocery stores, one litre bottles of Smirnoff vodka are available for $8.50US, Kahlua at $8, Gordon's Gin at $6.50. Even Johnny Walker whiskies can be had for $9 to $15US. In a country where blended fruit drinks are $1, it is hard to believe they can charge so little for imported alcohol.

February 7, 2004 - 2:29 pm - Siem Reap, Cambodia - So hot, I can hardly breathe

(Krista) Well this afternoon we are leaving Cambodia, one day earlier than our original itinerary had planned. This evening we fly back to Bangkok via Bangkok Airways from Siem Reap. Originally we had planned on spending two full days here in Siem Reap, and at the Angkor Wat, but are cutting it down to only one full day (yesterday). Even though Siem Reap is an extremely relaxed town, it has only one major tourist destination: the Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. Because there are so many temples and ruins, one could easily spend a full week exploring (but keeping on the main paths to avoid land mines). However, all of the most popular temples can be seen in one day. We were originally going to venture out to the temples for two days, but the price being so steep (at $20 US per person per day, or $40 US for a three day pass), we spent all day yesterday breezing through five temples, including the famed Angkor Wat at sunrise. Because we have only minute knowledge of Khmer architecture and history, one day was more than enough gain an appreciation for the obvious wealth and power of the Khmer Empire in the 10th to 12 centuries. So having seen the only real site in town, and having caught an obligatory "traditional dancing" show at the Chao Praya restaurant, we have decided to leave. We could spend much more time exploring the culture, and exploring the rural areas, but the state of the roads in Cambodia is so bad, that travelling only 100kms requires many hours, and much energy. This is so much more than we could afford being so close to the end of our trip (ONLY 8 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!), so we are closing up shop and moving on to Bangkok, a sacrifice because this country is so very enticing, but as my brother once prophisized - "you have to leave something to come back to". I guess this is our ticket back to Southeast Asia!

As Tony and myself have mentioned, yesterday we were priviledged enough to catch one of the world's greatest "lost civilizations" stuctures: the Angkor Wat. Although not quite well known, this site parallels the Taj Mahal, Macchu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, and the Pyramids in its grandeur. Although it wasn't originally on our itinerary when we began planning this trip, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to come here when we realized we had seen so many of the greatest wonders of the world on our trip (the Pyramids, Colliseum of Rome, Acropolis of Greece, Macchu Picchu of the Incas, and the Taj Mahal in India). The Angkor Wat's reputation as one of the world's wonders is definitely deserved. These huge temple structures were built between the 10th and 12th centuries by the Khmer Empire, which once dominated most of Southeast Asia, including what is now Vietnam, Laos, northern Thailand and some of Myanmar. The wealth of this empire is definitely shown in the size of the huge temples, walls and monuments that remain in the Angkor area, only 5km north of the present Siem Reap. Each structure is so heavily adorned with bas-reliefs and carvings in the sandstone, it must have taken years or thousands of people to construct. The most famous of these structures is the Angkor Wat, a gigantic funerary temple for the most prominent king of the time, that contains likely the world's stone sculpture in the world: the Gallery of Bas Reliefs. This gallery runs the perimeter of the temple's first level (there are three levels), a total of 700 metres, and depicts scenes from the Hindu epics, such as the Ramayana (ask Tony about this, as he's read a condensed version of it) and the Mahabaraja. The best bas relief, in my opinion, is on the eastern section of the northern wall, and depicts the Hindu legend of "The Churning of the Ocean of Milk", where gods and demons churned the ocean for 1000 years using a large "naga", or cobra, in order to create the elixir of immortality and thus ignite the beginning of the world. Does this make sense? Not to me, but the bas relief is awesome.

Along with the wat, there are ruins of the Angkor Thom (or city) to visit, a walled city that once contained over a million inhabitants. Only a few temples and terraces remain, as most structures were built of wood. Other minor temples, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva or Vishnu can also be visited, and unsafely climbed using their near-vertical, and unprotected, stairways. The Bayon and Ta Phrom temples were the major highlights for us. The Bayon temple has 54 towers, each of which is topped by four large carved heads, supposedly the image of the same king mentioned above. Ta Phrom is especially awesome and picturesque because of its location and state, not because of its carvings (although the apsanas, or nymphs, on the deteorating walls are cool). The Angkor adminstration and reconstructors have decided to leave this temple as it was found, with fallen and lichen-covered stones blocking off passageways, and tree growing out from underneath pathways. The most amazing thing is the jungle that has actually growing ON TOP of the structure's walls, with the tree roots reaching down the into the ground. I wish I could better describe the sights of this temple; I hope my pictures do the temple justice.

One of the Angkor complex's most attractive feature is its surroundings. Completely buried within the jungle, you feel that you could be the first person to have stumbled upon the structure in hundreds of years. Furthermore, all temples and structures are covered in very dramatic colours of lichen and moss. Looking out from uptop any of the temples over the countryside, one can only see forest and jungle for miles. This aspect of peace and solitude really makes me wish I could just go and sit uptop for hours with a book; if only it didn't cost me $20 a day to do so.

A really cool feature of the Angkor complex is that it is relatively untouched by tourism, like the pyramids or mayan ruins in Mexico. The steep staircases aren't yet blocked off, or even roped, meaning you can climb anywhere, or explore every little dark corner of these complexes (although it is discouraged due to poisonous snakes and bats). Also, there aren't may tourists around - Tony and I had many of these temples to ourselves when we visited. Even the Wat wasn't very populated. Also, all temples are actively used by locals for worship, and the remaining Buddha statues (images) are covered in prayer flags, and fronted by the ubquitous yellow candles and incense (most Buddha images have been pillaged and sold on the black market). Further, monks are seen wandering all around the major Wat - a sign of its importance in the Khmer's current religious life, and a sign that tourism hasn't yet overcomed the area.

I mention that the temples contain, or once contained, Buddha images, but yet the temples are Hindu, and Khmer architecture is largely Hindu. This has largely to do with the country's religious history. The Khmer Empire in its full glory was Hindu, primarly worshipping Shiva and Vishnu. Thus the temples are decorated with images of both gods, and are constructed in a pyramid form to represent Hindu's sacred mountain: Mount Meru (in the himalayas). Furthermore, the moat surrounding the major temples, are meant to represent the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, which was said to take place upon Mount Meru. Once found all over the temples, is the phallis, or linga, a symbol of devotion to Shiva (most of these symbols have been stolen).

Hinduism prevailed for a few hundred years, until one of the Khmer Empire's kings suddenly embraced Mahayana Buddhism as the major religion. Thus many of the temples became adorned with Buddha images and other iconography. Hinduism regained power once again, but was quickly replaced with Theravada Buddhism, which remains the primary religion of today's Khmer people. Because of this Hindu background, much of the Khmer's beliefs are grounded in this religion, and are fluent in the accompanying myths and legends, such as the Ramanyana.

Like I said, we are off to Bangkok today. I am very much looking forward to returning here to explore the country further, and I hope to do it soon before tourism becomes more prolific, and the country still retains its youthful, optimistic and naive feel.