Siem Reap and the Khmer Temples

We arrived in Siem Reap full of anticipation for the temples of the Khmer dynasty, including the famous Angkor Wat, located in the surrounding area. Although we had been forewarned by fellow travelers, we were still stunned by the level of tourist-oriented development in the centre of Siem Reap – a Disney-like “Night Market” and “Pub-Street” with neon signs, loads of fancy hotels and restaurants, merchants and tuk-tuk drivers everywhere trying to solicit business. Fortunately there were still some quaint and quiet roads off the main drag, where we found a hostel that fit the bill. Garden Village Guesthouse had very, very basic rooms, but it had all of the necessary components that we have come to look for as cheap backpackers – clean and comfortable mattress and a fan.  It also had a big bonus feature – wonderful rooftop bar with great ambience and cheap drinks.  We wouldn’t necessarily recommend staying at the Garden Village for the rooms, but the bar was a fantastic place to hang out, and the neighbourhood had good cheap restaurants around. Part of the fun of travelling in this part of the world is going out for every meal, and Cambodian dishes are delicious – fresh stir-fries, barbeque and curry, yum!

We opted to rent bicycles to explore the temples over the next three days, and loved every single minute of it.  The sites were reached by a short ride through the crazy traffic of the town centre, followed by a long stretch of quiet tree-shaded road to set the mood for the spectacular ancient structures. It often felt like we were going back in time, to witness the works of an ancient civilization that built their wonders out of stone.  The Cambodian people are rightfully proud of this heritage, and the sites were well very well marked and maintained.   

Over the three days we saw many of the sites, but nowhere near all of them. It would take weeks of exploration to see all of the temples. Given the three days at our disposal, we picked a few of the highlights.  Our first stop was Angkor Wat with its beautiful and imposing façade framing the large interior grounds surrounded by a moat.

The sheer scale of the structure was imposing, and even the “small” outlying buildings were awe-inspiring.

 The walls were almost entirely covered by intricate stone carvings and sculptures that captured scenes from that bygone era, with exquisite jewellery, imaginative dressing, and the full trappings of life at court. It was not surprising to discover that one of the reasons for the downfall of the enormously powerful Khmer Empire was the bleeding of its people and resources in order to make these fantastical monuments.  However, while they were at the peak of their power, this extravagant civilization must have made for a splendorous sight.

 We then headed over to one of our favourite sites, Ta Prohm.  It felt like walking into the set of a Hollywood movie (in fact Tomb Raider used this location), with massive, gnarly trees growing into and out of the stone buildings, illustrating how time catches up with all things.

In such a setting, Patricia could not resist performing the Yoga Tree pose.

With the light filtering through the trees, the moss and lichens that make their home on the ancient stones glowed a soft green, lending our exploration of the ruins a magical feel. 

We headed over to a nearby temple in the late afternoon as we had heard it was a great place to watch the sunset. It was a good bike ride away, and we were rewarded by the sight of golden sun painting the brick stones of the temple a deep orange.

We climbed the steps to the top and sat on the age-worn smooth surface to admire the view of the dense tropical forest that surrounds these ancient sites.

 The sun set in a blaze of colours, and we biked home in dusk light exhausted and content with our full day.  We chalked up some karma points on the way when we noticed a young couple at the side of the road with bicycle trouble and stopped for Ben to lend a hand getting the rickety two-wheeler fit to travel again.  They were incredibly thankful for the help, and with a warm glowing feeling inside we returned to our hostel and enjoyed a well-deserved beer (or two…) on the rooftop patio with fellow travelers.

Over the next two days we explored the massive site of Angkor Thom, which we found even more impressive than Angkor Wat. The Bayon temple was incredible with striking stone profiles facing out from every side of the many towers. This temple was built by Jayavayarman VII (whom we will call Mr J for short) who identified himself with one of the old gods and built the temple in homage to himself/the god.  These faces were disturbingly similar to Ben’s, leading to a brief god complex, but mostly it made for a fun photo-shoot.

We were lucky with the weather, and sat under the watchful eyes of the Ben/Mr J demi-gods enjoying the sunshine.

Our next stop was the terraces of the Elephants and Leper King.  We had fun roaming around the site, and there were many places to just sit, take a deep breath of the warm tropical air and admire the view.

We climbed the incredibly steep stairs that are present at almost every site (definitely not wheelchair accessible!) in order to enjoy the view of what used to be the Royal Grounds of Mr J’s reign during the Khmer period.

The sites were so large and buried within the jungle that at times you could almost feel lost, an intrepid explorer discovering new trails and wonders…

…especially when the view on the other side is fantastically cool, like an Indiana Jones set…

 On our second day of exploration in Angkor Thom, we attempted to navigate some of the less travelled dirt roads and ended up taking shelter underneath a huge stone gate when a powerful rain storm suddenly hit. Some local ladies pedalled up, completely drenched and joined us until the weather improved. After leaving our refuge we enjoyed our last ride back into town and caught up on some shopping at the Night Market (last chance for cheap SE Asian goodies).




The next morning we awoke bright and early to catch our plane to Kuala Lampur, our last stop in SE Asia before heading into the westernized world again. Australia was just around the corner…

It was a bittersweet goodbye, as we enjoyed our last tuk-tuk ride to the airport. Looking around, we knew we were going to miss the crazy-fun parts of Cambodia – scooters carrying everything from entire families to livestock, roadside markets selling everything from spiders to banana-leaf wrapped goodies, but most importantly, the smiling, happy faces of the Cambodian people. Even on our short ride to the airport we got big hellos from all of the kids, and so it was that we departed Cambodia with the local attitude having rubbed off on us – big grins on our faces too.  This amazing nation was definitely our favourite country in Southeast Asia, it is rich in its most important natural resource – super friendly people!!