Angkor Wat

Prepare yourselves - this is a big one...

Having just spent 30 hours exploring the temples of Angkor, we are well and truly knackered. But how brilliant was it?! What a place. Our good fortune started with our selecting the best tuc tuc driver in Cambodia...actually that sells him short, the best in SE Asia, we are sure. Vuthy was hilarious and initially we only hired him for the trip from the bus station to the guest house on our arrival in Siem Reap. In the midst of the most horrendous scrum of drivers bustling and shouting for our custom, Vuthy stood quietly at the back holding a sign reading "I do not want to hassle you. I only want to take you where you want to go." Sold. If only more Khmers had clocked this business tactic. Andy actually lost his mind with the crowd (something I have only witnessed twice before) when he couldn't see me or either of our backpacks. We sped off in a cloud of expletives, already fearful of the level of harassment awaiting us in Siem Reap. Although the police were there, they did nothing to keep those naughty men in order.

There are several less than-honorable schemes going on in Scambodia at any one time. A popular one being you ask a tuc tuc or motorbike driver to take you to a guest house and he might say it is closed for redecorating, that it has gone out of business or simply that you have made a very bad choice. Whatever the score - he will take you to his mate's place and bag a nice little earner. The most common scam we have encountered involves getting a bus to your next destination and it takes you to a guest house of their choice, where they receive commission. You aren't under any obligation to stay there, but they make full advantage of the fact you will be knackered, hot and sweaty and saves you the bother of looking elsewhere. Sometimes the guest house will be decent, but more often than not it will be crap - much better to do your own research.

So, not having tried any of these tactics, we deemed Vuthy honest and gentile, and hired him for the next three days. Day one of our grand temple tour saw us crawling out of bed at 4:30am and returning around the same time in the evening. The reason? We were following Uncle Bison's advice to see Angkor Wat emerge from darkness on the first day. Not only does this afford fantastic photo opportunities, it is much more cool and serene, which generally makes for a happier Sammy :)

For those of you who don't subscribe to National Geographic, Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world and was once the centre of the ancient Khmer empire. Preserved in the Cambodian jungle, the many temples of Angkor were built between the 9th and 13th centuries, by a succession of 12 Khmer kings. Angkor Wat is the mother of them all and the most famous, but all in all, the temples cover an area of 112 square miles. Angkor Wat is thought to have been built as a royal mausoleum as it faces West ( the direction of death) and is a magnificent shrine to the Hindu god Vishnu. Taking 37 years to construct by an army of artisans, architects and stone cutters, it is instantly recognizable by its five great stone peaks. Although many of Angkor's temples were damaged significantly during the Khmer Rouge business, Angkor was not attacked, in order that the prime example of Khmer wealth and ingenuity be preserved. Many of it's Buddhist shrines were destroyed however as the Khmer Rouge wanted to rid Cambodia of Buddhism.

Today though, shrines have been recreated and within it's walls are monks (usually elderly ladies) offering you incense to "Pray to Buddha - good luck." Given that Buddhists believe in preserving all life, I wasn't too sure about the sentiments of one monk who was brandishing a stick at a trespassing monkey. He was certainly very tame and we took lots of photos. It was only when he was about to sink his teeth into the calf of a German woman did we realize the potential risk the rabid creature posed and we legged it.

The steps to the towers make for a terrifying ascent (and even worse descent). They are narrow, steep and crumbling - the addition of a delicate handrail on one side does nothing to reassure. They are supposed to lead to the celestial realm of the Gods and I focused on this thought as I knew for a certaintly that Andy would be helpfully photographing my ample arse from below. My boyfriend never lets me down - he is always predictable. The galleries of bas-reliefs are amongst the most extensive in the world and depict historical and religious events such as battles, ceremonies and dancing. The most beautiful depict the apsaras or celestial dancers which are carved in more than 1,700 places. Each has individual characteristics such as hair ornaments, clothing and jewellery. On occasion, there is some nipple tweaking, which I think leaves us in no doubt about whether the carvers were male or female.

Perched at the top of the scary stairs by one of the towers on our first morning was a Westerner sat in the lotus position, meditating. I can't bear that sort of pretetious behaviour and wish that either Jamie or Bruce could have been there to witness it. Other than scores of middle-aged Koreans and a few fat Americans who looked like they were actually melting, nobody annoyed us too much. Whilst it's a shame you are allowed to scramble all over the stones on the ground, there were still the odd few who like to climb on the actual monuments. Wondering why the breasts of the apsaras were a much darker colour in some places than others, we were informed it is because of all the lads who cop a feel for an "hilarious" photo moment.

We were fearful of horrendous crowds, but sunrise is the best time to go. Although many pilgrims choose this time to visit, sometimes you can strike it lucky. Probably our favorite temple was The Bayon Temple, which belongs to Ankor Thom. Today we headed there for sunrise and were the only people there! Amazing. Characterized by a series of over 200 enigmatic faces, you are watched at every movement. Said to represent the bodhisattva of compassion, they were also modeled on the king who built the temple, Jayavaraman VII. Through this, the king also became God-like and hence his power expanded across the universe.
Another third fave temple was that of Ta Prohm. Built as a Buddhist temple and monastery, evidence of the damage trees can do to the temple structures is apparent. Strangler fig trees cause destruction the the buildings, but are also integral to them - to remove the roots would result in further undermining. Even so, it adds to the appeal and interest. This is where they filmed "Tomb Raider" and with the deafening sound effects from the jungle, you really do feel like an intrepid explorer. Circadas, crickets, frogs, grasshoppers, birds and monkeys all add to the magical ambiance. We met a group of kids nibbling on a bag of beetles and stopped with fascination to watch. I'm not sure what came over Andy, but sparked by a moment of
spontaneity, he took one and joined in with their feast! It took him a while but eventually came up with "nutty & salty" and apparently, "very nice." However, I couldn't bring myself to kiss him for the rest of the day.

Banteay Srei was a further 25km NE of Angkor, but worth the journey as the artistry of the carving is said to be amongst the finest in Khmer history. It is intricately carved from pink sandstone, which makes it uniquely beautiful. What it lacks in size it makes up for in exquisite detail and is the only temple to have been almost totally restored. Unfortunately, we didn't get the timing quite right as it was very busy when we visited it.

We bought a 3 day pass which by Asian standards was quite expensive at $40 each, though it is free to Cambodians. It is such a shame though that few can afford to make the journey to Angkor. The tuc tuc was an extra $10 per day - very good value considering Vuthy ferried us about from on temple to the next and with some very early mornings! There are numerous vendors to test your patience in the mid-day heat - mostly children selling butchered or homemade bracelets. "No thank-you" is not a deterrent to any Khmer, young or old. And they always have a quick response. You can try saying you already have one, but this will be met with a "You need another one," or "You buy for your friends at home." You can try waving the bottle of water you are drinking at a kid selling drinks and they will say "You buy for your driver, he looks tired!" Another favorite is they will say "Where you from?" Your reply will me answered with "Capital: London, Population 10, 000,000. I speak your language, you don't speak Cambodian, therefore you buy my postcards." Or they will ask for money so they can go to school - they have thought of every possible tactic.

Siem Reap itself is actually very nice and I'm grateful to get Andy away from the distractions of Sihanoukville. Considering we were staying in the very small backpacker area of Weather Station Hill, there were at least four flourishing establishments offering all manner of services, in all probability for the cost of $10. One night we'd just spent a relaxing day on the beach and Andy seemed particularly keen to go into this one bar. He quickly took his seat facing out onto the street, ensuring I was facing inwards. An unusual seating arrangement as I always like to have the best view. During a quick game of cards, Andy seemed more distracted than usual and I seemed to be winning every game. Becoming increasingly annoyed with his lack of attention, I looked round to discover he had in fact been enjoying an altogether different type of entertainment. The scantily clad "ladies" in the pink-lit bar were getting down to a spot of pole dancing. Filled with Western men, they bars seemed very busy. This didn't stop them propositioning my boyfriend as we walked along and on more than one occasion I was told "Your boyflend velly handsome!" I do think Andy was having a whale of a time and has suggested we return to Sihanoukville soon. His request has been declined.

So, nice one Angkor - I've been divinely inspired to do some art. In the meantime though, I'm off for a rejuvenating massage to help my aching limbs...$10 for 2 hours! Blissful.

Please enjoy are extra-special limited adition length Angkor Wat slideshow.

And...for the first time... the Andy and Sam blog is proud to host its first short film.
Please enjoy 10 seconds of Sam walking past Angkor Wat.
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