Angkor Wat

We left off in Phnom Penh, now off to Siem Reap!

Wednesday morning of my vacation I woke up early, packed my stuff, and went to the reception desk to check out around 6:30. Go figure, there was nobody awake! I put my bag down on a chair and just walked around the hostel until someone who worked there heard me and came out. It only took a few minutes before a guy was behind the desk sleepily getting everything in order.
This was a frustrating process. I had the hostel book my bus ticket and they told me to check out the next morning at 6:30. One would think after getting such instructions that they would have someone awake and ready to get you checked out. When he figured the cost of the room, food, and the bus ticket it came to a total just under $20. Of course, they didn't have any change available. He tried to get me to buy something, but I told him I wouldn't. He had to call his boss in to get me change. Once everything was settled they told me to wait in the lobby and the bus would stop for me outside around 7. It didn't.
At 10 minutes past 7 I asked if they were sure it was coming. The lady impatiently told me to just sit and wait. I asked again at 7:30, and began to voice my frustration at 7:45 asking if they even called the company at all to tell them to get me. They arranged for a tuk-tuk driver to just take me to the bus station and I got there in time to get rushed onto the bus just moments before it left at 8:00.
I guess I would add this as another reason I would NOT recommend the #11 Happy Guesthouse in Phnom Penh.

The bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Riep took about 5 hours, with a rest stop about halfway through. The scenery was pretty much the same as the other buses I had taken on this trip, though more river and field scenes. The rest stop was a bit more interesting than the previous ones I had been to. It was a tiny market area with a bathroom. They had a few tables selling fruit, chips, and water; there were also vendors selling fried tarantula, grasshopper, and cockroach.

 A guy I met on the bus picked up the tarantula for a picture, but I will note he did not eat it.

We continued on our uneventful bus ride to Siem Reap and got dropped off at the bus terminal. Upon exiting, every passenger was harassed by about 50 tuk-tuk and motobike drivers. I even had one guy show me his name badge and said he was from the hotel. When I asked what hotel (being a smartass) he just said "What hotel are you staying at". I kept trying to walk away when he grabbed me by the arm to lead me to his tuk-tuk. Then a very nice guy from behind me politely asked where I would like to go and said he would take me anywhere for $3. I immediately said ok and he got the other guy to leave me alone. This turned out to be a wonderful decision. The driver's name was Taat. He is 25 years old and moved to Siem Reap to become a tuk-tuk driver to earn money for college, which he needs $400 to attend.  He has been working for 2 years and still has not saved enough money. His parents are poor farmers in the country side. He turned out to be great company during my stay.
Anyway, Taat drove me to my hotel, but it turned out to be a lot further from the bus station than either of us had thought. It was about a 20 minute drive from the bus station. When we got there, he didn't charge me any extra money even though it was far. He asked if he could take me around during my stay and we agreed to $12 a day to go wherever I wanted around Siem Reap.

I stayed at the Paradise Eco Resort. It was a really nice place for $10 a night. It had a nice room, a good restaurant, a bar, a pool, bicycles, and a computer for use. I would definitely recommend this place, though its a bit far from the city you can easily hire a tuk-tuk or just take a bike there if you have enough time.

After checking in I had planned on taking a bicycle to find an ATM, which I was told would take about 20 minutes on bike. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I had run out of money at this point so needed to visit the ATM. Luckily (or creepily, i'm not quite sure) Taat was still at the hotel. He offered to take me to the ATM and back to the hotel for no money. So he did, this was quite nice of him. After he dropped me back at the hotel he left and I had dinner, read by the pool, and got a good night of sleep.

The next morning I woke up and had a delicious breakfast of eggs, toast, baked beans, fruit, and orange juice. Just as I was finishing Taat arrived and we headed out for my first day around the Angkor Wat complex!

Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat, meaning "City Temple", is not one temple, but a huge complex of temples that were built in the early 12th century for King Suryavarman II.  Originally, it started out as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. 27 years after King Suryavarman II's death, the temple was conquered by the Chams who were traditional enemies of the Khmer. Jayavarman VII restored the empire and the temple was gradually changed to a Buddhist site.

Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious site. It was built as a representation of Mount Meru, center of the world and home to the gods in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain cosmology. The temple complex is a source of great national pride of Cambodia. It is a beautiful temple of Khmer architecture and intricate reliefs telling religious myths.

While I was in Cambodia, I spent 3 days going around the complex. This is a sufficient amount of time to see most of Angkor Wat. I typically spent 6-7 hours each day. The first day I did the "Small Circuit" which takes you first to Angkor Wat temple and Bayon, then to Banteay Kdei and all the minor temples in the area. The second day I did the "Large Circuit" which I started first at Bayon because I wanted to see it a second time, then we went north to Preah Khan, then east to Ta Som and down to Ta Prohm, and all of the temples along that route. The third day I spent seeing the Rolous Group.

map

There are plenty of vendors around the entire complex selling snacks, food, drinks, and souvenirs at decent prices. I will note that this is probably the best place to buy souvenirs in terms of prices. You can haggle to get lower prices, but I found that even the asking price they give you is a lot lower than in the market.

 Ta Prohm is a temple that was built by Jayavarman VII as a shrine to his mother. The main attraction of this temple are the massive trees growing out of the buildings. It is also famous as being a site where Tomb Raider was filmed, and you will hear tour guides constantly taking pride in this fact.

My favorite temple was Bayon, in the middle of Angkor Thom. Built by Jayavarman VII as a city, it is enclosed by a wall and surrounded by a moat. The roads that lead into and out of the city are lined with statues; 54 gods on the left and 54 devils on the right. Bayon is a temple of 54 towers with the face of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha) on all sides. 54 is a representation of the 54 days of the lunar calendar of the two circle moon and is considered a lucky number. (http://www.kimsoryar.com/DetailleftRight/Details.aspx?id=33)
I have also read that the number 54 was used because 5+4=9 and 9 is a lucky number.

Angkor Wat really is a beautiful complex. I am glad I was able to go and had 3 days to spend going around the complex during the day and just relaxing by the pool in the evenings. On my last day, after seeing the last set of temples, I went to the market, had dinner, and got a massage before going to the airport.

The food I had in Siem Reap was delicious. I mostly ate chicken and rice dishes or curry. I highly recommend the Khmer massage, especially after walking around the temples for 3 days!

All the pictures from the trip can be found on my Picasa site: https://picasaweb.google.com/aeihrig/SiemReapCambodia#