A guide and tale of our experience in the backpacker capital of Siem Reap
So Siem Reap.
Everyone is always asking me about Siem Reap.
Have you been to Angkor Wat? Have you seen the temples? Walked down Pub Street?
No, I haven’t, guy who’s selling dubious-looking corn dogs, but I might as well have with the silhouette of it being on every single brand item in Cambodia.
At least l thought I might as well have seen it.
You see, I was really trying not to get my hopes up.
Cambodia is a land of dichotomies, with rich, ancient history and poverty-induced corruption. The areas we’ve visited so far have been cool, but definitely not breathtaking, and not especially visually appealing.
Downtown Siem Reap
This experience has taught me that there are a LOT of hostelers out there looking to party, drink, and maybe take a tour or two and get in with the “locals” at a Westernized Khmer restaurant.
Honestly, the tattoos just give them away.
Thai script along the inner forearm? Let me guess, you spent a month working at Mad Monkey in Phuket and now you have a tattoo in a language you never bothered learning because you were always trolling the city with white people! Or my favorite, the rainbow-colored world map on the back of the calf.
This one might seem more cryptic, hmm where have they been? Clearly, they’re EXPERT travelers because they have a MAP right there on their body, just in case they need it. But don’t worry, they’ll tell you where they’ve been in the first five minutes if you can’t guess by the Indian headscarf.
Really it’s just funny.
The famed Pub Street.. complete with fish pedicures, rolled ice cream, and half-naked Chinese fighters
I tagged along on a street food tour at our hostel last night. My guess was that I wouldn’t be trying anything new, but I’ve been wanting to learn the names of some of my favorites in Khmer, so I joined the group.
It was $8 and that included a tuk-tuk ride out to the Night Market so I coughed up the cash and waited while other people arrived in the lobby.
I met a really nice English girl named Georgia who just came from three weeks in Vietnam. And you know how you sniff out people’s judgment and then assert whether their opinions are of value?
After some interrogating I decided she was in fact sober and sound of mind so I picked her brain over some cities I’ve been pondering, Hoi An, Na Dong, and Hanoi.
Meanwhile, Mr. Frat from Ohio and Mr. Frat 2.0 from NYC were conversing loudly and obnoxiously shaking everyone’s hand who was in the little tour group.
We consisted of two Portugueses quite infatuated with themselves, an English country-hopper, an Irish stick who maybe said 2 words altogether, the American frat boys with matching boat shoes, and me. Oh and the adorable Cambodian guide from the hostel, Dara.
These things usually go like this: American Frat Boy: Heyyy so yeah? I mean what’s everyone up to? Where y’all from?
Portuguese Couple: …
Irish Mute: …..
Me: …
Georgia: England.
American Frat Boy #2: Ah sick so what’s your story…
[…]
And slowly but surely they’ll make the rounds, asking everyone their “story” which is basically just an excuse to in turn loudly rattle off their own checked bucket lists.
I literally heard American Frat Boy #2 say “Yeah I’ve been to 7 European countries, blah blah…” listing them all over the screams of children on a fair ride.
Which all the EU kids are just like… yeah?
Super embarrassing.
That just tells you how determined these people are to assert their travel dominance.
It’s kind of a ridiculous little world.
We went to a cute bookstore/vegan cafe for Addy’s breakfast brunch on the 23rd!
Obviously, there are some really wonderful people and I’ve collected some friends along the way. But, what I keep seeing over and over again are these 26-year-olds who were losers their whole life until they discovered that they could fly to Bali, post some pictures of their “eye-opening experience,” and then get a Buddha tattoo behind their ear and suddenly they’d be cool back in whatever midwestern town spat them out.
It seems to me that people really are just out here to check stuff off the list, oh and get drunk afterwards.
It’s such a big difference coming from BYU, where everyone is prepared to sacrifice exorbitant amounts of fun for their future, to this hostel culture, where everyone gave up on thinking about their future a long time ago.
Now being in both worlds for a time, I think a balance can be found.
Truths from each world:
BYU
– Work work and then work and then B-, congratulations on a good-ish job!
– Everyone is determined and amazing and talented and you really feel like this little micro-world of people could make a change on earth
– The future can be changed by our decisions
– We determine our destiny through hard work, service, intelligence, and community.
– “The world is our campus”
Hostel World
– Live in the moment
– We can’t control the future so we enjoy the present
– Every person you meet has a story. Diversity is not just preferred, it’s essential.
– The world really is our campus.. because we ditched school for this
– Sh*t happens. You roll with it.
While the compass tattoos might get old, the company never does.
I have met a handful of amazing people from all over the world! It’s amazing to make connections with people you didn’t think you had anything in common with.
I thought I would be trying to bridge a cultural gap between my background and Khmer people. Although I have a little bit of that, the majority of the bridging is for people like Denver from Essex who runs on for 5 minutes without saying one word I’m familiar with.
Seriously, her life is miles away from mine.
I hardly comprehend what she’s talking about when telling a story, because her community works in such a different way.
I have to say, that’s something I didn’t expect.
I talked a little bit about living and working with two British boys and how the cultural differences can add up.
These same differences are in every newfound friendship with someone who hails from yonder.
The cool thing is, when you are surrounded by people who speak vowels you have never heard of, you tend to turn towards the next best thing- even if that happens to be a scruffy South African blogger with a questionable dog.
This leads to friendships you would never dream of–
necessity makes better people of us all 😉
Talking about things you would never dream of…
Angkor Wat definitely took our breath away.
Especially because of the aforementioned daily conditions of our new life.
Really, I mean after Cockroach City does it get better than miraculously preserved temple ruins in the middle of the jungle?
I’m here to tell you that no, no it doesn’t.
Angkor Wat felt like that scene out of Jungle Book, where they’re all dancing at the monkey palace temple thing.
Except we weren’t dancing.
We were quietly taking pictures and walking around sweating, but our hearts were leaping bounds inside!
If you’re not familiar with Angkor Wat here’s some info:
Angkor Wat is a huge Buddhist temple complex located in northern Cambodia. It was originally built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu temple. It is spread across more than 400 acres and is said to be the largest religious monument in the world.
The word “Wat” means temple and “Angkor” means capital city. During its heyday in the 13th century, it served as the capital of the Khmer Empire.
What is interesting is that Emperor Suryavarman II, who ordered the construction of the main temple complex, didn’t build it for royal purposes. Most amazing sites I’ve been to are the result of some sort of greed and personal gain (such as Versailles). But Suryavarman never lived anywhere in the huge complex, it was built solely for worship and the Kingdom.
There is also an interesting blend of Hindu and Buddhist influences on the architecture and purpose of the structures.
Angkor Wat was first dedicated to Vishnu, a Hindu god, but became primarily Buddhist by the end of the 12th century.
27 years after the death of Suryavarman, the temple and surrounding complexes were sacked by the enemies of the Khmer: the Chams. The new king at the time, Javaryaman IIV, built a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and Bayon).
These three temples (Angkor Wat, Thom, and Bayon) are the main sites of the temple complexes. They are the biggest and most remarkable of the temples, and most tours take you to the three and if you want to explore more on bike or foot you must trek through the sweltering heat of the jungle to see ones of lesser caliber.
First up, Angkor Wat.
We woke up at 3:30 in the morning and were picked up by a small bus, more like a minivan, with three other people. Our guide seemed nice enough, although it’s really hard to tell when you can barely open your eyes to slide into a seat.
I charged my camera and brought an extra battery, I was ready to take on the day.
The coveted sunrise snapshot of this Cambodian icon was playing in my head, but I tried not to expect it to be exactly like the picture.
We bought tickets at a complex 20 minutes from the actual entrance, and an hour later we were walking through low grasses to jockey for position at the sunrise pool.
The iconic three cones of Angkor Wat line up perfectly with a reflecting pool that is just outside and in front of the walls of the temple. It makes for a perfect mirror image, especially at sunrise.
Yes, I took this picture. Yes, I am overly proud about it.
Hundreds of people crowd for the best position to get the famed photo, while still trying to absorb the magic of the present moment.
I managed to snag a spot in the front right next to the National Geographic photographer. Not too shabby.
We stood there for probably an hour, watching the delicate pinks and purples electrify and then die down as the glow of the sun finally graced the tips of the towers.
I couldn’t believe how picture-perfect it all was.
I finally understood why this was Cambodia’s symbol.
It is a breathtaking combination of natural and man-made beauty that resonates with a spiritual voice.
I can imagine people flocking to the scene to worship and praise their deities.
I can imagine living in a 13th C. village in the jungle and seeing the exact same sunset, 800 years earlier, and being absolutely enthralled.
If it is impressive against modern architecture, it would have been absolutely converting back in its time.
Now that the sun has risen, we proceed with the actual tour of the place.
Our guide is silly in a very Asian-humor way. I love it.
The inside is not what you expect. It is simpler than what you might infer from a glance at the outer structure. My favorite part of the interior was probably the 800-meter-long historical relief carved in the limestone. It is the longest single relief in the world, and the entirety of ancient Khmer history is told right there in the stone.
Angel soldiers are characterized by crown-like helmets
Besides the relief, there is little standing decoration of the interior. The lower level hallways are high, but as we climb into the 2nd and 3rd floors they become more and more tailored towards ancient Cambodian stature. Frankly, it hasn’t changed that much.
I’m an XXXL here.
Yep.
Addy, a US size 2 and average height, is an XXL.
Shopping is out of the question.
But anyways, the point is, by the time we are climbing to the final interior of Angkor Wat, the crowd of people is slightly claustrophobic, and the worn steps are slick with centuries of use. A handrail with scaffolding aids the process, but it’s routinely backed up with 60+ ladies being coaxed back down with their increasingly impatient husbands.
Much more enjoyable than the inside (at least for me) was the outside and surrounding grounds.
The temple was really meant to be worshiped from the outside just as much, and the blackened limestone structure against the vibrant green of the jungle feels just as ancient as the earth.
The light of dawn against the outer pillars of eastern Angkor Wat
Hopping through the pillars and banisters I teeter along the terrace edge and soak in the glory of the soft, sun-kissed greens. The eastern wing of the temple is especially beautiful in the morning with the sun on its side.
As much as I was trying to listen to the historical information from our guide, I kept getting entranced with the architecture and running to different spots to get the right lighting before it washed away a minute later.
“Sydaneyyy, come onn, where are you going?”
But at least I wasn’t as bad as the pal from Texas who kept wrapping flexi tripod arms around the pillars to get a very authentic picture of him in a prayerful pose in his mac and cheese-colored t-shirt.
Same guy with the Thai tattoo?
Yes. Yes, it is.
By 10 am we’d been up for 7 hours already and took a snack break to escape from the heat before continuing on to the other two temples.
The second major stop within the temple complex is Temple Bayon, the 2nd capital of worship after the Cham people sacked Angkor.
Unlike Angkor, which was originally dedicated to Hinduism and then switched to Buddhist practice, Bayon was built with the idea of harmony between the religions.
At the time there was a lot of animosity between the two religions, and so Emperor Jayavarnan built it with offerings to both religions.
The temple has a few key characteristics:
The many “faces” of Bayon. The temple has approximately 200 faces in its sculpture and relief but the most prominent are the 12 gigantic Buddhist heads that seem to rise through the stone itself.
Micro fashion at the gates of Bayon
It is also known for the “common man” reliefs on the outer wall, which depict everyday life scenes compared to the holy Aspara and Demon scenes located in Angkor Wat.
This temple was built for the people, and it is very apparent that the grandeur of Angkor, while hard to match, is emulated here as well.
Monkeys hop through the mossy stone and the warm faces of Bayon welcome you at the gates.
The face statues remind me a lot of the “crying face” landmark in El Dorado.
By this time we were teetering towards heat stroke, so much to our contentment we ended our guided journey with the Ta Phrom temple, the only shaded temple in the complex.
Our walk up to the final temple is a different experience from the other two, taking a path that cuts through the ancient forest that guards it.
Apparently, all the temples used to be like this. When the French came to colonize in the early 1800s they “discovered” the “ruins” and cut down the surrounding forest in order to better study the area.
If I sound bitter it’s became I am.
First of all, these temples were never abandoned. Well, at least Angkor wasn’t. That’s what is so unique, is that this temple has been an active worship site for Buddhists for almost one thousand years! It isn’t a “ruin.” There is a big homestead for the monks that practice and train here, just like always.
Second of all, Ta Prohm has these amazing trees native to only Cambodia and South Africa, a genus of Baobab. The roots grow so large that they become a characteristic of the architecture and actually shift the stone. The result of these thousand-year-old trees is an ethereal spirit of Mother Nature staking her claim among the man-made structure.
At this temple, the forest is so interwoven with the stone that I could hardly imagine it without, but that’s what happened to a lot of the other temples when the French came.
So yeah, I’m annoyed.
I also might be biased because a French girl at the hostel unabashedly unplugged my computer so that she could lean against the wall without the plug in her back.
I was right next to her.
That was only 24 hours ago, so Le Frances’s incompetence is still fresh in my mind.
It just makes me sad to wonder what the other temples would look like with their tree companions.
At Angkor Wat, we learned that this palm tree, rising high above the temple, is well over 500 years old, and was planted to protect spirits.
Ta Prohm is enchanting. Actually we learned that Tomb Raider was filmed here. So of course you’ll hear the name Angelina Jolie peppered about the guide’s monologues.
And since Angelina has an adopted Cambodian kid, my theory is that when she was here filming she must have fallen in love with the country somewhat, or the people or something, and decided to adopt from here.
The temple itself is in a bit of a state compared to the others.
There’s a whole section that’s toppled and woven in with the earth and the tree roots. Although it’s sad that the condition hasn’t been kept, it makes for a very Temple Run-esque vibe that feels unreal.
My favorite part of this temple was finding all the little Aspara celestial dancers through the climbing tree roots.
Ta Prohm was actually built in honor of the emperor Jayvarman’s family. The temple’s main image represents Prajnaparamita, the embodiment of wisdom, and was modeled after his mother. I thought that was so beautiful. I want my kids to build a temple after my wisdom!
There are hints of his relatives, including his brother, in various sculptures and architecture throughout the temple.
Because it wasn’t so hot, we were really able to enjoy it and walk around in the cool of the canopies. There are hundreds of different tree species within the area, making it one of the most ecologically diverse places in Cambodia. The birds chirp so loudly they almost drown out the musicians on the path to the temple.
Almost.
Around 6 or 8 men sit on a platform slightly raised from the ground with instruments I have never seen. The music is slightly jarring, the melody is too foreign for my brain to make any sense of it. Quickly you notice all of the men are amputees in some way, and as I read the signs I realize they are victims of land mines leftover from both the Vietnam war and the Khmer Rouge. It is a stark contrast. The tragic effects of the world’s pecking order lay just outside the majestic ones.
A terrible irony.
We pass through the forest with the eerie music adding to the ambiance as our guide tells us about the Black Coal tree, the most expensive wood you can buy in the world.
Eventually, we have thoroughly weaved through enough Korean grandmas posing with peace fingers for a lifetime, and head back to our little bus and back home.
Addy and I did actually come back in the afternoon and take Angkor Wat a second time, a little more slowly.
It was very peaceful, and the sunset over the moat surrounding the temple complex was hands down the best sunset I have ever witnessed.
We bought sour mango and chili powder outside the gates as the dusk finally settled in, and jumped into a tuk-tuk on its last leg. The bench was coming unhinged and when the driver hit the brakes we literally started swinging like one of those zipper fair rides. Luckily, the driver didn’t seem the least bothered, and we got to feel like we were escaping raptors in Jurassic Park as we swung around with every turn in traffic.
A 16-hour day never felt so worth it.
Seeing the crown jewel of Cambodia helps me understand more of their pride, culture, and heritage.
Khmer people, at one time, were the height of civilization and religious observance. And through whatever turmoil and misfortune that has come their way, no one can take that away from them.
