Our first-ever trip to Asia continued with three days in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where we toured the largest religious complex in the world, saw a “floating” village built on bamboo poles in the middle of a mangrove forest, and filled many shopping bags with goods from the local markets. Our Sista-Friend Darkfeather met us at the Bangkok airport and the three of us explored Cambodia together.
All of the pictures from our trip are posted on our Flickr page.
How we got here
Siem Reap is a quick 45-minute flight from Bangkok. On the flight over, we saw Tonlé Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. This “great lake,” as the locals called it, is one of the world’s richest sources of freshwater fish and supplies irrigation waters for about half of Cambodia’s population.
Transportation
Our driver for the entirety of our visit was a quiet, nice man named Usa. He picked us up from the airport in his remork-moto (aka tuk tuk), a motorcycle with a hooded carriage in tow. Unlike the more common two-seater tuk-tuks in Thailand that were three-wheelers, most of the tuk-tuks in Cambodia were motorcycles with trailiers that could fit four people. We usually paid Usa a daily rate to take us from place to place, rather than a per trip fee. Usa was a good, speedy driver. He would wait for us at each stop until we were ready to move on to the next. He had an amazing way of seeing us exit our destination before we ever saw him, even though he never knew how long we might be.
Usa our fabulous tuk tuk driver
we met up with Sista Fren!
cruising in the back of the tuk tuk
Motorcycles and mopeds are the most common form of transportation in Cambodia – even more so than in Thailand. Most people cannot afford cars. Navigating the intersections was like playing a game of Frogger – the traffic from all directions turned, slowed, and weaved without actually stopping. There weren’t very many traffic signals or stop signs. In Cambodia they drive on the right side of the road, but their approach to traffic flow is similar to Thailand -- passing in the middle whenever possible, several motorbikes occupying the same space in traffic, short little honks for "I'm going by" or "best if you move over," etc. We also noticed that gasoline was sold from glass bottles at markets at the side of the road instead of a pump at a gas station.
stop sign
The emissions in Cambodia (as well as Thailand) are pretty intense compared to the US, especially riding around in the open-air remork-moto. Darkfeather and Megan both got headaches on our first night from all the dust and fumes.
protecting from dust and emissions
Accommodations
We stayed at the Encore Angkor, a nice little hotel near the heart of Siem Reap’s lively downtown scene. The hotel was a great selection based on a friend’s recommendation. A bountiful breakfast and pool were among the amenities and the staff helped us figure out our temple tour and shopping options.
front of our hotel
Food
We loved the Khmer food. Cambodian cuisine is less spicy than Thai but also shares some common flavors with the Vietnamese and Indian cuisines. We enjoyed the green curries, lab (ground beef with basil and lime), and amok, a mild fish curry with a soufflé-like texture that comes served with lemongrass, coconut and chili in banana leaf. Freshwater fish is a big part of the Cambodian diet due to the bounty of the Tonlé Sap Lake.
couple of delicious curries and beef lab
Our favorite street vendor in Thailand and Cambodia is “Rotee” (banana-filled crêpe drizzled with crème and chocolate). They are a great late night snack and were widely available in Siem Reap.
rotee at the end of the night
People
The Khmer people are among the friendliest we’ve ever met. Young children and adults alike gave us smiles, waves, and hellos as we passed by in our remork-moto each day. They are not as reserved as Thais, who seem shy around foreigners.
these girls waving at us as we drove passed them
bicycle rider
We learned that Cambodia has a rich history. The Khmer empire stretched across mainland Southeast Asia from 800 AD for more than 600 years. The Khmer built temples, highways and irrigation and brought culture and religion from the Indian subcontinent into the region. The Angkor complex is a remnant of the Khmer rule and reflects an intertwined religious approach of Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism that are hard to unravel from one another.
More recently, the country is on the road to recovery from the Khmer Rouge, a bloody revolution in the late 1970s. Intellectuals, elders and cultural leaders were targeted for torture, execution or relocation to the countryside, where many died of malnutrition and disease. The Khmer Rouge wanted to severe all links with the past and they decimated Cambodian culture by banning religion, forcing apart families and ending cultural traditions.
Cambodia had a rough 20th century, but it seemed to us that culturally and economically it is on its way up. Young people have learned the traditional Khmer dances. We saw several different dance exhibitions (one random and grassroots at a market, another more tourist-oriented). Our favorite dances included a dance where men and women clapped coconut shells together in rhythm and another where women bent their hands backward at impossible angles while standing on one feet in graceful, yoga-like poses.
clapping dance
Traditional handicrafts such as silver working, sculpture and weaving are being taught in rural villages. Buddhism is again the state religion and Buddhist monks are no longer targets for state violence. The country is much poorer than Thailand and corruption is rampant, but the people seem to have vibrancy and hope for the future.
silk worm cocoons and a loom
beautiful lacquer paintings
working the stone
“You want scarf nice lady? I give you good price.”
The three of us caught the shopping bug in a major way at the night markets of Siem Reap. We spent hours looking at the goods, bantering and haggling with the sales people, and capping it with foot or fish massages and some late night rotee. We honed our bargaining skills and after a while it became addicting. The prices were cheaper than in Thailand for the typical souvenirs like T-shirts, but the markets also had some of the traditional silk and cotton scarves for good prices. We even found original gear such as North Face backpacks, straight from the factory floor at a big discount compared to their eventual prices back home.
An interesting contrast with the Thai markets is that the Cambodian vendors were much more persistent. They called out to us as we walked by, and if you demonstrated any interest in something, they kept you engaged by any means possible, in a friendly, bantering way. Similarly the tuk tuk drivers would constantly ask us if we wanted a ride somewhere, and the masseuses would also continually offer up massages. Thus the t-shirts for sale saying “no tuk tuk today or tomorrow.”
we thoroughly enjoyed shopping at the night market
perfect shirt for Siem Reap
Keith enjoying the bargaining process
beautiful scarves
this big butterfly looks like something from another world
giant bugs and reptiles in liquor
lots of shopping done
Angkor
Angkor was the capital of the ancient Khmer empire and its epic proportions are staggering. It is one of the few ancient structures visible from space. At one point, one million people lived in the capital city area, while London had a population of 50,000. Today there are hundreds of temples flung about the countryside. The temples began as part of the Hindu religion but also evolved to accommodate Buddhist themes, depending on the orientation of the king.
Our first night in Cambodia we took in sunset at Pre Rup, a small temple in the middle of countryside filled with rice fields that were almost ready for harvest. This was a good introduction to Angkor.
rice field nearly ready for harvest
the girls at Pre Rup for a sunset viewing
getting ready to climb up Pre Rup
steep stairs going up the temples
Keith retrieved the fallen eyeglasses
lots of other people here for sunset
little lizard friend
sunset from Pre Rup
tower and the moon
Pre Rup as the sun goes down
sunset from the tuk tuk
The next day, we hired a guide to take us around the main sights at Angkor – Angkor Thom, Te Prohm and Angkor Wat. It was a long, hot day but what we saw was truly impressive and reminiscent for us of our trip to Tikal in Guatemala several years ago. Malaria is present in this area so we all wore long sleeved shirts and long pants. It was difficult to do this and stay cool in the heat and humidity, but it was the best way to protect us from the sun and bugs.
Angkor Wat is the largest monument at Angkor – its name means “temple that is a city.” The temple is surrounded by a moat, with a sandstone causeway crossing the moat in the west. The sandstone blocks used in Angkor Wat’s construction were quarried and floated down the Siem Rep River on bamboo rafts. More than 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants labored to build Angkor Wat over a period of 37 years.
Keith and Megan and the largest religious complex in the world
three of us at Angkor Wat
Megan and Darkfeather on the second level of Angkor Wat
Darkfeather is not pleased about yet more steep stairs
one of the towers with symbolic lotus buds
looking west across Angkor Wat
monks in the temple
climbing down from the temple
A highlight of Angkor Wat for us was the intricate bas-reliefs showing Hindu stories. These bas-reliefs are carved around a wall for about a kilometer. We were impressed by the scale and detail of the stonework and how well it has held up over the years. Our guide helped to explain the different stories and symbolism; otherwise we wouldn’t have had much of a clue what we were looking at. Once we saw the themes in the stories, such as the naga serpent that was used to churn the sea of milk, we saw them repeated throughout the temples and Siem Reap.
bas relief of the churning of the ocean of milk
holding the serpent
holding the tail of the serpent
good looking face
bas relief at the western gate
battle of gods and demons
Yama the judge of the dead
Angkor Thom’s southern gate features 54 gods and 54 demons lining its entrance. These characters are also part of the churning of the sea of milk story. The highlight of Angkor Thom was the Bayon temple. Bayon features 54 towers, each with four smiling faces, for a total of 216 smiling faces—each one unique. We could see a dozen or so of these faces at any one time as we walked around. Our guide encouraged us to find our favorite and showed us his as well. Bayon also had impressive bas-reliefs showing both the history of the area as well as common aspects of daily life for the Khmer.
us at the south gate
monkey sighting!
reflection of Bayon
our guide shows us a bas-relief at Bayon
battling elephants
famous image of these figures
one of the 54 towers of Bayon
Bayon surrounded by beautiful trees
Keith under a smiling face that Megan likes at Bayon
Megan and a smiling face
We got our Indiana Jones/Tomb Raider fantasies on at Te Prohm, a temple that is being reclaimed by the jungle. Ancient trees and their muscular roots grow amidst crumpled towers. Part of the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.
giant roots at Ta Prohm
tree growing over a bas relief
close up of the face in the tree
Darkfeather at Ta Prohm
Darkfeather and the Tomb Raider tree
roots taking over
three of us at Ta Prohm
Kompong Pluk: a village on stilts
We decided to take a trip to the “floating village” of Kompong Pluk. This trip definitely got us off the beaten tourist path and it was nice to see a more authentic Cambodia on the way. Once we reached the lake, we hired a boat to tour the village and mangrove forest. Our driver spoke limited English but was very nice. Unfortunately, the cooling pump wasn’t working very well. The captain had to stop several times to work on the engine — which extended our tour about an hour.
Kompong Pluk consists of bamboo buildings that sit above the Tonlé Sap lakeshore. All of the houses are built on stilts about 18 to 20 feet high. As the water level rises and falls with the wet and dry seasons, the village continues in the heart of a mangrove forest, supported by the bountiful fishing. As we passed through the village in the mangrove forest, we saw a completely different way of life – a life lived entirely on the water in the wet season. Trade happened in small boats, fish were confined in wooden pens, and pigs, chickens and ducks stayed in floating pens. To our surprise the village included several guesthouses and restaurants. We stopped at one for the drink while our guide worked on the boat engine.
fishing with the mountain behind
on the way to Kompong Pluk
school on the water
entering Kompong Pluk
houses of Kompong Pluk
market
young sailors
pigs in a pen
mangrove forest
the engine's cooling pump stopped working several times
us at the restaurant while the engine receives some maintenance
heading back to Siem Reap from Kompong Pluk
Random observations
- The official state currency is the riel, which trades at about 4,000 riel to one U.S. dollar, but the main currency in Cambodia is the U.S. dollar. The dollar was accepted and seemingly preferred everywhere, but only if the bills were in crisp condition. It was a trip to receive dollars out of the ATM machine and to receive riel in change after paying with dollars. Money was abolished during the Khmer Rouge period so the country is making up for lost time.
- Khmer (pronounced Koumay) is not like a tonal language like Thai. We found it much easier to learn and speak basic phrases.
- We’ve met very few American tourists on this vacation (and half of those were from the Seattle area). Most of the folks we’ve met are from Europe (especially Swiss, English and French) or other parts of Asia (Japanese and Korean).
Next stop: the beach!
We flew back to Bangkok with Darkfeather where we parted ways. She headed toward the train station for a night train to Chiang Mai while we stayed overnight and arose early the next day for our journey to Ko Lanta and beach time!
85 °F
89 °F