So instead I shall tell you about my trip to Cambodia. You might have seen my pictures on Facebook and know that I went but I didn't mention it on the last travel blog. On Saturday just passed my parents finally got the postcard I sent when I was there. I'd forgotten I'd sent it. My mum had 'forgotten' (morelike erased from her memory) that I went all lonely planet and adventurous in a developing country which had once been ravaged by war and genocide. Anyway, with the postcard now in my dad's special Tina section of his stamp collection (you know I'm not joking) I shall post a few pictures and what not.
I flew to Siem Reap and after some confusion at the airport regarding the US$20 you have to pay to get in the country (it was the immigration guy's fault, he didn't take it from me) I made my way outside where I was picked up with one of those airport signs with your name on it. This one was nice and professional, unlike the one I had in Singapore which told every arriving passenger before me about my lack of teeth brushing in the last 36 hours.
Riding in my tuk-tuk from the airport. The air con was great.
At hotel, which was very nice, I more or less headed straight out to the Angkor Wat area. I say 'more or less' but there were key things involving switching on the air con and fan, showering and changing. Apparently in this is what you do when you go to see the temples, you go to Phnom Bakheng to watch the sunset. It was impressive, but more for the sheer number of people.
Climbing, yes, actually climbing up the step to watch the sun set with the masses.
This became more impressive the next day (see below to understand why).
Hello fellow tourists.
Descending Bakheng. By the time I'd got back down to the bottom of the hill it was nearly completely dark.
So what do you do when you've seen the sun set over Phnom Bakheng? That's right, you see the sun rise over Angkor Wat. Please be aware, this is again with every tourist north of the Tonle Sap.
I was led to believe this would be a colourful affair. I was expectant and excited and that's what helped me drag my ass out of bed at silly time of 5.00am to get my tuk-tuk out to Angkor Wat for 5.30am to see the beautiful show mother nature would put on for me.
Putting this on the cover makes people 64% more likely to get up at stupid o'clock whilst on holiday in Siem Reap.
See, it was early.
Not to sound unappreciative, but is that is? This is what I got up for?
That said, getting up early did have the advantage of having Angkor Wat more or less to myself once the sun had risen. Everyone else must have head back for breakfast. Or bed. Either way, there weren't many people around once the sun was up. Another advantage I didn't realise until leaving, was the fact I had seen the main attraction the relative cool of early morning. Things were about to get sweaty.
The South Gate at Angkor Thom, which, don't you know isn't just one temple. Oh no, it's a collection of temples. The most famous of which is Bayon. Or the 'Faces Temple'.
This was a pretty lucky shot at Bayon. The tuk-tuk drivers know exactly what the tourists want to see and the order it should be done in. Vanna, my tuk-tuk driver would tell me where he'd be when I'd finished with the temple in hand. Except the time at Bayon when I walked on to the next temple, and the next, and then up and down and up and down again the Elephant Terrace (350m long) looking for Vanna. I reckon I walked about 2km just looking for Vanna. There were a lot of tuk-tuks, and a lot of people trying to sell me drinks, bananas and tourist books. I reckoned I sweated a full pint in the 30 minutes it took me to find him. Seeing an actual elephant was the only thing that put a smile on face during all that.
After a nice tuk-tuk ride, a few temples later we reached what would turn out to be my favourite, Ta Keo.
A surprising choice, given that it's a smaller, lesser known one. Also surprising because of the steepness of the climb up to the top. I needed a long sit down to recover and wipe my brow (and face, and neck, and brow, and face, and neck).
I'm at the top and you can see my shadow taking the shot. Steep eh?
After Ta Keo, there were just a few temples left, including another major one, Ta Prohm, or the 'Jungle Temple'. They left this one more or less the way they found it, with trees and jungle growing out from the walls of the temple itself. I've not seen it, but it's apparently where a lot of Tomb Raider was filmed.
It's a flat temple, rather than a raised one. Leaving the trees was a clever move, they really make it much more interesting. It had been a long day of temple watching, I was prepared to take any interesting feature going.
I saw a lot of temples that day. And I really hate to say this, but once I'd seen one (or maybe two, ok three), I'd really seen them all. They're all very impressive, but they all require some degree of walking and climbing and in a country that hot, it really tests your interest in history and religion to see what you're prepared to go through. Seriously, I hate to repeat it, but Cambodia is flipping hot. And I've been to some pretty hot countries in my life. Unfortunately my interest waned as the sun got hotter and the humidity reached 150% (oh maths puritans, I wouldn't have said it was possible either. But you go and then tell me it's not possible in Cambodia.) By the time it was about 11.30am I was about done with temples. I suppose that meant I had a good six hours of them by that point, which wasn't a bad effort.
I'd talked with my a pastor from my old church in Singapore before I left for Cambodia who'd had been to see the temples and he didn't seem that impressed with them. 'Temples just aren't my thing' and to be honest, I'm not sure they're my thing either. Don't get wrong, I'm really glad I went and saw them, they are impressive and I doubt I'll ever forget the experience. But I'm also glad I just got the one day pass (seriously seven days is just flogging it to death).
But much like when I was in Bali passing offerings on the street, I couldn't help but feel they had the wrong God.
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