SE Asia XXVI - Ancient Angkor

I'm pretty sure most people have seen a picture of Angkor Wat. If you haven't by the time you get to Cambodian then you'll see it plenty of times in Cambodia. Angkor Wat is key to modern Cambodia its a source of national pride in a country that has been over thirty years of turmoil. If you are a visitor to Cambodia thwen that almost certainly means you will be visiting Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest religious building in the world, but it is only one temple. Angkor Wat is the umbrella title for over 1,000 temples. In reality there are around 20 large temples to go and explore.

Cambodia and its people have suffered greatly over the past forty years. First the Vietnam War spilled over into its borders. Whether this was inevitable or not is open to debate. Sihanouk had managed to placate the North Vietnamese by allowing their troops to operate in Cambodian territory and by using the port at Sihanoukville has a supply line. By 1970 there was open civil war with the Khmer Rouge heavily supported by Vietnamese troops. The Americans came into the war using South Vietnamese troops and B-52s to pound the country. According to Kiernan "nearly half of the 540,000 tons of bombs dropped (on Cambodia were) in the last 6 months' of US involvement. "Up to 150,000 civilians civilian deaths resulted from the US bombing campaigns in Cambodia from 1969 to 1973" (Ben Kiernan, 'The Pol Pot Regime'). Once the war was over the Khmer Rouge killed 1.4 million people (figure is disputed amongst historians). An amazing figure considering the population of Cambodia was only about 7.5 million. In the UK that would equate to 10 million deaths. The Khmer Rouge while purging Cambodia turned their attention to reclaiming Cambodian lands, the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Unfortunately all they managed to do was antagonise the Vietnamese who invaded in December 1978 and very quickly controlled the whole of Cambodia. The pockets of resistance left were along the Thai border where the Thai's allowed the Khmer Rouge to rebuild itself along with help from China and the US (see Henry Kammm 'Cambodia: Report from a stricken land'). Throughout the 1980s the Vietnamese occupied Cambodia using ex-Khmer Rouge leaders to run the country. By the late 1980s Vietnam could no longer afford the expense with the collapse in funding from the Soviet Union so they moved to withdrawal. At which point the UN came in to support the country and take it to democracy. Unfortuantely,according to Kamm, UNTAC failed in its mission to disarm the various factions. Whilst elections were held in 1993 the Cambodian People's Party (created by the Vietnamese) ignored the results and held on to power. Politics in the 1990s was dominated by pitched battles between the politicla parties and corruption. With a recent histroy like that it isn't surprising that you would want to look back (and politicians would want to look back for some form of legitimacy) to the glory years for your nation. What I enjoyed most about Angkor were the myriad of different temples that you could explore. While I was aware there were a large number I had no real appreciation of just how mnay there were, how well preserved (or restored) they were, and how big some of them are. Angkor Wat is the biggest, it is undoubtedly very impressive, however, I didn't find Angkor Wat amazing. I was underwhelmed, maybe my expectations were set to high. Whereas the other temples I found fascinating. Admittedly they can become a bit of a blur so I wouldn't recommend seeing too many in one day. My personal favourites were the temples that nature had reclaimed. When the French rediscovered Angkor all the temples had been reclaimed by nature in one way or another. They then did work on restoring them or stopping them from collapsing further. Ta Prohm is renowned for the huge trees growing on top of the walls. I was there at sunrise with only a couple of other people and it was great to wander around. The best temple for an Indiana Jones experience is Beng Mealea. It is 2 hours from Siem Reap and well worth the drive. I arrived there at 8am and had the place to myself. It is a huge ruin and you can climb up over the ancient blocks on top of the galleries. Apparently Beng Mealea was in better condition in the mid-1990s until relic hunters decided to dynamtie the foundations to try and find gold. I hired a tuk-tuk to take me to Beng Mealea, Kbal Spean and Banteay Srei. Mr Sor Lai (+855 928 49311)charged $30 for the day trip. I found alot of tuk-tuk drivers wouldn't take me and those that would wanted $50. The road between Beng Mealea and Kbal Spean is in very poor condition and could explain why tuk-tuk drivers didn't want to combine the two in one day trip. I even had a moto driver follow me down the road back to Siem Reap and engotaite with me as I cycled along (he wanted $30 for a moto trip to them). In Cambodia tuk-tuks have a cabin attahced to the back of the motorbike, like a small carriage. A much more comfortable way to travel than on the back of a motorbike for 2 hours. Ta Nei is another good temple hidden in the jungle which most people don't visit. A tuk-tuk driver told me it wasn't worth the effort. It is a small temple but its another one that hasn't been cleaned up too much and is worth the effort in finding from the main road. The Bayon is special, the faces are amazing and there are just so many of them. The Bayon is in Angkor Thom which has a number of temples within it. One thing most people miss are the East and West gates of Angkor Thom. They are on opposite sides of the Bayon and a great place to get a photo of an Angkor Thom gate without a tour bus driving through it. Click here for the Travelfish take on all of the different temples. Sunrise is the best time to visit may of the temples in Angkor. Everyone goes to Angkor Wat for sunrise which means everywhere else is quiet. Sunrise at Angkor Wat can be very good with the colours behind the towers but you will share it with a few thousand other people. Sunset is another good time to visit any temple other than Bakheng. All the people who watched unrise at Angkor Wat are now at Bakheng to watch the sunset. Bakheng is not that big and its just crawling with tourists. Sunset here is OK but the crowds are ridiculous. Angkor Wat is best visited just after suynrise when all the tour groups depart and it is very quiet to wander around. Angkor Thom is quiet at sunrise. I was in the Bayon on my own at sunrise. The faces are great to watch as the sunlight catches them. The same was true of Ta Phom. With the other temples I cycled around and if there were tour buses outside I carried on to the next. There are so many temples it is always possible to find another quieter one.

I got a seven day pass for Angkor Wat. It cost $60, unfortunately an oil company (Sokimex) runs the ticketing only 30% goes to Aspara who look after the temples. In one day you can see all the major central temples. It will be a rushed day and the temples may be crowded but its possible. In two or three days you can see the central temples at a relaxed pace and some outlying temples. In seven days you can see everything twice. The great advantage with seven days is that you can pick and choose when you visit each temple and generally avoid the crowds. Angkor Wat is a huge tourist attraction and it is easy to get swamped by the crowds. I didn't have to hire a tuk-tuk to get around and could enjoy cycling around. Hiring a bike is a relaxing way to see the temples. It gives you more interaction with the locals as you make your way between the temples. The only trouble with hiring a bike is the sore arse and the traffic on the roads. The roads around the temples make up some of the main local arteries. The roads are barely wide enough for tow tuk-tuks to pass let alone two dumper trucks and yet the locals somehow manage it. The drivers are lunatics; coaches, dumper trucks, motorbikes and tuk-tuks roar along. The traffic is accompanied by the orchestra of air horns. I find it a bit difficult not to notice a huge loud dumper truck bearing down upon me on a bicycle but incase you somehow have managed to ignore it the air horns will be blasting. Not all sections of the road are that bad. There are sections that are quite serene as you peddle along the tree lined routes.
Outside every temple is an assortment of stalls, selling tourist tat, drinks and food. Everything is overpriced compared to what you pay in the rest of Cambodia (still very cheap compared to the West). The game is to attract your attention to their stall. Generally there will be a crowd of children to attract your attention or sell you something directly. I didn't find it too irritating but then I had been forewarned. Some of the kids are excellent salesmen. If their sales pitch doesn't work then sheer persistence brings them some rewards. I ended up with bracelets, postcards, and drinks that I had no intention of buying. One very good deal are the photocopied books. Its possible to buy photocopied books throughout South-East Asia and Angkor is no exception.

Siem Reap was not as bad as I expected. My expectations were pretty low. The area around the Old Market has been gentrified and is quite pleasant. Although it is busy and full of annoying moto and tuk-tuk drivers aswell as massage parlours vying for your attention. There are lots of restaurants and bars around the Old Market. The further from the Old Market you go the less clean cut Siem Reap becomes. Development has exploded in Siem Reap and as the urban sprawl increases they have had less time (or maybe less care) to make it look pretty. The roads around Wat Bo still seem to be unfinished and there are still new buildings being put up. To replace the tourist stalls at the Old market they have built a new market about 5 minutes walk north, while there are lots of stalls no one seems to have told the tourists that they exist.

I was very lucky with the guesthouse I stumbled upon in Siem Reap. I stayed at Sam So Guesthouse (0164 Wat Bo Village, +855 12602956). It is the best value for money guesthouse I found in South East Asia. The room was a hotel standard double with ensuite (although cold shower) and big cable TV. All for only $5. Cambodian guesthouses are good value and I never paid more than $5. Sam So Guesthouse was head and shoulders above anything else. I didn't even expect to find such good accommodation for $5 because of the sheer number of tourists forcing prices up in Siem Reap. I was walking through Wat Bo Village (the other side of the river form the Old Market) and had looked in a few guesthouses which were eityher to expensive, full, or not that ncie. I saw the sign for Sam So down an alley. The guesthouse sits in a courtyard surrounded by homes of locals who all seem to be involved in running it. I'm not entirely sure how. They all seemed very happy and there were always lots of hellos or goodbyes when going to or from. I rented a bike there which cost $2. Sam So Guesthouse isn't in the Lonely Planet, if you have a LP map it is north of Viroth's Restaurant anmd south of Angkor Thom Hotel. An excellent restaurant closeby is Star Restaurant. It is close to Angkor Thom Hotel. From the outside it looks like a garage and the only distinguishing feature inside are the walls scrawled with signatures. The food is excellent and very cheap. I ate there regularly and it was noticeable that others did. The amok is superb.