Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat Cambodia

Cambodia January 16-21, 2014

Our trip up the Mekong River from Chau Doc, Vietnam to Phnom Penh, Cambodia took about 5 hours.  It was a most relaxing trip, with a good crew and a comfortable boat with space for us to sit inside or out on the covered rear deck, where we spent most of our time because the views were so interesting.  We enjoyed watching life on the banks of the mighty river as we sped by.  Among the sights we saw were ferries, 

 farmers tending their plots and fish farms right along the river,

houses raised high on stilts to avoid the seasonal flooding,

 families living in colorful homes along the river,

flocks of penned ducks,

 and boats filled with colorful bags of rice ready to go downriver.

About mid-morning we arrived at the Vietnamese/Cambodian border and debarked to go through immigration and customs.  We had to wait an extra bit because many of us got our Cambodian visas right at the border, an easy process since we had the photos and forms already prepared.  Much less expensive than going through a visa expediter in advance at home.

The landing for the Vietnamese/Cambodian border station on the Mekong River.

We continued up the Mekong River for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, enjoying the sunshine and warmth as well as the interesting views, including the primitive irrigation systems the farmers used to get the valuable Mekong water up the steep banks to their fields, using tractors as motor pumps,

 families tending their crops and fishing from their narrow houseboats,

 fish traps in the water of the Mekong River,

 the eroded riverbank, which showed us the variation in river heights in different flood stages,

beautiful gilded temples along the riverside,

 and a temple under construction, using the ever-plentiful bamboo as scaffolding.

Nearing Phnom Penh, we encountered a massive bridge under construction, which will span the Mekong at Neak Leoung. Completion is scheduled for 2015.

 We saw fishermen pulling in their nets,

 other farmers and their families travelling by water buffalo cart along the river bank,

and the amazing way the vegetation along the riverbank has adapated to the changes in water level.

 Nearing Phnom Penh we saw the results of heavy industry and river transport

 and dredges clearing the riverbottom for better transportation.  See the two different colors of water in this picture?  The Tonle Sap River water is merging with the Mekong River here.

 Finally we arrived in Phnom Penh, a substantial city with glittering skyscrapers.

and flag-flying river esplanade

and were escorted onto the most colorful bus of our trip!

After lunch at a riverside restaurant in Phnom Penh, we visited the Royal Palace compound and saw the silver pagoda, the "ostentatious jewel in the crown of Cambodia's monarchy."  King Norodom began the complex in the 1860s.

The Throne Hall is the coronation site for Khmer kings and the largest gilded cathedral in the country, complete with a gilded umbrella used to shade the king!

The neighboring resplendent Royal Residence is still the home of the now-abdicated King Sihanouk and his son and successor.  The area is also home to the cutest monkeys and amazing topiary and beautifully maintained flowers.

 The Silver Pagoda is so-named because the floor of the grand temple is covered with 5,000 blocks of silver weighing more than 6 tons.  The temple houses a 17th century Buddha made of Baccarat crystal and anothermade almost entirely of god and decorated with ten thousand diamonds-not exactly what the Buddha had in mind!

We had another tuk-tuk (in Cambodia they're called remok) ride around town to orient us, and then had dinner at our hotel, the Almond. No pictures of our food, but one again we enjoyed Singapore Slings!

Friday, January 17, Phnom Penh

Today was a somber day, with visits to the Killing Fields at Choeng Ek, then the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum.  First we took our colorful bus 9 miles outside the city to the Chinese cemetery which became the execution grounds for the Khmer Rouge during their maniacal reign under Pol Pot fro 1975 to 1970.

 The site, a collection of mounds, mass graves and a towering monument filled with catalogued human skulls.  The most touching was the place where the children were killed.

We returned to Phnom Penh to visit the grounds of a high school which in 1979 was turned into a prison and torture chamber and is now Tuol Sleng, the Museum of Genocide.

We met some old men who had been imprisoned there and were rooms full of pictures of the people who were tortured here was haunting.  

A change of pace in the afternoon took us to the Central Market, an art Deco behemoth built in 1937, then to the National Museum, which displays fabulous artifacts and statuary from all over the country, including a great collection of Khmer pieces.

We reviewed what we had learned about Buddha's poses and saw lots of temple fragments, a precursor of our upcoming visit to Angkor Wat.

After our dose of culture, we returned to the Central Market on our own.  The central rotunda was filled with gilttering jewelery vendors, but we preferred the four wings, where we were easily tempted by the beautiful silks, handbags and other goodies.  Lots of Christmas shopping done!

As a treat, we headed to the Raffles Hotel, at atmospheric Art Deco hotel built in 1929, a colonial classic, where we enjoyed afternoon tea.

Continuing the theme, i t was off to the Foreign Correspondents Club, which had a long history as Phnom Penh's place to see and be seen, when it was the gathering place for the intrepid who chronicled Cambodia's troubled times.

Dark wood and terracotta dominated, but we enjoyed the low reclining chairs and the fine view of the Tonle Sap River below us.

From there we took another remok, which is a tuk tuk carriage attached to a scooter or motorcycle for power, to the restaurant called Romdeng, which is one of the Friends and Tree Alliance restaurants, which is an NGO project where Khmer street kids are given shelter and taught useful skills.  It was a unique evening with excellent service by the trainer and the mentored student.

We had a fabulous meal in the charming courtyard setting, with delicious food and even the chance to watch the young men at our neighboring table try tarantula.  Little did we know we would be sampling the same delicacy a day later!

The brave young man at a neighboring table-they forgot their camera, so we obliged!

Delicious desserts at Romdeng restaurant, featuring creative Cambodian cuisine.

Saturday, January 18

A Cambodian "gas station" with petrol for sale in a variety of containers for all the scooters racing by. 

Panya explaining how rice grows to us

We departed Phnom Penh for Siem Reap on a dusty, bumpy road, but enjoyed the sights of lotus ponds, rice fields, and Cambodian villages.  We had a "STOP the bus!" moment when guide saw a convenient farm right by the road where we could pull over so he could show us how rice is grown in the fields.

Imagine his horror when we got off the bus only to discover the farmer's family singeing the hair off the carcass of a dog that had been recently killed on the road.  Our group was very understanding of the fact that the poor family had to take advantage of everything they could find to eat.  Our guide later said it was the most memorable part of our trip for him.  Us too!  

Dog being signed over the coals on our "STOP the bus" moment.

The family we visited was very polite and gracious as we invaded their home.

We stopped at the Skuon  or Spider Market in the Kampong Cham province.  Sure enough, the market was filled with vendors selling peppery, crisply fried tarantulas, silkworm pupae, grasshoppers and other insect delights.  

Two beautiful sisters showed off their insect wares at the Skum Market.

Children swarmed our bus as we descended, and a particularly cute, chatty young man attached himself to Joan, and became her dragoman as we wandered around the market. 

Joan photographs crispy "tastes like chicken" treats with her young guide.  

"Tastes just like chicken" he said as he encouraged her to try the delicacies.  She wasn't brave enough to crunch the whole body of the tarantula, but the crispy legs did taste just like spicy potato chips!  

Narin, our local guide, showing us a live tarantula.  

At another stop we visited the ancient bridge of Kampong Kdei,  It was once the longest stone corbeled arch bridge in the world.  

Another, more pleasant "STOP the bus" moment was so we could see a Cambodian wedding in progress.  Most of us stayed on the bus and just observed from a distance, because it seems intrusive to traipse through the ceremony in progress.

Sunday, January 19 Siem Reap

We enjoyed a free morning in Siem Reap, walking to the nearby Ankor National Museum, where we had an educational preview of all we were to see the following day in Ankor Wat. It was good to have a good overview of this 37 square mile temple complex, reminding us of what we had learned about Buddhism, Hinduism, Khmer history and architecture.  

Once again we treated ourselves, this time to lunch at the Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor.

In the afternoon our group gathered to go to nearby Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lakes in Southeast Asia.  It is very usual because its flow changes direction twice each year, and the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons-from November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the lake drains into the Mekong River a Phnom Penh, but when the rainy season begins in June, the Tonle Sap river reverses direction and an enormous lake forms. Visiting in the middle of the dry season, we saw tall mud banks which told us how much the lake would rise in the wet season. 

We glimpsed the tops of temples from our tour boat on Tonle Sap lake.

The many houseboats were so colorful, such as this one which was also a general store.

Families used dugout canoes to travel and fish on the Tonle Sap lake.

Even the school the children attend is a series of floating buildings.

Families and children travelling and working on the lake.

Here's a fisher loading fish traps onto his boat on the Tonle Sap lake.

We had a relaxing boat ride to visit a floating village on the Tonle Sap lake.  It was so interesting to see the families, the children, their school, the floating shops,  followed by a water buffalo cart ride along a local farm trail.  OAT tried to give us the experience of many different modes of transport, and this was the most unusual, if a bit contrived.

Our friend Ted Reed getting ready for his water buffalo cart ride.

Don't know who enjoyed the ride less, the water buffalo with the rope through his nose or our indifferent young driver. It must be a lucrative job hauling tourists around in his family cart, but who says it has to be fun?

 Thank heavens we had a free evening, so weren't subjected to gloppy hotel food!  We found a fabulous restaurant for dinner, Chanrey Tree, and enjoyed the contemporary atmosphere and delicious Khmer food.

A delicious fresh salad appetizer.

Fresh spring rolls-we were so tired of the crisply fried "safe" ones we were usually served as a group.

Fish Amok, the traditional Cambodian fish curry.

The bright, fresh contemporary look of Chanrey Tree restaurant in Siem Reap.

Monday, January 20

The four spires of the main temple of Angkor are the symbol of Cambodia.  

Finally, our full day of the great ancient city of Angkor, a masterpiece of Khmer architecture and of course a World Heritage Site!  OAT certainly saved the best for last on this itinerary.  Our guides explained that Angkor Wat, the large pyramid temple built between 1113 and 1150 is so popular with visitors (mostly Vietnamese, an indication of the increasing middle class of that country now with money to travel) that it is best to get there as early as possible.  So we departed at 8 am on headed directly for the East Gate, the back side of the temple, where we were almost alone for a time to admire the structure.  Well, alone except for the cute monkeys!  

 We learned more Khmer architectural terms for the beautifully decorated parts of the temples, including tympanum,

 aadmired the bas-reliefs, especially  the famous one encircling the temple on the first level depicting the mythical "Churning of the Ocean of Milk", a legend in which Hindu deities stir vast oceans in order to extract the elixir of immorality.

The churning produced the Apsaras, Hundu celestial dancers, whose images we saw on many of the temples.

The steep stairs in the temple complex were a challenge; the stairs were thought to be to heaven.

 But the views from the top of the temple complex and surrounding jungle were worthwhile!

 Some of the little buildings in the courtyards were called "libraries" but their real purpose is unknown.

Beautifully decorated Buddhas were often at the top of the towers.

 As we departed Angkor Wat on the bridge across the baray or reservoir, we encountered the crowds beginning their visit.  We were glad we had made an early start.

While the rest of our group bussed back to town for another mediocre meal at the hotel, we stayed at Angkor Wat and had a fabulous lunch at the charming outdoor cafe run by Frenchman Matthiu called Chez Sophea.  The fish amok was delicious!

 A real treat was Matthiu's pot de creme with tea from a charming French china teacup.

Matthiu, our genial host.

We rejoined our group for the afternoon at the South Gate of Angkor Thom, a holy city that took centuries to build and whose scale is still breathtaking today-it sprawls across an area of roughly 96 square miles. 

The colorful robes of the monks add contrast to the monumental temples such as Angkor Thom

The Khmer aristocrats who built the temples and monuments here between 800 and 1200 AD were motivated by their Hundu and Buddhist beliefs.  Again, the monkeys kept us company!

The huge stone faces of the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom, with their curious smiling images, thought by many to be images of King Jayavarman VII (1190), are called the Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia.

There are dozens of smaller towers surrounding Bayon, each with four faces of its own.

Bayon is also surrounded by two long walls with bas-relief scenes of legendary and historic events. They were probably originally painted and gilded.

We visited the Terrace of the Elephants.

Detail of the elaborate reliefs on the Terrace of Elephants.

Ta Phrom, or Jungle Temple, was found, covered by a dense jungle of trees and roots.  

It was as if this archaelogical treasure was just as it was found by the French in the mid-1800s.  

An idea of the crowds at Ta Prohm, with its popular views of the jungle foliage.  

Banyan, kapok and fig trees, with their ruinous roots, cleave massive stones in two or climb over the temples.

 We abandonded the group again for dinner, enjoying an authentic Khmer- and Thai-influenced cuisine in a charming setting, a converted traditional wood home at the restaurant called Madame Butterfly.

The seating was in low rattan chairs and the decor was a collection of Buddhist and Khmer artifacts, giving a casually romantic air.  We were among the only guests, so really enjoyed our masaman curry and lemongrass mojitos  and of course Singapore Slings.

Khmer sour soup

Khmer coconut crepes for dessert

We learned the Cambodian word for "cheers":  Chol Muoy!

Tuesday, January 21

On our last day we took a remok to the Old Market in the center of Siem Reap for one last shopping excursion.  More silk scarves beckoned, and lovely little woven baskets filled with ceramic containers of spices, like our favorite amok blend, and lip gloss and lotion.  More Christmas shopping done!

Our Farewell Dinner party boat, a converted rice barge, coming down the Chao Praya River to pick us up. 

Our flight to Bangkok and return to Tongtara Riverview Hotel was like coming home, it was so familiar, yet seemed so long ago.  In the evening we had a Farewell Dinner on a converted Rice Barge on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok.

Mai Tai!  Our final beverage in Bangkok.  

Churning of the Ocean of Milk legend depicted at the Bangkok airport.

We had a great trip, and thank Panya, our patient guide from Overseas Adventure Travel, for educating us and putting up with us!

Panya, our guide, toasting our group at sunset at Angkor Wat at the side of the reservoir.