Angkor Wat's iconic shape is stamped grey against a white sky. We strolled along the stone boulevard that traverses the ancient moat, while lillies, fish, and bugs skimmed the surface of the green water. There were none of the morning crowds that we had expected. Only a trickle of tourists made their way through the stone gate toward the famous temple spires with their beehive silhouette.
The carvings were ancient and beautifully detailed. Angkor Wat is one of many thousands year old temples that are scattered around the huge city of Siem Reap. They reflect the empires of numerous kings. Most are built from gigantic, greying stones, tinged with faded reds. The temples and tombs are enormous and imposing.
Nonetheless, I couldn't help but compare these ancient ruins to the sites we had visited in Palenque, Mexico last summer. The ruins of Siem Reap, Cambodia seemed commercialized, as does the city around it, while Palenque sprawls peacefully in the heart of the jungle.
Some of my opinions of Cambodia may have been tainted by our initial greeting when we crossed the border at Poi Phet. We were ushered into some scammer's tuk-tuk, and were told that there were no buses anymore going to Siem Reap, and we should take a $100 taxi there, instead. Irritated, and wiser than most gullible, young tourists, we walked out of there, and trudged with our bags to the border, half a mile away. There,we got on a bus to $9.
Our hotel was not the paradise we had hoped for. Our fan was broken and when we changed room, this shower merely spitted a smattering of droplets. The water pressure in the sink was great, however, due to a hole in the spigot, the water shot out directly sideways.
Beside the greeting and the accommodations,
Siem Reap improved as the day wore on. The temple Bayon is a jigsaw of huge stone faces, set atop grand faded spires. Each tower is engraved with four faces, each pointed in a different direction. The South face expresses maternal compassion and respect for parents. North and east stand for charity and grace, and the western face represents death. As we wandered the top of the temple, the impassive faces loomed over us. When we wandered inside, the interior was dark and labyrinthine. Wouldn't want to be stuck there after dark!
Later that day we visited our collective favorite: Ta Prohm, the temple and crypts where the movie "Tomb Raider" was filmed. Jungly Bayon trees entwined their roots into the ancient rocks. The trees were almost human here, squeezing the doorways and strangling the stones that supported the mossy tombs.
The kids went off in different directions, exploring secret passage ways, sneaking down dark corridors, hiding behind doorways embellished with engravings of beautiful goddesses or bold warriors. With a loud couey, we'd call the kids back, and they'd come running to us. What fun!
Later that afternoon, we climbed an enormous hillside to reach a temple that towered over the trees in order to see the sunset. Unfortunately, kids under 12 aren't allowed to climb the precipitous steps, so we cut bait and headed home.
On or second day, our tuk-tuk driver took us to explore a larger group of temples. Truthfully, these were considerably less memorable than our favorites from day one.
So, we spent only a few hours adventuring, and then headed back to our hot and miserable guest house, where the roosters outside our windows never slept and were apparently being routinely strangled.
On our third and final day in Siem Reap, we grabbed our watercolor paints and headed back to the north gate near Bayon, to sit in the shade and paint those stony, compassionate faces. Then, we painted at Ta Prohm, hoping to capture the banyan tree taking hold of an ancient doorway in its tentacled grip.
In the afternoon, we played at the neighboring hotel's pool, drooling jealously at the shower pressure in the reception area bathroom. We met a French family there. The kids played ravenously together in the pool. We have met very few families with kids in our travels so far.
Finally, we headed back to Angkor Wat for sunset. As we left our hotel, our tuk-tuk driver pointed out the rain clouds rolling in. But it was our last night in Cambodia and, as we're from Seattle, rain is little deterrent to us!
As we arrived at Angkor Wat, tourists streamed out , of the temple like leaf cutter ants, holding their backpacks over their heads and shielding their cameras from the giant drops of warm rain that had begun to fall. By the time we reached the main temple grounds, the sky opened up with rain. We rushed into the dim temple doorway-- entirely alone at Angkor Wat!
The rain pounded down as we waited and watched,eating the sticky coconut rice and beans from a bamboo stem that we had purchased on our way in.
Without warning, a short break in the rain timed itself perfectly with the spectacular and sudden sunset. We ran from one opening in the walls to another, glimpsing the orange sun as it sank, and then racing to the other side to watch the brilliant, glowing reflection on the spires and courtyard' once again behind a veil of rain.
The guards would close the gates to Angkor Wat right after sunset. So with the shadows of the spires behind us, we ran through the rain and disappearing glints of sunshine, down the long, empty boulevard. There were no other human voices, and no sounds of traffic; only the splash of our feet stomping in puddles on the ancient stones, while in the jungle the cicadas screeched a deafening farewell. It was an awe inspiring feeling that I hope I will never forget.
We jumped into one of the canal boats that speed through the hidden spider web
of arteries that connect Bangkok. The stench
of raw sewage and the crush of more than 100 people per boat made the claustrophobic
ride less than appealing. The slick,
black water splashed into the open sides of the crowded boat, as we traveled
for more than an hour to get to the famous temple, Wat Po. Still, the river boats were faster than a
taxi, bus or tuk-tuk in the traffic clogged streets.
