Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

“Re-examine all that you have been told... dismiss that which insults your soul ” - Walt Whitman

Pak-Chong, Thailand, to Siem Reep, Cambodia, is a journey which takes all day, from 6 in the morning to 9 at night. I'm not sure of the actual distance, but I am sure that I don't want to know it; I'm afraid it would offend the part of me that wasn't happy to sit on various buses for 15 hours. Though long, the trip was relatively event free, besides one particular incident at the Thai – Cambodia border crossing which involved some of my traveling friends at the time. The details are long, and of no great value to the point of the story, so I will just say that they were stopped at the border and hassled by a man until the man got so visibly frustrated that every one on the bus left and got on another one. The situation worked itself out somehow, and I suppose the only thing I learned from it was that we were now in Cambodia. Anyway, the aggressive man was a far outlier to others I've interacted with since. In fact, I can't say I've seen another Cambodian upset in anyway since arriving in Siem Reep. In fact, I can't say I've seen another Cambodian frown since arriving in Siem Reep. In fact, I can't say I've seen another Cambodian not smile since arriving in Siem Reep. Lovely people. Now, I don't claim to be a historian in anyway, as I shouldn't, yet, but I do feel I know some of the stuff, and I can't think of an event in the past century as awful as the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in the 1970's in Cambodia, besides the holocaust in Europe. That these people, only a generation ago, went through this and still have the ability to smile at all is hard to believe. But, that is history, and this is a travel blog.

Siem Reep is the city which lies adjacent to the Angkor Temples – built a long time ago by some very old folks, with a very intense purpose, presumably. The nightlife does not follow rules and has no apparent objective besides to keep the visitor from his breakfast the next morning. When beers are 50 cents or perhaps a dollar, all has been said. By and by, the first night in town, the atmosphere grabbed me as a Grizzly grabs a Salmon, and soon enough I was watching the sunrise with a group of people whose English was only improved by our collective state of intoxication. Very well, a day looking at temples turned into a day looking at my pillow.

The temples of Angkor are scattered over a huge area, the size of which can be related to the size of a small town in the States. Everywhere, there are temples, and everywhere, there are tourists who should just as well walk into a disease infested pond before taking their eyes away from their cameras. A more clueless breed of people has not been thought up yet, I think. I should say that Tourists are an ugly thing to look at, too, but I would be forced to insult myself, and I will not do that. Anyway, if you keep your eyes at a certain level, you can almost keep the tourist out of frame.

These are the most impressive temples I have yet seen, though I suppose the only other temples I've yet seen are in Las Vegas, and they have a charm of their own, certainly. These ones, though, are nearly a thousand years older, and look the part. They are made of sandstone, some limestone, and some form of volcanic basalt; all chiseled to an unbelievable level of detail and character. The eroding gray surface of the temples are contrasted with the jungle green of lichens, tree roots, moss, palm trees, coconut trees, chemical weathering, mechanical weathering, and other things that can call themselves green, too. It is a scene from Indiana Jones, and I won't be untruthful and say I didn't imagine myself as him once or twice, whistling the theme song as I ducked through the various nooks and crannies, amid vines and spider webs. Of course, I would have done this all day, but of course, I ran into another tourist, and, of course, he looked at me in a peculiar way, and, of course, he was French.

After the normal time allotted for shock and awe, and thinking “wow” over and over again, I thought of how forceful the forced labor must have been, and how many poor villagers and peasants were needed to build this complex of ancient wonders for the king. It's a very sobering subject to think of when looking at something as immense as the Angkor Temples, with as many intricacies as stars in the sky, or fish in the sea, or people in Asia. The sooner the thought leaves, the better the day is. Well, I took a tuk-tuk the first day, a rented pink beach cruiser the second, and another tuk-tuk the third. The tuk-tuk is never far from a wondering westerner, in fact, they are in constant wait for one to walk past, and they are a noise to get used to, surely. But, they are very friendly, and very knowledgeable, and really are worth the 12 dollars it costs to follow you around all day, and wait for you while you sight see. I haven't yet felt scammed or ripped off since in Siem Reep.

Angkor Wat is the grand finale of all temples, and best seen at sun rise. So, mustering up the courage, I got up around 4 am to go and see what the sun could do in the early morning that was impressive enough to gather its reputation, and to pass so easily through the grape vine of travelers all the way to my ears. Well, the temple was impressive enough, but the light had nothing to do with it, as far as I could tell. Perhaps on a clearer morning it could have justified my presence among the fields of tourists, but as it was, sleep would have been more impressive. It is the eighth wonder of the world, they say, and it does live up to the standing, I think. Had it not been for the suffocating heat, I would have liked to explore it all day and into the evening. But, alas, the heat made short work of the day, and heading back to bed seemed the only reasonable thing to do.