Temple Hunting at Angkor

No visit to Cambodia would be complete without visiting one of the most important & impressive archaeological sites in the world - the legendary temples of Angkor. The powerful Khmer Empire began in the 9th century & flourished for nearly 600 years in what is considered the greatest period in Cambodian history. We saved this place for last during our visit & were lucky to be able to spend 5 nights in the fun city of Siem Reap. We bought a 3 day pass for $40 which may seem like a bargain, but in this country, that kind of money goes a long way. Cambodians of course enter free of charge which is understandable as thousands of people live & work inside the massive 400 kilometer complex.

Early Morning at Pre Rup

The temples of Angkor number over 1000 ranging from nondescript piles of rubble amid the rice fields to the incredible Angkor Wat which is said to be the largest religious structure in the world. Needless to say, with 3 days to explore, we were spoiled for choice. There's a bunch of different strategies to attacking the complex. Waking up early has its advantages: less people and cooler. Angkor can be a mess in the afternoon when the thousands of tourists crowd the tiny temples & the stifling temperatures reach their climax. We organized a tuk-tuk with our hotel the night before and woke up very early armed with breakfast. After chugging the 6KM to the park, we stopped at our first temple - Pre Rup and had it all to ourselves! It was absolutely stunning and we immediately appreciated the sacrifice of the 5AM wake-up call. Built in 961 and dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva, the 'temple mountain' was a great introduction to our Angkor temple experience.

The Jewel of Khmer Art - Banteay Srey

Next was Banteay Srey a good 37KM north. Riding through the countryside early in the day was special. We passed monks collecting alms, smiling kids walking to school & the delicious smells of street side cooking. Also dedicated to Shiva & built in the 10th century, Banteay Srey is made out of red sandstone which has allowed the intricate carvings & sculptures to resist decay. The miniature temple is just beautiful and we definitely understand why it's known as the "Jewel of Khmer Art".

The rest of the 1st day seemed like a big blur of temples. Each one flanked by little girls selling trinkets & artwork. Very sad to see these girls at work instead of in school, & it was clear to us that they would do anything for a buck. It's just the way it is here right now. We wandered around so many temples, each fantastically unique. As the hours wore on, the heat got more & more oppressive. I remember anticipating the cool breeze of the Tuk Tuk after exploring each temple. We were drenched in sweat after climbing around the rubble in 100 degree heat & 80% humidity. Preah Khan was a huge monastic complex full of carvings, endless walkways & rooms creating a plethora of photo opportunities. We could have spent the entire day exploring this old Buddhist school & getting lost in this temple alone! That's how massive it was. Alas, we wanted to see others as well so we cut our time short & moved on.

Temple Meditation at Preah Khan

Ta Prohm was a highlight because of the overgrowth of the surrounding trees and its setting for the movie Tomb Raider. We exposed our inner 'Lara Croft' by climbing over the massive stones & hiding in secret passageways. This temple is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth, so over the centuries great tree trunks & roots have creep over these ancient stones. It's as if the jungle is slowly eating the temple! We really enjoyed Ta Som as well. Just like the Tomb Raider temple except smaller and much less crowded. We learned our first day that it's really worth the effort & sacrifice to avoid the crowds. Having thousands of people in such a small space can really test the nerves let me tell you. We were so exhausted by the end of that 1st day. We had effectively seen all the temples on the outer Grand Tour Circuit during the 10 hours we were out, so we felt content.

Tree Overgrowth

Biking Around Angkor - Highly Recommended!

2nd day, we decided to bite the bullet and go see the most popular sites in the Angkor complex - the Small Tour Circuit. Rather than rent another Tuk-Tuk, we used bicycles this time and didn't regret this decision one bit! It was nice to have the freedom to come and go as we pleased without a driver waiting for us. Another early wake up and 40 minutes later, we squeaked past a traffic jam of vehicles trying to get into the ancient Angkor Thom gates & parked our bikes around the moat of Cambodia's iconic symbol - Angkor Wat.

Cliche Angkor Wat Photo

What a Place to Eat Breakfast!

This place is simply amazing! By far the tallest structure in the park, the place is visually, artistically & architecturally breathtaking. The apex of Khmer political & military dominance, Angkor Wat personifies the great power that Khmer ruler Suryavarman II had. I can't imagine how this temple was perceived by people in the 12th century when it was constructed. It must have seemed like it was built by the Gods themselves! We carried our breakfast in and found a little nook where we dined in silence surrounded by ghosts of the past. We loved wandering in and out of Angkor's endless rooms, alleyways & great spires. Despite the grandeur of the architecture, I was most impressed by the exterior walls. They were absolutely covered inside & out with intricate reliefs depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology as well as the historical wars of Suryavarman II. One such wall was split into 3 distinct levels - top signifying heaven, bottom signifying hell and the middle signifying this physical world in which we live. The wall seemed to go on forever and must have spanned the length of 2 entire football fields! After taking the cliche Angkor Wat photos, we escaped before the masses of tourists arrived & were off to the next memorable stop - Bayon.

Underneath Bayon

Smiles All Around

After Angkor Wat, Bayon is the must-see temple at Angkor. We could tell that Bayon was Buddhist immediately by the faces themselves. Distinctive Angkor smile that reminded us of the countless peaceful, smiling Buddha faces we had seen already throughout Asia. There are 37 of them in all, most with massive smiling faces on all 4 sides & they are impressive. Each pieced together like a great stone puzzle. Not a place for the claustrophobic, the temple got supremely crowded because there simply wasn't much space to wander around. We escaped the hoards on the upper level for the dark & secretive foundation below. I felt like we were strolling through catacombs. Complete with rats, spiders & darkness - creepy! At least it was quiet and not full of loud Chinese tourists!

My Queen In Her Ancient Castle

We cycled around the rest of the Angkor Thom complex & explored some of the lesser known temples. It was difficult to appreciate each temple after exploring 15 of them - many of them very similar, but we chugged on. We even spotted a few stones in the woods at one point and went off road to discover a hidden secret temple. I find that having a temple to yourself really makes it more special. Being at these structures without any distractions or excess noises allowed us to reflect on & appreciate them more. We headed back to Siem Reap just as the sun & heat were reaching their highest point, content with another fantastic day.

Cycling Through the Gates of Angkor Thom

Off Roading to a 'Hidden Temple'

Mini Golf!

The next day was one of rest for us. The last two days had really taken it out of us, so we relaxed, slept in and explored the city of Siem Reap a bit more. We heard about a miniature golf course that had replicas of temples built into the holes so we motored the 30 minutes out of town. It was a super fun playing mini golf and trying to explain to our curious Tuk-Tuk driver what the hell we were doing! He had never heard of or seen of golf before so we tried to explain. I'm not sure he ever grasped the concept and of course he refused when we asked if he wanted to putt. Cambodians are so modest! Anywho, we enjoyed playing through & around miniature models of the very temples we had explored the days before. And, free beers after the round for our holes in one were a nice bonus! We also went out with a new American friend for dinner & drinks at 'Pub Street'. Yes, Siem Reap is already very touristy & Western - a stark contrast to the rest of this underdeveloped nation.

3 Pigs on a Motorbike!

For our last day in Siem Reap, we decided to get outside the city and explore one of the more remote temples - Beng Melea. What a great decision this turned out to be! We hopped on a Tuk-Tuk for the long ride through the beautiful countryside 63km east of town. We totally lucked out with our driver on this day! He was super nice, spoke great English and gave us free refreshments, ice cold towels & stopped repeatedly for us to try local delicacies! When I told him I wanted to try a tarantula (specialty of the region) he checked markets & local spots looking for some. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found, but I appreciated the effort & kindness. The drive was just as fun as the temple. He took us past villages of smiling, waving locals & strange sights like 3 pigs on a motorbike!

We Had to Climb Through This Rubble Just To Get In!

Exploring the 'Lost' Temple

Needless to say, Beng Melea is rarely visited by tourists. Largely overrun by vegetation, the place seemed mystical when we arrived to a light rain. We really felt like Indiana Jones exploring this 'lost temple'. Built by the same king & in the same style as Angkor Wat, Beng Melea may have served as a prototype for the great temple. Fallen completely into disrepair & not remodeled at all, exploring proved challenging but rewarding! I appreciated the fact that no work was done to restore the place so everything is totally left to the elements. We slowly eeked our way across countless slippery stones that had crumbled after centuries of wear and tear. It was a joy to share the massive ruined temple only with a few local kids who were playing in the rubble. These kids knew the place inside & out and I'm sure they'll become great tour guides once the temple gets more on the tourist map. Looking back at it, we both agree Beng Melea was our favorite of all the temples we visited. If you ever visit Angkor, make sure to make room for mystical Beng Melea - it's worth the effort.

Locals Hanging Around

Incredible Place!

We were on a high after Beng Melea. The place was simply magical but we wanted to make the most of our 3rd and final day at Angkor so we headed to the Rolous Group of temples back near Siem Reap. By this point, we had pretty much seen it all and were a bit 'over' seeing more temples, but these 3 were memorable as well. The last one we saw was Bakong - coincidentally, the center of the 1st Angkorian capital and one of the oldest. Flanked by stone elephants & locals playing hide & seek, the sunset from up the tower on top of one of the first temple mountains was the perfect ending to our Angkor experience. To top it off, as we were walking away we glimpsed a very special tradition. It happened to be New Years in Cambodia & the water festival was in full swing. We watched a monk pour buckets of water in blessing over a praying family! A special sight to behold.

We Found This Family Getting Blessed

The temples of Angkor were absolutely magical and really lived up to our extremely high expectations. I'll never forget wandering through these amazing ruins together staring in awe at the legacy of one of the most powerful civilizations the world has ever seen. Our Cambodian adventure was at an end and we hopped on a plane. Next stop - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!

Beautiful Bakong - The Last Temple We Visited

3 Weeks In the Kingdom Of Cambodia

After 3 amazing weeks in Vietnam, we were ready to move on. Next on the docket was neighboring Cambodia and we really enjoyed our 19 day jaunt through this amazing country as well! We arrived from the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc via ferry and were immediately aware of the underdevelopment here. The border was nothing but a hodge-podge of broken down buildings & dusty, dirt roads. The patrolman impolitely forced us to pay a $1 immunization fee (even when we had proper immunization records with us!) and proceeded to check our temperature by aiming a scanner at our forehead! Not the most efficient way to take ones temperature as it was 100 degrees outside - of course our body temperature was going to be hot! This experience typified our Cambodian trip. The country is still digging itself out of decades of civil war coupled with terrible natural disasters, it's painfully obvious they're on the mend. Transportation is not to the standard of it's neighbors and I suppose that's because they've actually regressed as a society since the 70's. This underdevelopment actually added to the genuineness of our experience though. I still feel like the people in Cambodia were some of the nicest, most welcoming on our entire trip. The tiny Cambodian border town of Ha Tien & a brand new, gaudy hotel & casino greeted us once we overpaid our way past the check point. Ha Tien Vegas is a modern monstrosity that towers above the beautiful Cambodian countryside in which it's placed. No doubt an influx of $$ and tourism is starting to come this way, I just hope the traditional Cambodian culture isn't lost in all the Westernization.

Welcome to Cambodia!! Very Sketchy Border with a new "Vegas" in the Background

Beautiful Sunsets & Floating Crab Pots & on the Kep Coast

Our first two days were filled with peace & relaxation in the small coastal town of Kep. Kep used to be Cambodia's top seaside destination before the Civil War and recently has been getting back to it's glory days. We soaked in the charm of the town with leisurely bike rides surrounded by swinging monkeys, dining on amazing seafood at the crab market & escaping the oppressive heat with dips in our refreshing pool. The crab market was so good we ate dinner there both nights! There's nothing like ordering stir-fried crab with delicious local Kampot pepper, then seeing your waiter waddle out into the ocean right in front of you, open a floating crab pot and grab a victim. Minutes later, we were devouring the most tasty crab of our lives! Doesn't get much fresher than that! We also trekked the 7KM around beautiful Kep National Park and gazed at the gorgeous views of the area & the old, abandoned villas from the Khmer Rouge era. Kep was a great intro to Cambodia!

Local Crab & Kampot Peppercorns - AMAZING

Checking out the Broken Down 'Black Palace'

Bullet Holes & Graffiti In the Old Church

After two relaxing days in Kep, we hopped on a local bus for a one hour trek to neighboring Kampot. This laid-back riverside town was a great place to spend a few days. A quick jaunt outside Kampot is Bokor National Park. The mountain is undergoing some scary development at the moment. World class casinos & entire housing communities are being built on top of pristine national forest and the entire ecosystem is slowly being destroyed. Additionally, it's just a shame that this elitist community is being built by Chinese Investors who have injected billions of dollars to build 5 star hotels, golf courses & helipads for the super rich while the local community still lives in poverty & doesn't benefit from it (keep in mind, much of the population still lives on less than $1 per day). We learned this Chinese company has actually been allowed to 'lease' the National Park for 99 years of development! What a joke! Nonetheless, before the natural beauty of the place is completely destroyed, we rented a scooter & saw for ourselves. If development here is good, it's for one thing - the ease of getting there! Beautiful, new paved roads zig-zag up the mountain on what's got to be Cambodia's best road. It was a pleasure to arrive at the top in starkly different weather than we were used to - it was COLD! We stumbled upon the 'Black Palace' first. This complex was once King Sihanouk's summer residence where he used to escape the heat by relaxing in his luxurious villa. Now, fallen into disrepair & overgrown with weeds, the complex still has remnants of it's previous glory. We zoomed past the ugly resort hotels & construction projects in search of the hilltop pagoda & an old, abandoned church. The eerie church in particular was interesting because the Vietnamese fought Khmer Rouge troops on this spot and bullet holes are still visible littering the walls coupled with Khmer graffiti. If ghosts are real, this place is for sure haunted!

Bokor Hill Station

What a View!

The highlight on the mountain has got to be Bokor Hill Station. Built by the French in the 1920's, this hauntingly beautiful colonial building was used by their elite to escape the oppressive heat of Phnom Pehn. In the 50's, Prince Sihanouk used the building as a grand casino & recently, it's been the backdrop for Hollywood movies including 'City of Ghosts' starring Matt Dillon. Recent development has made the building accessible although less interesting. We got lost wandering up and down spiral stairways, strolling down countless hallways and into abandoned rooms. The views from this place are spectacular! We could imagine huge parties thrown on the veranda overlooking sea for miles. It was a special place. Having a motorbike allowed us to stop and go as we pleased, so we leisurely made our way down the mountain stopping at viewpoints along the way. If anything, the ride there and back was worth the trip on it's own! We headed into the beautiful countryside after getting back down to sea level. Absolutely loved motoring along the bumpy dirt roads flanked by traditional houses on stilts, smiling kids & animals everywhere! Interacting with locals in their own environment is a real pleasure in Cambodia. We enjoyed a sunset run along the riverside as well. After living in America for a few months now, I wish we treated strangers with a smile and a wave. It really goes a long way to making you feel welcome. O and I highly recommend the Magic Sponge Guesthouse in Kampot. Miniature golf, unlimited DVD's, $3 dorm beds & 25 cent draft beers - can't beat that!

Exploring the Beautiful Cambodian Countryside

Our Digs on Koh Rong

A Welcome Resident To Our Bungalow

Next up, we headed to the remote, tiny island of Koh Rong. Consistently ranked as one of the best beaches in all of Asia, we just had to make room for this place in our travel plans. We stayed in rustic bungalows on the beach. Very rustic! Thank God for the mosquito nets at night to protect us from the countless buggers. Aiding in the mosquito defense were big tokay geckos. We were well aware of these fellas from our time in Thailand & their extermination efforts were appreciated despite their constant squawking. The island isn't fitted with proper electricity yet, so we only had lights for 5 hours at night. It was awesome to get away from it all and really have some time to ourselves to enjoy this island. We spent our days kayaking & exploring abandoned beaches, visiting local waterfront villages, playing games at our "resort" & trekking across the island to the incredible 7KM beach! I can honestly say that this beach was the most beautiful that I've ever been to! 7 kilometers of pure white sand, crystal clear azure waters & no development! We had the place to ourselves and that afternoon lounging in paradise was magical. We didn't want to ever leave this place but had to get back, so we started the 2 hour jaunt & met a local dog who helped us.

7KM Beach on Koh Rong - As Close to Paradise As You'll Find!

Our Own Guide Dog

This dog we dubbed 'blackie' guided us the entire way home! He didn't do a great job protecting us from snakes though. One of the other reasons why I wanted to go to Koh Rong was to swim in bioluminescence. It had been on my bucket list ever since I saw the movie "The Beach". This island is one of the best places in the world to see the phosphorescent plankton because of the minimal development & light pollution. Every night once the electricity cut out, we waded out into the water spent hours frolicking in another world. Every movement would send specs of light twinkling like stars in the blackness. It really was like a dream and I can now cross this amazing experience off my list!

A Great Hair Experience

Feeling Like Royalty

Man we had 3 awesome days in Koh Rong but it was time to get back to the real world. 4 hours on a miserable bus later and we found ourselves in Cambodia's capital and biggest city - Phnom Penh. Once considered the 'Pearl of Asia', Phnom Penh is a charming French Colonial city that despite years of destruction and decay from Civil War, retains old school charm. We loved strolling along the grand boulevards & riverside boardwalk & were lucky to visit during a Independence Day. I got a legitimate haircut by a street barber. No hairdryers or electric razors here. Without electricity he had to use manual clippers to 'shave' my head! It was a fun experience and definitely not the worst haircut I've ever gotten. One evening we went to the famous Elephant Bar at the Raffles Hotel. This historical landmark was where foreign journalists stayed when the Khmer Rouge seized the city and it's been the hotel for foreign dignitaries including Jacqueline Kennedy. Cool atmosphere to try innovative cocktails & lounge with Phnom Penh's well-to-do.

Celebration!

Phnom Penh Decked Out for Independence Day

Harsh Rules at S-21 Prison

No visit to Phnom Penh would be complete without visiting & learning about it's recent checkered past, so we met up with an American friend we met in Laos who randomly was there at the same time and headed out to the Killing Fields and S-21 prison. It was an extremely depressing & sad day learning about the atrocities that were committed by the Khmer Rouge regime against their own people! Over a quarter of entire population disappeared during the Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge reign. Anybody with glasses or a respectable career was considered an "intellectual" and immediately disposed of. The idea of this communist party which came to rule in 1975 was to create a self-sufficient society not dependent on outside influence through a focus on agriculture. So, everyone was moved & torn apart from their friends & families to work in farming 'camps'. Tragically, thousands ended up dying of treatable diseases like malaria despite the availability of medicine. Arbitrary executions & torture were carried out all the time. The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or S-21 Prison is where a lot of these 'intellectuals' were kept, tortured and eventually executed. This ex-high school housed 17,000 prisoners of which 12 have survived! It was a gut-wrenching couple hours wandering in and out of the prison cells & gazing at all the young faces now lost forever.

Thousands of Faces Lost Forever

Human Tooth & Bones Just Lying There

As terrible as the Tuol Sleng prison was, the Choeung Ek Killing Fields were even more sad. It was at this location that the actual executions took place. Choeung Ek is only one of hundreds of killing fields located throughout the country where the Khmer Rouge killed & disposed of the 1.7-2.5 million people they murdered. To preserve bullets, the Khmer Rouge soldiers (often brainwashed teenagers) would utilize any objects on hand to kill. Blunt metal objects were repeatedly bashed on top of heads & sharp bladed plants were used to slash throats. The thousands who died needlessly were thrown into great mass graves (some of which still haven't been excavated today). The reality of this place struck me when I looked down & saw a human tooth just sitting on the surface. I broke down. It's very common for bones & clothing to surface after rainfalls due to the large number of bodies still buried in these shallow mass graves. It felt wrong to be walking over bodies, but there are simply too many of them & they had to allow visitors in order to raise awareness to the horrible atrocities that took place here. One particularly horrifying spot was the 'killing tree' amongst which infants were smashed against & tossed aside. I just couldn't believe that one human being would do that to another human being! At the end of the tour (great audio tour BTW) we came to a towering Buddhist stupa where they place the skulls of all the victims they find. Every year, rows & rows of skulls are added to the monument & it puts into perspective the scale of the genocide. Definitely not a honorable burial, but it's just impossible to identify these countless victims individually. Coupled with the Nazi concentration camps, I can honestly say that this place was one of the saddest places I've ever been in my life. To add to it, once the Khmer Rouge were forced out, Pol Pot, the leader of the regime lived out the remainder of his years in relative peace & prosperity - how's that for justice!

I'm Lost for Words

So Many Victims

Our Cambodian trip took a turn for the worse when we learned about the Khmer Rouge & all the horrible things which occurred a mere 30 years ago. A tough & sobering experience but a necessary one. The society is definitely still digging themselves out of this terrible time & I hope they can learn from their checkered past so that it never happens again. The final destination we visited was Siem Reap & the glorious temples of Angkor Wat - which I'll save for it's own post. I'll finish with a happy picture.

A Phnom Penh Specialty - Happy Pizza. Guess What's Sprinkled On Top!