Aside from some dodgy draughts and tourist-ridden streets we were generally pleased with what Siem Reap had to offer. This place has gone through a major boom in the last few years with overpriced hotels popping up all over the place, but with the surrounding sights it’s easy to understand why the tourists have flocked here, do flock here, and always will flock here.
It starts at a bus station – it always starts at a bus station. We were promptly tuk tuk’d in to town, and permitted the driver one opportunity to take us to a hotel so long as it was within our budget. He failed, taking us to one 125% dearer than our agreed maximum price and then spent time getting grumpy at us for not staying there and telling us that“everything else is booked out in Siem Reap”. Dishonest trickery from every angle. Well honestly. Using a bit of intuition we managed to walk in the right direction and bag a couple of decent rooms for $5 a night each above a medical centre.
One fine day, after stocking up on our regular Western banquet, we hired bicycles and plodded out to see the nearest floating village which is literally a village built on the water. There are a number of these actually, and allegedly some folk can spend their whole lives without ever stepping on dry land. Mind boggling. Kind of like a poverty stricken Underwater World. Seeing these has skyrocketed from $2 pp in 2010 to $15 pp and upwards now(some tours offering mid-70 USDs to see these). After a nice and bumpy cycle on bikes threatening to fall apart for the better part of 15+ km we reached the end of the land and had a quick gander through the village there (note, it's not a floating village). It was a feral squalor, and the stench prevented us from reaching the end. Disgusted we turned back and sought out a ferry so we could get out to the nearby floating village. We briefly started speaking with one of the boat tour chaps about how much this would cost and Craig, in the process of haggling, pointed out that they were taking in several hundred dollars per boat (there were many other people) and that that was far beyond what their associated costs amounted to. The chap then had the audacity to claim that a lot of that money goes in to build up local villages which, after witnessing the poverty stricken village 300 meters away, seemed highly improbable. This was sufficient to annoy us beyond repair and so we cycled off to the sounds of the price being dropped. We probably found some phenomenal food somewhere to take our mind off of missing out on seeing a floating village. No big loss.
The number one reason to come to Siem Reap (perhaps even Cambodia..) would be to see the many temples of Angkor, including the famous Angkor Wat, which is (allegedly – source, me skim-reading the Lonely Planet) the largest temple available. It’s pretty cool, but there are a lot of tourists. Tonnes of ‘em. At least if you walk away from them to take in the temple in all its splendour the people fade away to look like tiny ants. It certainly is formidable, but I constantly struggled to feel the full significance of the masterpiece. Perhaps because it’s no greater than the Egyptian, Greek and Roman empire’s – my three favourite empires – achievements, and the only difference being this this showed up centuries, even millenniums later. One great thing about such recent ruins is that it hasn’t had time to decay too much. However there have been two major botch ups in its history, one being some Indian conservation group used a corrosive cleaner on the statues which stuffed them up something chronic, and second some conservation folks (likely undergrads aiming for a BA..) decided it would be a good idea to rebuild parts in likeness of how they once were, using concrete and including wall carvings. The idea of reconstruction never bodes well with me for many reasons, most significant being that it generally seems dishonest. I will confess that done properly, re-piecing chunks of rubble to form the building they once formed say, can work, but it must not be overdone. And I feel Angkor Wat was overdone. Again, when walking far enough away from the temple to take in its beauty it seemed to make the blemishes fade in to oblivion behind the ants, and allowed me to appreciate it for the formidable masterpiece that it is.
My favourite temple however was Ta Prohm. Favourite by a mile. This was one with the jungle, with the amazing ruins becoming almost symbiotic with the towering trees, both reaching upwards and leaning on each other heavily to prevent from toppling. This was all I could have hoped for and more. Just beautiful.
Finally we spent the majority of the day exploring three of the sites within Angkor Krau, the large site just north of Angkor Wat. These were pretty amazing also actually, with one towering right up in to the heavens, accessible via steps so steep that only the gods could ascend. So the legend goes. Here we chatted with a few charming Buddhist monks visiting on holiday, and did our best to avoid other crowds. Fortunately the heavens opened up and it suddenly rained heavily, causing our rivals to scatter and waddle back to their tour buses for shelter. The moments before the tourists returned to the sights were some of the greatest, and Morgan, Craig and I sat high in one temple just watching the ants slowly returning below for ages
The temples, despite their many faults, were moving for us each, and were a real highlight for me in coming to this corner of the globe.It turns out that they were quite moving to each of us in differing ways as we spent hours debating the acceptable role of conservation, whether the money could be better spent elsewhere, the value that these sites bring to the world, and so on.
The final activity we encountered here was Beatocello, a Swiss doctor responsible for building five hospitals in Cambodia and fundraising millions of dollars for their construction/operation, much of which comes directly from his cello concerts. We attended his Saturday night concert and were charmed at both his speeches and his musical talent. His passion and his message are one. It is undeniable the impact he is having on preserving lives in Cambodia, undoubtedly one of the ‘Great People’ of our generation, I consider myself fortunate for hearing a man of such greatness speak in such an intimate setting. We were all moved to make a generous donation as well as Morgan eagerly donating blood the next day.
Last point, last but certainly not least, the food. After all, the overall measuring stick for any town is the food, and on that front Siem Reap did not disappoint. Despite every restaurant reeking of touristic appeal we did find a few superb authentic meals just by wandering around near pub street. Morgan and I also did a cooking course at Le Tigre Papre which was both cheap and cheerful. Craig missed out as the Durian Shake Ordeal was not quite over for him at that stage.
Now that the trip is nearing an end we are heading offsomewhere nice and beachy to relax before flying home. Actually, I am messing with the tense a little. I am drafting this post from paradise, ready to post once I arrive back in a world touched by internet. Actually, paradise is the wrong word. Paradise is too modest a word for such a place as this. I am on an unspoiled island which has an abundance of beauty everywhere. I am listening to the waves crashing down below, the chirp of crickets in the air, and my own gentle tap tap tap of the keyboard. The generators have just gone out and plunged the area in to complete darkness, the only light coming from the stars shining brightly above. Paradise^2.
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