Cambodia
Betsy and Albert went to Cambodia in January 1999 and spent two days in Phnom Penh and two days in Siem Reap. We found that Phnom Penh had many things in common with Saigon and Bangkok - similar French colonial architecture and city planning to that in Saigon, and many Buddhist temples like the ones in Bangkok. However, Phnom Penh is much smaller than those two cities, and the civil war that has torn the country for the past four decades has prevented much development.
Phnom Penh's main tourist attraction is the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, also called the Silver Pagoda because the floor is tiled with silver plates, is located on the Royal Palace grounds. It is in the picture at left. It is modeled after the wat of the same name in the Royal Palace in Bangkok, and even the Emerald Buddha itself looks similar. It is surrounded by stupas containing the remains of the Cambodian royal family.
The residential buildings of the Royal Palace also look very much like Thai buildings, with one exception - the house that Napoleon gave to the King. This building, pictured at right, really looks strange among the more traditional Asian architecture.
In addition to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, we visited the National Museum, which contains a great deal of ancient Cambodian sculpture; the New Market, where we bought T-shirts and colorful Cambodian fabrics; and the Killing Fields, where there is a monument to the people who died during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
Siem Reap is located to the northwest of Phnom Penh, and is the closest town to Angkor Wat and the other ancient temples. Unlike Phnom Penh, Siem Reap clearly has a thriving tourist industry. Upon exiting the airport, we were surrounded by people offering to show us around. We engaged a car and driver and set off to Ta Prohm.
While most of the temples around Angkor have been restored to some degree, Ta Prohm (pictured at left) has been left as it was when the first European explorers came upon it.
Tree roots continue to slowly break down walls, and even the largest courtyards are shaded by the trees growing within the walls. We really felt as though we were in an Indiana Jones movie, discovering a lost city. At left, Betsy sits on a windowsill between giant tree roots. Ta Prohm was built in the 12th century.
Our next stop, after Ta Phrom, was Angkor Wat, pictured at left. Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century. It really is an impressive site. We were immediately struck by its magnitude and grandeur. The details do not disappoint, either - fascinating carvings cover every square inch. It is clear why Cambodians chose this symbol for their flag.
In fact, we liked Angkor Wat so much, we went back the next morning to see the sun rising over its towers (picture at right). On the other hand, it is quite crowded with tourists, guides, and vendors, so it lacked some of the romance of Ta Prohm.
At left, Albert stands at the top of one of Angkor Wat's staircases. As you can see, it's quite steep! Going up was a lot easier than coming down. However, it was really worth it, to see the towers and bas reliefs up close, and to see the view of the Cambodian countryside.
Next on our itinerary was the Bayon at Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom was a fortified city of about 10 sq km, completely surrounded by a wall and moat. The area contains the ruins of many buildings. One of the most popular monuments there is the Bayon, built in the late 12th century and pictured at left. It originally had 54 four-sided towers with a carved face on each side of each tower. Although the ruins just look like a pile of rocks from a distance, as you get closer, the faces begin to become distinguishable. It's a striking effect. At right, Albert sits next to one of the faces.
One thing that struck us about Cambodia was then number of Cambodians visiting the monuments. In other countries we've visited, the people at the monuments and tourist site were primarily Western or Japanese. Cambodians definitely made up the majority of the people we saw visiting the museums and temples and ruins in Cambodia. In particular, there seemed to be a lot of young Buddhist monks in Angkor Thom, like the two pictured at left.
One of the last temples we visited was Preah Khan, which was build in the late 12th or early 13th century. Like Ta Phrom, very few repairs have been done there. There weren't very many tourists there, but there was a crowd of locals selling cold drinks and souvenirs. Some of the children followed us around fanning us with paper fans. They were also eager to practice their English and show us their favorite nooks and crannies. Betsy made the mistake of buying a wooden flute from one little girl, and was followed all the way back to the car by the girl's friend, who repeatedly insisted that it wasn't fair that Betsy had bought a flute from her friend and not from her. Albert fared better with the fan boys - they seemed quite content with their tips of around 10 cents a piece. At right, Betsy is followed by one of the fan boys. Albert examines some really big tree roots in the picture below.
We very much enjoyed our trip to Cambodia. Although it was more expensive than many of our other holidays, it was well worth it to see the magnificent ruins near Siem Reap. We are glad that we were able to go before Cambodia becomes a more popular tourist destination - there were more than enough people there as it was! Also, although we're sure the renovation work will be done well, it was nice to see the monuments in a more natural state. Perhaps we'll go back in 20 years to see what has changed!