My alarm went off at 6, and by 7 a.m. I was ready to rock. Ann's bungalow was next to mine, so I knocked to see if she was ready. Then I found out that I needed to adjust my watch back an hour. Sorry, and back in an hour. The need to take advantage of the early morning light lured me out of the hotel compound and down the lane looking for "targets of opportunity" to photograph. After a block, I noticed that the hotel manager was shadowing me, making sure that I didn't get into any trouble. You get the feeling that there is a dark side here, but that no one in the tourism business wants you to find it or it to find you.
Farther on I spied a lovely stand of elephant ear up against a corrugated fence. This was a great photographic composition and also a pretty good indication of how lush this part of the world is. Nothing else seemed of interest so I headed back. I didn't want to freak out the manager, he didn't speak English and I didn't want to push it.
At the correct 7 a.m., Ann and I walked over to the dining area. We ordered pancakes and honey, which was the only thing on the menu that met my culinary standards. It was a giant pancake that filled the entire plate. I had to ask for extra honey plus two cups of Lipton tea to wash it down, but it did hit the spot. Just before 8 a.m., Mr. Poy Pines, our Cambodian Certified Guide, and the driver arrived on schedule. They were all smiles and raring to go. Like certified guides around the world, they've gone to school and have a set agenda and procedures that they follow. This can get on some clients' nerves, but I am pretty ambivalent. Mr. Pines is smart and knowledgeable, and I have no problem with anyone I can learn from. Today's agenda was the major temples of Angkor Thom, which included my favorite, Ta Prohm.
We drove over to the admissions entrance of the Angkor Archaeological Park. It's 20 bucks a day and you have the run of the place, but the heat and humidity make it very hard to see more than a few of the temples per day. We purchased a three-day pass on nonconsecutive days for 60 dollars. I had to take my hat off and line up so they could take a digital photo and include it on my printed pass. For another buck we bought lanyards and plastic pass holders so we wouldn't have to keep digging them out of our pockets every time some guard wanted to see them. The holder also protected the pass from sweat disintegration.
The morning time is very busy. There is a line of tour buses taking groups (mostly Korean and Japanese groups) to the world's largest religious complex. Since I'd been here last year, I had a better idea of how to avoid the crowds and have a more personal experience.
We drove past Angkor Wat and into Angkor Thom, parking just inside the South Gate. Backtracking through the gate and over the Naga bridge, we were looking to get away from the crowds. A block back and to the west is Baksei Chamkrong ("The Bird Who Shelters Under Its Wings") Temple. It is one of the first temples, if not the first temple, to be built of substantial material (brick or stone) in this area. Baksei Chamkrong and Prasat Bei were completely deserted, and they were ours for a full 20 minutes, with not another soul to interrupt our creative process. From there we walked back to the Naga Bridge and the South Gate, where there was a constant flow of buses and vans through the area, so we grabbed a couple of shots and headed to Bayon.
When most people think of Angkor Wat, they think of "Jungle Book"-type images, a giant face surrounded by jungle. Bayon is the temple with all the large faces carved on it. It's really beautiful. The only problem is that it's the first stop on most tour providers' agendas, so it's always crowded. The tour groups tend to move en masse, so if you station yourself in a strategic position, you can snap a clear shot between the ebb and flow. But that means you spend a lot of time waiting. Since I'd been here last year I had the advantage of knowing this and some of the places to hide and when to pop out to snap unpopulated photographs. 60 minutes later as fresh hordes were arriving we made our exit.
Walking north, there was an active Buddhist temple where we encountered a fortune teller, and since we were there we had him prognosticate. He handed me a large stack of paper cards that I had to placed over my head and jab a stick into. He then took possession of the stack, opened to where the stick was, and read my fortune. Mr. Pines translated that I was to have an auspicious future, but I said since I was so old, it couldn't be too auspicious. Ann was next, raising the stack over her head. She inserted the stick, then handed the stack back to the teller. He examined the cards, looking perplexed. Poy asked him what was going on and he said that she had chosen the very same card as I had. It had never happened to him before.
At the far side of the temple was a woman shaving her mother's head. The mother had been sick and had prayed to get well. She'd promised God that if he spared her, she would become a nun and serve him the rest of her days. Today she was here to fulfill that promise and her family was there to lend their support. It was quite moving, but not wanting to interrupt we made a donation to the temple in her name and took our leave.
We continued walking around Baphunon, then Phimeanakas, and down to the Terrace of the Leper Kings. It was nearing noon and blazing hot with at least 90% humidity. I function pretty well in the heat, but even I knew it was time for a cold drink. There was a refreshment stand at the west side of Baphunon, so we found chairs in the shade and bought some drinks. Taking a break can be a bit hazardous because of all the young kids trying to make a buck by selling you stuff, over and over again. All the young vendors are so beautiful and so needy that it's very hard to turn them down, but after hours of being harangued it becomes easier.
Once we reached the Leper Kings terrace, Poy called the driver to pick us up and take us to lunch. We walked past the Terrace of the Elephants, which is a treat in itself, and out to the road. Most of the small tourist groups are always taken to the same place for lunch. It's safe, conveniently located (you don't have to drive back to town), fan-cooled, and caters to western tastes. I'm guessing that the guides get a free meal when we eat there. I might be wrong but I don't think so. I had yellow flat noodles with vegetables, a large bottle of water, a Diet Coke, and a rest after the meal while we waited for the check.
Next was the temple that is the most Jungle Book-esque of all the places here. Ta Prohm is a magical experience. Until this year the place had been left pretty much as it was when rediscovered in 1860. Last year, on a wet and rainy day, I had a mystical experience here and was hoping to renew that connection, but that wasn't to happen. In just one year the temple had changed a lot. They've been doing a lot of restoration and preventative maintenance. So they have some areas roped off and they've installed lots of reinforcement to windows and other strategic stress points to keep the place from falling down. They are also cutting down trees, which I know helps prevent more damage, but it also destroys the romantic image that has brought millions of people here for the last century. The temple is a collection of walls and rooms, and most visitors tend to walk straight through, but if you hunt out the back places you can find a serene moment. Angkor Thom was one of the trip's highlights for Ann, she was floating on air. We spent a good two hours just walking around, shooting pictures and admiring the Khmer's ability to turn stone into dramatic statements and nature's ability to change the context.
It was mid-afternoon and the sun was in a great place so we made one more stop before calling it a day. The driver dropped us off and we made our way into Banteay Kadi, a small temple that has some nice features. We spent 45 minutes making our way through and another 15 getting back to the entrance. The van was parked across the street in one of the many makeshift shopping / refreshment areas, very much like an American strip-mall made out of canvas. Poy took us over to a stand he was familiar with, and we sat down in the shade and bought drinks. While there, the wife of the owner showed us the wares they had to offer. Ann ended up buying a nice top and I got a few postcards (in exchange for the shade and conversation).
Travel Tip: When traveling in areas where the heat and humidity are extreme, it is important to take regular breaks and hydrate. Otherwise you will be too tired to appreciate the beauty of your surroundings and you will pass up some incredible visuals. Some travelers think that they will get ripped off if they stop, but it's just a social bargain you make traveling. You're sharing a little of your wealth and they share a little of their existence.
We got back to La Villa Mona around 5:30. I turned on the air conditioning full blast and stripped off my clothes. Everything was soaked through with sweat and I needed to dry off. One of the things that La Villa Mona lacks is a little refrigerator in each room; an ice cold drink would be great right now. Since they didn't, I had to get into the shower to bring my body temperature back into a normal range. I dried off and made a laundry bundle and lay down for a few minutes. Mr. Pines and the driver shopped.
We ate at the Soup Dragon (again), on the second floor over looking Bar Street. The usual order of spaghetti, water, and a diet coke. Travel Info: They make great spaghetti all over Asia, as they have been cooking noodles for a couple of thousand years so they are good at it. I always like being up high, it gives you a great point of view. We ate and people-watched for an hour, then decided to have dessert, a scoop of chocolate ice cream each, which was extremely tasty. Outside the restaurant there was still an hour before we had to meet Poy, so we made a fast run to the market and looked at the souvenirs. Last year I passed on a two-foot-high Ganesh and regretted it, and I wanted to see if I could find it again. Cambodia has great stuff, and if the airlines weren't so bad about luggage, I'd load up. We spent the hour making mental notes about what we wanted and went back to the top of Bar Street to meet Poy.
By 9:30 I was under the covers and ready for tomorrow.
