Siem Reap - Day 3 Outer Circuit of Angkor Temples

Day 3 - At 4:30 A.M. I was wrenched out of my deepest sleep by the telephone. We'd arranged to be woken up for sunrise at Angkor Wat, a not to be missed experience, we were told. Our tuk-tuk driver - the same gentle lad from yesterday - picked us up at 5:00 and drove us while it was still dark to the temple. The road was quite busy with other tourists on tuk-tuks, doing the same thing as us. Driving past the massive moat, then walking across the wide bridge into the complex felt a whole lot less bewildering than yesterday. We followed the crowds to the banks of the lake from where we could make out the dark shapes of the towers. We had a bit of a tedious wait in the dark and when daylight finally broke, clouds lingered over the horizon. But as the towers became more defined the atmosphere around me turned to hushed wonder. What a thrill to witness this human masterpiece becoming visible again for all to marvel at! It was easy to imagine I was looking at mountain peaks jutting above the trees, the shimmering reflection in the lake evoking a spiritual mystique. The gods were awakening, preparing for another day of watching their creation.
Alas! The spell was broken too quickly by the click, click, click of photos and the loud banter of tourists.

We returned to the hotel for another hearty breakfast of poached egg, toast, tropical fruit, and smooth Cambodia coffee. A strange red fruit intrigued me, so I asked what it was.


"Dragon fruit," they replied and cut it up into neat slices for us to sample. It was quite fleshy, sweet, and slightly acidic, a bit like kiwi.



Our tuk-tuk driver was all smiles at 9:00 when he helped us get seated in his carriage. It was a public holiday in Cambodia -Independence Day. On January 7, 1979 the Khmer Rouge was ousted by the Vietnamese, freeing the country from genocidal rule. But our driver couldn't sacrifice a day's salary to celebrate. Today he was taking us to the outer circuit of the Angkor temples, and to Banteay Srei - the Citadel of Beauty - a shrine dedicated to women.
Entering rural countryside we started to see dried paddy fields, cows, water buffalo, and laborers in loose cotton pants and checkered scarves for protection from the sun.
The first temple we saw on the outer circuit was Pr. Prerup.  Small and beautiful, it begged to be photographed. We did have to ascend a steep flight of stairs, though, to get to its towers. No escaping the fact that temple touring meant a little more physical exertion than you hoped for!

Pr. Prerup

Back in the tuk-tuk we had a long drive - about 30 minutes - past large expanses of barren paddy fields and poor villages with make shift houses on stilts. Our next stop was Banteay Srei, a temple that stood out due to its sandstone exterior and eye-catching carvings. This small and fairly well preserved temple buzzed with tourists hopping to each door frame for photos. It was a joy to stroll around and admire the engravings that covered practically every wall.

Banteay Srei

Just outside the temple a group of disabled musicians, victims of landmines, played traditional music for a donation. In such a poor country where much of the population battles to emerge from Pol Pot's oppression, surprisingly little panhandling exists. I found it heartwarming to see efforts to preserve dignity and provide respectful opportunities to earn money.

A colorful collection of inexpensive souvenir shops with decent quality stuff got our attention at the exit. Alicia bought a pair of brightly colored loose cotton cropped pants. We noticed the locals wearing them as they provided perfect protection from the heat. I considered getting one of those traditional checkered cotton scarves. Every local used one of these either as sun protection, or over their noses and mouths against dust and pollution. A side note: Khmer rouge soldiers wore these same kind of scarves in red.
I settled for an Asian style white cotton shirt with a picture of Angkor Wat for Daryl.

A refreshing coconut drink at a snazzy open air café - furnished with gorgeous wooden tables and chairs -worked like magic. We were ready for the next temple. We found our driver asleep on his hammock when we returned to our tuk-tuk. That's what all the drivers did while waiting for their customers.

We headed back toward Siem Reap to continue our outer circuit temple tour. First came East Mebon - small and easy to take in, similar in design to other Angkor temples with towers shaped like the mythical mountains of Hinduism.

Ta Som

Next we went to Ta Som, an unrestored single story, small shrine. Its distinguishing feature was a huge ficus which has grown into its east tower.

Around 1:00 we were hot, hungry, and exhausted. Rivers of sweat flowed down my body. Breathing in the dust and fumes while riding in the tuk-tuk became almost unbearable. Our driver gave us cold wet towels scented with eucalyptus to mop our brows and necks. Oh, it felt utterly divine. Trudging through temples was hard work. At this point our hearts were no longer in it. Should we quit and finish up tomorrow? Given the huge distance we'd have to cover to get back it didn't seem practical. Maybe we'd feel better after lunch.
A collection of restaurants near the next temple served the typical fare - various Khmer and Asian curries accompanied by big bowls of fluffy white rice. We dragged ourselves to the shady interior of the least busy one, where quick service, okay food, and a comfortable chair took away much of our misery.

Bridge leading to Neak Pean

Feeling a little more energetic we dutifully went to the next temple - Neak Pean. We had to walk along a long wooden bridge which took us across a massive man built lake.
This little temple - unrestored and in ruins sits on an island and tourists get to gawk and photograph it from across the water.

Preah Khan

With a feeling of tremendous relief we got off the tuk-tuk and headed to the last temple of the day - Preah Khan, which served as a monastery and teaching center a thousand years ago. You enter along a paved causeway bordered by carvings of gods on one side and demons on the other holding the body of a serpent. I had seen this style a few times now with Buddha sitting against the serpent's head.
Past the first enclosure I was amazed to see how substantial this place was. Oh no! More stairs to climb! We came to four gopuras (towers) and within these was the Hall of Dancers with a bas relief depicting Apsaras. The Apsaras were dancing women from mythology, and a recurring theme in many of the Angkor carvings all over the area. Major restoration work was in progress at this temple and in a few years this very interesting place will be even more so.

We were back at the hotel by 4:00 P.M., but with the early start, and a full day, it felt like midnight. After a magical shower we studied the spa menu offered by the hotel. Obviously it had to be the full body aromatherapy which included a foot massage!

Two young women showed up with fragrant oils and gave us unconventional, but pretty decent massages. They didn't ask us to remove our clothes and we were not on massage tables. But in true Asian style they got right up on our backs and pressed and rubbed every single aching muscle. Wow!

At sunset we went to the rooftop bar for free champagne - a Tuesday special at our hotel. The sky took on attractive shades of yellow and red as we sipped our fizzy drinks. We shared a table with a Swedish woman who told us about her life in her village 50 km from the North Pole. She showed us photos of the Northern lights which she sees everyday in midwinter.

For dinner we went into the buzzy center of Siem Reap and ate at Chamkar Vegetarian Restaurant, in the middle of The Old Passage - a very atmospheric narrow lane. It's inventive menu revealed an intention to please the discerning western tourist. For starters we had their wedding day dip made with creamed mushrooms, coconut milk, and roasted peanuts. It was served with baguette. Baguette, it turned out, was very commonly eaten in this country. We had an excellent tofu dish and Cambodian curried vegetables for mains. A truly satisfying meal after such an intense day.
A young English couple sat at the table next to ours and we got into a deep conversation with them. They seemed quite conflicted about spending money on luxuries here while there were so many poor people around. They felt they needed to do something about the poverty, but couldn't resist ordering a bottle of French wine with their meal.

After dinner we intended to go to a bar at King's Road Angkor across the lit up bridge to listen to live jazz. We had walked through this newly built center earlier in the evening on our way into town, and were so taken by its stunning architecture. A modernized take on a traditional Khmer village, the all wooden structure on two levels was built around a courtyard. This center was full of chic cafés, bars, and restaurants in individually designed houses. The upper levels were on stilts and we could see tourists enjoying happy hour drinks on the balconies. It would have been the perfect place for an after dinner cocktail, but fatigue steered us to our beds instead.