In my previous blog, I wrote about my experiences in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. However, the next leg of my Cambodian journey took me to the town of Siem Reap.
At first glance, Siem Reap looks like a sleepy provincial town. Yet, on every corner, there is a sign of a magnificent building — The Angkor Wat. Due to its close proximity to the Angkor Wat complex and other ancient temples, Siem Reap has rapidly developed into a well-known tourist destination with resorts, hipster restaurants, and pubs abound. However, with its booming tourist industry and a rich history, Siem Reap is also a hotbed of wonderful people and their stories.
Angkor Wat
“What if the handrails fall off? Or you slip on the next step, Tanvi!” My friend teased me as I clutched at the wobbly hand railings, eyes carefully glued to the steep staircase that I was trying to climb down.
When I was a kid, my life’s ambition was to go to two places on earth: First, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and second, Angkor Wat. So, when I first laid my eyes on the wide gates of Angkor Wat, I felt a giddy sense of excitement. The massive temple complex was originally built by the Khmer emperors for the Hindu god, Vishnu. However, as the Khmer empire adopted Buddhism, several statues of Buddha were placed in the temple as well.
Originally, different levels of the temple were restricted to members of different castes and social standings. Only the kings and high rankings priests were allowed to go to the topmost level of the temple. This part of the temple can only be accessed via some very steep stairs. In spite of being terribly afraid of heights, I had somehow managed to clamber up the almost vertical stairs.
The climb to the topmost level of Angkor Wat offers beautiful views of the temple complex and the surrounding forest. Furthermore, there is a big statue of Lord Buddha that is still considered sacred to many locals and Buddhists. The temple is adorned with beautiful carvings. Some of the walls depict scenes from the Hindu epic, Ramayana. The intricate carvings are intricate and symmetrical.
However, Angkor Wat is just as beautiful from up close, as it is from a distance. The next day, my friend and I found ourselves waking up at 4 am and stumbling on rocks and ruins to catch a glimpse of the temple at sunrise. My friend and I were few of the early birds. We perched by a small murky lake with our phones ready. However, we presented a comical sight. On either side of us, were professional photographers with their long lenses and technical conversations about angles and exposures.
Just as the sky turned pink, a fight broke out between two photographers who were standing beside me. Apparently one of them had tried to move their tripod a few centimeters to the right, which in turn had offended their neighbor.
Meanwhile, my friend and I pretended to take fancy photographs of the temple with our mediocre phone cameras. One old couple, however, did not get swept up in the photography hysteria. Instead, they sat on a mat of woven bamboos and gazed across the pond at Angkor Wat bathed in dawn’s pink light.
I put my phone away after that. Some beautiful things don’t need to be captured in perfect photographs. Angkor Wat at dawn is one of those things.
Sweet Honey
Several enterprising Cambodians have set up shacks and food stalls in Angkor’s temple complex. As such, you will find several locals trying to sell you their wares or convince you to try the Amok at their restaurant. Honey was one such local.
Honey walked in on my friend and I trying to make touristy poses against the backdrop of Angkor Wat. Without asking for permission and Honey stuffed the plastic menu she was carrying under her arm, repositioned my fingers, and instructed us to smile as she clicked a photo of us on one of our phones. The photo turned out perfect as if Honey had done this for thousands of people.
Without waiting for our thanks, she swiftly walked away to another group of tourists. This time, however, she offered them her plastic menu. Although Honey never publicized her restaurant to us, my friend and I decided to return the favor and get something to eat at her restaurant.
Over a delicious plate of Amok and some hot tea, we tried to strike up a conversation with Honey. She told us her name was Honey because she liked sweet things and that she was active on Facebook. We noticed that she was younger than us and was expecting a baby.
We tried to ask her about her story. However, Honey did not have time for idle chitchat. She politely asked us to enjoy our food and ran off to another tourist group. Ever the consummate professional, Honey (who liked sweet things), had a business to run.
Mr. Doth’s Mangoes
Tuk-tuks are the best way to reach and travel around Siem Reap. Most charge around $15 for a trip to Angkor Wat and its neighboring temples. Our tuk-tuk driver was a middle-aged Cambodian man, Mr. Doth.
We first met him at Siem Reap’s bus terminal, where we had arrived after traveling overnight in a sleeper bus from Phnom Penh. Dressed in his maroon t-shirt, with the name of our hotel written on it, Mr. Doth greeted had greeted us at 6 am with a smile and a placard. Over the course of three days, Mr. Doth became our constant companion as he drove us from temple to temple.
Mr. Doth had divided the tour of the Angkor Archeological park into two days. On the first day, he told us that we would do the “Inner Circle” and the next day we would tour the “Outer Circle.” Each tour consisted of about five temples that Mr. Doth would drive us to. Additionally, he had agreed to take us to a famous sunset point in the area. He had also agreed to drive us to Angkor Wat for the Sunrise.
Equipped with a trusty helmet, an ice box with cold mineral water for us, and plastic leaflets with the temple tours’ details, Mr. Doth expertly maneuvered his tuk-tuk through the suburbs of Siem Reap. He never spoke much and most of the times he was content to point to the next destination on our laminated leaflets.
If you have been following my blogs, you probably know that I am recovering from a serious ankle injury, which restricted how much I could walk. Whenever we would ask him if the next temple destination had a lot of stairs, he would look at my bandaged foot and simply reply with “Its ok.” Perhaps Mr. Doth had great confidence in my athleticism, or he simply did not understand the question. Some of the places that he said would be okay for my foot had a lot of excruciatingly steep staircases.
By the end of our second day of touring the temples of Siem Reap, my recovering ankle had begun to throb. Furthermore, the last temple that we were going to explore had a super steep staircase, and I had balked at the idea of trying to climb it. As such I found myself waiting for my friend in our tuk-tuk, along with Mr. Doth.
After a while, I realized that I was alone. Mr. Doth had disappeared somewhere. My friend returned and both of us wondered where Mr. Doth had gone off to. Five minutes later, a stoic Mr. Doth returned to the tuk-tuk and handed us two bags of carefully sliced mangoes. My friend and I immediately reached for our wallets and offered to pay him for the mangoes. Mr. Doth looked mildly offended though and refused to take the money. In his halting English, he explained that these mangoes were a “little something” that he had bought for us. He gruffly told us that locals got better deals and that we should enjoy the fruit.
My friend and I were very touched. In Cambodia, many people are still living in great poverty, which is why Mr. Doth’s gift of mangoes was such a big deal for us.
Parting thoughts
Cambodians are some the most generous people I have encountered. Many Cambodian locals get very shy when they are thanked for their help and most don’t even know what we thanked them for.
My brief journey across Cambodia taught me a lot about the country and its wonderful people. Visit this country if you can. There is a lot to learn.