This
is part three of a four part series of our trip throughout Southeast Asia.
Please use this site’s search function to see other parts of this series.
The road to Siem Reap was
bumpy and 6-1/2 hours long, but not without interest. Many Brahma bulls and water buffalo ranged
about freely with nothing to do until the rainy season when I am sure they are
presented with hard labor working the rice fields. Until then they seem to like to hang out near
the road only to cross it at the last minute which required quick reactions by
our bus driver to avoid becoming that night’s steak.
Meanwhile we would
frequently pass motor scooters pulling large farm carts on which 10 to 12 people
would be sitting or squatting; this area’s version of a taxi or minibus. Often we would also see men on the side of
the road indiscriminately urinating into the ditch on someone’s rice field.
Our bus driver hauled
ass. He would pass slow vehicles without
regard or care about what on-coming traffic exists or what they have to do to
avoid a head-on with our larger bus.
Often, motorbikes, school kids, ox-drawn carts and other vehicles would
have to hug the edge of their side of the pavement, or sometimes swerve on to
their side’s dirt shoulder to avoid us.
Our bus driver didn’t seem to care.
His only mission was to get us to Siem Reap on time with little regard
to other’s (and our) safety!
At the halfway point, we
stopped at a settlement where vendors had set up their stalls to market and
sell their wares. Many were selling all
types of cooked insects, tarantulas, crickets, water beetles, etc. and some
frogs and small birds. Mary Kay and I
were but only a few from our group brave enough to give it a go. To me, the cricket was crunchy, but had a
barnyard taste to it. Mary Kay thought
it had the crunchiness of a potato chip.
The tarantula tasted more of the syrupy oil it was soaked in, but
otherwise tasted like dried meat with hair on it. Mary Kay thought it was gamy tasting and was
hard to get it all down.
Warning, the following video may may you gag!
Our hotel, on the main road
through town, was spacious and came with a pool, which we and most of the
others took advantage of soon after arriving.
We gathered a little later for a walk into the downtown area and to the
Temple restaurant and bar on Pub Street.
I’d say Pub Street is Siem Reap’s version of Bourbon Street in New
Orleans. There were lots of bars,
restaurants, people with open containers, etc.; although there didn’t appear to
be any strip clubs.
While having our beer and
dinner, we saw a show performed by Apsara dancers. The women were dressed in their traditional
costumes, performing their intricate dance moves while the men played their
traditional instruments nearby. Walking
down Pub Street we were lured to a large fish tank with aquarium sized little
fish. I got up on the bench, took off my
sandals, in went my feet and then onto my fee swarmed dozens of fish, massaging
my feet with their soft little bites; tickling at first but soon soothing. How’s that for a unique foot massage!
We were up very early to try
and catch the sunrise at the temple complex. Instead of gathering with the
crowds at Angkor Wat itself, we instead followed our guide’s advice and visited
the Jungle Temple, formally known as Ta Prohm, where we pretty much had the
place to ourselves. This is the temple
where Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed. The root structures of centuries old Banyon
trees have taken over and crawled and snaked their way over the temple
walls. It was eerie in the early morning
light. A cloud cover prevented us from
seeing the sunrise over the temple, but the low light made for great picture
taking.
Then we were off to the
featured temple, Angkor Wat. The first
glimpse of the temple takes you back. It
becomes even more impressive as you get nearer and then within its walls. There were wonderfully intricate carvings in
the stone. The construction of this
temple is a marvel of human ingenuity.
On top of that feat though, are the stone carvings and art work on just
about every exposed wall. It was so
beautiful!
Our guide, “Sal” was very
knowledgeable and informative, pointing out details and hidden secrets one
would never know without him. He would
give us free time every once in a while to go exploring the complex on our
own. Our next stop was at Banyon. It is here that carvings of various Buddha
like faces are seen everywhere. I took a
picture of Mary Kay’s nose “kissing” one of them by rubbing noses.
Many in our group, including
us, decided to skip the next morning’s activities of visiting a silk farm and
stone carving show and instead opted for a quiet, slow paced morning taking on
the sites around town on our own. We
walked down to the river front past colonial era buildings and toured the
downtown. We wandered around aimlessly
in and out of markets, up one street, down the next, stopping here and there
for some drinks and people watching. We
headed back to the hotel for some pool time and book reading.
We later met up with
everyone in the lobby to board a bus to the Tonle Sap River and Lake to see the
floating villages. Our long boat and
made a slow journey down the canal toward the lake itself. Shoreline settlements were made up of
thatched roofed huts, all amongst muddy and deplorable conditions. People here are dirt poor, both literally and
figuratively.
The “village” itself is made
up of hundreds of what one could call house boats, shacks cobbled together and
placed on top of regular, but decrepit boats and rafts made of bamboo. All of
the potable water is donated by foreigners.
Foreigners also donated the funds to build the flloating churches and
schools.
The setting sun cast a low
light over the poverty. As we moved
along, other smaller boats would gather speed to match ours and bump up alongside
us. Off would get a little kid with a
tray of soda and beer for sale. No
takers. He’d then jump back on the
smaller boat where he and his father would scoot along and find the next set of
tourists to pester.
Other boats would come out
to greet us, all trying to eke out a meager living by hoping for a buck or two
by begging, or in several instances, by posing for pictures hoping we would pay
them. One boat had a mother at the
tiller, a small infant in her arms breast feeding, a little boy looking sad and
a little girl with a python snake around her neck, all hoping we would
sympathize with their plight and give them a dollar.
As we motored along we could
peer into the villagers’ homes. A mother
washing her clothes in the lake, a little girl stoking a wood fire in a large
metal pan, a naked little boy squatting over the side of his family’s boat
defecating without shame or need for privacy, seemingly oblivious to our
passing boat, fishermen hauling in their catch, a floating schoolhouse with
kids in uniform, a store that sells beer and water, a small boat loaded with
vegetables for sale, and many other visuals of the desperate lives of these
desperate people.
We were told by Sal that
these people were not Cambodian, but Vietnamese who are in the country
illegally, unable to afford to live on the own land there. They have instead come
to live here for free since there is little, if any, interference from the
Cambodian government.
Back in town, Mary Kay
decided to take a pass on the group dinner and went back to the hotel. After eating I went for a stroll around the
night market. For the first time on the
trip I was alone and without Mary Kay.
And for the first time I was approached by men, two in fact, asking if
I’d like to spend the night with a pretty girl.
I said to myself, “sure”, and went back to the hotel to my waiting wife.
Comments
Post a Comment