golden jubilee

Before I get inundate this post with pictures from Cambodia, I just wanted to explain the title. Somehow, despite my history with keeping blogs, and the distractions presented by the world, I've managed to publish 49 entries since I began planning this trip. Having come a long was from its "inauspicious beginnings", I present to you, with no further pomp or ado, this 50th entry...

If there was one word to sum up the landscape of Cambodia, it would be: "rice." But if there were two words, the second would be: "flat." Flat in a way to give Kansas a run for its money. This lends the country remarkably well to biking. And not on some fancy 10-speed, aluminum-framed bike with a cushioned seat and comfortably positioned handle bars (such Western decadences are shunned here). No, if you're going to rent a bike in Cambodia it will only fit the definition of "bicycle" in the academic sense: you cycle the peddles and the wheels turn (and through the entire ride, you never, never, fail to appreciate the continued operation of this dynamic, nor take for granted that the whole thing might not suddenly fall to pieces in a cartoon-style multi-staged disablement).

The sense of forbidding doom one gets while riding a bike in Cambodia is especially acute because, while the country is flat, the roads, through their potholes and bumps, offer near-Himalayan elevation. If anyone believes me to be making literal mountains out of figurative molehills, then that person has clearly never driven in Cambodia. The good news is that while I was there, road crews were maintaining the roads by busily shoveling bread loaf-sized rocks into the potholes, presumably in an effort to destroy the transmissions of any cars that manage to survive the un-maintained roads.

But I was not in Cambodia for its roads and bridges (note to readers: don't cross the bridges, at least not any of the ones built after the 16th century... reliability seems to have taken a nose dive in the last three centuries). I was there for its temples, and having paid the staggering $2/day rental cost of the bike, I made my way out of town and toward the grand-daddy of all temples: Angkor Wat. On my way, I stopped to purchase the necessity ingredients for a picnic lunch (bread, peanut butter, jelly, and Ritz Crackers with Cheeze, spelled with a "z" to keep it from being mistaken with "cheese") and cycled over to Angkor Wat. I had planned on saving this largest temple for last, and to this end I simply offered myself a glimpse of things to come as I sat in the courtyard of the temple, eating my lunch.

Looking out at Angkor Wat from the courtyard.

Having finished, I left Angkor Wat, and cycled on through the jungle, stopping wherever I found something interesting. Something that first-time visitors don't always appreciate about the Angkor Temples is how far apart they are from each other. A temple like Angkor Wat would have been surrounded by a large city, which would itself be surrounded by the still-existing moats. The cities vary in size, Angkor Wat is about 7 square kilometers, while Angkor Thorm is more than 20, and theres usually several kilometers separating each moated city. All this makes for rather long bike rides through the jungle.

A deserted temple I came across during my ride.

Biking down a paved road toward the sun.

Moss-covered ruins at Ta Prohm.

The jungle slowly consumes these temples.

Faces in the forest.

It was getting late when I decided to head back to Siem Reap, and the sky lost its light at an alarming rate as I peddled toward town. I made it back to my hostel safe, but exhausted, having gone 35 kilometers in just over an hour on bad (though mercifully flat) roads. I returned my bike, and scarfed down diner before watching a movie and falling into a deep and restful sleep.

I woke early the next morning, and after finishing breakfast with my roommates, I joined them on the "Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk". The only one in town, his idea, his design, as stated time and again by our very enthusiastic driver, the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk was equipped with a rather impressive sound system, a mini DVD player and screen, a few decorative plants, and a myriad of brightly colored lights. Two microphones, one for the driver and one for the passengers, were hooked up to the loudspeakers, and it all made for a completely ridiculous, but highly entertaining ride through the jungles of Cambodia.

I was dropped off at Angkor Wat, where I spent the next three hours exploring the massive temple. The bas reliefs on the outer walls of Angkor Wat are some of the best preserved reliefs from this time period. Following them along the length of the temple, I was able to trace out the epic stories, both from Hindu mythology as well as Khmer history, with the assistance of my guide book.

Angkor Wat.

Monkeys mourn the Monkey King Valin, shot by Rama.

The damned are dragged by cords tied to their noses toward one of the 27 Hindu Hells.

From the outermost walls of the temple, I began my exploration inside. Angkor Wat is huge. Comprised of many different levels and layers, navigating the temple can be difficult. I've done my best to arrange the next series of photographs to work from the outer layers, in, and then back out again.

The inner courtyard of the second level... the architecture is stunningly complex.

Details of the tertiary layer of the temple.

Climbing to the upper levels.

The innermost courtyard of Angkor Wat, as high as visitors are allowed to access.

Temple, scaffolding, and bird... playing around with my binoculars, lining up the lens to produce shots at 30x optical zoom.

A library in the outer courtyard.

The west-facing entrance to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat was amazing, and I'm glad that I saved it for the last day. Though each of the temples I visited was incredible, Angkor Wat is so much better preserved than any of the other sites, and the sheer size of the building is awe inspiring. As planned, I met up with my roommates, and we all rode the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk out into the forest. Our driver had a place in mind to stop for lunch, and there we were treated to an excellent offering of traditional Khmer and classical French cuisine. Nothing on the menu, not the roast duck, the brazed beef tenderloin, nor the lemon grass fish was over $10, and we all ate very well for very little.

Chicken, le Miel Cambodgiens et Fruits de Forêt... wicked good.

After lunch, my roommates and I stopped by the site of another ruin, similar to Ta Prohm in its state of disrepair. The temple was incredible, much larger than Ta Prohm, and riddled with the tree roots and leafy vines that give such character to the ruins. We climbed around on the rubble, exploring every corner of the site, until the sun started to get low in the sky.

Ruins of a university complex built into one of the temples.

A collapsed roof provides an access point to delve further into the temple.

Nature encroaching on the stonework.

As it was my last night in Cambodia, I had hoped to see the sun set behind Angkor Wat. My roommates proved amenable to the suggestion, and so the three of us drove back to the wat, and walked across the grounds to watch as the sun fell below its familiar towers. A thunderstorm was brewing in the west, and the vivid colors of the sky were periodically punctuated by strips of lighting, racing across the horizon.

The sun setting behind Angkor Wat.

Colors of the twilight.

Making our way back to the tuk tuk, my roommates and I watched as the electrical storm grew more intense, sending fantastic bolts of lightning across the sky. We made a few attempts to catch a flash of lighting on film, and I came frustrating close on two occasions, but with the threat of rain, everyone decided it would probably be best to to linger at Angkor Wat for long. We cross the temple grounds, and made our way back to the main road. There, the Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk greeted us in full form, music blaring, and lights flashing, and we all hopped on board for the ride back into Siem Reap.

Boret's Rock n' Roll Tuk Tuk... if I look amazed in this photo, it's because a massive bolt of lightning just split the sky as the picture was being taken.

Having heard good things about the crab at a local restaurant, the three of us went out that night for dinner, and all ordered the same meal: steamed crab with curry. For me, this was taking a two-pronged risk. I've never been the biggest fan of curry, as I've usually found that it adds way too much heat to the meals I've had it with, and I am a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. Also, after coming back from Washington D.C., I had attempted to take apart a steamed crab only to find the amount of meat grossly disproportional to the amount of effort I put into extracting it from the shell. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised to less heat and more meat from this curried crab than I was expecting, and the meal was rather excellent. The three of us went out into town after dinner, and it was a good way to close my trip to Cambodia.

Three whole steamed crabs in a delicious Khmer curry.

The next morning I arranged transportation back to Bangkok, and by 12:30 I was whizzing passed the Cambodian countryside for the last time. The boarder crossing was much easier, and the overall trip was much quicker in reverse, taking only 7 hours from start to finish, and I was into my hostel early enough to get a final dinner in Bangkok with my new roommate.

The Cambodian countryside from the cramped confines of a crappy Camry.

Thailand's version of the "Just Say No" campaign.

My overall impression of Cambodia was, not to sound too official, highly favorable. Much like Petra in Jordan, Angkor is such a totally unique site, that any frustrations or hassle involved in getting to see it is worth it once you're there. Those wishing to avoid the overland approach can always fly into Siem Reap airport, and this, combined with tourist friendly policies, are opening the Angkor site to tourists more and more each year. Which is why, if you ever hope to visit, I would recommend that you visit soon. I get the feel that we're only a decade or so away from "Angkor Disney", and a crippling sense of artificiality to these incredible temples.

After posting this update, I plan on getting some breakfast, then heading into town for my last day in Asia. My flight for Melbourne leaves just after 21:00, so I should have enough time to check out some missed sites in Bangkok, then hop on a shuttle to the airport. While I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to being able to drink tap water, I'll still be sad to leave Asia. My time in Nepal, Thailand, and Cambodia have been so very different from my previous travel experiences, and I know that I'll want to return one day. For now, I'm on the homeward stretch, and it's English-speaking first-world countries from here through to New Hampshire (excepting Los Angeles, which, I'm pretty sure, is no longer English-speaking). Next stop: Australia!