Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Kingdom Come

Cambodia! Come for the temples, stay for the mosquitoes. After a very intimate, peaceful time in Laos, the Kingdom of Cambodia is jarringly active. The development of the tourism industry here is in full swing, despite having being held back by a repressive political regime until the 80's. There are dozens and dozens of hotels here that wouldn't look out of place in Las Vegas, if Sin City had dirt roads, tuk-tuks, lethargic dogs and street children outside in the parking lot. Siem Reap is tour central because of its' proximity to Angkor Wat. Bus after bus comes rumbling down the road full of their tour groups, whom have tendencies to be quite loud and annoying. South Koreans seem to be disproportionate in their representation.

Siem Reap's name translates into 'Defeat of Thailand', presumably because of the Ancient Spring Roll recipe theft back in 1325. The aggressiveness which we found so ugly in Bangkok and refreshingly absent in Laos is back with a vengeance here in Cambodia. The quality of craft leaves something to be desired, although we haven't yet explored the markets fully.

The multicultural aspect is very much felt here as well. If there was a Jerusalem of the East, where two major religions have come to merge, this is it. With Angkor Wat being one of the largest religious structures in the world (second only to Dallas Cowboy Stadium), and a shrine to both the Buddhist and Hindu religion, you get a real diverse vibe from the sightseers. Certainly not the Lonely Planet crowd that we've been immersed in (and a part of) for our other destinations. Many poor are making a pilgrimage here from various parts of the world. One group of what I would guess to be South East Asian, perhaps Indonesian, approached Peggy at the top of one of the temples, wanting to have their picture taken with her. Peggy was a bit puzzled as to why a random family wanted to pose with her at a 1100 year old shrine, surmising that it was either her freckles or clothing adjourned with various floral patterns. I though it could be a resemblance to the carved stone Monkey Warriors from the army of Suryavarman II in the early 12th century.

We get up and do a morning looking at a temple or two, climbing the steep stone steps and getting lost in the various caverns and galleries. Interposed with cans of sour sop juice (tastes a bit like mango) we then have our driver and guide, Mr. Luong bounce us to the next ruins. Lunch is back 5kms to town, followed by a rest and then back to the temples in the evening for sunset.

posted by ncawthon at 5:46 PM