On a temple trail

Shriti K Tyagi is charmed by Cambodia's temples, tuk-tuks, the floating village and even discovers a new tourist attraction — a tree that Angelina Jolie jumped off .

Shriti K Tyagi

Posted On Saturday, January 09, 2010
Bangalore mirror.com

A great package, interest in the 'exotic' and words of encouragement from friends (especially NOT been-there-done-that ones) got us packing for Siem Reap, Cambodia.

We were to fly to Bangkok, take a bus ride to the border at Aranyaprathatet, get stamped out of Bangkok, walk into Poipet, get stamped and get driven to Siem Reap in two hours flat. That was the Big Plan.

It was mostly successful. The bus from Bangkok took an awfully long time. The Cambodian immigration office was like a shed and though we were the only ones in the line, we were asked to pay extra for an express visa. An amount that seemed more like lunch and tea money. We paid and within minutes, we were being driven to our destination.

Siem Reap charmed us with old French shops, small houses, narrow, clean lanes and a relaxed air. Our hotel, The Villa Siem Reap was one of many small boutique hotels that offer excellent service and great ambience - run by Australians in keeping with the Khmer hospitality. The best package is where they take care of your daily travel to the temples. The wheels offered were that of the most comfortable tuk-tuk ever made unlike the rickety ones in Bangkok.

Sunset at Angkor Wat

Once settled in, our hotel offered that we go for their 'sunset experience' outside the Angkor temples. At the banks of the moat surrounding the Angkor Wat temple, our driver, an English-speaking Buddhist Cambodian, spread out a rug, got this wonderful box out and spread out some goodies - complete with wine, olive, cheese, chicken satay, mini garlic bread and with proper plates. It was a wonderfully different way to start our Angkor experience - dusk, the temples in the background, wine in our hand, toasting history.

The next day we actually got to enter the temple with a guide who took us through the history of the temple of Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II in the honour of Lord Vishnu. The temple structure is a symbolic representation of Hindu Cosmology - Mt Meru (where the Gods reside) surrounded by a cosmic ocean (the moat around the temple). It has great stories, Hindu mythology, apsaras and other divine beings carved onto its walls.

Following Angkor Wat, we entered the magnificent gates of the city of Angkor Thom, flanked by huge sculptures of asuras and devas on either sides. Inside we engaged with Bayon Temple, at the heart of the capital city that boasts of bas relief work that depicts daily life as well as mythological events.

Jolie good!

What gets a special mention by the people of Siem Reap is the Ta Phrom temple. Ask them why and the answer echoed will be 'Angelina Jolie shot a sequence for Tomb Raider here!' That was enough to go for an early morning visit, we needed to identify the tree she had jumped from - we didn't have to try very hard: everyone was willing to point it out to us.

A 1000 Lingas

We then journeyed on to Kbal Spean - a temple trek through a forest to reach a river at the end that is temple. Carved into the river bed are 1000 shiva Lingas, Hindu mythological motifs and lingam-yoni designs. The Lingas were believed to fertilise the water of East Baray to irrigate rice fields in Cambodia.

The Floating Village

The day trip to Kompong Khleang village on the Tonle Sap Great Lake reveals the 'real' Cambodia - with its stilted huts, floating villages, curious children and quaint itinerance. The stilted houses are almost 10 meters over the river, the children cheekily pose, the boatman calls himself captain and the floating Vietnamese and Khmer village complete with a market, school, health centre (all afloat) and TV sets in nearly all the boats.

Happy hours

The local food draws a lot from Thailand and Vietnam, but it is not as spicy. Try the Khmer Amok, Bi Cha (Cambodian style fried rice) and Bok'Lohng (green papaya salad pounded in a mortar and pestle) - Cambodian chaat! Pub street is a delightful lane packed end to end with restaurants, pubs, art galleries, bookshops, shiny, happy people. What else can one expect when happy hours start from some 3.30 in the evening till the street officially shuts? The energy on this one street is electric. At the end of five days, we had made friends with the locals as we became the regulars at Pub street.