A group of nine of us visited Angkor Thom (Ta Prohm Temple), where towering twisting trees enveloped all the temples, and where Angelina Jolie filmed “Laura Croft, Tomb Raider.” The Queen Courier
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Cambodia, an ancient society with an embattled past, is now emerging into the 21st century with a coalition government that is striving to put the violence behind them. Capitalism is alive and well, with many businesses in Angkor Wat thriving.
We were here to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Angkor Wat. The unrivaled majesty of the complex of Hindu temples, built beginning in the 9th century, brings vacationers from around the world, making tourism one of the country’s major sources of income, as in Vietnam.
Our cruise ship, the Seabourn, offered a shore excursion to Cambodia while the ship was docked in Bangkok. When we embarked, we were met by our guide, Kit, who was hired by the Seabourn to “hold our hands” throughout our visit to Cambodia.
Even though the four-year-old, spectacularly designed Bangkok airport is traveler and shopper friendly (with signs in English) few people speak the language. Well, Kit made it really easy. The benefit of traveling with a guide is that he does all the communication and handles all the passports and forms needed in each country. He even traveled on the hour-long flight with us to Siem Reap, the home of Angkor Wat. All the tension dissolved with his helping hand.
Once we landed, we were met by our Cambodian guide who helped us get through customs. We checked in and our group of nine immediately left to visit the Angkor Wat complex of temples in 120 F heat and 90 percent humidity.
They had been abandoned and overrun by massive trees and jungle for centuries. They disappeared from sight until, in 1864, a French naturalist’s diaries describing the area caught the imagination of the international community and work began to bring back the wondrous temple complexes.
There are hundreds, but we visited the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Ironically, I was more impressed by the latter. Fortunately, we visited on the second day when the oppressive heat lifted, but it was more than that.
There are towering twisting trees that had enveloped all the temples, but here they did not take them all down as they did at Angkor Wat, so we could see what it looked like when the site was rediscovered. It is a perfect site for an Indiana Jones film and has the added glamour of being the place where Angelina Jolie filmed “Laura Croft, Tomb Raider.”
Many massive carvings that tell the story of the ancient culture are still being restored. In the two days we were there, we saw both sites and then spent some time in the village visiting a local market and a school for sculptors.
The town boasts over 100 hotels and restaurants with room prices ranging from $1 to $2,000.
Our hotel was a 5-star, recently-built Sofitel. In the evenings they offered an outdoor cultural dinner show featuring classical dances and music. I do not know who was sweating more, the performers or me, but my heart went out to them in their impressive, heavily-jeweled costumes and masks. I would have retreated to my air-conditioned room, but I could not be disrespectful to these talented young people.
I had been told it gets very hot in the area, but the negative is overcome by the warm, friendly people, and the enchanting visit to Angkor Thom is one I will remember forever.
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