Feb 14 Siem Reap, Tonle Sap, return to Bangkok

This morning we drove through a rural farming area and experienced a ride on an ox-cart which is still in use by local farmers if they're not wealthy enough to have a pick-up or scooter.

That's our guide Bun with the red lanyard

Then we boarded a little tour boat for an excursion on the Tonle Sap, or Great Lake.


The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that has been was designated as a UNESCO biosphere.


The Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: its flow changes direction twice a year, and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonlé Sap backs up to form an enormous lake, and its size increases eight to ten-fold.

But for us it was fascinating to watch the local Cambodians fishing along the canal, and then as we went further, we were intrigued by the floating villages. 

fish traps

Our guide explained that most of the floating villages were ethnic Vietnamese without any of the benefits of Cambodian citizenship.
Click for an interesting article from the NY Times, "For Vietnam Boat People in Cambodia, No Anchors."

This is a floating school, probably charity sponsored

Their houses can be anchored to posts above the water line or built on bamboo rafts so that during the flood season they can float to a higher location.  It is truly subsistence living, and makes us feel ever so fortunate.

On the way back to Siem Reap we stopped to photograph a water buffalo

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and greeted some Cambodian kids returning from school

Then back to the hotel and off to the airport for our flight to Bangkok and our next hotel,  It was another great flight on Bangkok Air.  We spent the last night at the Kantary House in Bangkok and had dinner at a super-exclusive, high-end mall down the street.  What a contrast between that conspicuous consumption and the hard life of the rural or boat people!

Feb 13 Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat

What a full day this is....first exploring the fortified city of Angkor Thom, the Terrace of the Elephants, the Bayon Temple with beautifully preserved bas reliefs and giant stone faces. 

The city of Angkor Thom was founded by Angkor's greatest king, Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181-1219), who came to power following the defeat of the former Khmer capital by the Chams. At its height, Angkor Thom may have governed a population of one million people in the surrounding area.
Angkor Thom was built in a nearly perfect square, the sides of which run north to south and east to west. It was surrounded by a square wall (jayagiri) 8m high and 12km in length and further protected by a 100m-wide moat (now dry), said to have contained ferocious crocodiles.
A gate opens exactly in the middle of each wall, from which a bridge extends over the moat to the area outside the royal city. The original royal palace at Angkor Thom, built in the 10th and 11th centuries, was probably built of wood and no longer stands.

I wish I could remember a fraction of what our local guide Bun told us.  But it was just so much information and so fast all at once in the heat.   (We did retain the fact that Lara Croft: Tomb Raider used this area as a location.  So when we returned home we watched the movie.  It was terrible and had nothing to do with Angkor Thom.)

And then we had lunch at a local restaurant.  More meals were included in Cambodia and the food was good and beautifully presented.

Then back for the highlight of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Yes, we climbed to the top

 

Nancy and Penny among the apsaras

Sunset at Angkor Wat

From Chiang Mai to Siem Reap - Sun. Feb 12

We were up at 4:15 am to get into the bus and off to the airport at 5. First the entire 32 of us flew back to Bangkok, and then 12 of us flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The flights were wonderful. No more than an hour in the air each way, and a meal served on each. Yes, the meals were pre packed, but they were just fine. And on the second flight we watched some version of Candid Camera and old cartoons. Great!

Here's the tour bus that met us to take us to the hotel in Siem Reap.

Cambodia requires a visa, so Nancy and I were all prepared with e-visas we'd gotten online. There were others who were unprepared and had to get theirs on entry. And, guess what, it made no difference as we all had to wait for the luggage to be unloaded anyway. My only question is why was I the only one NOT fingerprinted on arrival. Perhaps I look Cambodian?

This hotel is a step down for us. Only one sink! It's is a bit tired compared to past hotels, but the pool is gorgeous, and we went swimming this afternoon.

 

And we have free wifi in the room!!!!!!!!!! Maybe it's not a step down after all.

Siem Reap has lots of tourists, but also has a backpacker/Haight-Ashbury feel. There are lots and lots of stands and markets, and the vendors are more aggressive here than in Thailand.

We finally took a tuk tuk ride as the traffic is calmer than in Bangkok. The only question was deciding which of dozens of tuk tuks to choose. It was fun!

Tonight we enjoyed a "typical Cambodian meal" and a traditional Aspara show,

Guess what? We can eat the food in Cambodia! It's much less hot and spicy, and there seem to be more vegetables.