March 28, 2015, Sunday
We took all day to get to Siem Riep and Le Meridien hotel. After check in we went to another hotel for a special dinner.
They had an ice sculpture, fans to keep the bugs away, several stations for food, and a beautiful performance of Apsara dancers, as well as the monkey and the beautiful lady dancers which is a legend of some sort. I had jackfruit for the first time. It tasted like grapefruit and orange but a different consistency. March 29, Monday
First I have to say that it was slightly overcast so the heat, which I was most worried about was not too bad, considering the humidity was almost 100%.
Our guide took us first to Wat Thom. This temple complex was dominated by the large faces of Buddha decorating all four directions of the pillars surrounding the main temple.
These temples all have moats surrounding them, which in a few months will be filled with water, so much so that they may have to close some of the temples. Then there is an inner wall with gates in each direction. Then another inner area with the largest temples.
There are 4 in the 4 corners, and then one in the middle. There may be side temples as well.
We walked around Wat Thom for 45 minutes. There were so many doorways and corridors. We climbed up onto this main area and could climb down into narrow hallways with tiny rooms off the corridors. We were told to go in and out the West entrance. I thought he said there was only one entrance.
David did too, but got lost because he went out another entrance. He finally walked around the outside grounds until he found our bus. That was a very large outer wall to walk around.
I got a photo with some beautiful girls in the apsura costumes for $1.00. Thank you, whichever gentleman gave me the $.
We had a chance to use the facilities before we were off to Ta Prahm temple complex where Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed.
A wall along the road full of elephant sculptures called the "elephant wall"
Elephant wall
Entrance to Ta Prahm
They are supporting the huge root of this tree on the temple
Yes, I was there
These trees normally grow on rock, so they are very happy, unlike me at this point
We walked around the outside walls where the Spung trees were growing into the temple, and entered the inner courtyards. The first thing we saw was scaffolding holding up a huge root on top of a wall. We wound around and came to the most famous scene in the movie and all had our photo taken there. There were many more examples of tree roots growing on the rocks, but not as many as I had thought. David found us after this complex and we were not delayed, but I didn't get a photo with him here.
We drove to a hotel for our lunch buffet. We could take food from our buffet, or the one outside for the Asian guests. Our buffet had some surprising dishes. Somehow they ruined several. So David and I partook of the strange delights of the other buffet like tiny shrimp in a ball fried like tempura, a taco shaped crispy pancake which looked like it was made out of egg. Barbecued pineapple spears were the best.
Dessert was interesting. There was a custard on squash which could only have been cooked if it was inside the squash. Coconut milk with wiggly hearts of palm served warm.
We next went to a craft coop which had a demonstration of silver decorating using a hammer and special chisels to press the silver into designs. A woman was hand weaving a silk scarf. I didn't take any money with me, but we managed to buy two scarfs and a beautiful silver ring.
Silver bowl using a hammer and tool to make dents, like working leather
The afternoon then we drove 45 minutes to Banteay Sirei.
Along the way we could see typical Cambodian homes on stilts. Mostly we dozed. This complex was relatively small in area, but it had very fine examples of figures with detailed carving.
I was here also
Very well preserved temple complex
Someone saw Nancy Pelosi visiting vendors as we got onto our bus. Bill Clinton and Marinda Modi, Prime Minister of India, among others, attended the funeral of the President of Singapore. Australia won the World Cup of cricket.
Our last stop was the most famous temple complex, Angkor Wat. They say they have 10,000 tourists here a day. I believe it.
This is tremendous in scope. The moat is like a lake in size, when it is filled.
The causeway is very long. We were told to go to the back where we could climb to the top of the tallest temple. No hats, no shorts. The steps were very steep. At the top, we could walk around a very large temple area with 4 large courtyards. All of this is up really high.
The top area
We spent awhile up here looking down on the whole temple grounds and observing the detailed stonework.
David purchased a book about the whole area. It showed pictures of detailed carvings on the walls depicting the churning the ocean of milk, and battle scenes. We asked our guide where they were. We went through a door into a corridor where the bas relief scene was displayed.
Churning of the milky sea
detail of another long wall with battles
more long wall with sweeping scenes of incredible carvings
The figures were so lifelike. Each individual had a different face. I took a movie which was the only way to show how long it is. Then we turned a corner and a whole other corridor appeared with another scene spanning the whole wall. Over a passageway and on the other side is another expansive scene. Around the corner again appeared the most famous battle scene. The detail is amazing.
Little star decorations on umbrellas. Beads. Some of the relief had been rubbed so that it shined and had a darker color which showed the contrast better. Most of it was hard to photograph otherwise.
We left by the side with shops and had a coconut. Then we took our photos at the reflection pool showing the famous temple silhouette and its reflection.
Back at the hotel we are on our own for the evening. David booked massages at the hotel spa. We got traditional Khmer massages. No oil, just cotton pants and a towel and they did the massage on top of that but manipulated your joints as well. I think they got onto the table most of the time, but they did not walk on our backs.
I woke up this morning with my left ankle itching like crazy. There is a red blister on my heel. The ship doctor wisely said wait 2 days and see me again.
Very cool pics and commentary. Do you have a selfie stick? Or does David take all those photos of you? Was hotel stay part of world cruise package? Thanks for final pic, shows scope of the place.
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