Angkor Wat Temple Tour

I'm so flattered to hear from those of you who are reading my blog! Thank you, and I hope I can keep sending out stuff worthy of your interest.

It's certainly been an intriguing couple of days in Siem Reap. I rather expected Cambodia to be on par with India in terms of frenetic energy and shocking culture, and instead I am pleased to find a more relaxed, gentler place here. Smiles are more regular, beggars more rare, and even the touts that harry tourists seem to do so with a sense of humor and leisure. At one temple, a small girl learned my name, and remembered me when I emerged from sightseeing an hour later. She switched languages along with me from English to Spanish to French to Italian to Chinese, laughing each time at the game. As I drove away, she waved goodbye, "Okay, Sarah. I see you next time, then you buy a star!"

We've done a complete tour of the Angkor temples, stunning memorials to a grand civilization. Angkor Wat is of course the most famous, best preserved, and most overrun by tourists. The complex is surrounded by a picturesque moat, rising up as corrugated towers meant to emulate the closed lotus blossom. It is the quintessential photo-opportunity. But so is every other ruin...

Lest I digress into guidebook descriptions of each spot, suffice that each is distinctively beautiful. Bantey Srei has especially exquisite carving, Angkor Thom sprawls impossibly in all directions. Ta Prohm, a less restored and still overgrown temple, was especially beautiful. Jayavarman VII constructed the temple's face image to represent Prajnaparamita, the personification of wisdom, which was modeled after the face of his mother. I plan on paying similar tribute to my mom when I grow up and run my own civilization. (thanks for paying for my education, parents!)

A favorite spot was the Srah Srang temple, which rises up in a pyramid high enough above the trees to give a view back to Angkor Wat in the distance. The steps to the structure are guarded by pairs of lions at each level. Removed a bit from the press of tourists, this temple offered a reflective quiet. It was a good time to contemplate what this all must have looked like in the 12th Century. Hard to imagine... as Parisians were building Notre Dame, the Khmer civilization was in full swing along the shores of the massive Tonge Sap Lake. Then the Thais moved in.

After a full day of temples, we wandered the more modern meccas of Siem Reap: the night market and the nightclub district. The night market is geared squarely toward tourists, offering all sorts of pretty goods: silk purses, silver jewelry, shells, turquoise, wood carvings, t-shirts. Peculiarities abounded, too. At every corner was a gaggle of tourists with their feet in a shallow aquarium full of tiny fish that "massage" feet by eating off dead skin. Nauseating. The lively streets and alleyways overflowed with open air restaurant seating. Lights, hawkers, the occassional trio of she-male prostitutes. This was the section of town where backpackers set up camp... we'd been wondering what happened to all the Americans at night! We invested a dollar in greasy, gooey "crepes" from a street vendor, who filled the dough with condensed sweetened milk and Milo powder. Finally we tracked down our tuktuk driver, Mr. Vannam, and headed home.

Today is sunnny and beautiful, and we take to the skies again to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). From there we wander into Vietnam.

Best,
Sarah

Siem Reap

We arrived in Cambodia after a full night of partying on the white sand Tanjong Beach of Sentosa accompanied by gorgeous guests of a gorgeous wedding. Our 6 AM flight out of Singapore was a stark way to enter the other real world.

On the ground in Siem Reap, the welcoming committee was a uniformed line of customs officials--men who collected, passed along, stamped, and eventually returned foreign passports with mechanical efficiency. They took particular interest in my paperwork, snickering as they shuffled it along their desk. I figured they were impressed with the interesting stamps I have collected from the weird corners of the world. When I went to the airport restroom, I realized my dress had come unbuttoned at an inopportune spot while I was fitfully sleeping on the plane. I sincerely hope I was a bright spot each in of their mornings.

We had booked accommodation in advance to provide a soft landing at a plusher hotel in town. A driver met us at the airport doors and whisked us away to a paradisial little spot where Sarah Brightman, Andrea Boccelli, and Josh Groban play on repeat in the lobby while mosquitoes lazily drift in from the poolside through dark wood window frames. We spent the day appreciately napping and reading. The trip to dinner marked my first ride in a tri-wheel Tuk Tuk, the distinctively Southeast Asian means of carting Westerners from site to site.

Dinner was a fantastic culinary experience in that I was surprised by flavors I'd never before tasted. Cambodians make constant use of prahok, a fermented fish paste that far outshines Thai nam pla in its smelliness. We sampled a fried noodle dish, a dip (fish sauce) with vegetables, and fish amok, each of which bore that same undertaste of fishy odor. The amok, a sort of curry souffle with spinach, peppers, and fish poached to a soft flaky texture, was far and away the highlight dish. The others were simply too pungent. Back in 8th grade Latin class, we read with astounded disgust a recipie for the Roman condiment garum, which is made by leaving fish in a pan in the sun for several days, then mashing it into a paste with salt just before it starts to harden. With each bite of this new cuisine, I couldn't help but think of fish decomposing, much the same way I can't eat Caesar salad when I think about anchovies. I can't add this dinner to a list of favorites, but I will remember it for a long time. So excited was I to discover a new set of flavors, particularly one about which I have a strong opinion.

After some more much needed rest, we'll tackle the Angkor Wat temples!