Elevation (Ta Promh Temple, Cambodia)

Welcome back dear reader to part 2 of our big temple day. Today's title is a U2 song. Yes U2, the most overrated band in the world, but they did the soundtrack, Elevation, to Tomb Raider and that's where we headed, after resting up following our dawn visit to Angkor Wat.

Lets get it out of the way. Tomb raider.

Aside from Angelina Jolie's character, Lara Croft, running around the Ta Promh temple site, it has two major claims to fame. First, many sections have been restored, and second, the giant ficus trees that are, in parts, holding the walls together and in other areas, pulling them down. That really is a ying/yang situation.

Another face watching us enter.

This is the third temple we have visited and the first without a substantial moat, although there is a pond. The entrance is fairly typical, run the gauntlet through the souvenir stands with their hawkers and then enter the temple grounds through a gate in the sizeable stone wall.

The pond or lake. Whatever.

Unlike Angkor Wat, this temple does not have multiple levels, towers or spires reaching for the sky. It does have a more modest tower at the centre of the structure which has the centre point of significance. This area is said to have contained many pearls and gemstones, now gone. Lara Croft is almost certainly not to blame for this misappropriation; perhaps some were "acquired" by the British Museum? I was going to suggest that as the discussion ensued at the site, but being surrounded by colonisers, I kept mum.

The obligatory arty shot.

Some areas are still rubble although the restoration process must be lauded. It is like putting together a massive 3D jigsaw puzzle of moss-covered stone blocks. "Where would you start"? I enquired of Jayne. "Easy", was the reply. "Look for the corners and the edges and start there". Droll, very droll.

Before and after. Have a close look. Amazing.

The colossal trees that grow around the grounds, over the walls and buildings were identified by our guide as a variety of ficus. However, there is disagreement over the accurate naming of the tree. Regardless, they dominate the temple. The trees have an interesting relationship with the structure of the temple. Some sections, inseparable from the walls, are probably stopping it from further decay. In other areas, they have compromised the structure and once embedded, have fallen during storms, damaging the walls in the process.

Help or hindrance?

Excavations in one area uncovered over 400 statues of Buddha. Each one meticulously decapitated. A particularly Cromwellian manoeuvre. Who inspired whom? We'll never know.

Not thinking, jus sitting.

One of the reliefs that adorns a gateway on the major wall had what appeared to be, a carving of a stegosaurus. Pseudoscience and conspiracy theories abound. However, what appears to be the sails on the back of the stegosaurus, is actually the depiction of mountains and is common in this period. The beast itself is a rhinoceros. A great discussion point and one for the tin-foil hat wearing brigade. Or those that watch SkyNews After Dark. What's that dear reader? That Venn diagram would be be a circle. Yes, you are absolutely correct.

Here it is. Controversial.

The excitement of using U2 in a blog momentarily distracted me... En route to the temple, we had stopped briefly at ODA, a school for disadvantaged local children, either orphans or from single parent families. It is a boarding school. The children sleep two to a double bed, cosy in this climate. The girls' dormitory is downstairs and the boys' up a very steep set of stairs.

The main concept is to teach the children English, but the owner/founder is an artist, so art plays an important role in the day-to-day operation. Particularly as the children's artwork is used as a fundraising opportunity and is sold to visiting tourists. In fact, ODA stands for Opportunities for Development through Art and, what originally began as a haven for 34 children, has now mushroomed elsewhere to foster over 1000 kids. This facility, still capped at 34 with a one-out one-in policy, is partially self-funded but is also maintained by donations from the public and businesses such as APT, who match passenger contributions, dollar for dollar.

The classroom.

After a performance of a Cambodian traditional dance by some of the students, the principal spoke about the school's history and work and then we were taken on a tour of the place by students. This exercise was partly a vehicle for the students to practise their English. We were with two girls, one of whom had been at the school for 4 years and could converse pretty well. The other student was younger and had only been at the school for one year. She had far less English, but together they showed us where they learn, sleep and cook, finishing off in the studio where they showcased their artwork.

Our visit to ODA complete, the remaining 11 brave souls from the 'green family' returned to the bus and made their way to the 'tomb raider' temple. There were actually 23 people in our group, but as the trip continued, the numbers participating in the activities varied and most recently, dropped off completely. 

I have a love-hate relationship with tours such as these. FOMO, the fear of missing out, generally forces me to participate in every activity which can lead to being over-tired. Further, it can be emotionally exhausting spending time with people you don't know and really don't care about. Especially if they are not very personable or likeable. As a result, everyone needs some downtime as the journey progresses. Happily, we were most fortunate on this tour to meet some absolutely lovely people. I even forgave them for being Victorians. You know who you are 😉.

There's a function on tonight.

As you know my dear reader, while I might comment on random people we come across in our travels, it is even unusual for me to nominate a nationality. I prefer to leave that to your own prejudice. Consequently, I rarely pass commentary on those with whom I'm travelling. Not this time. We were forced to share our time with some extremely rude, entitled travellers from the 'mother country'. Interestingly, most of them did not look happy and did very little to interact outside of their clique. Sour faces, pushing to be first in line or ignoring the guide and wandering off on their own, or standing in the middle of the photo that everyone was waiting to snap. They also brought the germs and coughed, spluttered and sneezed their way around Asia, infecting others on the tour. Aside from that, they were a delight to be with.

The pool area at night.

APT, alert to the fact that many of us would have expended our 'social capital' by this point, did not schedule a group dinner. We opted for room service: spring rolls, a very tasty baguette accompanied by a bottle of red and an early night.

Until next time.

Here comes the sun (Angkor Wat, Cambodia)

Ah, sunrise, dear reader. It’s a special time of day. I love the quiet, the soft light, being able to listen to the world wake up. Mostly. Being forced from bed before 4:15am so we could be dressed and on the bus to Angkor Wat by 4:45am to watch the sunrise with hundreds of other people didn’t tick my usual early morning boxes.

The temples in the region are spectacular at any time of day and watching the light change over the main temple as dawn approached was pretty special. Honestly though, I would have preferred it to be a lot less crowded. I say this despite our local guides telling us that Cambodia’s tourism levels have still not recovered after COVID.

There is something out there in the dark.

There were some among us who opted to stay in bed, although I believe they later claimed illness. This is totally believable, given the number of people coughing and spluttering their way through the day. 

Sunrise was at 6:03 but we arrived well before that because the main show isn’t the sun itself but the changing light. Unless of course it is the equinox. That is a major event. The sun rises directly over the main tower of the temple. The link between the sun and many civilisations dates back thousands of years. There is Stonehenge, the pyramids of Egypt, the Mayan and Incan temples and numerous neolithic burial sites across western Europe. No doubt there are other examples.

Looking back across the moat.

We arrived somewhere, not a carpark. It was dark, I couldn’t see. Reaksmey distributed torches and we made our way to the rainbow bridge that was lit up by many other torches. It resembled some bizarre pilgrimage. The sky was already changing colour and the traces of cloud were picking up the rays of the coming sun.

The gate.

After we passed over the moat that surrounds the temple, we walked through the gate in the wall and out onto the grassed area for our first glimpse of the silhouette of Angkor Wat. We were shepherded to the coffee area where we were to reassemble at 6:30, after our sunrise photo opportunity by the two ponds in front of the temple. Historically, these ponds were for ritual cleansing purposes, prior to entering the temple complex proper. The closest one still has a fence around it, covered in some sort black shade-cloth like mesh, even though rectification works finished quite some time ago. Along the bank above the pond stood over 100 people, cameras poised.

Pity about the fence.

I snapped a couple of pictures on my walk to the next pond. The view here was not impeded by an annoying fence. However, the many hundreds of people here meant my pictures would have revealed the top spires of the temple and the backs of many heads. I returned to the other viewing area in front of the fenced pond.

Here comes the sun.

The changing light as the sun dawned, did indeed colour our view of Angkor Wat. The reflection in the pond, through the fence, changed from black through to golden as the image of the temple sharpened in focus. Of course, this inspired today's title, another one from my favourite group, The Beatles. Here comes the sun.

We returned to our assembly place and passed up the opportunity to have what would have been an appalling cup of instant coffee. Once there was sufficient light, the hoards of tourists moved forward, swarming over the structure like ants. We stood back, waiting for the first wave to subside, while our guide explained that we were approaching the centre of the universe, the home of the gods, originally dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu the Preserver. 

Light on the main wall.

Then we moved into the temple itself, up one level, to begin our guided exploration of this ancient marvel, built by King Surya II (meaning sun) over a 30-year period. As with Bayon Angkor Thom Temple, the first level’s outer walls of carved stone, tell the story of glorious battles in intricate detail. After the depictions were explained and examined, we eventually moved through the next wall into the inner courtyard.

It's clearer in person.

A relief on the ceiling.

We climbed to the second level to pause and look at four pools that were part of the ritual cleansing for the more privileged who were entitled to go deeper into the complex. It was explained that these pools, along with the outer ponds, are part of a drainage system that is designed to maintain moisture levels in the sand foundation upon which the stone temple is built. If the sand were to dry out ever, the stability of the temple would be compromised.

One of the cleansing pools.

From there, we walked to the east to climb the 40 wooden stairs that have been built to allow access to the top part, the king’s inner sanctum, the third level of the complex. These stairs were steep enough, especially on the downward journey but I wouldn’t have been keen on using the original stone staircase. The view from the top was worth the climb and it would have afforded the king the opportunity to survey his kingdom.

Steep. No handrail. Clearly a WHS concern.

The view from the top.

Once we had reassembled as a group on the second level, our guide led us into the very heart of the temple where a square stone in the floor pinpoints the exact centre of the complex. To illustrate the accuracy of the stone’s position, he placed his mobile phone on the floor to reveal the zero degree reading and the centre of the universe.

The centre of the universe. Smaller than I expected.

We then edged our way past adherents who had come to pray in front of the statue of Buddha that was positioned towards the front of the first level, facing the ponds. We walked down the central causeway, out through the perimeter wall and, this time, traversed the moat via a modern pontoon platform that bounced disconcertingly as you stepped on each tile of the pontoon. 

Where have all the people gone?

A Buddha in the King's sanctum.

One last photo opportunity to capture the entirety of the five towers of Angkor Wat, and then it was time to reboard the bus to return to our hotel, while the 9am group tour of Angkor Wat was conducted.

The pontoon.

One last look.

Although this was not only excursion for the day, I feel you have read enough, dear reader, and I’ll save the ‘tomb raider temple’ for the next post. Back at the hotel it was breakfast and time for a rest.

Until next time.

 

Thieves in the temple (Kampong Cham, Siem Reap, Angkor Thom, Cambodia)

We were awake at 5:30am, dear reader. Our bags were outside our stateroom before the appointed hour and we were seated at breakfast shortly after 6:15. Breakfast was the usual affair, although we had been warned by our tour guide not to imbibe too much coffee or tea because of the long bus trip ahead. (He was concerned about incontinence amongst his charges). Service was perhaps a little slow. I think they were focussed on the arriving crowd rather than the departing group.

I discovered something else last night, dear reader. There is a coffee machine on our level. A real one with beans that need to be ground. The working class boy inside of me eschewed the concept of our “butler” providing us with a morning coffee and now it was time to regret. We could have been having proper coffee every morning. Ah well.

Everyone assembled in the lounge at 7:40 for the final disembarkation from the Mekong Serenity. We were back in our three colour groups, one specially modified bus (allegedly) per group. Apparently, a number of seats had been removed to provide more space to stretch your legs. It is, after all, a 5 and a half hour bus trip to Siem Reap.

The seats were certainly larger than usual, think Business Class on a plane plus they had a foot rest and could also decline. I was more interested in sitting my seat up straighter and tried to adjust the seat back. The end result was my seat reclined into the lap of the person behind me. All much to Jayne’s amusement. “Oh, Liz, you could give Brad a head massage while we drive along!” she managed to get out between fits of laughter.

Seat re-positioned, I extracted the computer from my pack and began editing photos and catching up the blog.

We stopped after an hour for people to use the “happy room”. They are unable to say toilet over here. Maybe it’s an APT thing. The toilets were quite visible, to the amusement of some. The urinals may as well have been on the driveway for all the privacy they offered. The women’s toilets were more secluded and, hanging on a hook by the mirror, was a grimy green comb, presumably for anyone to neaten up their hair before resuming their journey.

Back on the bus, I had just settled into writing the blog and the announcement was made that we were stopping again. I swear we hadn’t been driving for more than 20 minutes. Anyway, we stopped at Preypors River. Actually, it’s more of a lake, which apparently never dries up and is obviously a major stop for APT tour buses. 

This was not a mat.

The complex consists of a restaurant, takeaway fast food and a souvenir shop full of weird toys, packets of strange food, along with clothing and other keepsakes that we have seen in countless markets along the trip.

The "special" view. Not so special. A lake, not a river.

The takeaway was doing a roaring trade, especially in ice creams, but they actually had a real coffee machine and the temptation to try a decent coffee, after several weeks of disappointment, became overwhelming. An espresso was ordered and, while it was delivered in a paper cup, joyously it contained the best coffee since leaving Australia!

Barbequed salted fish, anyone?

While I luxuriated in sipping this liquid gold, we wandered out the back to the restaurant on the lake to sit and take in the view. The lakeview, however, was hard to focus upon since, hanging all the way along the edge of the roof, was a series of clear plastic bags, tied up by string and each showcasing liquid of varying colours: red, green, yellow. A couple had presumably suffered a rupture and were flapping emptily in the light breeze. But the rest glinted in the sunlight, dancing and posing the question, “Why?” No answer was forthcoming and so we re-boarded the bus, bound for one more detour before our intended destination, Siem Reap.

Just weird.

The bus rolled into the carpark of a large complex, 5 minutes from our hotel, so that we could all obtain a temple pass that would be used over the next two days to allow us to enter the precinct for which Siem Reap is world renowned. These passes are mandatory and their pre-purchase expedites the entry of large groups of people into the UNESCO listed 401 square kms parcel of land that houses many temples. This site would be where we would be spending the majority of our time over the final days of the APT tour. Perhaps it should be renamed an AFT tour. Come on dear reader, use your imagination, you can work it out.

Our temple pass, valid for three days over the next week, comes resplendent with our photos. The process of getting our photos taken and having the passes in our hands was remarkably efficient. However, the photos. Oh my! The camera must have been “made in China” a line which is a local joke. My likeness bears a stronger resemblance to Barnaby Joyce than it does me. On second thought, I’m not even certain the beetrooter could go that red in the face.

We later learned that these passes also provide a donation of $2 per pass towards the provision of a free children's hospital and maternity unit for the local community - a precious resource in this developing country.

The welcome at the hotel.

We arrived at the Sofitel in Siem Reap to collect our room key and have a quick light lunch. Then it was straight to our room where our bags were waiting at the door. My Accor membership paid dividends once again and we had been upgraded. Our suite comes with a sitting room and a bowl of fresh fruit.

Almost more space than at home.

Then it was back to foyer to board our buses for Angkor Thom which translates as ‘great city’. The temple passes were clipped at a checkpoint and then we were required to change from the big bus to a Toyota Coaster. They limit the size of the vehicles in particular areas of the park to minimise vibration and to fit through narrow ancient stone entry points. The first stop was the Bayon Temple, also known as the temple of the faces for reasons that are obvious when you see the photos.

The money shot.

The whole area is surrounded by a moat that is 100 metres wide and access was across a narrow bridge and through a gate in the wall. The bridge was adorned with statues of the heads of gods on one side and demons on the other. We scheduled a photo opportunity on the return journey.

Watching out of the corner of his eye.

Ever feel like you're being watched?

Our guide, Reaksmey, was brilliant and he steered us away from the big crowds to the best vantage points. It really is a special place and I was constantly imagining how the temples and other structures originally looked. From Bayon, we visited the Terrace of the Elephants, a long, elevated platform with an edifice of elephants on both sides where the king would watch parades and games of polo. No really, polo. The grassed area directly in front of the relief was extremely boggy and I didn't have the big telephoto lense.

The wall of elephants.

In discussing our experiences later that evening, it became apparent that we really did win the tour guide lottery. People from the other two groups didn’t get to see some of the things we saw, or indeed do some of things we did. We were the only group to climb the steps to the king’s platform.

The climb up to the King's platform.

Looking down on the peasants. Well peasant.

We retraced our route and stopped briefly on the other side of the bridge where it began to rain. How refreshing. I was unconcerned because I couldn't get any wetter than I was already.

All in a row.

A close up of a god.

We drove to our original bus and returned to the hotel to remove our dripping wet (perspiration, not precipitation) clothes and prepare for dinner. The afternoon temperature had reached over 30° and the humidity was over 75%. Combine that with the distance walked and the fact that some areas lacked any breeze and it made us all pretty moist. Not in a good way.

One of the garden ponds at the hotel.

Dinner was a “freedom of choice” affair and a number from our original entourage chose to dine at Malis. The food was very good but the entrée serves were ridiculously large. The bowl of noodles we were individually served, could have fed 2 or 3 people. At another table that was not part of our group, the same meal was served and it was half the size. None of us consumed the entire dish because we wanted to be able to eat the main. Service was slow and inconsistent and, overall, the night was not a brilliant success.

The tuk tuk drivers that earlier had delivered us to the restaurant, waited outside to return us safely to the Sofitel hotel. We were driven home via Pub Street. This is the place where it all happens. Apparently. It was loud and neon lit at the entrance: not really my style. Perhaps I’ll check it out during the day.

Back at the hotel it was strictly time for bed. We have a 4:15am wake-up call tomorrow to see the day dawn over Angkor Wat.

Although we didn't see any thieves in the temple, I'm sure they preceded us by many years. The British Museum would have been among them as they "acquired" exhibits. Anyway, this is a classic by Prince. Enjoy.

Until next time.