In my Galens Smoker-induced delirium, I completely forgot that we wanted to thank everyone for all input/help/advice/booking pieces of this trip/taking care of business at home. We seriously couldn't have put this together without your help!!!! :)
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Now on to Cambodia...
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After 3 flights (DTW-ORD-ICN-REP), we arrived safely in Cambodia yesterday without many problems. We only almost missed our flight in Seoul due to confusion about the time difference (Who knew Seoul is 14 hours ahead of EST rather than 12?!?), which led to Joe getting a rude awakening from his nap in the airport by me dragging him and all of our stuff to the gate as they did the final boarding call for the flight. But we made it! Also, Korean Air is our new favorite airline! So amazing. Comfy seats, new planes, nice ambient lighting that changes depending on what you should be doing at that time (sleeping, waking up, eating, etc.), personal tv's that have tons of new release movies (I watched 4 in a row), tons of really good food, hot towels, and amazing flight attendants who are extremely helpful and dressed super cute! For example, in trying to be culturally appropriate, I ordered the bibimbap for dinner (when on Korean Air...), and obviously seeing right through my confidant air, the flight attendant brought me a little laminated card that demonstrated exactly how to mix the components and eat it. No one else got the card. So, two thumbs up for Korean Air!
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We woke up at 4AM to go watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat, one of the biggest and most famous temples in Cambodia, at a time when the park would be most empty of other tourists. There were only about 10000000 other people there to watch the same thing. It was very beautiful and we got some good photos. We then returned to our guesthouse for breakfast (yummy banana pancakes and noodle dishes), and then we went back to the park to visit all the temples in the daylight.
We first went to Angkor Thom, which is a whole city complex surrounded by huge entry gates. The most famous temple in the complex is Bayon, which was built in the 12-13th centuries and is known for large towers covered in huge faces. We then saw the Terraces of the Elephant and Leper King, huge walls which are covered in elephant carvings, and carvings of warriors, respectively. We went on to Ta Prohm, another famous temple (Angelina Jolie filmed parts of Tomb Raider there!), which was Anna's favorite temple. It is in a state of complete disrepair, with banyon trees growing out of the stone work throughout the temple. It is an interesting synergysm of nature and man-made construction. Most of the other temples have been restored/are being restored, so it was interesting to see one in a more natural state.
Our tuk-tuk driver, Polo, suggested that we go to a far out temple (Banteay Srei) which was older than the main complex temples (built in the 10th century) and more ornate. The Banteay Srei complex was clear of other tourists and very picturesque and calm. It was one of our favorites. It was especially interesting because it was so old yet so ornate, and built in a more reddish sandstone. We had lunch at Banteay Srei, and then went back to the main temple complex to spend time at Angkor Wat in the daylight. We were pretty hot and exhausted at this point but Angkor Wat was as impressive in the daylight as it had been at sunrise. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a huge lake-like moat which you must cross to reach the outer wall. Through that wall there is a very long stone walkway dividing a large grassy field that must be traversed to reach the first of three enclosing walls in the actual temple proper. This wall is covered in famous bas-reliefs depicting battle-scenes, and telling stories of gods' feats. Two of the most well-known of these are a creation story depicting a giant serpent being used to churn an ancient ocean, and the other is a story depicting the dichotomy of heaven and hell with judgement by a Hindu god. We then climbed through the next two walls to the top of Angkor Wat which gave us a great view of the late afternoon sunlight on the complex as a whole.
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Exhausted, we returned to our fabulous guest-house for dinner and immediately fell asleep despite grand plans to write this blog.
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Some final thoughts on Cambodia:
- The scale of the temples is absolutely ridiculous. Was everyone in 10th through 12th century Cambodia a stone mason? Multiple entire cities ornately carved from top to bottom complete with moats, ballistrades, and temples which rival some small skyscrapers- very impressive.
- Cambodia itself is a very pleasant country- the people are very friendly and helpful, and polite! Even at the large tourist sites, the people selling souveniers would back off with a quick "no thank you," which is unusual in these types of settings in other countries. Also, people actually obey traffic rules and signals here, and their stop lights are pretty cool- they have a count down for each of the red, yellow, and green light settings, so you know exactly how long you are waiting, or how long you have to make it through the light. Super cool!
- Also, the food in Cambodia is delicious!
1. The Seoul Airport is AWESOME, but Korean airlines actually has the smallest seats in the business! Great service, but every Asian airline I was on had great service. :) And I knew Seoul is 14 hours ahead of EST time!! You should have asked ME! :)
ReplyDelete2. There must have been something in the air there that day because your final thoughts about people not being rude and following traffic laws...I literally am rolling on the floor laughing at how untrue that is! Having lived there for a year and a half, and driven that whole time, I must say, that is HIGHLY unusual. Although, Siem Reap is SUPER touristy so that may contribute to it.
3. The food in Cambodia is not all delicious. Trust me. Banana pancakes? NOT Cambodian fare. Outside of Siem Reap and PP, you won't find a Cambodian who knows what a pancake even is. To get a real taste of Cambodian food, go to the provinces. Hint: Don't. It's NOT good. :)