The Major Temples of Angkor

The Angkor temples have become the number one tourist attraction in Southeast Asia (not including Thailand's beaches). From our guidebooks and fellow travelers, we had heard that the sunset view of Angkor Wat from the summit of Phnom Bakheng, a mountain-top temple, was a must-see. Sunrise at Angkor wat, a world heritage site, was also a required view. To this day, I still can't figure out why either draw the crowds that they do. Our 3-day ticket voucher allowed us entry after 5pm on the day prior to the ticket. This offered a perfect opportunity to watch the sunset from Phnom Bakheng. We arrived at the base of the mountain and began the hike up with hundreds of other tourists; already, I should have known to turn around. On the summit of the mountain, hundreds had gathered. One crowd pointed their cameras towards the setting sun while the other focused on the sunlit Angkor wat. The evening was so hazy, photos were worthless. No matter where you chose to stand, you were in somebody's way for a photo. This was not the way to experience a sunset at the Angkor temples. We left disgruntled but hopeful that sunrise was too early for most.

The 4:30 AM alarm sounded for day 1 at the Angkor temples. The tuk-tuk driver arrived on time, and we were off to Angkor wat, the largest of all the temples. We arrived in complete darkness and followed the sparse crowd across the moat and into the temple courtyard. There, we found a number of flashing flashlights on the main causeway to the temple. We eventually settled in front of a drying pond with, once again, hundreds of others. We figured it wasn't important as we'd get Angkor wat lit up red by the rising sun. That hope was dashed when the sun rose BEHIND the temple and backlit everything. It was no photographer's dream, nor any temple lover's dream. Surrounded by hundreds of tourists, we left Angkor wat to visit any other temple that might be free from the hordes.

We chose Ta Prohm, the smallest and least famous of the major temples. Ta Prohm was erected in the 12th and 13th century and was the temple chosen to remain in its "natural state" upon discovery in the 19th century. This decision meant the silk-cotton and strangler fig trees have remained a peice of Ta Prohm's atmosphere. The temple appears in Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider film.

Guys, I can't give you a better opportunity to see Angelina in tights than now.

"Honey, why'd you rent this movie?"

"I wanted to see the Jol..., ah, Ta Prohm temple from Jeremy's blog."

I can finally call this blog a success; I've linked in Angelina and now I'm bound to get millions of visitors.

Until 8:00 AM, Ta Prohm was empty and silent, the temple experience Laura and I were searching for. The stunning natural state atmosphere of Ta Prohm would prove to be our favorite of all Angkor temples.

Magnificent mirror image bas reliefs decorated each corner.

At 8:00 AM, the wonderful atmosphere was destroyed as hordes of tour buses arrived with Asians and Europeans. Our focus moved from the temple to the Japanese tourists whose obnoxious behavior and unrelenting noise dominated Ta Prohm. They posed in front of picturesque scenery, touched every ancient bas relief within reach, and their guide's microphone blazed throughout their visit. Instead of letting the droves of Japanese get to us, we joined them.

We continued to Angkor Thom, the ancient capital city. The city is enclosed in a 3 square kilometer wall surrounded by a moat. The entrance gates have elephants at the base and four heads facing the four cardinal directions above. The bridge to the gate is lined with gods and demons.

The city has numerous temples, pools, and terraces and most spectacular of all is the Bayon. The former state temple has a mass of ascending face-towers creating a mountain of carved stone.

As we explored the dark hallways of the Bayon, it seemed impossible to avoid the stare of the faces.

Once we clambered atop the temple, we came face to face with them.

The capital city was full of impressive smaller temples. Preah Palilay's tower standing strong against nature's test was a favorite.

Adding to the temple's aura was a butterfly that was overly attracted to Laura's bracelets.

From Angkor Thom, it was time to return to Angkor wat. Soon, the massive towers would be illuminated by the setting sun. Angkor wat is the grandest of all Khmer temples. It was built not only as a temple but as the Khmer capital. The temple has a wide moat that measures nearly 1.5 square kilometers. A long, wide bridge crosses the moat at the western entrance, the main entrance to the temple. Once one has crossed the bridge and entered the gate of the outer wall, a massive courtyard is overshawdowed by the temple praangs in the distance.

As we approached the pond where we had watched the sunrise, we finally got the photo we had wished for.

Not only is Angkor wat unique in its monolithic size, but also in the fact that the main entrance faces west. Nearly all temples face east toward the rising sun; this fact is why we had expected the sun to be illuminating the wat in the morning. Within the temple grounds, bas reliefs depicting Buddhist or Hindu stories were the most impressive thing. The reliefs spanned all gallery walls surrounding the praangs; I estimated each wall to be a half kilometer or more in length.

The praangs themselves were cordoned off and at least two of them had staging around them for repairs.

Our 3-day Angkor temple pass means we'll be visiting the minor Angkor temples in the coming days.

Now, a break from the travel blog to discuss the insects of the equator. Weather at the equator is never cold, so winter doesn't come to ravage insect populations. Insects thrive all year long. Homes aren't built to withstand cold so often times, holes in the outer walls provide air circulation. Balconies and hallways can be open to the elements. Previous posts have described our encounters with cockroaches and spiders, but our most common roommate is the ant. They come in all sizes and typically form a train directly to any food you may have. Once they've found it (and they will), you are screwed. So, what have we done to defend ourselves? First option, don't bring food to the room; impossible for me. Option 2, hang the food somewhere high and deposit banana peels in the garbage; they'll most likely gather in the garbage bag. Toss the bags out daily. Option 3 means you're already screwed. Just throw food away or wash the ants off with water and enjoy. Start stomping madly once you've enjoyed your food. Option 4 means there is just too many. This happened in Vientiane, and they weren't even attacking our food. They just really wanted to visit. The only solution was the front desk where they provided us Lao RAID. The stuff killed hundreds of ants day after day with just a single spray on the first day.

Each evening and morning, we'd sweep up a new batch of death. The scary thing is we slept with the fumes of Lao RAID for three days, and I'm starting to wonder if my minor Tourette's syndrome is an affect of agent orange (aka, Lao RAID).

Northeastern Cambodia

The day before leaving on our trip to Southeast Asia, I was asked what place I was looking forward to the most. My answer was the Ratanakiri province of northeastern Cambodia. The province is home to numerous natural beauties including the relatively unexplored Virachey National Park. Treks into the park are on the order of 5 to 6 days costing more than $300 per person, enough to keep us away. We decided to base ourselves in the dusty provincial capital of Ban Lung. The 100+ kilometer ride from Stung Treng to Ban Lung was almost entirely over loose, red dirt. Every plant, tree, and home along the roadway was dusted red. We arrived in Ban Lung expecting a reprieve from the red cloud only to find that the main thoroughfare through town was covered in red dust.

We checked into our guesthouse with a fake tan and soon realized that the room's red-tinted tile floor had seen others similar to us.

Just five kilometers from the city center is Boeng Yeak Laom, a crater lake.

Lonely Planet says the lake resides in the caldera of a volcano while some locals believe a meteor caused the hole. Regardless, the lake is deep and the dropoff from the edge is immediate; it is definitely a deep crater. We enjoyed an entire day at the lake, rubbing red dust off our bodies, watching families picnic, and diving off the lakeside decks with farang and locals. In one area of the lake, a tree had settled its fall such that the main trunk ran along the suface of the water. It made for an excellent diving board!

The lake water was amazingly transparent with visibility around five meters, so it was easy to chase the minnows around. Still didn't catch any of the slippery buggers though.

The following day, we visited two waterfalls, Chaa Ong and Ka Tieng. Chaa Ong has a dirt ledge where one can walk behind the falling water.

I also ventured into the falls for a power shower that removed all the red dust.

Unfortunately, it all re-collected on my body along the moto ride to Ka Tieng.

Ka Tieng was the most fun. The frigid pool was refreshing in the blistering heat and across the pool, vines dangled down from above. It was perfect for some tarzan action, sound effects included.

A return to Ban Lung meant Laura wanted to visit one of the many gem stone vendors around town. We finally found one who spoke decent english to describe the stones to us. The province is known for gem mining, specifically amethyst, zircon, and onyx. At the shop, a man was cutting and polishing one stone in the background as we admired the stones of the region. Needing no inspirational words from me, Laura brokered herself a deal for a Ratanakiri amethyst. The excuse for expenditure was "a birthday gift". I knew there was something funny about that gem stone vendor request while I was playing Tarzan. Now, I just hope it's an amethyst!

After our adventures around Ban Lung, we hopped onto a passenger bus to Kratie, Cambodia. Kratie is close to another deep water swimming hole where the Irrawaddy dolphins hang out during dry season. Rumors were that dolphin sightings were much closer than the 4,000 islands experience, so we decided to give it another try. Upon arrival to Kratie, we were ecstatic to see paved roads once again. Our elation was dulled when our packs were pulled from the bus's cargo caked in Ratanakiri province soil. Looks like we will be traveling with Ratanakiri souvenirs throughout Cambodia.

Kratie had a beautiful Mekong riverfront. The town center held the local market where fruits, vegetables, meats, and clothing were sold.

I rode a bike up to Kampi, where the Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project takes tourists to the dolphin pool. The rumors held true, and we got some great up-close views of the endangered species. The views were few and fleeting, so we gave up on the camera shots and enjoyed the experience.

From Kratie, we moved on to Kompong Cham. The city has another wonderful Mekong riverfront with a huge bridge crossing the river.

We were visiting the city for two reasons, a bamboo bridge and spiders. The bamboo bridge links the city with the rural island Koh Paen.

The bridge is flooded by the Mekong during the rainy season so the toothpicks are replaced each year by locals. The roughly half kilometer bridge was easily handling pedestrians, bicycles, and motos, displaying the amazing versatility of bamboo. We rented a moto to get to Skuon, home of the deep-fried spider. Noone is quite sure how the tradition began, but Skuon locals hunt large, poisonous spiders in the forest. They remove the venomous teeth and then send them to the fryer. I plopped down 1,000 riel (25 cents) for the local delicacy and dug in!

It was hard to get down and tasted mostly like the oils it had been fried in.

Our return from spiderville brought us to the temples of Phnom Pros and Phnom Srei.

Here, I got to enjoy a Coca-cola with one of the many temple residents.

We travel to Siem Reap next, the gateway to the Angkor temples.

Now, a break from the travel blog to discuss my special evening in Kompong Cham. After spiderville, Laura was wrestling with a dose of diarhea (maybe she should have eaten a spider also). She returned to the guesthouse while I ventured off to a rebuilt French tower to photograph the bridge at sunset. At the top of the tower, I encountered a young Khmer couple and greeted them with "Sua s'dei" (hello). I received a silent response and began to think I was interrupting an intimate moment. I photographed the sunset for a few minutes and prevented any French kissing that may have been planned. The couple continued to glance at me as they spoke Khmer to each other. I thought to myself I should leave them to enjoy the sunset together but just then, the young lady approached me, and in impeccable English, she asked my name. Surprised, I replied and reciprocated the question. I enjoyed the sunset with Dani and her schoolmate as we discussed Cambodian tourist sites, the U.S., and school. Dani was in her last year of high school and her father wanted to send her to a U.S. university. She was excited about the prospect of visiting foreign soil and testing her intelligence at a U.S. university. We parted ways after crossing the bridge to Kompong Cham together and I couldn't have been more excited that they had approached me to practice English and discuss their home and mine.

Luckily, my fun didn't end there. As I was returning to the hotel along the riverfront, Khmers were strolling away the rest of their day. One young man made eye contact with me as he was munching away on something in a banana leaf. He jumped to attention, grabbed another completely packaged wrap, and waved me over exuberantly. What did he want me to buy, I thought. He asked me to eat his sticky rice with banana wrap and join him for a riverfront conversation. Having been unable to identify the Khmer sticky rice with banana wrap, I couldn't pass up the opportunity for the delicacy and Khmer company. He was a 21 year old sophomore studying agricultural economics at a Kompong Cham university. He originally was from a small village but had moved to the city to get educated and make a better life. We discussed his studies and the governmental corruption issues that plague Cambodia. He had an intense hatred for the corruption; hopefully, that feeling spreads to more Cambodian youths so non-violent change with be on the horizon.

I thanked the college student for his hospitality and attempted once again to check on Laura at the hotel. This time, a plump man waved me over as he munched on a strange nut. Being unable to resist invitation, I joined him for a nut snack. He wanted to know the English name for the nuts he was eating which I, unfortunately, could not tell him. We munched on the nuts, unable to communicate except for hand motions and smiles, while fishermen returned home on the river.

It is experiences like these that make traveling so enjoyable. The random invitations and hospitality of people around the world is amazing. Laura and I have recognized that traveling alone produces more of these encounters. A person is more approachable and less intimidating than a couple. People feel they aren't interrupting anything. I had many of these encounters during my solo jogs in Tengeru, Tanzania; everyone wanted to greet the mzungu runner. Food is also a major link between people. Regardless of race, religion, or language, people can come together to feast and enjoy the tastes of a foreign land. Think of how much enjoyment a Vermonter gets when they first introduce somebody to real maple syrup; this is probably how the sticky rice and banana experience was to the college student. In Skuon, as I ate the spider, a crown of locals gathered around me to watch my reactions. They've probably seen it a hundred times but they still enjoy it as much as the first time. I hope to encounter more Khmer curiousity as our travels continue, and I'll continue to approach them in hopes of having more Kompong Cham evenings.

Food of Laos

One of the best things about visiting a new country is trying the new foods. Lao food is similar to Thai food and some familiar staples are available at nearly all restaurants. Khao pad kai (fried rice with chicken), Pad Thai (fried noodle with chicken),

and spring rolls are popular options on all menus. Spring rolls come fresh or fried and the fried option is often impossible to find if you arrive to dinner late.

A popular breakfast option for locals is fue (rice-noodle soup) which often comes with your choice of beef, chicken, or pork and a bundle of greens that can be added as desired.

Our breakfast of choice in Laos was thanks to the French. Baguette vendors sold wonderful sandwiches throughout the country. Northern Laos offered egg and tuna sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and from Vientiane and below, pate sandwich with cabbage salad became the primary option. Regardless of where we were, Laura always begged for her morning omelette sandwich and somehow, vendors always provided.

Since we primarily traveled along the Mekong, it wasn't hard to find BBQ fish.

Charcoal grills run for lunch and dinner and cook up pork, chicken, and fish. There isn't a bus ride in Laos where a vendor won't offer you a BBQ-pasted chicken for your trip. My favorite new dish in Laos is laap salad, minced meat tossed with lime juice, green onions, garlic, and sometimes chilies. It is often eaten with sticky rice and the meat selection is duck, chicken, beef, pork, or fish. This meal was beef laap with steamed rice.

In the more densely populated areas, buffet style dishes are offered with steamed or sticky rice.

These buffet stands have a loyal client base as they are packed once they are open. Regarding the extremely rare and strange, the pumpkin burger is a popular tourist option on the 4,000 islands. The burger consists of ground pumpkin fried with egg. It's put onto a baguette and topped with cucumbers; you just need to add ketchup or chili sauce.

When on the road, there is nothing better than stashing up on snacks. It's important to find out what the locals like because Pringles prices are through the roof. I hit the fruit stand first where fresh oranges, bananas, and pineapple are always available. There is nothing like Southeast Asia fat bananas to recuperate from a hard day's travel.

In Laos, fresh tamarind is sold by the bagful making for a simple, tasty snack. A favorite for us is longan.

The brown peel is removed to reveal a tasty, grape-textured, white flesh.

The flesh surrounds a hard pit so don't bit it like a grape! Besides fruit, we often purchase the fried sticky rice with honey swirl for our busrides.

This tastes like a mixture of rice krispy treats and rice cakes of the United States. Chinese influence has brought fried dough to Laos. Bread stands offer all forms of Chinese doughnuts, which are tasty but rarely match a fresh Dunkin' Donut.

On one of our walks, Laura enjoyed one vendor's fried coconut, egg, and meat or veggie pie.

There were tasty but have been difficult to find elsewhere. Finally, to truly eat like a local, I tested my willpower by eating kai lu. We had a difficult time finding kai lu despite locals telling us it was readily available everywhere. The kai lu egg is kept in a steaming stainless steel kettle with other boiled eggs and therefore, isn't obvious to the clueless tourist. The duck embryo snack should first be cracked and the embryonic fluids sucked out.

Then, locals will typically take a small spoon and stir up the inside of the egg from the hole. I broke open the egg to reveal the embryo.

The snack is like eating a huge egg yoke with a couple of cold sores adding some flavor.

After kai lu, finding dessert is a must. The banana pancake is available although it resembles a French crepe more than Thailand's rotii. Stands serving sweet drinks like Thai tea, coconut milk, and various gelatins are popular. They allow customers to invent any mixture they would like. It was difficult to identify the juices so I kept my selections simple and just ordered the bright orange stuff.

The most common dessert stand is one that has numerous multi-colored snack in bowls.

Upon purchase, the customer selects two to three bowls. The bowls contain gelatin-like balls, beans, tapioca, and other unidentifiable glowing substances. The vendor then puts a scoop of all the selected items into a bowl and mixes it with sweetened coconut milk. Regardless of the selection made, it is AWESOME!

Next, it is off to Cambodia for new trials, tribulations, and treats!

Now, a break from the travel blog to pay tribute to a dear friend. Johnny Cockroach (see previous post for more on Johnny) passed away the other day in a fearsome attack. In memory of his dear soul, I have written an ode.

Ode to Johnny Cockroach

Oh, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny Cockroach
Why do people wish to poach?
Your eyebrows were sleak and slender
and your outer shell strong as a fender.
We met each other at Tribal guesthouse.
You crawled the floor just like a mouse.
In our room, you met your match,
a Spaniard with a killing itch to scratch.
When she picked up that size 11 shoe,
I thought it was doom and gloom for you.
But then you scampered and you scattered.
The Spaniard search leaving bags torn and tattered.
Grinning, you watched from the armoire shadow
as her evil eyes scanned with the speed of an arrow.
What was this crazy Spaniard doing?
Did she want you as a necklace, brooch, or earring?
The next night came, the room full of silence.
Maybe this day would have no violence!
Johnny moved with stealth, shielded by night.
It would just be a moment, just a quick bite.
Then, the keylock sounded and the door cracked.
The light came on, the Spaniard was back!
Dashing and dancing, you sprinted for dark,
but alas, the Spaniard hit her mark.
Little Johnny's face turned pale blue,
his final sight, the sole of a shoe.
Sad and terrible was the burial ground,
a trash bin holding toilet paper browned.
Oh, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny Cockroach,
your rustic shell could have made the finest brooch.