Siem Reap

Siem Reap,   Cambodia

Tuesday  30th April

I came to Cambodia because I am interested in the Khmer people and their culture and I've not been disappointed.They are truly friendly people and I find it difficult to imagine them involved in the terrible conflicts of the 1970's.
Whilst I am here it's also an opportunity to see one of the most famous sites in the world (even though I know it will be crowded )!

ANGKOR  WAT

Siem  Reap is the gateway to the Angkor region and in particular the world famous 12th C. Hindu temple at Angkor Wat.

                This temple attracts millions of visitors from all over the world ....

                                                                                      ..... and most of them were there when I visited  !!!

I left the hotel at 4:30am in the hope I would avoid the crowds and also maybe get a decent sunrise photo.

No chance.   I got there at 5am. and there were hundreds of people there already.

And this is supposed to be the "quiet" season !

It is an amazing place and difficult to understand how,  in the 12th C.,  people could build huge Temples like this.  The size of the stonework and the intricate carvings are amazing and the whole site is massive, much bigger than I ever imagined.

Each roof stone is curved as you can see and each stone intricately carved.

How did they get the stones here, carve them,  then lift them into place ??

It must have taken hundreds of people and years to complete.

TA  PHROM

I new That Angkor Wat would be heaving with visitors but I'm really pleased I went.  The whole site including massive gardens and lakes is huge and easily able to absorb the numbers of people.

For me however,  Ta  Phrom was more impressive.

This temple was also built in the 12th C. but in the middle of the rain forest which has literally taken over the ruins.

The trees and their roots appear like alien monsters with huge tentacles gripping the old ruins.

In some case the tree roots are so large and strong that scaffolding has had to be used to support the tree trunks,  roots and the old ruins.

Apparently, the film "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider" starring Angelina Jolie was filmed here











CHONG  KNEAS  -  FLOATING  VILLAGE

I had heard so many bad reports about tourist scams on the floating village that I had decided not to bother.
However, I was lucky.  The Australian proprietor of the Angkor Villa has an Australian friend Peter who owns a boat on the lake so I was able to organise a tour in safety. !

My first reaction was one of horror because I thought this was a slum on water !

But it's not.  These people choose to live this way and earn a decent living from the rich stocks of fish in the lake.

Most of the catch is processed into fish paste which is then exported around Asia.

And the stories about the tourist scams turned out to be true !

I met several people who had been promised all sorts of things that just didn't happen
.Also,  they had not been told about additional costs of boat hire and tour guides when they arrived at the lake.

The water at this time of year is very low making access to the lake extremely difficult.

Some tourists in the wrong type of boat were stuck on the mud in the narrow access river.

Bonus for me was meeting Bolivar and Julie from Colombia and also Nill who worked hard on the boat.






Additional bonus  ......  a glorious sunset