Amazing Angkor Wat

On the very first to-do list we ever made for this trip, Angkor Wat was towards the top. Thus it was really exciting to FINALLY make it there, after traveling for over 5 months. We decided to get passes for three days and hire a tuk-tuk driver (he goes by 007, if you ever need a recommendation) to help us visit the overwhelmingly beautiful and expansive Ankor complex.

What was most striking about Angkor is how mammoth it is, and how diverse the architecture is. Over the course of three days we saw almost everything, but easily could have returned to some of the sites for a second and even third time, as the light really affects how you view the carvings and sculptures both inside and out. The buildings are SO large and SO intricately detailed, it's hard to capture all of that in a single picture. These serve as a small highlights reel, and there are many, many more in the second Cambodia album.

Ok, let's begin! On our first day, we met 007 at the painfully early hour of 4:30, in order to make it to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Unfortunately there was no dramatic music or mind-blowingly awesome sunrise, behind Angkor Wat, as you can see above, but it was great to get there early to explore the ancient ruins.

We were completely alone as we wandered through the mammoth temple, ooing and ahhing at bas reliefs and traipsing up and down the stone ruins. The first sounds we heard, after almost 30 minutes of silence, was this huge flock of birds swooping in loop-di-loops throughout the sky.
We left Angkor Wat to go to the Bayon, probably the second most famous temple in the Angkor complex. If you look closesly, you can see numerous faces carved throughout the stones.
The faces wind all the way up the towers, in varying states of collapse.
It was wild to see how trees had grown in with the buildings, most extravagently at Ta Prohm. Their roots formed even more elaborate frames than the ones carved out of stone, and enhanced the buildings in different ways than we'd previously seen.
This was one of my favorite buildings, Preah Palilay, it was buried deep in the woods and looked like a giant chimney. It was really fun to crawl up the building and look out at the forest from the top.
Beautiful stone carvings, like this one of a dancing apsar could be found in many of the temples we came across, but this one is from the Bayon.
Morgan as a lion in front of Thommanon.
The beautiful buddahs standing as sentries on the bridge that entered into the Bayon.
Hundreds of intricately carved deities on the hidden wall of the Leper King Terrace.
I loved the huge elephants, that were still relatively in tact, and guarding the four corners of the Bakong, the first "temple-mountain," ever built.
More beautiful elephant statutes standing guard by the Elephant Terrace.
The most exquisitely, detailed carvings we saw anywhere, like this door carving, located above one of many entrances to Banteay Srai. There were layers of carvings, and the curicues curled right out of the pink sandstone.
The second day at Angkor was the most memorable. We started by visiting Ta Keo, a giant "temple-mountain," made entirely out of sandstone.
007 drove us almost an hour, to the far reaches of Angkor, until we finally reached Kbal Spean. It was a moderate hike up to a branch of the Siem Reap river, where there were beautiful stone carvings hidden in the woods. A very sweet Cambodian man took us on an unexpectedly long tour, explaining to us the significance of the carvings and wiping away mud and dirt to reveal small details. Above, is the most elaborate carving, one of Vishnu reclining.
We walked alongside the river, until we reached the river of 1000 lingas (each circle = 1 linga). Lingas, as we learned, are stylized images representing Shiva. A small grouping of Hindu deities, we would have walked right past, if it wasn't for the help of our guide.
Last but not least, on the third day, we stumbled across Angkor Wat, BUT in miniature. Unfortunately, it looked like the buildings were being constructed by a group of 7-10 year olds, and were quite dilapidated. I'll save you the disappointment of the acutal structures, but I thought the sign was pretty awesome.
It's been an amazing trip, one that we're still processing, as we get ready to leave and come back home. We're excited to see family and friends, and regale you in person with all the tales that never made it on the blog....

A Peek at Phnom Penh

Phonm Penh was unlike any other capital city we had previously visited, as it felt stuck in the past. There was construction everywhere you looked, but signs from the fifties and sixties (like the one above) were still easy to spot, along with beautiful, crumbling old buildings (like the one below). The reason it felt this way, I'd guess, is the the Khmer Rouge's stronghold on the city for almost four years and their destruction of virtually all cultural and social institutions. We learned more about them and their devastating actions on our second day in Phnom Penh, when we toured the Prison Museum and Killing Fields, but I'll get to that in a minute.
One of the only places in Phnom Penh that seems unaffected by the Khmer Rouge is the gorgeous golden palace. We spotted numerous monks both inside and outside the complex:
and were reminded of Thailand by the ornately roofed buildings.
My favorite part of the palace was this 59 meter spire with faces of Bhrama, looking out over the grounds.
We spent the next day sharing a tuk-tuk with two sweet girls from Vancouver, Canada, as we toured and learned about the most tragic parts of Cambodia's history. We started the day venturing out to the Killing Fields. Roughly 20,000 Cambodians were executed and buried here by the Khmer Rouge. We were able to freely roam around the large property, which was filled with reminders of the holocaust that took place there, such as the sign below, and large sunken areas, where mass graves had been.
In the center of the Killing Fields there is an enormous memorial tower, filled with bones found on the property; the bright colored paper in the back of the photo is 1000 paper cranes, sent by a relief group in China.
We left the Killing Fields, to travel 15 km back into town and visit Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. The site of the museum is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge.
Each of the classrooms had been transformed into prison cells; it was harrowing to see. There were numerous photography and storytelling exhibits about the captors and the captives, which helped provide some framework for what we were walking through.
After a very depressing morning, we were ready to explore the Russian market and reflect on what we had seen over a little lunch.
This woman was easy to spot, as her booth was surrounded by Cambodians eagerly awaiting the delicious noodle concoctions she whipped up in her wok. We snagged the last two seats available and watched as she worked her magic.
The end result: a delicious plate of pearl noodles with pork, fried egg, morning glory and bean sprouts. It was just what we needed.
Our tuk tuk driver brought us back to our guesthouse, and on the way, we saw this adorable girl riding home with her mom. Check out those sandals! I'm keeping an eye peeled for them, although I doubt they'll look as natural on me as they do on her.

Postcard from Sihanoukville

We didn't know what to expect in Sihanoukville, based on what we'd hear from fellow travelers and read in trusty Lonely Planet. It could have been played out, with too much construction and most of the beautiful beach gone. Luckily, that didn't prove to be the case for us. Almost ten days after arriving (with a side trip to Kampot), we finally pulled ourselves away to head to Phnom Penh.

But here's an idea of what our days looked like: We'd start with delicious breakfasts at Hooha House, I trended towards the tropical (see above), while Morgan would stick to the continental, with scrambled eggs and toast.

We'd head to Occheteal beach, where we'd remain for the rest of the day. There were numerous bars and restaurants that lined the ocean; all you had to do was buy a drink or a snack, and a chaise with umbrella was yours for the rest of the day. With books in hand and wifi if necessary, we set to work on reading, Gin rummy, swimming, and relaxing.

The waves weren't as big as those we'd seen in Vietnam, but they were still fun to play in.

Snorkeling day trips were easy to go on, and gave you a great opportunity to visit islands further afield. Although the water near the reefs was shallow, I still managed to see many bright colored fish and pink and blue coral.

This guy, affectionately named "Funion," was our honorary pet for our stay. He'd keep us company while we ate, in the hopes of snagging a scrap, but was very loving and gave lots of hand licks.

Every night we'd walk home, just around sunset, to shower and change before heading out for Cambodian BBQ. The rainy season will start any day now, but we lucked out, as we only had sun sun sun during our stay.

Goosebumps Cambodia: Kampot

After a few days by the beach in Sihanoukville (more about this in an upcoming post), we decided to leave town for an excursion to Kampot and Bokor Hill Station. Perhaps the town had once been beautiful, but the buildings were now crumbling and there were bizarre sculptures, like the one above, in all of the traffic circles. From the very beginning it seemed like we'd entered a David Lynch movie, and it was only to become eerier.

In order to get to Bokor Hill Station, an abandoned French resort villa, built in the early 1920s, we needed to go on a bit of a hike. We took a jeep halfway up the mountain in Preah Monivong National Park, and then set off with a guide, a ranger, and a few other intrepid adventurers. We conquered leeches, scrapes and scratches, only to emerge from the trees into a thick cloud of fog. You could barely see ten feet in front of you, but once we reached the main palace and casino, we were greeted by the following sign:
Our guide assured us we would be completely safe, and sent us off to wander around the spooky grounds for two hours. These buildings have been left completely in tact, and a thick orange moss has covered much of their exteriors.
The guide encouraged us to look for a cathedral and post office, so we set off on a path that would past the concrete space mushroom.
We arrived first at a square, squat hotel which was surrounded by tropical flowers (they looked like hibiscus) and wine berries. We pushed through the tall grass and entered...
The upstairs was a maze of rooms, covered in the moss, where many of the walls had collapsed. It was really fun to wander around and hide; can you find Morgan in the picture above?
Most of the front of the building had fallen away, and as the mist momentarily cleared, we were greeted by a large lake.
We left the hotel, continuing our search for the church and post office, but instead came across this building (which we think were apartments)
and this enormous skeleton of shops.
We only had forty-five minutes left, so we set back to our starting point of the main palace/casino. The building is four stories tall and has sweeping staircases in both wings.
The first room you encounter, on the ground floor, is a ballroom with soaring ceilings and beautiful archways. It was easy to imagine ghosts of galas past waltzing across the floor, or gambling their fortunes away.
Throughout the building there were several tiny balconies off the windows that were covered in ivy and moss.
I took this my 9 billionth self-portrait in one of the demolished rooms on the third floor.
This girl, along with tons of graffiti could be found lurking in the stairwells of nearly every building in the complex.
We were waved goodbye by the mess of hand prints above, as we headed out to meet up with our group and hike back down the mountain. If you have the chance to visit, do it quickly! Bokor Hill Station is slated to be torn down over the course of the next few years, as a shmancy resort is being built nearby.