Another Day, Another Cruise

Saturday was a great tour day, just a half day with Mao and our driver, but superb nonetheless. Despite lukewarm recommendations from the guidebooks, we drove to Boeung Tonle Sap, a lake about 10 miles from Siem Reap. It is a remarkable lake, one of Asia's largest. In the dry season, it covers about 3,000 square kilometers. But it in the wet season, it swells to 5 times that size. How it does this is the remarkable part. The lake is on the Tonle Sap river, one of the Mekong River's many, many tributaries. With the spring run-off in the Himalayas, a thousand miles or more away, and then the monsoon, the Mekong rises so much that water is forced back up the Tonle Sap, swelling the lake to 15,000 square kilometers. So the Tonle Sap river runs “downstream” half the year and “upstream” the other half. The lake itself is said to provide half the fish consumed by Cambodians.

The hydrologic facet is one reason to see the lake. The other is the floating villages that inhabit it year-round, moving with the water levels and fishing prospects. We rode a long-tail boat well out into the lake proper, beyond Chong Khneas, and got to see such village life up-close, at least briefly. In addition to the hundreds of fishing/residential boats moored among the vegetation, somewhat reminiscent of Florida mangroves, there are also floating general stores, repair shops, restaurants, saloons, schools, churches, police stations, a gym, clinic, and on and on. An entire village, and not a small one. Mao said 14,000 people live on the lake year-round, 4,000 of them Vietnamese. Over-fishing has become a serious problem.

A short drive on the Phnom Penh highway took us to the so-called Roulos group, a cluster of three temple sites that were the first instances of Khmer capital-building, all 9th century. The largest of these is Bakong, where the mountain-temple style of the next 400 years was first attempted on a large scale. Preah Koh is a short distance away, more brick than stone, but nevertheless impressive. The third Roulos site is Lolei, mostly brick, and far more ruined, but still with good carvings on the lintels. Lolei is significant in that it was set in the first baray, and thus was the first island temple here. The Roulos group is a bit off the tour-bus-beaten track, and so we had all three sites virtually to ourselves.

We spent the afternoon by the Angkor Le Meridien's pool and spa complex, sipping cocoanut milkshakes and tanning ever so slightly—this is what you are required to do at 5 star hotels—and then took a tuk-tuk to the old market downtown. There we strolled and shopped, gawking at the meat and fish and vegetables (“Cambodians eat everything” Mao had informed us), stimulating the local economy modestly, and then had dinner at the Angkor Palm, a seven-dish Cambodian sampler for me, and spare ribs for Vicki.

Further culinary note: tamarinds. At Moore Park, in 1950s Miami, near where my family lived, there was a tamarind tree. My father and I used to walk in the park, and he introduced me to this sweet and very sour shelled, bean-like fruit. I would see them in supermarkets occasionally when we lived in Columbus in the 1970s, but not in the last 20 years or more (and certainly not in Montana!). Tamarinds are native to SE Asia, and an ingredient in Thai cooking especially, and I saw several tamarind trees among the Khmer ruins the past few days. Tamarinds were all over the old market in Siem Reap, and so I bought a dollar's worth. Well, it was probably a nickel's worth, but who's going to bargain when re-connecting with his inner Floridian child of the past? Alas, the tamarinds I bought were not nearly so sour as I'd had in the past. You can't go back.

Further note: vegetation. Many, if not most, of the more interesting and exotic plants ones sees in Florida—and with which I grew up—come from SE Asia, where they are far larger and more prevalent. Every plant I look at here, from cacti and calamandons and hibiscus and orchids to gigantic gum trees and more, evokes memories. Hedges of ming aralias I have seen also evoke memories of the dozens of these fragile plants I have killed, regrettably, over the years, trying to make them thrive in places like Columbus and Dallas and Missoula. And then there are my favorite rhapis palms, everywhere, all the way from northern China to here...rhapis palm trees! My last two potted rhapis palms I left in the care of The University of Montana student center, which has an incredibly large and diverse tropical atrium. I hope to visit them again some day.

Khmer Sites, II

We visited half a dozen or so more temples and other sites today...Baksei Chamkrong, Banteay Kdie, Banteay Srey, East Mebon, Neak Pean, Pre Rup, Preah Khan, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, and Ta Som. The manner and varieties of construction are becoming familiar, as are the representational styles, subjects, and methods. Our guide, Mao (I swear I am not making this up), a 32-year-old former school teacher, is giving us the history of every scene and depiction. He is Buddhist but is quite knowledgeable about Hinduism as well (but seemed unimpressed that we had visited the Brahma Temple in Pushkar; oh well). The Khmer wavered between Hinduism and Buddhism for several centuries (each eradicating all traces of the competition and fighting off the Muslims when not otherwise engaged...isn't religion great?!) until Buddhism finally won out. The country is currently about 85% Buddhist, Mao says. Tourists in the monks' saffron and orange robes are all about, and it's not unusual to see a saffron robe on a motor scooter.

Among the sites, our favorite by far was Ta Prohm, originally a gigantic 13th century Buddhist monastery. The government has deliberately and wisely left it in a semi-over-grown-jungle state. We visited in the later afternoon, when the light was perfect, and the effect was magical. (The closure of the Bangkok airports has kept the number of tourists well down; there were fewer than a hundred of us at Angkor Wat yesterday). At Ta Prohm, the enormous trees are nearly as old as the ruins, and their roots have spread throughout and within the ancient sites. (See illustration). I suppose part of the magic is imagining you are seeing what the European “discoverers” might have see 150 years ago. But it is still magical.

Today's sites ranged from the 9th to the 13th centuries. It is interesting to recall what was going on in Europe in the 9th century and what was being built. Not much and damn little that has survived. I recall a 10th century abbey in France, Tournis, I think, where the stone construction was primitive, transparent, and unadorned...near the confluence of the three great rivers of Burgundy, the Rhone, the Saone, and the Beaujolais. ;-). (I guess I missed the first 2008 Beaujolais, a pity).

One of the tourist treats here is a helium balloon and gondola on a cable that ascends a few hundred feet to give a view of the countryside as well as the major sites like Angkor Wat. Vicki has always wanted to do a balloon ride, but has never been willing to risk the uncertainty (where will we land? when?) nor the hundred(s) of bucks required. Nor have I. But today, between the AM and the PM temples, we did the balloon ride, 15US$ each, up and down, getting a great view of Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng, and, especially, the West Baray. The Khmer were builders not only of great cities and temples but also of reservoirs. The major sites all have (or had) enormous moats, miles around, partly defensive in purpose. The West Baray is a perfectly rectangular 10 square km 12th century artificial lake, west of Angkor Thom, that provided for irrigation supporting three rice harvests a year in those times. It continues to irrigate the land around Siem Reap.

Cambodians.... Our guide, Mao, is 32 and our driver is perhaps 40, an old man. One sees very, very few people of greater age here. They have all been killed in the wars that have ravaged this land, all during our lifetimes. Fear of land-mines is everywhere. The last in this region were removed in 2004. Cambodia still imports much of its produce from Thailand: land is not tilled for fear of the mines. At every historic site there is an ensemble of legless men, playing traditional music, asking for donations for land-mine victims. The Cambodians we have met in three days appear to be kind and gentle people, honest and generous. What they have been through, for generations, is unimaginable in our world.

Siem Reap, Angkor Thom, and Angkor Wat

                                            

We hired a guide and driver and car to show us around here and will take at least a couple days to see the main sites. Today we did much of Angkor Thom, the 12th century Khmer capital, including the Terrace of the Leper King, Phimeanakas, Baphulon, and Bayon. Later in the day we toured Angkor Wat itself. All these sites are monumental and range from the 11th through 13th centuries, built upon laterite and then faced with sandstone, every inch of which is intricately carved in bas relief and other kinds of representation. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are represented, as well as much of Khmer history to that point. Yes, these are the extensive and enormous jungle ruins that were not known to westerners until the mid-19th century. Later in the afternoon we ascended the hill to the late 9th century Phnom Bakheng for its views of Angkor Wat. This evening we went into town for a Cambodian buffet and cultural program, dancing and music. Internet is very expensive at this Sheraton property, so posts from here will be brief!

Vicki adds:

December 6, 2008—Siem Reap, Cambodia

Obviously we made it out of Thailand—in fact, on the day the demonstrators finally left the airport. We flew through the alternative set up outside of Bangkok and it was a zoo. However, Cambodia has been a delight. We are using our Starpoints from our credit card to stay at a 5 star hotel. I really like the lap of luxury! In Asia we can stay for 25-35% of the points that would be needed for a hotel in the US. This will be the end over here since both Sydney and Auckland want way too many points for a hotel stay. We had a car and driver with guide for 2 ½ days to see the many temples and also a trip to the floating village. Though it has been 90 every day, the ruins have been terrific. Mark is describing them in detail in his blog.

Tomorrow we fly back to Bangkok and hope we can leave late Thursday night for Sydney without more demonstrations getting in the way. We considered just trying to go out through Cambodia but the things we really wanted to see were in Bangkok and not here. We have had two very good Khmer meals—however, they tend to be heavy on bananas—at the buffet the other night there were at least 9 different preparations.

So off to Bangkok.