Angkor Wat

First an admission. Up to a year ago we had not heard of Angkor Wat and so it was not until we had watched a couple of films on Pandaw that we started to appreciate the enormity of what we were about to encounter. The whole area covers some 400 km2 and we visited three of the main sites.

Getting up at 4:00 so that we could witness the sunrise our guide (Pat who was just brilliant) took us through the Eastern gate of Angkor Wat. This was a quite entrance away from the hordes. It was eerily strange to see huge structures emerging from the gloom as we walked to the centre of the site. It is vast - for example the surrounding rectangular moat is 2 kms by 1.0 km and almost 200 metres wide. As we moved along the side of the temple we approached the Western Gate and here were the masses. There are some 3000 visitors a day to the site. We did manage to find a quiet spot for our only selfie.

There are 5 towers with the centre one some 213 metres high (as compared to St Pauls at 111 m or the Pyramid of Giza at 146 m). Considering this is built on silty ground the work that had gone into making stable foundations can only be guessed at. Suffice to say the lines are still true. The skill of the masons was also formidable with no mortar used and the face of the stones so true that you had to look hard to see the joints.

Once laid they were carved in intricate detail much of which depicts the history of this war ravaged area. (The Kymers (Cambodians) and Champs (Vietnamese) have warred for centuries.)

The carving below has even been hollowed out behind.

A 100 + metre long history lesson

With joints barely visible. There are millions of hours of work. Built in the first half of the 12C by King Suryavarman II it took only 40 years to build. A project of epic proportions.

The third level of the temple is accessed by steep steps. Fortunately the originals have been protected by timber steps with a hand rail to aid climbing. Most needed a rest after this!

The whole site is well maintained with the moat clear and reflective.

By comparison the adjoining Angkor Thom site is even bigger although maintenance is a bit more problematic.

We approached through the West gate which was beautiful with the dappled light of the tree lined road giving way to a huge face looking down at us.

The Bayon is in the centre of this site and also has a reflective pool which emphasises the 49 towers with their 4 heads on each face. The faces are all different and have varying hints of a smile.

You can tour round on an elephant. It sounds surprising but this one rather crept up on Helen giving this animal lover quite a jump.

The carvings and stories are more related to every day affairs such as cooking, building and other antics. This man is looking a bit cross – probably because the turtle has bitten his bottom.

Although the quality of the stone is less than Angkor Wat (the quarry ran out) some of the features are nonetheless remarkable. These fins (and their ties) are all from one piece of stone.

Every where you look there were faces. They looked a bit more relaxed than the next group….

OK its hot – where’s our lunch and a cool beer?

A unique photo – which I suspect our guide does with most of his guests!

After a pleaseant and cooling lunch we were ready for our third site at Ta Prohm.

We stopped at an old bridge which rather gave a flavour of things to come with the silk cotton trees finding the stones to their liking. They flow and look almost as if they have been poured from a jug and then set.

The older ones love the moist and slightly cooler micro climate of the buildings. This is where Tomb Raider was filmed. The site certainly sparks the imagination.

Some repairs (they were really rebuilds) were being undertaken by a French group. There is still a bit of work to do.

The before and after shots show that this colonnade was a pile of stones when the site was discovered.

The size of some of the trees was huge. They are quick growing. Some are slowly being removed to enable the stonework to be repaired while others a left as they add ambiance and add to the history.

The site was quite busy so patience was required to get these sort of pictures. Mind you the plague of people wanting to take selfies with every picture is quite hard to comprehend. How do they think they can improve on this - they can't all be Oscar Wilde's offspring.

 

It is a little ironic that some of the trees that are slowly strangling the structure are in turn being attacked by strangler figs.

After almost 12 hours we were ready to head back to our hotel, a beer and air conditioning however, we could not resist having a small stop to see this water wheel which was being enjoyed by the local children (it being a Sunday).

If you are heading towards Asia then a couple of days in Siem Reap is a must with a visit to this 7^th wonder of the world. Be quick as I suspect access will start to be restricted given that some of the visitors have no idea about respecting the stonework.

Pandaw on the Cambodian Upper Mekong

We arrived back in Phnom Penh in the evening and after passing the palace turned into the Mekong and moored overnight.

The next day saw us at a village with a large temple. They also like racing dragon boats the length of which I have not seen before – some 33 metres in accordance with the GH stride scale.

They also had silk weaving and the silk worms life cycle.

However, there was an admission that most of what they sold in the shop was imported from Thailand nonetheless what they did produce was impressively detailed.

The children all seemed to be well nourished and pretty happy.

We went further along the river to Phnom Pros (Man Hill – there is a Woman hill nearby as well). The monastery here was interesting but sections were not that old with gates dated 1996! However the steps down were shared with monkeys – actual and in this case figuratively.

We got back to the ship in time for sunset and an opportune photo – rather sums the Mekong up.

Once it was dark the crew laid on cocktails ashore. Very pleasant with a breeze and the cool of the evening. The locals also turned out and although they sat at the fringes appeared to enjoy the visit.

During our last day we at last managed to visit a rural village. On the way through a herd of water buffalo were being given their daily bath. Although they presumably appreciated the cooler waters they were irritated by mosquitos or the like that fluttered around their head resulting in them making frequent ducks below water.

Further up in the village there were many cutting rice and tying them into bunches. A hard way to earn a living ankle deep in water and bending over for much of the day. Still they seemed happy enough. 

As dusk approached they proceeded to bring in some of the rice while escorting their one or two water buffalos back to the house.

A good way to end the trip followed of course by our last supper.

We travelled over 400 kms in the 7 days and the diversity was what surprised all of us. Phnom Penh and Saigon were so developed and yet so different. The river activities were also quite different with much industry in Vietnam and more rural with significant food production in Cambodia. The 90 million in Vietnam appear more capitalist than communist whereas the 15 million democratic Cambodians are recovering from a lost generation with very few people of our age group around. The centuries old historical tensions between the two countries remain apparent and it is to be hoped these recede as both countries need to be stronger if they are to resist the inevitable pressures from China.

Phnom Penh to Tonle river

We started off in Phnom Penh with a Cyclo ride. Quite a bit more comfortable than a Trishaw as it had a back and comfy cushions. What a motely line up.

These were fixed gear affairs and had a drum brake operated by puling up the crude handle behind the driver.

These two look like they have decided to have a leisurely race.

Our first stop was the Royal Palace.

As we waited for our tickets the girls discussed what they would say if they bumped into the King. (Fortunately this did no occur so the serious looks were quickly dropped.) Please note they had dutifully followed earlier instructions from our guide regarding attire. Specifically there should be no Bow Wow tops (ie when bowing there would be no wows!). Mind you I am not sure of the guides education when he announced he was an MBA (married but available).

The palace was very photogenic with its brght colours and lush gardens.

In one of the quadrangles was a large picture depicting the Sri Lankan wars with India. (Why this was on a wall of the palace was less clear. (The heritage on the IndoChina peninsula is frankly very confusing.)

In the afternoon the girls went off for another cooking class while the lads decided on a walk around the town. We had to delay our departure because the Pandaw had pulled out to let a sister ship escape that we had berthed alongside the previous night. I was allowed forward to see the Bridge which was a little different. There were very few controls and the steering wheel was unusually small.

Once ashore we visited a few sites including the central markets. This was attractive with its contrasting colours against the blue sky and very functional with its high vaulted ceiling keeping the space quite cool.

It was clearly popular with hundreds of small stores inside where the yellow ceiling offset the vivid colours of the stalls.

Outside there were more goods on the move. Not sure of the legality of this load but clearly whatever was behind was not of any concern.

Our plan from the outset was to finish our walk with a cocktail at the roof top bar of the Foreign Correspondent Club. An historical building that has remained unchanged over the years. Our bar seats gave a great view over the river and looking down on the teeming street was almost empowering.

Indeed we seemed to be exposed to god like qualities with the setting sun (which was behind us) and the tower block opposite on the confluence of the Tonle and Mekong rivers.

While a little after the sun had set we were treated to this Turner masterpiece.

As we set off the following day up the Tonle I was struck by several new developments adopting a green approach to life. This one was particularly lush.

Our first stop up the Tonle adopted the old rope around the tree style of mooring and then steps were quickly hewn and gravelled.

Cattle are well looked after and each is treated to a daily swim and wash down.

Meanwhile we were treated to a viewing of an unusually large bird of its type, the Giant Pied Kingfisher. There were a dozen or so all within a one kilometre section of river.

On one of several confluences there was a small spirit house. I advised Sue this was to keep whiskey and the like in and apparently she dutifully advised others of this fact before the penny dropped….

The Tonle and upstream Sap Tonle lake are fed by the Mekong flooding backing up as well as rainwater (65/35%). As the dry season approaches the waters recede and the exposed land is progressively farmed. Here are paddy fields with the more mature rice towards the foreground. Water is pumped from the river to the new fields.

Our destination was a huge floating village. Although most are Vietnamese this is the fishing centre of Cambodia.  Some 600,000 Tonnes of fish are caught each year of which 35% is sent overseas to some 18 countries. The area is the largest provider of fresh water fish in the world.

 

Some of the houses are quite elaborate.

and others have keen gardeners

The catch seems to be prolific. The fisherman bending over has just off loaded a net full of fish from the boat berthed alongside. He made quite a few trips.

A number of the houses were also fish farms similar to those seen in an earlier posting. Here is one being built prior to launching. The bamboo floats can be seen along the bottom of the cage.

We returned to Phnom Penh and en-route in the late afternoon and were treated to a great sunset. Here are three shots from a large collection.

 

 

 

I must finish this posting on a sober note. This part of Cambodia is its life blood in terms of rice and fish production. It is at risk as there are over a dozen dams planned on the Mekong upstream in China and Laos. If these are built the Mekong is unlikely to flood sufficiently to recharge the Tonle and the upstream Sap  lake. The landscapes and lifestyle above would disappear with massive environmental and human impact.