April 9 (cont’d)
At 10am we went back out to the two other main temples around the Angkor Wat area. My guide was worried that “all the Chinese are here now.” And they were. The tour busses were here en masse. My guide re-routed our plan to adjust to the mess.
“First we go to Ta Prohm because all the Chinese are right now at Angkor Thom.”
Ta Prohm is the site of the first university in Asia. The king, Jayavarman VII, was the “greatest king” of the Khmer Empire. He built the most temples of any king — and a king’s greatness was measured by how many temples he could erect. During his reign he built over 100 temples and over one hundred hospitals, and perhaps most significantly-- he built the site of Ta Prohm to include the first university in Asia. They taught and studied everything— math, science, religion, language, astronomy.
But today Ta Prohm is known for the mysterious trees that have intertwined themselves in the walls. If anyone saw Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, then they’ve seen these strange sights. (Incidentally, Gary was a producer on that film and he came to Cambodia with Angelina Jolie when there was little more than a dirt path. They slept in sleeping bags. And this was about the time when Angelina first adopted a Maddox from an orphanage— in Cambodia.
But back to the trees.
The way these trees grow is that birds and the wind drop and deposit seeds on the roofs and walls of the temple. Within the moss of the stones, the seed grows into a sapling. As the roots of the trees grew, they searched, as roots do, for water. They wound down the walls, around the stones, through the walls and roofs. And now they are every bit a part of the temple as the stones and engravings themselves.
Still today people are lining up massive chunks of stone and marking them by number to figure out where the pieces went. It might be the longest and hardest three dimensional jigsaw puzzle in history— partly because it requires knowledge of history to assemble.
My guide then showed me this small tower:
He took me inside, and had me stand in the middle. He clapped his hands he made noises with his mouth— nothing. Then he thumped on his chest and the whole tower vibrated in echo. I tried it and it happened again. He told me the idea was that your hands and lips will not reach the gods but they can hear the beating of your heart.
Very cool.
Before we left he showed me this hidden gem—
Peek-a-boo. The tree did this naturally.
ANGKOR THOM
We got back in the car, he handed me a cool rolled towel scented with Lemongrass and a bottle of water (he did this each time we got back to the car). And we headed to our last stop— Angkor Thom.
The above is the entrance to the temple. Four faces, facing each direction. Each face different than the other.
In this photo you can get a sense of all the crumbled stones to the left. Pieces that don’t yet have a place yet. But hopefully they will someday. Also, I waited quite a while to snap this photo. This was the fewest amount of people I could get in it.
I mean, can you believe the amount of time it took to carve these faces into stone, by hand?!
This last photo, my guide said, “Why is that fat woman in the way?” Then she walked in the temple. And he whistled to his guide friend to get out of the shot. I snapped this next one with no one in it— which is pretty incredible.
Shortly after this my guide drove me back to the hotel. I tipped him 100,000 Riel, which is probably like two bucks, and took a photo with him. Thank you Mr. Sopheap!
I can’t say enough about his services. He really knows his stuff, but more than that he loves this stuff. He knew each moment during sunrise when it counted most, and how to get around the rules, and where to stand. I’m very grateful for him and for Gary for arranging this incredible experience. I’m definitely recommending him.
I took the rest of the afternoon to cool off. I took a nap, I hydrated. After a while I walked into town to see if I could find a market to poke around. I walked for a while, but if I’d gone just a couple more blocks I would’ve come across the big market that I’d end up going to later that night anyway.
I stopped into a Starbucks and ran into the guy who was our Stunt Coordinator, Charlie, on THE STRANDED. Total coincidence. He’s also an actor and since his work with Stranded is over he took a job acting in a film in Siem Reap. It was fun to bump into him and catch up a little.
That evening I hired a Tuk Tuk to take me into town. I found a Vegetarian Restaurant that had great reviews. It was also in a part of town I wanted to go to. So for $2/USD I had a driver take me into town.
Pub Street is what it is called, and it is turning Siem Reap into something of a party town. It was just a few downtown blocks next to a Night Market, but it was very vibrant. Oh, if I were ten years younger, I’d find all kinds of trouble here.
My restaurant was down this little alley.
I had Khmer Vegetable Curry and it was out of this world, and about a quarter of the price they charged at the hotel.
And look, even the dogs get a kick out of Pub Street. Here’s this stray pup just trying to figure out what everyone is doing.
And… Fried Ice Cream Rolls, because I'm on my time.
