Siem Reap: The Kingdom Of Ancient Kings and Heavenly Dancers (Part 2)

Formidable fortresses,

Decrepit ruins,

Sacred ancient sites, 

Simple bucolic lifestyles,

Beautiful children rising against all odds, 

And a recent cataclysmic history.

This is the Siem Reap that I had experienced and loved. A city of contrasts. Of recent horrors. Of simplicity and beauty. Of majestic temples and awe-inspiring ancient history. 

Here are some highlights of our brief Siem Reap adventure!

Ancient ruins and temples

I loved exploring the temples, wandering along the small passageways of ancient ruins, balancing atop scattered stones which dated back to a thousand years or more, strolling along labyrinths and entrance ways of powerful archaic kings. 

My favourite temples are in this sequence: 

1st: Bayon (built in the late 12^th or early 13^th century)

This entire complex of temples and towers was sprawling and magnificent. Each of its 54 towers was topped with 4 massive carvings of smiling and serene stone faces. The entire temple complex was built into two levels, and walking amidst the mammoth smiling faces on the upper level was surreal. We lost ourselves exploring the narrow, meandering passageways of the ruins, with tall imposing towers and colossal peaceful faces smiling down on us. Definitely felt like Indiana Jones! 

2^nd: Ta Prohm (built in the late 12^th or early 13^th century)

Nestled deep in the forest, this mysterious jungle temple was overgrown with huge, towering trees with immense roots penetrating into every corner of the complex. This was a temple complex that time and nature had embraced into its folds. The entire ambience was enigmatic, mystical and dreamlike.

Ruins still abounded, and there were construction work ongoing everywhere. It was amazing to see how archeologists had dug and labelled copious timeworn stones to slowly re-create the original temple structure. The reconstruction architectural efforts of all these ancient temples are brilliant. 

The Bees perching on lots of centuries-old archaic stone slabs

3^rd: Angkor Wat (built in the early 12^th century)

The opportunity to finally witness the legendary Angkor Wat was magical. As the largest religious monument in the world, the entire complex was gargantuan and formidable. We were very lucky to engage the services of an excellent local guide who regaled the stories of the ancient Khmer empire with so much relish and passion. It is essential to hire good local guides because the stories of the Khmer kingdom will make the colossal intricate carvings of Hindu mythology come alive. Our guide also knew the best entrances to ensure that we avoided the crowds, and our first encounter with the great Angkor Wat at the deserted East entrance was tranquil and solitary.

The Bees at the desolate East entrance of Angkor Wat

We climbed all the way to the top of the central enclosure, and it was really very high, with a couple of steep staircases. Children below 12 are not allowed into the top of the central enclosure, and thankfully, the steps proved to be a little challenging for my father-in-law, so Little Bee and him went off somewhere nice to sit and wait for us.

Big Bee heading towards the steep upper levels of Angkor Wat

Seeing the skills of ancient artisans as displayed in all the fascinating carvings and architecture around us was amazing. Even the architectural skills of layering rocks on top of foundational rocks without the use of cement or any support was incredible. We were captivated by the beauty, scale and brilliance of the entire sprawling complex, and were lost in centuries of history.

Children in Cambodia learn to be independent from very young

Crowds came in around 9am in the morning (we arrived at around 7am), and I must say I did get a little frazzled because of the sea of humans from all over the world visiting Angkor Wat. In all, we spent about 3 to 4 hours traipsing different parts of this “City Of Temples”.

The Bees with our friendly, passionate and highly knowledgeable guide

4^th: Banteay Srei (built in the 10^th century!)

This was a smallish temple that was slightly out of the way. However, it was the oldest temple that we had visited (1,100 years old!) and the carvings were so intricately done that the images seemed three-dimensional and leaped out at us. This temple is also known as “Lady’s Temple” because of its distinctive pinkish and yellowish hues from the yellow sandstone that was used to build this temple complex.

Can you imagine that this temple is 1,100 years old, with these intricate and beautiful carvings?

We met a couple of young Cambodian children who were playing in this temple, using lotus petals and leaves…and reminded the Bees that play could be derived anywhere. We interacted a little with the kids using sign language and these children were just beautiful. Let’s hope their futures would be bright and strong with Cambodia’s increasing development. 

Making friends through sign language and a universal curiosity for humanity amongst children

5^th: Banteay Kdei (built in the mid 12^th to early 13^th century)

We visited this temple after half a day at the Angkor Wat, and my father-in-law was relatively tired, so this was a relatively brief visit. Temple-visiting can get tiring for some elderly folks. Coupled with the hot and humid weather, it might be wiser to use half a day to visit temples and the afternoons to rest and relax in a spa or in the hotel, if one is not used to taking day-long walks.

This temple was small and compact. Compared to Angkor Wat, which was all nicely restored, this temple had more ruins and broken down temple buildings, which I was actually more fascinated with. It was also overgrown with moss and there was a shady, cool, somewhat neglected ambience to it.

6^th: Angkor Thom

This was a whole complex where the royal palace used to be. We meandered through a labyrinth that led to the top of a viewing gallery where kings of yore would travel on their elephants to watch sporting competitions. It was breathtakingly magnificent, standing atop the platform where many kings had stood before, letting our minds wander to the days when good and evil were so defined, where there were not as many shades of grey, unlike the modern era.

We also enjoyed other experiences like: 

Taking tuk-tuks around the city

Taking a tuk-tuk in Siem Reap was exhilarating and akin to a journey back in time. There were very few vehicles on the roads of Siem Reap, so the tuk tuk was able to chug along at a good pace, which brought much-welcomed breezes to our faces. We were also able to take a glimpse into the different street life of common folks in Siem Reap – groups of residents bathing and washing bedsheets in the river, ubiquitous fruit stalls on the roadside, motorbikes with whole families of 4 or 5 sitting on it...

It was truly refreshing to see ways of living that were so different from urban Singapore, and the Bees were amazed.

Night markets!

The night markets in Siem Reap were teeming with eager hawkers touting their wares. They were mostly conversant in English, and I really enjoyed haggling and bargaining with them (80% slash down as first negotiation is a must!).

There were all kinds of exotic foods on sale – we saw deep fried crickets (which Little Bee ate with relish), deep fried tarantulas (yikes!), crocodile meat, menacing-looking shellfish, etc.

Ali-baba styled pants in light cotton material were very popular and after buying and wearing a pair to a full day of temple visits, I started appreciating why. The pants were great for keeping the ubiquitous mosquitoes away, and yet they were so cooling and soft, which made trekking around the old, uneven temple grounds really easy.

Some final tips
In all, we had a surprisingly enriching time in Siem Reap. Frankly, I was not expecting a lot after seeing pictures of Angkor Wat and other temples online. However, pictures really did no justice for any temples in Siem Reap. Once there, the scale, the poignant history, the culture and the ruins made the whole temple-exploring experience truly amazing.

I thought I would add in some tips and advice for families travelling with children. As dengue was rampant when we visited, we made sure the Bees had lots of mosquito patches and we constantly sprayed repellant on them. Do watch out for huge, strange insects and try to avoid venturing into the jungles or tiny, abandoned crevices of the temples. We squeezed into a tiny, dilapidated nook once, and were bitten by a gigantic wasp! 

Lots of insects abounded in the temple ruins, and make for great study in nature! Here, Little Bee was holding on to a huge millipede!

We chanced upon a large group of wild buffaloes during lunch one day

We ate a lot at local restaurants and bought food from the night market, and as with most developing countries, food hygiene may sometimes be an issue for younger children. So, we just avoided drinking water from the tap, always ordering bottled mineral water or Coke, and make sure you order food cooked in high temperature (stir-fried or fried stuff are the easiest, insects included!)

This was a most enriching trip and the experience of being in a very different country remains indelible in our minds. We would love to return and immerse more in this country another time. 

The simplicity of life in Cambodia, where people are still using firewood as a source of fuel