Sorry folks - no photos tonight and boy do I have some good ones! Internet connections are slow here, so maybe tomorrow. Today was our full day spent in Siem Reap, the home of the ruins of Angkor, an ancient civilization built between about 900 and 1200 AD if I remember what our guide said. I had prebooked a day with Tek Leng via the internet and he picked us up promptly at 8 am. As with most Khmers I have met, he was a sweet young man, smart and eager to please. Everyone (including Mike and Leanne) were feeling better today and ready to go. I still have my spots, but there don't seem to be any more today. I'm thinking of taking a pen and connecting them all to see what kind of art I come up with!
We began our day with a visit to the Bayon Temple. He did a great job of providing us some historical information and insights into the peculiar mixture of Budhist and Hindu faiths that are combined in these temples. Big news.... we rode ELEPHANTS around the temple perimeter. Stepping out onto the platform on the elephant's back was a little scary, but the ride from there was pretty much fun. I'll have some great video and photos to post when I have a faster connection.
My family and I visited the ruins back in 2005. I have been hearing how much things have chnaged here since then, but I was shocked to feel like we were in Disneybodia today. Even in the midst of rainy season which is low tourism, there were THOUSANDS of tourists tramping around today. They have a new slick system of selling the day passes where you actually have your photo taken and imprinted on your pass. When we went into the differnet sections of the ruins we had to show our passes. All very different from even a few years ago. The girls got in for free because they are Khmer. Hilary had no trouble getting in because she really looks Khmer. Kaley & Leanne get more skeptical looks since Kaley has a sort of Thai look about her and Leanne looks more Vietnamese.
Despite an afternoon deluge that chased us back to the hotel for a while we had a great day, despite the crowds. I learned a lot more about the temples by having a guide like Tek along with us for the day. In addition to the crowds, there are now clean western style bathrooms on the outskirts of the ruins. We got in for free (to use the bathrooms) but the girls had to pay 500 riel which is the equivalent of half of a quarter. Funny.
As usual, these three beautiful young woman caused quite a stir. Lots of people, Cambodian and others, had questions about them. At one point there were clowning around in the midst of a hoard of Japanese tourists and the three moms got in on the fun, too, taking crazy pictures impersonating the statues that surrounded us. You might just surf the web in a few days and find us on the Japanese version of u-tube since there were lots of video cameras rolling and fingers pointing at our antics.
I can't say that I would discourage people from coming to see the temples, because they are an absolutely phenomenal site.... but I'm glad that I first got to see them in '05 when there weren't so many people here. It's hard to grasp such incredible change in just three years. We sort of expected to round a bend and here a disney tune playing. We were extremely lucky with the weather actually. The deluge dropped the temperature significantly, and it was actually rather pleasant walking around the temples in a bit of an eerie mist. It's usually HOTTT here so this was a welcome welcome anomaly.
As always in Cambodia, the day had its poignant moments. Over lunch Tek discussed politics with us. Like most young Khmer, he would like to see fairly sweeping changes in the government. Elections are coming up on July 27 and there is much hub-bub as the campaigning parties appeal to voters, but most believe that Hun Sen will be elected again. He has been in power for a long time. There were actually a couple of reporters and members of a minority party murdered a few days ago while we were in Phnom Penh. The corruption is so rampant. Every tourist from another country paid at least 20 bucks to get into the ruins today, and yet the starvation level here remains high. Before we leave Cambodia, we will each have to pay a 25 dollar exit tax. Where does this money go? At one point today the cops pulled our van over and the driver had to pay a "fine"just because. It wasn't much, but still.... where does all of this go? The Cambodian people would like to know, too.
As always, there were lots of children selling trinkets, amputees playing music and asking for money, and small pathetic looking children begging. One of the lowest moments of the day was watching a couple of tourists pose some of the beggar children (one of whom was carrying an infant) for photos in the midst of the temples. It's pretty sickening.
Tonight, for our last night in Cambodia we went to see some native dancing known as Apsara dancing. It is very beautiful but a little slow. I found myself dozing a bit but the girls liked it. We hit the night market one last time and in a moment we'll head back to the hotel. There is much packing to do. Yuck.
Tomorrw - Mike heads back to Chicago, while Julie and Hilary head back to Pittsburgh. Deb, Marcy, Kaley, Leanne and I fly from Siem Reap to Singapore and then on to Hong Kong. 'We'll have two days for fun in Hong Kong before flying home. Deb will be staying a couple more days to do some work for her company.
There is still much processing to be done as we get ready to leave Cambodia. It takes a while to fit the pieces of what you have seen here together with life as we know it. But today was a fun day with good memories made by three Khmer princesses who have had a great time together over the past two weeks. What a privelege it has been to be with them.
Hugs -
Lisa & Crew
We began our day with a visit to the Bayon Temple. He did a great job of providing us some historical information and insights into the peculiar mixture of Budhist and Hindu faiths that are combined in these temples. Big news.... we rode ELEPHANTS around the temple perimeter. Stepping out onto the platform on the elephant's back was a little scary, but the ride from there was pretty much fun. I'll have some great video and photos to post when I have a faster connection.
My family and I visited the ruins back in 2005. I have been hearing how much things have chnaged here since then, but I was shocked to feel like we were in Disneybodia today. Even in the midst of rainy season which is low tourism, there were THOUSANDS of tourists tramping around today. They have a new slick system of selling the day passes where you actually have your photo taken and imprinted on your pass. When we went into the differnet sections of the ruins we had to show our passes. All very different from even a few years ago. The girls got in for free because they are Khmer. Hilary had no trouble getting in because she really looks Khmer. Kaley & Leanne get more skeptical looks since Kaley has a sort of Thai look about her and Leanne looks more Vietnamese.
Despite an afternoon deluge that chased us back to the hotel for a while we had a great day, despite the crowds. I learned a lot more about the temples by having a guide like Tek along with us for the day. In addition to the crowds, there are now clean western style bathrooms on the outskirts of the ruins. We got in for free (to use the bathrooms) but the girls had to pay 500 riel which is the equivalent of half of a quarter. Funny.
As usual, these three beautiful young woman caused quite a stir. Lots of people, Cambodian and others, had questions about them. At one point there were clowning around in the midst of a hoard of Japanese tourists and the three moms got in on the fun, too, taking crazy pictures impersonating the statues that surrounded us. You might just surf the web in a few days and find us on the Japanese version of u-tube since there were lots of video cameras rolling and fingers pointing at our antics.
I can't say that I would discourage people from coming to see the temples, because they are an absolutely phenomenal site.... but I'm glad that I first got to see them in '05 when there weren't so many people here. It's hard to grasp such incredible change in just three years. We sort of expected to round a bend and here a disney tune playing. We were extremely lucky with the weather actually. The deluge dropped the temperature significantly, and it was actually rather pleasant walking around the temples in a bit of an eerie mist. It's usually HOTTT here so this was a welcome welcome anomaly.
As always in Cambodia, the day had its poignant moments. Over lunch Tek discussed politics with us. Like most young Khmer, he would like to see fairly sweeping changes in the government. Elections are coming up on July 27 and there is much hub-bub as the campaigning parties appeal to voters, but most believe that Hun Sen will be elected again. He has been in power for a long time. There were actually a couple of reporters and members of a minority party murdered a few days ago while we were in Phnom Penh. The corruption is so rampant. Every tourist from another country paid at least 20 bucks to get into the ruins today, and yet the starvation level here remains high. Before we leave Cambodia, we will each have to pay a 25 dollar exit tax. Where does this money go? At one point today the cops pulled our van over and the driver had to pay a "fine"just because. It wasn't much, but still.... where does all of this go? The Cambodian people would like to know, too.
As always, there were lots of children selling trinkets, amputees playing music and asking for money, and small pathetic looking children begging. One of the lowest moments of the day was watching a couple of tourists pose some of the beggar children (one of whom was carrying an infant) for photos in the midst of the temples. It's pretty sickening.
Tonight, for our last night in Cambodia we went to see some native dancing known as Apsara dancing. It is very beautiful but a little slow. I found myself dozing a bit but the girls liked it. We hit the night market one last time and in a moment we'll head back to the hotel. There is much packing to do. Yuck.
Tomorrw - Mike heads back to Chicago, while Julie and Hilary head back to Pittsburgh. Deb, Marcy, Kaley, Leanne and I fly from Siem Reap to Singapore and then on to Hong Kong. 'We'll have two days for fun in Hong Kong before flying home. Deb will be staying a couple more days to do some work for her company.
There is still much processing to be done as we get ready to leave Cambodia. It takes a while to fit the pieces of what you have seen here together with life as we know it. But today was a fun day with good memories made by three Khmer princesses who have had a great time together over the past two weeks. What a privelege it has been to be with them.
Hugs -
Lisa & Crew
1 comment:
Lisa & crew-
I have so enjoyed reading your blog everyday, im so sad to hear that it will be coming to an end so, as im sure ur also sad that ur big adventure is almost over! I just wanted to leave a little note to say that I hope u guys have a safe and uneventful trip back (as i know from my thailand travels getting home can be tough!) and i hope we can get together when u and kaley get back so i can hear some more stories!
take care and safe travels!
Sara
Post a Comment