I was reluctant and certainly not interested at first. Well, it’s cheap but doing this, I don’t feel comfortable. I just don’t want to wear it. It makes me feel inferior. The girls were so enthusiastic to wear it together. Eventually, I concede defeat. So here we are. A bunch of attention-grabbing youngsters doing some juvenile thing. People who passed by, stopped for a moment and whispered some words to his/her groups. Some aunties were chuckling and finger pointing on us when we took group photos.
The fact that we were wearing this “I Love Cambodia” t-shirt certainly makes us an instant hit with the locals there. Some even laughed at us and said “I Love Malaysia” when we told them where we’re from. Well, we garnered the love of all the tourists and locals on our first day inside the Angkor Recreational Park. Those who had not been to Cambodia might mix up by the fact that Angkor Wat is just a small part of the temples inside Angkor Recreational Park. It is not the largest or tallest temple there. In fact, the largest temple inside the park is Angkor Thom, our first stop. It is a city where there are a few more temples inside with Bayon being the heart of the city.
First sight revealed a grand temple ruins which highlight the Hinduism and Buddhism influence that once grasp the different ruler’s believe. You get the see the fusion of this in the monuments all over the Angkors. From the vantage point of the temple's upper terrace, one is struck by the serenity of the stone faces occupying the many towers. Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor.
Me giving a nose-butting.
Unlike Angkor Wat, which impresses with the grand scale of its architecture and open spaces, Bayon gives the impression of being compressed within the wall which is too tight for it. The outer wall of the outer gallery features a series of bas-reliefs depicting historical events and scenes from the everyday life of the Angkorian Khmer. My group is very passionate on this by taking every picture there is on the wall. They made me think that they might just want to study archeology once they are back to Malaysia.
Baphoun was our next stop. Much of the temples had largely collapsed, and restoration efforts have since proven problematic. Luck was not on our side too. It started to drizzle. We made a stop to nearby stall to quench our thirst. That 20 minutes stop there is a torturous moment with the relentless persuasion from the kids trying to promote their product ranging from books, postcards to cloth.
Soon we walked to Phimeanakas, a three tier pyramid temple. The stair which leads to the tower on top is so steep that half of my group plus the guide are not interested to climb up. Not for me. This site interests me the most. Why? Well according to legend the king spent the first watch of every night with a “Naga” girl in the tower. During that “time”, not even the queen was permitted to intrude. Out of curiosity, I want to witness the so-called “ML” place myself. Once on top I was disappointed. No bed of roses. All I found on the tower was an old lady offering tourists to buy joss stick to pray.
As it has drizzled, we saw kids built their own Angkor Who or Angkor Which or Angkor Whatever from the soil?
Then, we reached the Terrace of The Elephants. The 350m long terrace was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall. Not far away is the Terrace of the Leper King. Don’t be confused with the word “leper” in Malay which means flattened. There are no flattened kings here. Its modern name derives from a sculpture discovered at the site depicting the Hindu god Yama, the god of Death. He was called the Leper King because discoloration and moss growing on the original statue, reminiscent of a person with leprosy, and also a Cambodian legend that an Angkorian king who had leprosy.
For those who is as kiasu as me who wish to cover most of the sites in Angkor, then I would suggest you to just eat inside the park. Or else you need to go out all the way back to city. This might cost you precious hours. Though my guide is wiling to take us back to city for slightly much cheaper meal, we decided not to do so. The food is not our priority. The temple is. Furthermore, it just costs 1-2 USD more for a plate of fried rice in here. But one thing we must deal with is another round of torrential persuasion from the kids asking you to buy things from them. Please don’t use the word “beg” here as I think there are not of that low level. They are just another human being trying to find a better living by earning money the right way. They have items to sell, ok? Most of the tourists here are concerned of these kids not going to school because their parents don’t see it as a necessity. That is why, we should be grateful, that our government made it compulsory for parents to send their kids to school.
Cambodia shot to international fame when Angelina Jolie shot the first Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Ta Prohm is the venue of the filming scene. Because of that, it has also made it a one stop center for the tourist. Before that, my tour guide had shown me the hotel and room she stayed during that few months filming. You see, people are so interested on the item/places that celebrities used or been to. I won’t be surprise the management might keep the toilet paper or bed sheet used by her. What happened to this world? People are so proud that they shared the same toilet Angelina Jolie used 5 years ago. This quiet, sprawling monastic temple is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth. Intentionally left partially un-restored, massive trees grow from the towers and corridors offering some of the best tree-in-temple photo opportunities. However, some trees had caused the collapse of a few bastions there.
The pride of man. Linga.
After some tomb-raider soul searching, we headed our way to Phnom Bakheng to witness the sunset view. Most tourists claimed this is a good spot to see the glistening golden silhouette of Angkor Wat in the jungle. The temple is usually overcrowded at sunset, sometimes even completely overrun by tourists. Due to overuse and damage, the main stairway up the mountain has been closed and an alternate path to the top has been opened. It’s a 15 minutes hike from the bottom of the hill. Elephant rides up and down the hill are also available for those tired feet or elderly. My pick? By foot will do as it is not very steep and dangerous. It’s very easy to climb.
Backstreet Boys pose?
I find it weird for us to go all the way to see sunset. Like I say previously, every sunset is the same. Furthermore, there’s only one sun. It’s just the angle and the atmosphere that are different. Nevertheless, seeing everyone did the same thing, well you just don’t want to be left out from the pack.
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