| Back & Beyond features
articles written by travellers about destinations they have
visited |
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| A visit to Cambodia |
Mention
Cambodia to all but the young and most people think of
killing fields, land mines and war. But in the last 10
years the fast developing town of Siem Reap has tried to
put that image behind it. Situated just north of the
Tonle Sap (Great Lake) this charming laid back town is
the gateway to the world famous Angkor temple complex.
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We had pre-booked a
local guide
to take us around Angkor, he came highly recommended,
was excellent and certainly saved us a lot of time as
the temple complex covers a huge area. While extensive
in number and extremely varied in size and decoration
the temples you see today are only a faction of the
total number of original shrines. How many temples you
visit depends largely on how much time you have and your
level of interest, but there are some ‘must sees’.
These include the legendary ruins of Angkor Wat, the
world’s largest religious monument and the giant faces
of Bayon, narrative bas-reliefs of daily life and Khmer
history. Even though we were dodging rain showers these
two unique examples of Angkorian art and architecture
were spectacular. Another is the recently opened Beng
Mealea a large romantic site still in the condition in
which it was discovered after having the area cleared of
mines, exploring this temple involves being shore
footed, strangler figs and silk-cotton trees are
entwined among the ruins and there are no guard rails.
Wishing to negotiate this warren of stone and vegetation
safely we accepted the services of a local village
guide, she led us through small spaces between fallen
rocks, along roof tops, under and over fallen columns
and around huge tree roots, pointing out carvings and
shrines and describing what the temple layout would have
been. Although not for the faint hearted and well away
from Siem Reap and the main temple area it was
definitely worth the trip.
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While
it is the main attraction, Angkor is not the only
one in the area. There are many opportunities to
experience traditional Cambodia. We took a boat
trip on the great Tonle Sap Lake to a fishing
village, the boat was basic but did the job and the
boatman falling overboard at one point made the
journey all the more interesting! When we arrived at
the village the water traffic increased with people
selling goods from their boats and children playing
with their friends but using canoes where ours would
use push bikes. |
Inspite of
the houses being high on stilts to allow for the
lake to rise during the raining season there were
dogs and small children roaming freely. For a few
dollars a villager took us into the nearby flooded
mangrove forest by canoe where there was an
incredible variety of wildlife. The lake supports an
extraordinarily rich and diverse eco-system with
more than 100 varieties of water birds including
several threatened and endangered species, over 200
species of fish, as well as crocodiles, turtles,
macaques, otter and other wildlife inhabit the
mangrove forests.
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Back in Siem Reap the ‘Old Market’ is a must
with its labyrinth of stalls offering a large
selection of handicrafts and curios, including
traditional silverwork, silk, baskets, statues,
carvings and traditional musical instruments.
The main aisle
 through
the centre of the market where local produce and
delicacies such as fried spiders are sold is
colourful and potentially very photogenic.
Personally I gave the spiders a miss but my
husband, bravely ate a leg when a tourist
generously offered him one. |
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After the sun goes down the shops and
markets close and the focus shifts to
‘Pub Street’, so named for the numerous
and varied restaurants and bars that
line the street from one end to the
other. Closed to traffic at sunset the
area has a Mediterranean feel about it
with pavement cafes where, over a drink,
you can simple sit and watch the world
go by. Here you can find Khmer, Thai,
French, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian and
a variety of other international foods.
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You should just make sure that one
evening you see an Apsara traditional
dance performance and sometime during
your stay you should have a wonderfully
relaxing massage from one of the many
parlours, at around $6 for a full body
massage spoiling yourself has never been
so easy.
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Accommodation ranges from guesthouses to
5* hotels and food and transport are
both very reasonably priced. We
travelled everywhere by tut tut and
found it a very agreeably means of
transport. Siem Reap with its proximity
to Angkor, French colonial buildings,
old market and friendly welcoming people
is a laid back town with lots of
character and a must for the traveller
looking for somewhere different.
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We went in September which is the rainy
season and yes we did have some rain but
not enough to concern us. We were there
6 days but if time is tight you could
pack an awful lot into 3. |
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Disclaimer:
Any opinions, advice, statements or other information
expressed in these pages do not necessarily reflect the
views of Bahrain International Travel. Bahrain
International Travel is not responsible or liable for
the content, accuracy or reliability of any material,
advice, opinion or statement in these pages. |
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