Conky Tonkin' with The Pfeifers: We Leave Saigon and Fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia

3/1-3/2/2024

We are up later than usual, with no planned activities until a late morning flight that will take us from Saigon to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

At Angkpor Wat

After breakfast with David and Linda, we board a bus that will take us to the airport. Getting out of Vietnam seems almost as hectic as getting in, as we have to again pass through immigration with all of our luggage.

Temple complex entrance

Fortunately, Capt. Larry is not detained again. Arriving in Siem Reap, we board a bus that will take us to the nearby Angkor Wat temple complex. Siem Reap is Cambodia’s second-largest city and is actually a cluster of small villages along the Siem Reap River. These villages were originally developed around Buddhist pagodas (Wat) that are almost evenly spaced along the river.

We arrive at the temple complex on a very hot and humid afternoon. Angkor Wat (City/Capital of Temples) resides within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor.

Smaller temple

Originally built in Khmer temple architecture as a Hindu temple during the 12^th century, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple. At its center are its five trademark, perfectly symmetrical towers rising over 200 feet.

More temple ruins

The temple’s towers and walls are extensively adorned with bas-relief friezes and devatas. The entire complex is surrounded by a moat over 600 feet wide and 3 miles in perimeter, and the outer wall encloses a space of over 200 acres. The temple complex has faced extensive damage and deterioration over time, but modern-day restoration efforts are being made with the involvement of several countries and conservation organizations.

We follow our guide across the moat on a sandstone causeway and into the complex. He provides a lot of historical and cultural information about the temple. After a while, we are given a choice of continuing on a walking tour to the higher levels of the temple or taking a tuk-tuk ride to our hotel.

Posing with a visiting family

Because of the heat and the number of steps involved, we opt for the ride to the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. After everyone had returned and checked in, we joined David and Linda and some other group members for a happy hour, followed by a dinner with a local dance troupe performing traditional Apsara dances between the dinner courses.

Apsara dancers

After dinner, we retired for the evening.

We are up early for another big day, as we are going to explore another ancient walled city—Angkor Thom. Established in the late 12^th century, Angkor Thom (Great City) was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer Empire.

Performing dancers

Lying on the west bank of the Siem Reap River, the city is entirely encircled by a moat and is one of the major tourist attractions in Southeast Asia. We follow our guide into the city through one of its five monumental gates, where in front of each stand 54 giant statues of gods and demons. The statues and bas-reliefs on the gate are very impressive. At the center of the city, we find the main state temple, the Bayon, which is richly decorated in the Khmer style and was the last temple to be built at Angkor Thom.

Angkor Thom ruins

The temple’s most distinguishing feature is the numerous serene and smiling stone faces of the Buddha. We leave the interior of Angkor Thom and board a bus, which drives us a short distance to the Terrace of the Elephants.

Capt. Larry and Angelina!

The nearly 400-yard-long terrace once served as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and a base for the king’s grand audience, and it is extensively decorated with life-sized bas-reliefs of elephants and their Khmer mahouts. We ride a little further to our final destination in Angkor Thom—Ta Prohm Temple. Built in the Bayon style, Ta Prohm was founded as a Buddhist monastery and center of learning. Today, the temple is referred to as the “Tomb Raider Temple” or the “Angelina Jolie Temple” due to its depiction in the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. After the temple was abandoned, trees took root in the stones and began growing out of the ruins. The temple is richly adorned with bas-reliefs and is currently undergoing extensive restoration.

More Angkor Thom ruins

We leave the Angkor Thom complex and are driven to Angkor and the Chanrey Tree Restaurant for a delicious lunch. Afterwards, we are given a choice of returning to the hotel or riding to Tonle Sap for a cruise on Southeast Asia’s largest lake.

Boarding our boat

We decide that we’re up for a boat ride. We arrive at a landing, board our canopied boat, and are given some facts about the lake’s hydrology, ecology, and fishery. Part of the Mekong River watershed, the lake is one of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world and has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Approximately 1.2 million people live in the lake area, and the annual freshwater catch of over 400,000 tons accounts for about 60% of the protein intake for the Cambodian population. The lake’s water volume and depth vary greatly between the wet and dry seasons, with a typical depth of 3 feet at the end of the dry season and expanding to 30-46 feet in the monsoon season.

Life along Tonle Sap

Our visit coincided with the end of the dry season, and the water was very low and filled with sediment. As we cruised along the shoreline, we saw a huge number of houseboats, which our guide told us would be moved and formed into floating villages at various times of the year.

Mid-lake life

We found such a village anchored in a wider section of the lake and were told that it provided all the services that a community on land would have: schools, churches, boat and motor repair, and medical and emergency services. We returned to the landing and our hotel, where we enjoyed an evening group dinner with lots of fun and laughter.