Roaming around majestic Angkor ruins

ON Tuesday, May 24, I caught a bus from Nong Khai which took me almost 400km south to Korat, the second largest city in Thailand.

Korat used to be a walled city in the past and the moat around its historical core is now a pleasant canal, but there isn't really much to see there.

However, my purpose was to spend a night there in order to catch another bus the following morning to get to the border town of Aranya Prathet, a pleasant four-hour ride through a green and hilly landscape.

At about 1.30pm I was crossing the border to Poipet on the Cambodian side, from where I caught a bus to my first destination in Cambodia, the city of Siem Reap, famous all over the world for hosting one of the most amazing archaeological sites in the world: the temples of Angkor, another Unesco heritage site.

The economic gap between Thailand and Cambodia was immediately apparent — Thailand's eastern neighbour is clearly much poorer, which means among other things that the roads and houses in Cambodia are not so well maintained, relatively few cars circulate on the road (driving on the right-hand side as Cambodia used to be a French protectorate) and many people have to struggle to make ends meet.

Among other factors, this is mostly due to the horrible Khmer Rouge regime which ruled the country from 1975 to 1979, from which Cambodians are still trying to recover.

Most Cambodians of about my age and above can tell horrific stories of those years, like the remorque-moto (tuk tuk) driver who took me around the temples, whose father was taken away and killed without any reason while his wife and children (including my driver) couldn't even cry lest they would be killed as well.

It takes about four to five hours now to reach Siem Reap from Poipet, through a green and wilder landscape than in Thailand. Siem Reap, I must say, is a big tourist trap — everything is more expensive than in Thailand and other parts of the country, and one is constantly offered transport on remorque-motos or motorbikes, or asked to buy things (especially by children).

In spite of this and of their recent past Cambodians are nice and friendly and the four days I spent there where over all pleasant. But obviously one wouldn't really go to Siem Riep was it not for the incredible temple complex lying about six kilometres north of the town, the temples of Angkor.

My first day, Thursday, May 26, I decided to rent a bicycle to start visiting the temples in the afternoon, but I went the wrong way and when I finally reached the ticket office I would only have a couple of hours left for my visit before the complex shut at 6pm.

So one of the kind attendants convinced me to wait for an hour and then get a three-day ticket starting the following day (US$40) in spite of having their own currency, the Riel, US dollars are the most common currency in Cambodia; even ATM machines give you dollars!). In this way I could have a short one-hour visit that afternoon — from 5 o'clock the visit would be free — and enjoy three whole days on Friday and the week-end.

So all I could do during that short hour was to cycle to Angkor Wat, the closest and most famous temple, and to have a quick walk from the bridge crossing the huge moat to the actual temple on the opposite side of the walled grounds. The next two days, however, I decided to use the service of a remorque-moto (with the driver mentioned above) to visit all the closest temples, most of them situated among luxuriant vegetation.

The many tourists may have spoilt the atmosphere a bit, however the temples were really impressive, particularly Angkor Wat, which I visited again but with more time on Saturday, Bayon, found within the walls of Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm.

Angkor Wat, built in the 12th century, is a huge amazing building with five boulder-like towers (the central one is 55m high) and intricate bas-relieves all around, a temple originally built in honour of Vishnu, one of the most important Hindu deities. Bayon, built around 1200, is a big pyramid-like structure with 216 huge faces of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara looking at you, whereas Ta Prohm, erected in the 12th century as well, is famous because big trees have grown in the midst of it, with their roots embracing walls and doors.

Some of these trees are being removed now, which will make the temple more secure but will also definitely spoil its charm... These last two temples are both Buddhist. By the way, Ta Prohm has been used as a set for the films "Tombs Raider" and "Two Brothers"!

Today, my last day in Siem Reap, I rented a bicycle again for a last ride as far as the temple of Bayon; tomorrow, in fact, I'm off to the town of Battambang, about 100km south-west of Siem Reap as the crow flies. At 7am I have to catch the boat that will get me there through the huge Tonlé Sap lake and the river Stung Sangker.

The Brunei Times