We arrived mid afternoon. Siem Reap, Cambodia is just around 2 hours away from Singapore by plane. Because of the time difference (Cambodia is 1 hour behind Singapore/Philippines) we only wasted 1 hour for the flight. Going thru immigration was weird, it was the first time I have experienced wherein the airport authorities asked for the boarding pass after arrival. It was also one of the rare moments that being a Filipino has its perk; while other nationalities had to queue for their visa applications we skipped the queue and went directly to the immigration officer .
After going thru immigration and customs we were met by our tour guide Mr. Kimhas or who we will fondly call Kim for the rest of our adventure in Cambodia and driver Kom who rarely speaks to us during the trip because he know little English. The two would be our daily companion in Angkor for the next 3 days.
Kim who seems to always sport a 5 o'clock shadow was a straight forward guy. He is proud of his Khmer heritage and culture, and he would give you a piece of his mind with regards to the issues and current situation of Cambodia and their people when you ask him about it. Aside from English, it is a proud fact that he is one of the "seven or eight" Cambodians who can speak Italian fluently. Highly intellectual, he believes that the plight of the Cambodians (58% illiterate according to Kim) can be solved thru education.
They took us immediately to get our 3-day pass so we can roam around the Angkor area legally. Foreigners have to pay a certain fee to be able to have access to the temples around Angkor. It funds a privately owned, Vietnamese Company who maintains (but not the restoration) of the sites. Vietnamese? Hmmmm.... Anyway, Cambodians do not have to have a pass, even foreigners who are of Khmer descent qualifies. How do they know? Apparently if you can speak Khmer fluent enough you are Khmer.
Before checking in our hotel, we begun our temple tours with Angkor Wat. Kim explains to us that the area used to be called Angkor, but the modern name of the area is now Siem Reap. Siem or Siam meaning Thai and Reap meaning defeat is apparently the place where the Khmer defeated the Siamese. He explains the significance and the details of the temple like he was reading the it from the encyclopedia. We all failed to absorb it all since all of us were at awe of the the sight of the temple. We begun to take out our cameras and started to take pictures.
Angkor Wat got our attention. The moat was huge, the gate and the towers were spectacular. A portion of the causeway has been reconstructed/restored and while the other portion lay unevenly the original stones where you could also walk on. Inside the gates were three huge statues of Vishnu a, of the three, two were looted of its heads and arms. Kim took us to see the one that has its original head and arms. We started to click away.
Kim explains that apparently looters love to take the heads and/or arms of the statues all over the sites of Angkor and sell it in the black market. He then talks about 3 tragedies that Angkor Wat suffered (it is somewhat politically sensitive, so as not to cause any controversies I leave it to Kim to spread it thru word of mouth).
Even at the gates the carvings on and around the walls is in such great details, Kim would be quick to point out every time we come across carvings that were still in great shape. He was especially fond of pointing out Apsara (celestial dancer) carvings in good condition. Needless to say our digital cameras were on overdrive.
Walking inside the courtyard of Angkor Wat our shock from the beauty subsides and the realization of how hot it was in Cambodia sinks it. Sweat began to flow. We walked or sweated our way to the ruins of what is described to be a library, but according to Kim it was an archive misinterpreted to be a library (the difference being? pardon the ignorance). Then we sweated our way to a pool where there were countless lily pads. Kim exposed to us the secret place where you can get the "best" picture of Angkor Wat. It turns out that at a certain angle the pool provides a reflection of the structure. We started to click away again.
Kim explains again; there is some confusion as to what tourist wants to see and what is best seen in Angkor during sunset. Tourists demand to see the sunset in Angkor where you see just the sun setting when in fact Angkor Wat is best seen during sunset when the light is just right and gives Angkor Wat a golden glow. I guess Kim does not understand how westerners romanticize sunsets. However he is right! Angkor Wat is best viewed or pictured during sunset, when the light is just right and gives the structure a golden glow. We started to click away again.
Angkor Wat closes at 5:30 PM so we made our way back to our coaster where we learned that part of what we paid for was the free flowing bottled water to keep us hydrated. Even being used to warm weather we started to melt away in the heat in Cambodia. Good thing the tour operator provided for the water we badly needed for the entire trip. After Angkor Wat, Kim was ready to take us to our hotel to check in. The day was over.
Next - Khmer Cuisine
