I'm really glad they didn't start chopping down the trees when the temple was re-discovered, whenever that was. It definitely gives the temple a very unique look.. makes it very fun to explore too.
A bunch of temples were partially overgrown with trees and vegetation, but this one was the most impressive. A lot of temples were cleared of jungle-like vegetation, but if you explored just a bit off the beaten path, you could oftentimes end up in very jungle-like parts, where no tourists go.. with random boulders and temple parts here and there. There's jungle all around over there, it definitely added a very cool dimension to the experience. A bit of that "Indiana Jones" type feel, just nowhere as badass.
Maybe you should try to see some of the Central American ruins someday. Belize and the south of Mexico. I think some of them are in their more overgrown state as well.
Maybe you should try to see some of the Central American ruins someday. Belize and the south of Mexico. I think some of them are in their more overgrown state as well.
I've been to the Yucatan peninsula and have seen some ruins, like Tulum.. I really want to go to Costa Rica at some point; don't think there's any ruins or temples there.. although there's got to be, I guess. (editor's note: Who knows what I'm trying to say here. I was obviously intoxicated when writing this.)
I've watched a part of a documentary on Belize a little while back I think.. I'm going to have to head somewhere in the region at some point in the future.. it seems worthy enough. I know little about it to be honest, but I don't mind keeping it that way until I'm ready to make time for that part of the world.
I took those signs very seriously actually.. just in case.
Mostly because nobody really seemed to think that much of anything really applies anywhere in Cambodia, from my experience anyway.. The traffic on the roads for example can be quite chaotic, the larger cars getting to go first just because they're large..
What does that have to do with signs at tourist sites? My thinking is that if they're going to put up a sign that they clearly expect people to take seriously.. then it's worth listening to, because they're usually such lax guys..
There weren't really many "off limits" areas either, so it wasn't a big problem. At one of the first temples I saw a guy climbing out from what I thought was an inaccessible part of the temple.. He was there with 2 of his kids, following an "alternate" route that went a bit deeper into the jungle.. He said that there were many such side trails around at many of the sites, and many places you could go..
I was glad I ran into that guy and ended up exploring as much as I could. Just not past any signs like that. I don't want to be that "Couldn't he read the sign??" guy. My parents would be so embarrassed and sad at the same time, I can't do that to them.
I had arrived at a very popular part of the temple.. It wasn't easy taking pictures without people in them..
Get the hell OUT OF THE WAY
This was literally only clear of people like this for not more than 3 seconds... and even so I wasn't able to get the whole thing I wanted in one shot, because someone's stupid body part was in the way..
The second last stop on this busy day was Banteay Kdei, a buddhist temple built in the 13th century . It's built in a style similar to Bayon, but is a lot smaller. I took my time but did not spend more than a half an hour here.
This particular temple is said to have been occupied by actual monks intermittently until the 1960s.. So I'm not quite sure who this guy was, but it seems like a number of people were there unofficially..
It was then that I came face to face with a scam. I did not of course know that at the time...
The man you see in the picture below walked up to me, asked me if I want to see something cool, and took me to see "spiderman".
Who doesn't say "Yes please!" when asked if they want to see spiderman?
"Spiderman"
The murals on the walls were very interesting.
At this point I had walked away from the spider and was walking around the temple looking at stuff.. The guy who introduced me to spiderman was somehow beside me explaining everything like a broken Cambodian David Attenborough. I caught on fairly quickly and asked him to stop trying to be my guide several times, but he followed me around anyway. I was tired and had a long day, so a part of me did not really care about much of anything, and some of what he was saying was actually sort of interesting.
But after maybe 2 minutes of this I put an end to his charade and called him out on his BS. I said I never asked him to be my guide and that I want him to stop following me around. He of course asked for money for his services, which at that point was to be expected.. being ready for it I argued with him just for the sake of giving him a difficult time. I had already decided that he was going to get a 5,000 riel note, which is just over $1US... In Cambodia that is not a bad tip for 5 minutes of work! A tourist could buy a beer for that or even a small meal! And from my point of view it was actually worth it, in terms of the services provided, as unwanted as they were. But I of course knew that this guy was expecting quite a bit more..
So of course his eyes go wide open when he sees how much money I'm going to give him.. Oh how satisfying that was, after I could see in his eyes the satisfaction he felt of finally convincing me to give him money. He tried to argue with me that it was not enough, saying that he was going to get in trouble.. He was a bit agitated and by that stage quite annoying, so I told him what's what and got the hell out of there.
He didn't follow me, so that was good, but to get back to my tuk tuk I would have to walk through that part of the temple again. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but I figured it made more sense for the guy to go after an easier victim...
Having said that, for the rest of my stay at this temple I was sort of on my toes, in an alert state..
There weren't really that many people around either, which was awesome.. but might have also made it easier for an enemy to strike. I had to be alert.
On my walk back to the tuk tuk I did not run into the scam artist. Maybe he was more afraid of me than I was of him? Or is that just true for black bears? Either way it didn't matter - I was on my way to the last stop of the day, a temple on top of a hill from which it is customary to experience the sunset. It was a popular activity, so there were probably going to be a lot of people there, but I like sunsets, so I was all in.
Phnom Bakheng is a Buddhist mountain temple dedicated to Shiva, built in the 9th century, about 1.5km (~1 mile) to the northwest of Angkor Wat. It is very popular with tourists for sunset viewing purposes and is considered to be a threatened temple due to the number of people who visit every day.
The hike up the hill is about 20 minutes. On the way there you see glimpses of the West Baray. At that point I was in a rush to get up the hill, so the only good picture of the Baray has a weird looking person in it. So instead I'm forced to post a slightly lesser alternative.
The summit was packed with people.
I looked around for Angkor Wat.. It was in a direction most people were not looking in - away from the sun, towards the southeast.
Yeah, most of the pictures I've been posting should be in chronological order. All the clouds made it possible to get variable lighting conditions, as they moved over the sun.
edit: looking away and towards the sun you end up with a completely different effect too
It was almost time to head back.. A group of buddhist monks thought so too.
Was the sunset going to get any better than this? I didn't care and left.
I was also kind of eager to get back to the guest house and relax a bit there, maybe take a nap, and then go looking for food.
Here you can see a whole bunch of people at the top looking towards the sun.
It was packed up there, I was lucky to get the shots and views that I did.. I didn't hate it or anything, but I didn't mind leaving early at all..
On the way down I ran into a sleeping guard.. People were laughing at him as they passed by, and he seemed none the wiser.. So I snapped a couple pictures.. I thought that with my luck he might wake up and get me in trouble, so I didn't stick around to get a better shot than this:
After getting back to Siem Reap, I returned to the guest house and booked a tuk tuk for the next day's activities. (Yep, more temples!) I booked it for 5am, because I wanted to be there for the sunrise. I also paid extra for the driver to take me to the landmine museum, 15km north or so of all the temples, IIRC.
Then I walked off into the night, looking for food.
It wasn't even 8pm, but it was already dark and creepy.. I had to walk down a poorly lit narrow road with no sidewalks through a dire looking neighbourhood, passing by suspect looking bars, suspect looking women sitting outside, dark sidestreets, storefronts, tattoo parlours, massage parlours, and pizza places advertising "special" toppings, while occasional cars and motorcycles eagerly made their way in both directions. I did not at any time think that I was in any danger, or that there was any danger around me.. But the whole atmosphere was just a bit offputting, especially considering it was my first time walking around in the dark in a town in Cambodia.
After exploring a bit I settled on a place called Khmer Taste. They seemed to specialize in Khmer food and cheap beer. That was good enough for me. According to my notes I had Amok, which is a curry steamed in banana leaves, usually involving coconut cream. It was alright. There was no way I was going to take out my camera though, so unfortunately there are no pictures.
The walk back to the guest house was uneventful. I was asleep by 10pm.
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It definitely gives the temple a very unique look.. makes it very fun to explore too.
I don't want to be that "Couldn't he read the sign??" guy. My parents would be so embarrassed and sad at the same time, I can't do that to them.
