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Editor's note: This excerpt first appeared in photographer and author Harold Davis' recent Focal Press book, Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Photography with Harold Davis.
The closer you...
Angkor Wat was the capital of Khmer in 1300AD. Khmer was a fairly advanced
society for its time that controlled much of Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The
Angkor ruins show HUGE temples that are said to be the largest religions
buildings in the current world. Siem Reap is a 40K population city several miles
from the Angkor ruins. Siem Reap roads are dusty; therefore, it is IMPORTANT to
buy several air-filter masks found at any pharmacy to be used (as needed) while
walking or in open-air vehicles.
The People
The people are warm and wonderful.
Where We Stayed
La
Noria Hotel - This $35/day hotel, shown to the right, is run by a meticulous
Frenchman who provides high quality service at reasonable prices. Each room
consists of quarter sized sections of small buildings situated around a
courtyard. AC and hot water are included. Furnishings are new. This hotel is a 5
minute walk from The Grand Hotel, which is a famous Ritz Carlton-like $300/room
joint.
Where we Ate
The Banyon II restaurant featured excellent food at $4/dinner prices. It also
features nightly performances of traditional Cambodian "Apsara" dancing.
What We Did
The Angkor ruins are good for 1 to 3 days of site-seeing:
The forests in the Angkor park are a great place to take a walk.
The $300/room Grand Hotel is a terrific spot to get a drink and take a
walk:
The Siem Reap River runs through the center of Siem Reap, and is good for a
nice evening walk.
Folks wiz about late in the day:
Personal Reflections
Amanda: There is an interesting War Museum in Siem Reap. The guy
who was our guide for the one-hour tour is a walking miracle - the miracle is
that he is not dead. He was orphaned (Khmer Rouge killed his parents) when he was
13 - then had no food so joined the army. This guy was shot twice, then stepped
on a landmine and lost his leg and his sight, then had to be a beggar but kept
falling on his face and head on account of the combination of blindness and
having only one leg. Then somehow he got hooked up with a relief agency through a
refugee camp on the Thai border and they sent him to Bangkok where he had one eye
fixed (still blind in the other) and he got a prosthetic leg and he learned
english and physical therapy. And now he works at the war museum showing,
although he says he doesn't really like to look at them, the weapons used by the
gov't against the Khmer Rouge. Also the landmines used by both sides. It is
pretty scary stuff. Lots of stuff made in Russia. Some of the KM weapons made in
China. There were a few guns and one big artillery launching thing made in the
US. He said that the one made in the US was from 1953 and still worked, while the
ones made in Russia in the 1980s were already broken! Score one for the free
market system I guess!
Angkor Wat is HUGE and kind of amazing. Really amazing actually. Kinda run
down, as it is a thousand years old and a target of destruction by the Khmer
Rouge, who wanted to destroy Cambodian culture... hard to comprehend that - the
Pol Pot 'clique' as they are always referred to in the literature around here. It
is hard to begin to comprehend the enormity of the Cambodian genocide. And it is
hard to begin to comprehend the enormity of the wonder of Angkor Wat. Both leave
you stunned, these two incredible, disparate examples of what human civilization
is capable of.
I went to the blood bank at the Children's Hospital in Siem Reap and donated
blood. They care for the kids at the hospital free of charge, and they have these
banners outside asking for blood donations. So if you go to Siem Reap, please
stop in and give blood!!
Glenn: The Angkor ruins did little for me. I am more
interested in twentieth century history, culture and technology. Yet Siem Reap is
a terrific spot to hang out, walk, bike and relax.
You must stay here at least three days to really enjoy the marvelous of ancient Khmer art. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (with the astonishing Bayon inside) are the most obvious but there are many other place that absolutely deserve your (photographic) attention.
Here is enough just to mention the Bantan Srey Temple, till some years ago still closed to tourism because of bandits. It is a real jewel, with some of the most beautiful stone carvings of Angkor area. Other interesting and not-so-tourist-packed sites are Roulos Complex and Kobaln Spiel, unfortunately a little bit far away.
Some words about the visiting agenda. An old and still valid advice suggests visiting Bayon and Angor Thom in the morning and Angkor Wat during the afternoon, because of geographic orientation. It is true, but consider that in this case you will fight for a place without people around. It is up on you, but consider this aspect when decide.
Anyway, you can buy a one, two or seven days pass for Angkor, so you can return to one place when nobody is around i.e., to Bayon at sunrise.
I just wanted to make a couple of corrections to the previous entry. I think the writer was referring to the temples of Bantey Srey and Kbal Spean. Also, the temple passes are available in one, three, and seven day varieties and cost $20, $40, and $60 respectively.
