Siem Reap

As the double decker sized bus that had transported me and twenty four other mostly European visitors in air conditioned comfort from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap approached the town centre a friendly (but entrepreneurial, I would realize later) Khmere wandered through the bus advising us to make our way directly to the office at the front of the bus when it arrived. From there we would be transported by local tuk tuk, free of charge to the destination, guest house or hotel that we had booked or desired.
On the face of it excellent service from the bus company. However my selected guest house was written off by the friendly Khmere in one short sentence that showered it with despise and disregard. With a smile this young entrepenuer suggested he could take me to a much more conveniently located guest house (that no doubt paid him a handsome commission to bring punters in) that had rooms from 7USD/night, had free internet and beer was 50 cents a glass. What he didn’t tell me was that he and his little team of tuk tuk drivers brought almost every one of their bus passengers to this location (probably with a similar disparaging story around punters previously selected accommodation)…..so…all the 7USD rooms were taken, there was always a queue for the internet seats, and the bargain beer flow always ended early to mid evening when the one barrel that was consigned to the loss leader deal ran dry. I would find all of this out later. What I discovered immediately I had signed up for a 10USD/night room was that he was more tacky than bubble gum. No matter what I said, he was convinced that I needed him the next day to take me to the temple region. In fact he would stay with me the whole day and, I was informed, for the following two days as well for a very reasonable 30USD. The more I listened the deeper it got.. you couldn’t do the temples without a driver as the temples were too far apart to walk between them. In the end I had to be abrupt and tell the guy to go. He still had the gaul to look me in the eye and ask me how I would see the temples then. I will sort that out I told him. Not your worry.
The irony of this little episode was that I saw the same guy a couple of days later at the guest house delivering another barrow load of innocent beer thirsty tourists..He had the front to ask me how I got to see the temples. His offended retort to my answer was that I didn’t support him. I raised my voice although I felt like raising my hand. At the conclusion of my tirade I pointed at him then made the sign of zipping lips and pointed to the exit. He didn’t leave the guest house but he left me alone.
So how did I see the temples? Well the upside of the entrepenuerial Khmere’s (EK) tactics were that there were no shortage of people with similar interests at my guest house. Within minutes of despatching EK on the day of my arrival I was making friends with Raffael and Corinne. Swiss, enthusiastic and adventurous. They had managed to do a tuk tuk deal for half the amount that EK had offered me. After a little further negotiation the next day was to be temple day for the three of us. The first of three temple days for R and C but my only temple day unless I was more excited by these buildings than I have ever been in the past.
We were on our way with our friendly but surprised tuk tuk driver by 8.15 and at the temple grounds admission gate by about 8.45. Personal photo endorsed tickets seemed an odd overkill but that’s what we got!! It must have been shortly after 9 that we were parked outside the outer wall of the famous Angkor Wat Temple. The whole township of Angkor Wat is massive and incredibly impressive. It evoked a glorious mental time warp within me and I found myself transporting the stone carved, mostly female figures from the walls into the reality of my new existence to produce a theatre of beautiful people adorned in period robes going about both business and pleasure amongst the courtyards, chapels, pools and other life exciting stylish stone structures with the grace, charm and poise of an age lost to time and the ironic march of ‘progress’.
I had the clear impression that both Corinne and Rafael were smitten in a similar way as conversation gave way to important and sometimes urgent investigation of passages, rooms and chambers whilst our imagination painted those theatrical scenes of the beautiful, mostly female for me, people cavorting their business in this exotic, romantic and historic environment.
The heat was on… March is into the hot season here in Cambodia and by 11am were drowned in perspiration and needing to keep a constant intake of liquid as part of our activities.
The tuk tuk transported us to other temple sites with 10 minute hops between each. Sadly some of the historic sites had been badly damaged by the idiotic rampage of ‘military’ forces during the Khmere Rouge era. However there were restoration and recovery activities underway at some of the more dilapidated and mutilated examples.
The après midi session was highlighted by temple specimens that were being incongruously invaded by trees and tendron like roots. Although these living sprawls added a new and surreal dimension to the remains they were in fact destructions pole faced ally. Plant life would inevitably have a shorter life than the structures and would decay in time to create gangrenous holes of imploding stone. The authorities appeared rattled by this relatively recent and newly evident problem. For the visitor it encourages a litany of index finger clicking and wishes of longer battery life and larger memory cards.
4pm heralded the tuk tuk charge back to town and celebratory beers in the late afternoon sun on the patio front of one of the many restaurant bars in the cozy little centre of Siem Reap. Beer sipped between indulgent, WoW like, recollections of a days exploration richer in new experiences than one might taste in months or even years of our other life (chasing ever increasing profits in the capitalist world).
Siem Reap and it’s cozy little centre became the centre of my increasingly easily adapted universe for a couple of days. It was hot but relaxed and occasionally wifi compliant. The oozing cushty feel persuaded me to stay one extra day longer than the original plan. Something that I failed to tell Mother Hen back at Phnom Penh mission control who deemed it violation enough to unleash the wrath of her clawing cynicism upon me when I reappeared for my final few nights in Phnom Penh. Sakeet, you are unique!