Cambodia
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Once covered by the jungle and rarely visit the temple area of Angkor is now part of the beaten track in Southeast Asia, but for a good reason. These magnificent temples were once the centre of the mighty Khmer kingdom (ninth century to the fifteenth century A.D.) and the main temple Angkor Wat is considered the world's largest religious complex. Remember to read up on Hindu mythology to get a chance to understand its outstanding bas-reliefs or just be impressed by the grand scale. Split your explore time equally between the big ones (Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, and Bayon) and the minor ones (Preah Khan, Neak Pean, and Preah Ko) which lack in scale but wins in tranquillity. If your time permits add some site that are a drive out of the way, like Kbal Spean and Beng Mealea.
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Carved on a pillar on the inside of the wall at the ancient Angkor temple Ta Prohm (build in the late 12th century) this strange animal stands out. Most schoolkids will recognise this as a stegosaurus, a dinosaur that extinct a long time ago even by Angkor standards. Speculations haven been many about it and beside the biblical creation explanation and doubts about the carving's authenticity, the going belief is that it's a Sumatran rhinoceros depicted against jungle leaves (sorry to spoil the mystery). When done with the crypto-zoology, take a glance at the temple. Ta Prohm is famous as the Jungle Temple since the early restorations left it untouched with it walls crumpled by huge serpent-like roots of the towering silk cotton trees.
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Boeng Yeak Lom is a pristine volcanic crater lake created some 700.000 years ago. It is a popular picnic spot for locals, and a refreshing dip into the clear, warm water can be done from one of the wooden platforms along its shore. The lake has a perfect round shape and though the information sign boost its size to about 800m in diameter and 50m deep it seems smaller. The crater rim is just a lush hill, and not an actually volcanic cone as some might expect. A beautiful forest lake in a very dusty region.
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A traditional snack in Cambodia is fried insects. Anything goes but big hairy spiders seem extraordinary popular. The small village of Skun on the highway 6A, between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, is renowned for their deep-fried tarantulas, along with grasshoppers, crickets and beetles. The place has become so popular that even tour buses stop here now. So how does a tarantula tastes like? The hairy legs are just crispy, but the big abdomen is full of gooey, yummy guts. Just squeeze and enjoy.
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Tonlé Sap is the biggest lake in Southeast Asia and famous among biologists for its unusual river flow that change direction twice a year. For the rest of us, who doesn't have the time to sit down on the shore and wait until the water drains out or flows back, will have to settle with the equally unusual life on the lake. Floating villages like Chong Kneas of both Khmer, Cham and ethnic Vietnamese descent are spread out along the edge of the lake and can be visited on a boat trip. Beside the floating homes, there are a school (with basketball court), church, temple... and yes, tourists traps disguised as restaurants and crocodile farms. Don't mind the floating sellers with pet snakes, they are just a part the experience.
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About 70km from Siem Reap |
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Cambodia's treasure of ancient temples goes beyond the group at Angkor. The mystical temple of Beng Mealea is one of those. Build in the Angkorian period, 40km from Angkor Wat on an ancient royal highway, it was among the biggest temples. Today it is a magical ruin that have been hidden under the jungle carpet until recently. Giant serpent-like roots are slowly crushing the walls, while a web of smaller roots are holding the place together. You have to crawl over fine carved sandstone blocks, dug under fallen pillars, and hang in vines to get through the giant maze of closed courtyards, dark chambers and raising towers. Though there are boardwalks at some sections it is a raw experience to explore the this hidden jewel. This jungle temple makes Ta Prohm, the famous jungle temple at Angkor, looks like a groomed little brother.
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Virachay National Park and its buffer zone |
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The northeast corner of Cambodia is home to dense jungle, shady forests and ethnic villages, so the region is slowly developing into an interesting trekking destination. Though the area is home to some serious wildlife, like leopards and tigers, you have to be more than lucky to come across any of them. Monkeys, birds and insects (in all sizes) are probably what you will run into. For a serious jungle trip, venture into Virachay National Park where the chances are higher to see something exotic. You can even trek back in time and follow parts of the old Ho Chi Minh trail from the Vietnam War, that went through area.
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Around 50km northeast of Siem Reap |
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Phnom Kulen (487m) is a refreshing side trip from touristy Siem Reap. A sacred mountain with a wat housing a huge reclining Buddha carved out of the top of a huge boulder. The place also double as a recreational area for Khmer families, who come here to relax and enjoy them self. Under the nearby waterfall you can splash around with the locals and wash some of the dust off from the rough ride coming here. Combine the trip with a visit to Kbal Spean (the River of Thousands Lingas) and Banteay Srei, a hindu temple with some of the best Angkor carvings.
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Toul Sleng museum, Phnom Penh |
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When the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia in 1975 they turn the country into a Maoist state. Everyone who were of higher education was considered an enemy of the state and should therefor be executed. For that purpose a high school in central Phnom Penh was turned into a torture center, named S-21. Throughout the four years of Khmer Rouge control more than 16.000 Cambodians were tortured here and eventually killed, either here or at the killing fields at Choeung Ek a bit out of town. The Khmer Rouge kept meticulous records, including photos, of all the prisoners and their horrific torture. These can today be seen at the high school which is turned into a museum. A grim memorial of how bad mankind can treat each other.
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The ethnic minorities of northeast Cambodia, like the Tompuon people at Kachon village, bury their dead in some rather elaborate graves in the forest. The concrete tombs can have fences, wooden elephant tusks, thatched roof and the entrance is guarded by carved statues of the deceased (man and wife are buried at the same place) – some with very explicit genitals. The cranium of the buffalo, that got sacrificed during the burial ceremony, hang at the front and the family of the deceased often places things that the dead can use in afterlife like bottles, pots, local whiskey, yes even sun glasses. Be sensitive when visiting a tribal cemetery, so you don't offend the locals nor the spirits.
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