sunshine through the fog

Finally I see Ta Phrom. After seeing a photo at the National Arts Museum last year of the jungle temple, I simply couldn't get it out of my mind... So happy I've finally done it and gone to see the real thing...

So, here's my first photo log. All in all we took 800+ photos. After editing, I'm left with 686 of them. Impossible to show them all here, you'd probably start dozing off soon and the site might not be able to take it anyway, but I'll do my best to capture the "essence" of it all. :D If you're sincerely interested in seeing all the photos, just leave me a comment/email/sms/msn and I'd be delighted to share them with you!

Oh, I'm gonna do this in 2 parts so you don't have to wait too long for it! ;>

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18 Oct 2005 (Tuesday) ~ Sunny

Arrived at Siem Reap airport at 1005 local time. Short punctual flight. My favourite kind. It's the smallest plane I've ever been on though (Silkair MI622 Airbus A320) - quaint, huh? ;>

Our remorque driver, Sokha, picked us up at the airport and drove us to buy tickets for the 12:30 Mekong Express to Phnom Penh (PP) (USD6 per pax). Spent a boring hour plus at the hot, mosquito buzzing place waiting for the bus to go. Meanwhile, self-entertained with some photo-taking.

Apparently, overcrowding's a common scene atop motorbikes in Cambodia - sometimes as many as 5 people on one. In this case, one man and 3 huge pigs.




Look at these calendar girls!
Recognise them???

Yes. I was very tickled. :p

Hot, bored Joo drinking very expensive bottled water (USD0.50 per bottle).



On the bus finally! And so begins our 5 and a half hours bus ride to PP.

The bus is not too bad - provides cold towel (didn't use), bottled water (recycled bottles!!!) and "lunchbox" containing some bread. Though a long tiring ride, it's pretty interesting what we saw along the road - a glimpse of rural life, of which we'd not get to see if we'd flown to PP.







Finally reached PP at 6pm. Felt later though as the sky was pretty dark by then. Mopped by remorque/cab/moto drivers at the bus station on arrival. A mini price war ensued (amidst themselves) and we got ourselves a ride to our guesthouse - California 2 at Sisowath Quay - for USD0.50. The guesthouse is actually just down the road anyway.

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19 Oct 2005 (Wednesday) ~ Sunny

Decided to fulfill most, if not all, the touristy sightseeing today. Rented a remorque (same one we used the night before) for the day for USD12.

A short summary of the places we went:-

Choeng Ek Memorial (Killing Fields)

From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979, the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge (i.e. Red Khmer) regime, led by Pol Pot, controlled the whole of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge regime the country was known as ‘Democratic Kampuchea.’ During the short reign of the Khmer Rouge, between one million and two and a half million Cambodians perished, some killed outright, others dying from disease, malnutrition, neglect and mistreatment. Many of the dead ended up in various ‘killing fields’ that can be found scattered across the country. The killing field were essentially ad hoc places of execution and dumping grounds for dead bodies. The memorial at Choeung Ek just outside Phnom Penh was an orchard and a Chinese cemetery prior to 1975. During the Khmer Rouge regime it became one of the killing fields - this particular killing field is the site of the brutal executions of more than 17,000 men, women and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the S-21 Prison (Toul Sleng) in Phnom Penh. Choeung Ek is now a group of mass graves and a memorial stupa containing thousands of skulls.

I find it a bit too morbid for me so I didn't go in. Joo did, and took some pictures of the skulls, which I've decided not to show here. If anyone's interested, just google it and you'll find lotsa photos floating around.

Toul Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21)

Prior to 1975, Toul Sleng was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power it was converted into the S-21 prison and interrogation facility. Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months, to extract confessions, after which they were executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. S-21 processed over 17,000 people, seven of whom survived. The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness of the Khmer Rouge regime. Much has been left in the state it was when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display. Paintings of torture at the prison by Vann Nath, a survivor of Toul Sleng, are also on display.

Russia Market (Phsar Toul Tom Poung)

No pics taken. It's basically just a tourist souvenir market.

Independance Monument

The Independence Monument (Vimean Ekareach) was inaugurated in 1958 to celebrate Cambodia’s independence from foreign rule. It now also serves as a monument to Cambodia’s war dead. It is the site of celebrations and services on holidays such as Independence Day and Constitution Day.

Nothing much. We just passed by and took a photo from the remorque.

Central Market (Phsar Thmei)

This unique, art-deco building is a Phnom Penh landmark. Prior to 1935 the area was a swamp/lake that received the runoff during the rainy season. The lake was drained and the market constructed in 1935-37. Wet season flooding in the area around the market is a vestige of the old lake.

This was taken from the top level foodcourt of modern Shopping Centre Sorya behind the Central Market. Come to think of it, it's the most modern building I've seen there during my whole time in Cambodia. In case any of you are wondering, the round yellow building with four "arms" right at the centre of the photo is the Central Market. On the right's another pic from another angle - I think that's the Royal Palace at the corner but don't take my word for it. :p

Wat Phnom

A small hill crowned by an active wat (pagoda) marks the legendary founding place of the Phnom Penh. The legend of the founding of Wat Phnom is tied to the beginnings of Phnom Penh. Legend has it that in 1372 Lady Penh (Yea Penh) fished a floating Koki tree out of the river. Inside the tree were four Buddha statues. She built a hill (‘phnom’ means ‘hill’) and a small temple (wat) at what is now the site of what is now known as Wat Phnom. Later, the surrounding area became known after the hill (Phnom) and its creator (Penh), hence ‘Phnom Penh.’ The current temple was last rebuilt in 1926. The large stupa contains the remains of King Ponhea Yat (1405-1467) who moved the Khmer capital from Angkor to Phnom Penh in 1422.

And this kitty cat's just posing, staring at us most intently, absolutely begging to be in our camera. So we obliged. :)


And this is just to show how cool and happy we are. :p

Boeung Kak Lake

Formerly home to families returning to Phnom Penh in the 80’s and early 90’s, the lake area has more recently acquired a reputation as a haven for intrepid backpackers, Phnom Penh’s equivalent of Thailand’s Khao San Road . The street is ripe with a plethora of inexpensive guest houses, too numerous to name and a full range of services geared to the budget traveller, including Internet shops, money-changers, a mini-mart and travel agents sporting low fares to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and beyond.

We spent nearly 3 hrs (not entirely intentional, but better not to dwell on that) at the Lazy Fish Guesthouse. It's a cosy, friendly place on the edge of Boeung Kak Lake, pushed right to the end of a dirt road crammed full of backpacker's bars, restaurants and guesthouses. Drink prices were not so exorbitant and we enjoyed a nice relaxing time sitting by the lake just sipping our orange juice and simply taking in the view from the veranda while waiting for the sunset. Free pool, laid back atmosphere, hammocks and cambodia tv at the back. Good place to unwind after a hectic day of sightseeing.

Sunset at Boeung Kak Lake. We were so bored waiting for Wandi (our remorque driver for the day - no sense of punctuality at all!) we just kept taking photos. This is the best of the lot, according to Joo.

All in all, a very nice day indeed.

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20 Oct 2005 (Thursday) ~ Sunny with slight drizzling

It's a beautiful day. The view from the balcony outside our "river view room" (USD20 per night) greets us cheerfully and we decided to start the glorious day with a walk along the river front. Staying at a guest house along the pub stretch has this advantage - view of the confluence of the Mekong and the Tonle Sap just across the street.

Originally planned to visit some more touristy places that are within walking distance of our guesthouse. However, on second thoughts, decided that we're not in the mood for museums and artifacts. So we went on a walking tour of these places and just took photos from the outside. Cheapo, but what the heck. It's our holiday. We should be able to decide what we want or not want to do / see. ;) Out of "respect" for them, here're the exterior pics and what they're inside (supposedly).

Wat Ounalom

Wat Ounalom is the most important Wat of Phnom Penh, and the center of Cambodian Buddhism. It was built in 1443 to keep a hair of the Buddha. Before the Khmer Rouge emptied Phnom Penh in 1975, more than 500 monks used to live at the Wat. The Khmer Rouge killed the abbot and a large number of monks and vandalized the buildings and their treasures. After the Vietnamese invasion on 1979 the Wat was restored, and today again serves as the center of Cambodian Buddhism.

National Museum of Art

The distinctive rust-red National Museum next to the Royal Palace was dedicated by King Sisowath in 1920. Over 5000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statues, lingas and other artifacts, most notably the legendary statue of the ‘Leper King.’ Though the emphasis is on Angkorian artifacts, there is also a good collection of pieces from later periods, including a special exhibition of post-Angkorian Buddha figures.

Royal Palace and ‘Silver Pagoda’

The Royal Palace was built in 1866 under the French protectorate and King Norodom, though many of the buildings in the complex were added over the following decades.

The ‘Silver Pagoda’ (Wat Preah Keo Morokat) is the city’s most often visited pagoda because of its display of priceless historical objects. It draws its name from the over 5000 silver tiles which cover the floor of the vihear.

In between taking photos for above, we visited the famous Friends Restaurant(Mith Samlanh) - a cheerful tapas restaurant run as part of a program to teach street youth marketable skills. At the back of the restaurant is the actual school itself. We cannot go in but can see the kids running aroung playing - quite heart-warming.
It's a good place to hide from the fiery noon sun. We spent a good 2~3 hrs there sipping our lovely colourful drinks, reading, chilling, taking "thoughtful" photos and having lunch. Good food, friendly staff. Slightly pricey but hey, it's for a good cause. Highly recommended. There's also a souvenir shop right next to the restaurant selling stuff made, I presume, by these same youths. Staff not as friendly as those in the restaurant though.

We spent the "savings" on the entrances fees to the 3 places of interest on a Khmer massage. Very relaxing. Unlike other massages I've been to. They use the snake powder instead of essential oil / lotions. The technique is different - they don't "knead" but instead adopt a more "grab and release" motion. Twists you slightly into weird positions to stretch - not unlike a thai massage, but not the same. I gather you get the drift - it's difficult to explain in words. What matters is that it's not bad at all and also very reasonably priced - USD6 per hour. I likey. :D


Tonle Sap River

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21 Oct 2005 (Friday) am ~ Sunny

Woke up early to take the 7:30am Mekong Express back to Siem Reap. Were told that the bus would pick us up outside the guesthouse at 7am so we were down there waiting by 6:50. Turned out they played us out and "forgot" they had to pick us up so we had to spend USD1 to take a remorque down to the bus station. Oh well, minor travel mishaps.



Another 5.5 hrs ride. This time, luckily we got to sit at the same side of the bus as when we came so we get a view of the other side of the road. Hahaa... Small little self-consolations. Again took lotsa photos to entertain myself while Joo read (I can never read in buses - I'd get terribly sick and nauseous).

Here's my fav of the lot:

This was an accidental shot - I forgot to "unzoom" the camera. But the accidental effect's very nice, huh? Can see his dimples, very nice smile. And my hair on his shoulder at the side. Sigh... I'm a genius. Hahaahaaa...

Bye bye Phnom Penh.

Hello Siem Reap & Angkor...



{to be continued...}