Monday, December 25, 2006
Cambodia – Day 2
Dec. 9th Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
Today we headed out early again, but at a much more reasonable 7am. We took a boat up the Tonle Sap River and across the Tonle Sap Lake to the pier just south of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is the city that provides access to the ancient Khmer temple complexes generally known as Angkor Wat.
Phnom Penh is situated at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers. The Mekong is such a large and powerful river that during the high flow season, the Tonle Sap Lake acts as its natural overflow reservoir. What this means is that for half the year when the Mekong is high, the Tonle Sap River flows north into the Tonle Sap Lake, but during the other half of the
year when the Mekong is lower, the Tonle Sap River reverses direction and flows south out of the lake. The result is one of the most productive natural fisheries in the world with an incredible diversity of aquatic and migratory birds.
The boat we took was a large and fairly fast one. It sat around 100 people but easily had 125 on board. Many people sat on top of the boat and others just lounged around the aisles. It was a 6-hour boat ride so there was
plenty of time for lounging. One of the more popular spots was on top of the boat, but the sun was pretty brutal and there was no way to stay up top for the entire trip. The scenery along the river was beautiful and provided a glimpse of how much of Cambodia still lives today. We saw a number of villages along the river including some floating villages. In addition, there were several beautiful temples and mosques along the river. A large percentage of the fishing communities in this region are Muslim so it was interesting to see a mix of temples and mosques.
Of course the most interesting part of the trip was observing the people on the boat. This melting pot i
ncluded a very international mix of Cambodians, Indians, Europeans, Canadians, Australians and Americans, just to name a few. Gioia is seen here, at left, caught between the Japanese tourists and their omni-present video camera and a Buddhist monk. The mix of people led to some interesting interactions. For example, there were two guys from California who had a guitar and led a group of people from several different countries in a sing-along for about an hour (at right). The most surreal moment came w
hen they had them all singing Jewish folk songs. "Khmer Klesmer", as it became known, is a newly discovered musical genre thought to exist only on a boat in Cambodia. Also, it appears that everyone on earth knows the Beatles. I don't care where you are from, you just grow up knowing the lyrics.
We finally arrived at the north end of the Tonle Sap Lake and caught a couple of tuk tuks (motorcycle taxis) to our hotel in Siem Reap, about 10 km north of the pier. Elizabeth and Jeff's tuk tuk broke down on the way. It resulted in only a minor delay and added some
amusement to the trip as they piled in with Joey and Gioia for the rest of the bumpy ride. We stayed at the Auberge Mont Royal, a boutique style hotel. It was very nice and was located close to the heart of downtown. A big plus for us is that they had a large family room, so the five of us could stay in one room instead of two. We checked in, cleaned up from 6 hrs on the boat, had a wonderful lunch, and hit the pool. Ah, the pool felt great!
We took it easy for the afternoon and rested up for three big days ahead of visiting the ancient temples and ruins of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area. We had hired a guide and a van with a driver for the next three days, and tonight we met our guide, Sophoan. She was recommended to us by our friends Sam and Leslie who live in our apartment building in Bangkok. We chatted with her for a bit so that she could get a good understanding of what we were most interested in seeing. After that we ate at a restaurant she had recommended called the Khmer Kitchen. Khmer food was another big surprise to me. I expected it to be similar to Thai food, but it is actually quite different. It is not spicy hot, but it is more savory with several unexpected flavors and styles of cooking. There are a lot of vegetables in the dishes, particularly different greens and lots of pumpkin, and many dishes are baked in clay pots instead of stir fried in a wok. Delish!
Siem Reap is a small town, so after dinner we wandeered around window shopping and then walked back to the hotel. The town is definitely on the "hip backpacker" circuit so that element is here, but it is still less touristy than many other comparable places and has a bit of that wild west feel to it.
It was a good day with a fun boat trip. We are very excited about tomorrow. Angkor Wat, here we come!
Today we headed out early again, but at a much more reasonable 7am. We took a boat up the Tonle Sap River and across the Tonle Sap Lake to the pier just south of Siem Reap. Siem Reap is the city that provides access to the ancient Khmer temple complexes generally known as Angkor Wat.Phnom Penh is situated at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap Rivers. The Mekong is such a large and powerful river that during the high flow season, the Tonle Sap Lake acts as its natural overflow reservoir. What this means is that for half the year when the Mekong is high, the Tonle Sap River flows north into the Tonle Sap Lake, but during the other half of the
year when the Mekong is lower, the Tonle Sap River reverses direction and flows south out of the lake. The result is one of the most productive natural fisheries in the world with an incredible diversity of aquatic and migratory birds.The boat we took was a large and fairly fast one. It sat around 100 people but easily had 125 on board. Many people sat on top of the boat and others just lounged around the aisles. It was a 6-hour boat ride so there was
plenty of time for lounging. One of the more popular spots was on top of the boat, but the sun was pretty brutal and there was no way to stay up top for the entire trip. The scenery along the river was beautiful and provided a glimpse of how much of Cambodia still lives today. We saw a number of villages along the river including some floating villages. In addition, there were several beautiful temples and mosques along the river. A large percentage of the fishing communities in this region are Muslim so it was interesting to see a mix of temples and mosques.Of course the most interesting part of the trip was observing the people on the boat. This melting pot i
ncluded a very international mix of Cambodians, Indians, Europeans, Canadians, Australians and Americans, just to name a few. Gioia is seen here, at left, caught between the Japanese tourists and their omni-present video camera and a Buddhist monk. The mix of people led to some interesting interactions. For example, there were two guys from California who had a guitar and led a group of people from several different countries in a sing-along for about an hour (at right). The most surreal moment came w
hen they had them all singing Jewish folk songs. "Khmer Klesmer", as it became known, is a newly discovered musical genre thought to exist only on a boat in Cambodia. Also, it appears that everyone on earth knows the Beatles. I don't care where you are from, you just grow up knowing the lyrics.We finally arrived at the north end of the Tonle Sap Lake and caught a couple of tuk tuks (motorcycle taxis) to our hotel in Siem Reap, about 10 km north of the pier. Elizabeth and Jeff's tuk tuk broke down on the way. It resulted in only a minor delay and added some
amusement to the trip as they piled in with Joey and Gioia for the rest of the bumpy ride. We stayed at the Auberge Mont Royal, a boutique style hotel. It was very nice and was located close to the heart of downtown. A big plus for us is that they had a large family room, so the five of us could stay in one room instead of two. We checked in, cleaned up from 6 hrs on the boat, had a wonderful lunch, and hit the pool. Ah, the pool felt great!We took it easy for the afternoon and rested up for three big days ahead of visiting the ancient temples and ruins of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area. We had hired a guide and a van with a driver for the next three days, and tonight we met our guide, Sophoan. She was recommended to us by our friends Sam and Leslie who live in our apartment building in Bangkok. We chatted with her for a bit so that she could get a good understanding of what we were most interested in seeing. After that we ate at a restaurant she had recommended called the Khmer Kitchen. Khmer food was another big surprise to me. I expected it to be similar to Thai food, but it is actually quite different. It is not spicy hot, but it is more savory with several unexpected flavors and styles of cooking. There are a lot of vegetables in the dishes, particularly different greens and lots of pumpkin, and many dishes are baked in clay pots instead of stir fried in a wok. Delish!
Siem Reap is a small town, so after dinner we wandeered around window shopping and then walked back to the hotel. The town is definitely on the "hip backpacker" circuit so that element is here, but it is still less touristy than many other comparable places and has a bit of that wild west feel to it.
It was a good day with a fun boat trip. We are very excited about tomorrow. Angkor Wat, here we come!
# posted by Joe Spatafora @ 4:21 AM 
