Back to 'Nam

Our time in Cambodia drew to an end far too quickly but adventure awaited us back in Vietnam.  We avoided the pockmarked, potholed roads and booked ourselves on a flight from Siem Reap to Danang, a short taxi drive from our next stop, Hoi An.

In our travels we connected with a rather dopey Italian couple who we shared a cab with.  Chaos ensued and after four circles the wrong way down one-way market-stalled streets, we made it to our home for the next six days, the Vin Hung Riverside Resort.  Rooms were okay, nothing spectacular--air conditioning, bathtub, bed.

our particular view of paradise 

What was spectacular was everything else.  Riverside location with chairs to perch and sun oneself, pool equipped with swim-up bar, the most spectacular of free breakfasts and most deliciously, something Paul and I dubbed as 'four o'clockses', an amazing taste of Vietnam provided free of charge at 4pm daily, weather permitting.  Whilst our hosts noodled, wrapped, rolled and fried various culinary wonders, we sampled everything and anything whilst sipping beer at tables made for short people.  Too decadent and definitely worth a stay.

a new culinary discovery for us, Ban Xeo, a deep friend pancake stuffed with bean sprouts, prawns and spices and then wrapped in rice paper

Sated, we begun our explorations of Hoi An, a charming UNESCO protected city that once served as at the centre of Asia's spice trade. The Chinese and Japanese influences are definitely seen and felt when walking around, most notably in the city's distinguishing feature--its abundance of lanterns.  

 We were charmed. And very grateful we'd picked a good spot to spend the biggest chunk of what remained of our two weeks touring Vietnam.

Floating Forest and a Village on Stilts

On our final morning in Cambodia, our tuk tuk driver took us out of Siem Reap and down a motorway of sorts.  In a tuk tuk, this was a rather exhilarating experience.  Top tip--keep you mouth closed.  Flies zipping by at top speed hit the back of your throat before you have a chance to react.  

We then reached a nondescript junction and then ventured far along a dirt path, another daunting feat.  We passed Cambodia's 'premier alligator farm' and a petrol station--really a lady selling bottles of petrol out of water bottles in her front garden before reaching our drop off point.  We were then shunted through a 'pay station' and into a boat located on a narrow, narrow canal.  This turned out to be part of the floodplain which, in the rainy season, is completely underwater.  

From there, our boat driver motored us through and around the floating forest.  Not floating at all, just a forest of trees submerged, little broccolis sticking out haphazardly in a sea of sauce.  Our driver knew where every root, rock and branch existed.  

Further on, we passed the community of Cambodians who live in houses on stilts.  I've never quite seen anything like it, particularly when some of the houses had stilts so high the water levels would be unbearable.  

Our driver and little boat dared to take out the merging Tonle Sap river delta and only turned around when he saw me clutch the boat with intense fear.  And thus, our time in Cambodia ended. 

Ta Prohm

To me, Ta Prohm was man's lesson in what happens when you let nature run its course.  It would be an understatement to suggest that massive fig and silk-cotton trees grow from the ruins.  There is literally jungle sprouting and protruding from the beautifully ruined remains of what was Jayavarman VII's first major temple project. Ta Prohm was originally constructed as a Buddhist monastery and was enormously wealthy in its time, boasting of control over 3000 villages, thousands of support staff and vast stores of jewels and gold. 

All this history is helpful to know, but when you're standing there the overriding feeling is one of wonder.  For a few minutes, I stood staring at something I thought was a joke. It looks like a joke, like it couldn't possibly exist.  And then I realised it was the sublime sneaking in again.  

A completely different sense of the sublime than Angkor Wat and one that Hollywood has cashed in on.  But maybe Hollywood has desensitised its audiences using all of those well-crafted sets that are meant to mimic real life.  Because I haven't seen 'Tomb Raider'.  But if I had, I would've thought that the background scenery was something of Hollywood fiction, a beautiful lie.  

But it was no lie.  

 trees growing on top of ancient buildings 

around ancient buildings 

Through ancient buildings 

 

in massive bigger-than-person-sized-roots-and-branches 

and skyward protrusions 

it makes no sense.  

it's magnificent 

 

in every nook and cranny, the trees take over 

 And even without the trees, it's still hard to fathom an age where this beauty could be built 

or carved

 

After roughly seven hours of temple-hopping in the heat and humidity, we couldn't process any more.  We needed time to sit, dissect and consider what we had just seen.  Looking back now, I'm not sure if I'm even putting it into words that do it justice.  I do know however, that it is the single most magnificent site i've ever seen.  Coming from a girl who has struggled to appreciate archaeological sites in the past, this is big.  

Jayavarman VII agrees.  

Preah Kahn and around

Just past the Terrace of Elephants we found a series of smaller temples and ruined walls that were ripe for exploration.  They were a lot quieter than the bigger sites and yet we still managed to get ourselves right into the centre of a Spanish tour group and then stuck behind a snooty American couple.  We began to get a case of temple overload at this point but we were only halfway through our day's adventures.  We persevered.

Doorway in the middle of the wild 

Faux terror or just terror?  You can never be sure with Paul

The start of trees reclaiming their surroundings.  Much more of this to come later.

Good to know the 50 foot precipice is safe and protected 

Buddha in the woods

We broke for lunch before making one big temple stop and one small temple stop.  Coming up...Ta Promh, also known as the Tomb Raider Temple.

Angkor Thom

Our next stop took us just around the corner to Angkor Thom, a 3 kilometer walled and moated city-within-a-city that was the last capital of the Angkor empire. Its distinguishing feature was a series of carved faces, said to be those of Jayavarman VII, the paranoid king who wanted to 'watch' his people wherever he was.

In the grand fashion of a megalomaniac, King Jayavarman also ensured that the five gates to the centre of his kingdom were grandly adorned with his face.  One arch in particular leaves you feeling exactly the size of a single snowflake in a massive blizzard.

The approach

intimidation tactics on the approach 

Next Stop: Bayon, the city's biggest temple

Entrance--he's watching you everywhere 

The terrace of the elephants and a whole lot of road traffic

The Angkor Temples--Angkor Wat

As part of my undergraduate studies, I spent a semester at Edinburgh University and took a class that explored the notion of 'the sublime'.  My professors connected it to a series of Victorian novels, landscapes and a general obsession with trying to understand that which could not be defined; I appreciated this nuance but didn't necessarily understand it. Not until Angkor Wat.

The Angkor temples cover nearly 400 square kilometers in Central Cambodia and were created between the 9th and 15th centuries.  There are over 37 temples, some huge, in this space. The site has been capital to the Khmer Empire at several points in history and has survived occupation, civil war and looting at various points in recent history.  

From Siem Reap, our tuk tuk driver picked us up and ferried us to the ticket station--a remote building some 10k away from the entrance.  We paid our one-day $14 fee and were given photo ID cards that we were required to procure at various points in our day.  Most people opt to spend 2-3 days wandering the temples but since time was of the essence, we crammed the 4 biggest temples into one day.  

First Stop Angkor Wat 
Angkor Wat, built between 1113-1150, is the largest temple of the Angkor complex and is considered the world's largest single religious monument.  From a distance it looms impressively and when you get closer it doesn't lose that appeal.  

Despite the 38-degree heat, the temples were teeming with tourists.  We crossed paths with people from all over the globe who followed us from place to place.  Fortunately, we managed to snap a few pictures that didn't show the hordes. 

12th century etchings 

Buddha 

 

 Embracing my inner Asian tourist 

High angle shot 

We spent a solid two and a half hours exploring before catching our tuk tuk to the next temple.  But over and over again, I couldn't shake the sensation of woah.  My brain did not comprehend what I was seeing.  I didn't, I don't understand how something so vast, so intricate could be built in a time before heavy machinery.  To me, Angkor Wat was a testament to the human spirit, an ode to the sublime.