Angkor Wat and Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap well into the afternoon, and took some time to settle in and decompress after being stuffed into a van for so long. In the evening I finally managed to get myself moving and went out to explore the city for a little bit with some others from the hostel. Unsurprisingly, the city was a massive tourist destination with a much wider variety of travelers. For the first time in a while, I saw families with young children and well dressed westerners who were very clearly not backpackers. The nightlife and food selection was well set up to handle this newfound diversity, but of course more expensive as well. Overall it was really pleasant and refreshing to be in a city much more devoted to western comforts after a long time without. After a nice evening out exploring the town, I returned to the hostel and slept. The next day my group decided to visit a couple museums in the area, starting with a land mine museum I had heard good things about before I ever even left the US. The museum was, of course, deeply troubling and sad, but also hopeful and very impressive. On the surface, it talked about the history and prevalence of unexploded bombs dispersed across much of the country and still injuring unfortunate farmers and children to this day. Secondarily, the museum focused on one incredible man- now known as Aki Ra. He was born during the era of the Khmer Rouge, and as a result has no documented birthday. He was forced into military service for the Khmer Rouge after his parents were killed, and found himself specializing in laying land mines for the army. This continued for a few years before he was captured by the invading Vietnamese army and defected, continuing to use his expertise with mines for the Vietnamese. After some time with the Vietnamese, he returned to fight for his home country as a part of the anti-Khmer Rouge army under the nascent People’s Democratic Republic of Kampuchea. Of course, his work laying mines continued. I was lucky enough to meet Aki Ra, and he shared with me a story that changed the entire course of his life. One day, he happened upon a village with a water buffalo injured, mortally, by a land mine it had wandered over. In this moment he reflected on the damage this would do- the village would now be unable to plow their fields, unable to bring supplies or heavy equipment; he knew that just this one mine would likely cause many people to starve. In short, he realized just how much damage his work was doing to the people of his country. The next day he went out to lay mines, and instead of doing so, dug a single hole and placed all of the mines, unactivated, into the hole. Then he took a nap. Eventually, still no older than 21, he left the army and found work with the UN, using his intimate knowledge of the area and the practice to remove and deactivate the mines littering his country. This only lasted for about a year, but even after stopping his work with the UN, he continued to right the mistakes of his past, walking out into the forest and tracking down mines. Using simple tools, a knife, a long stick, a leatherman multitool, he gathered the bombs, rendered them inert, and brought them back to his home. He eventually amassed a collection, started to charge for tourists to visit, and the legends of a solitary man doing this dangerous work began to spread. With time he gathered support and recognition, and now operates with the support of the government and an entire organization behind him. It is estimated that he personally has cleared over 50,000 mines from the land of Cambodia. He has also operated a school focused on helping the victims of mines, giving them support, education, and the means to overcome their disabilities. It was absolutely an emotional experience, and a dark look into one man’s quest for personal redemption. In the evening, with our time as a group drawing to a close, we went out for a nice dinner of hot pot, got some drinks, and tried a local tourist attraction of fish that would eat the dead skin off of our feet (and hands!). It was a fun evening and we went to bed early, planning to visit the Ankor Wat complex together the next day. We got up uncomfortably early to watch the sun rise over the eponymous temple, and made it just in time to join the massive crowd with the exact same idea. After the beautiful sunrise, we hurried into the temple ahead of most of the other people, and began to drink in the sights of beautiful ancient temples.

The complex, comprised of hundreds of temples spread throughout acres of jungle, is of course infinitely photographable. I’ve tried to share some of my best here, but of course there are many available from far more professional photographers. It was genuinely inspiring to see the incredible architecture, built many hundreds of years ago, and now steadfastly protected and restored.

The temples are in various states of repair, some covered with trees, some occupied by monkeys and bats, and far less crowded once you get to any of the slightly less popular ones. Unfortunately there is far too much to see in a single day, especially having woken up before sunrise and then finding ourselves contending with the hot mid-day Cambodian sun. Unsurprisingly, after leaving the temples we returned to the hostel and relaxed for the rest of the day.

The next day we visited another war museum with old war artifacts; tanks and planes, guns and bombs, all a grim reminder of the country’s violent history, still fresh in the memories of many of the local people. Looking for something a little lighter, we then went to a butterfly museum where we learned about the local butterflies and got to witness a new butterfly’s first flight. Finally we returned to the town center for a delicious lunch and explored the historic market. With my group heading off in various directions that night and the next morning, we enjoyed one last evening together and reminisced over the many incredible experiences we had shared. It was very sad to see everyone go, but I feel deeply grateful that I got to travel with such nice people for so much time. I planned to return to the temple complex alone the next day, so after some difficult goodbyes, I went to sleep, excited to see what my return to true solo travel would bring.

My next day was spent exploring the temple complex on my own, visiting several wonderful temples further from the center that I hadn’t been able to reach on my previous day in the area. On my own, I decided to listen to a short podcast about the history and symbolism of the temples. While enjoying the beautiful sights, I learned quite a bit about the society that built the temples. I gained a newfound respect for the massive hydro-engineering projects the kingdom created, a massive network of canals and reservoirs (called barays). The largest pool on its own, cut from the earth by hand in the 11th century, has a capacity of more than 12 billion gallons. This astounding project served as a transportation network while also ensuring survival and increased agricultural productivity during the oppressive dry season. I learned about the kingdom’s transition from Hindu to Buddhist, and the ways in which the temples changed to reflect that. I was thrilled to have another day exploring the extent of the complex (though I still missed quite a lot), and have a deeper understanding of the society that brought these beautiful structures into being. Eventually I had seen my fill for the day, so I returned to the hostel to relax. I made plans to depart for the city of Battambang the next day, and took a final sunset tour with the hostel to enjoy the beautiful area before I finally left. Watching the sunset was a nice opportunity to feel grateful that I was able to come to such a beautiful and famous place, so far away from home.