ZEN Bitchin'

Stay (Faraway, So Close) – U2

If you had been checking out my other blog, you will notice that the last 5 posts all featured photos from my last visit to the Angkor complex in Siem Reap. I went to Siem Reap on Labor Day weekend and spent 2 days straight roaming around the complex. This has been the longest I had spent on visiting temples.

Of course, about a couple of years ago I would periodically visit Siem Reap (I would tag along with my then-lover) and stay there for as long as 6 days. Although then-lover and I would drive around the complex in his motorcycle every afternoon (after his work-day is over), it was not like the tour that one gets when one pays for the tickets. These afternoon drives were not bad, actually. We would often go to these obscure places where we would see remnants of a temple jutting out of the middle of a rice paddy. Sometimes we would end in a seemingly remote part of the woods where we would make out until it was dark.

But let me point out now that my last trip to Siem Reap had anything to do with my ex. In fact, I would like to apologize for mentioning him at all in the last paragraph. If I do so again later in this post, I hope this apology is still in effect.

Almost a month ago, I had my fifth anniversary of living here in Cambodia. I arrived here on April 19, 2004, right after the Khmer New Year. About two weeks later, on Labor Day weekend, Navuth (not my then-lover) brought me to Siem Reap for the first time. We, along with his wife and 2 cute children, boarded his battered 1993 Camry and drove to Siem Reap via Pursat, Battambang, and Banteay Meanchey. This was not the usual route. Navuth wanted to show me more sights along the way, as it turned out. We packed a lot of food, and we stopped at every opportune time to eat and enjoy the sights. We reached Siem Reap after a 10-hour drive. We spent almost a day roaming around the temples.

So to ‘celebrate’ my anniversary, I decided to take a trip to Siem Reap and commemorate my first trip there. I deemed it was also a good time for me to ’spend time’ with my new DSLR camera. To ensure this, I left my point-and shoot at home. I got there on Thursday afternoon, but I ended up staying in the hotel most of thr afternoon because of the rains. In the afternoon I met a friend and his family briefly at the mall beside the hotel. In the evening I had dinner with Fuchsiaboy at V an A, a vegetarian restaurant, where I had pasta with coconut milk sauce. The Spool Artist and his wife joined us for drinks later at Linga Bar.

Moi at Banteay Srey, C2004

Early the next morning, with the tuktuk I rented for the day, I headed to Banteay Srey. About a couple of hours later we were on the way to Ta Prohm but I asked him to stop by Prasat Kravan. He complained that we should have stopped by it on the way to Banteay Srey but I paid him no mind. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see it; this small temple was our (then-lover and I) favorite temple. When I first laid eyes on it in 2004, I told then-lover that it was my favorite temple. He smiled and said that he liked it best, too. But I was glad to have stopped by. Some restoration/ cleaning has been done on the bas-reliefs inside its 3 towers, and it looked better than when I first saw it. I was a bit sad to see caterers and deejays setting up in its grounds. Being a ‘minor’ temple, the authorities allow functions to be held here.

Still moi at Prasat Kravan, C2004

Ta Prohm was still as magnificent as I remembered it. The difference now is that the main gate is closed to the tourists, and that there are wooden walkways around the interiors of the temple, dimishing the ‘jungle’ atmosphere of the place. Of course, Bayon with its giant faces is still awesome. I had a good time looking for other angles to photograph these stone faces.

Moi werqing Ta Prohm, C2005

After a lunch of fried noodles and fresh coconut juice, I headed to Angkor Wat. Even if I have seen it about 10 times, Angkor Wat is still breath-taking. However, my experience was a bit diminished by: (1) the oppressive heat; (2) the swarm of tourists–although it was good for boy-watching; and (3) my favorite section of Angkor Wat, the eastern wall with the bas-relief of ‘The Churning of the Sea of Milk’, was closed because it was being restored/ maintained. I spent more than a couple of hours there before going back to the hotel.

Notice the emptiness?

For dinner Fuchsiaboy and I went to Takezono, the Japanese restaurant at Sokha Hotel. I had some salmon sushi and prawn tempura ramen. It was perfect, and the price was surprisingly cheap as well. I hadn’t planned what I would do the next day so after a single drink at Linga Bar, I went back to the hotel.

When I woke up the next morning, I decided that I would go to Koh Ker and Beng Melea–two sites which I have never visited before. Beng Melea is located 60+km east of Siem Reap town while Koh Ker is around 120km away from the town. I called a taxi company and asked to rent a car to take me there, instructing them to pick me up at 7.30AM. After about 2 hours, I was in Koh Ker, armed with just a guidebook. Koh Ker was an Angkorian capital for a brief period of time only but it was a complete city, built around a massive baray (reservoir). There were more than 25 monuments and driving around, I managed to see at least 15. I will post the photos in my other blog.

On the way back we stopped at Beng Melea–believed to be a prototype of some sort of Angkor Wat. Probably because they were of the same size, and it was built almost a century earlier than Angkor Wat. Along with Koh Ker, Beng Melea was another awesome site. The only fly in the ointment is the gaggle of kids running around the temple like monkeys, offering to guide you or asking for money. By the time I got in the car, it was raining again. I went back to the hotel tired but fulfilled.

For dinner, Fuchsiaboy and The Spool Artist invited me to their house/ laboratory. There I met 5 of their friends and we had some Filipino food with a pesco-vegetarian twist. The table-setting was marvelous; our names were even printed on the placemats. Too bad mine had some ‘printing errors’. I demand a re-print (wink-wink)! I went back to the hotel at around 1AM.

Table setting a la Fuchsiaboy and The Spool Artist
See the Zen Bitch on the placemat?

I was to return to Phnom Penh at noon the next day so I stayed in bed a little longer, having a relaxed breakfast, packing my stuff. I bought my favorite Khmer sausage at my favorite shop before heading to the bus station. By 7PM I was back at home.

So there. It was a great trip. I’m glad I made the trip. I was happy to reminisce with the old, familiar temples, and excited about seeing the new sites (I can’t stop talking about it with my friends). It was also great that I got to see old friends, and spent time with new ones. I even have a small crush on this French guy I met at the dinner but I don’t think he’s gay so let’s just leave it (and him) at that (hahaha!).