Angkor Wat, Cambodia

After leaving Hue, I flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia to spend 3 days visiting the temples of Angkor Wat. It's been great traveling with different sets of friends on my trip and this segment was the one with the "PDX Aliens" They named themselves this as most are originally from other countries and now live in Portland. I met them through my sister Iris and I have slowly infiltrated into their various social functions during my many visits to Portland! Angkor Wat was the spot on my Asian Tour of which I had the highest expectations and I have to say that it did not disappoint. Despite the sweltering 100 degree + humidity heat, the temples were breathtaking and majestic.

If you're like me and did not know much about the history of Angkor Wat, here is a brief explanation that I am plagarizing from my visitor's guide:

"Angkor literally means Capital City or Holy City. Khmer refers to the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. In its modern usage, Angkor has come to refer to the capital city of the Khmer Empire that existed in the area of Cambodia between the 9th and 12th centuries AD, as well as to the empire itself. The temple ruins in the area of Siem Reap are the remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and represent the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, art and civiliazation.

At its height, the Age of Angkor was a time when the capital area contained more than a million people, when Khmer kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples, and when Angkor's military, economic and cultural dominance held sway over the area of modern Cambodia as well as much of Thailand, Vietnam and Laos."

I arrived a day earlier than the Aliens so I spent some time mapping out how to best utilize my time. There are dozens and dozens of temples in the Siem Reap area and one can easily spend a week here. The temples that my guide book deemed as 'must-sees' included: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Banteay Srey, Bayon, Phnom Bakheng, Preah Khan and Ta Prohm. Since I thought I could see those with the Aliens, I decided to spend my extra day visiting the Roluous Group which was the first capital of the Khmers before they moved to Angkor Wat. I hired a tour guide to take me there and thank goodness it was only for a few hours because I did not like him at all. He had a very abrasive personality and while I don't think it was his intent, he spoke like he was yelling at me. He was also very bossy and instructed me how and where to pose for photos.

"No no no no, stand in front, to the side, higher higher, one step up... NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!"

ARGHHHHHHHHHH Needless to say, I got rid of him pretty quickly.

Patience waivering, can you tell in my expression?

I was happy to see my friends when they arrived and we switched tour companies and luckily had a much nicer and gentler tour guide. The temples were amazing, here are some of my favorite shots.

Our tour guide

Angkor Wat

Elena, Alan, moi, Brian, Reiko

Monkeys hanging out at the temple

Steep climb to the top of Angkor Wat. Brian wrote a fitting haiku:

Climbing Angkor Wat

Steep steps to get to the top

How do we get down?

Sunset at Phnom Bakheng:

Banteay Srey "Citadel of the Women" (famous for its delicate carvings and pink color)

Ta Prohm (my favorite)

Our tour guide told us that this tree just naturally grew around this carving of an 'apsara'

Me trying to imitate (not quite the same I know)

Bayon

Our guide told us that this carving depicts a man smoking marijuana which my juvenile brain found to be quite humorous

Siem Reap at night

Dinner in town (food was delicious!!)

Hue

After leaving Nha Trang I headed up to Hue which is along the central coast of Vietnam. This town was not on my original itinerary but since I had a few extra days to myself I thought it would be a nice stop. Unfortunately I quickly realized that 1 day was probably all that I needed to see the main sights but I had 3 days to spend. I had the expectation that Hue would be full of happy and friendly people who are among the 'gentlest in the country' as my guide book depicted. Perhaps my expectations were set too high as I found that many of the people I interacted with were a bit less friendly and helpful than my experience in the other towns of Vietnam. The town certainly had a different vibe to it than the other cities I have visited but perhaps I have been too spoiled after a luxurious week in Nha Trang. At any rate, I did get a chance to see some interesting sights and the best part of my stay there is that I decided to try riding a ''xe om'' or motorbike. The thought of riding on the back of the xe om in Saigon was terrifying but since Hue is substantially more subdued I decided to go for it. I have never ridden on a motorcycle or motorbike before and I have to say that as soon as my driver sped off I was thrilled. We were zipping around all over town, through beautiful back roads, past numerous pagodoas and tombs - I had a perma-grin on my face and felt like a little kid on a thrilling amusement park ride. I ended up hiring my driver for the rest of my time in Hue and have to admit that I had the most fun on the back of the bike than seeing the sights!

My xe om driver Mr. Teo, picture from the back of the motorbike


Imperial City, Thien Mu Pagoda, Perfume River



Conical Hat Making Village, My attempt at making an incense stick


Tu Hieu Pagoda (my favorite sight of Hue)


The National School in Hue



Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc



On my last day in Hue I met up with my friend Alan from Portland who is also good friends with Gloria and Keith. We visited a couple more famous tombs in the area: Tomb of Emperor Minh Mang, Tomb of Khai Dinh and then took a boat back on the Perfume River.