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Arrived home last night about 8pm. The night passed in a flurry of Mexican food, fruit smoothies and straight to bed. On the road this morning by 8am. We join the rolling masses, flashing our Angkor passes as we enter the archaeological park once more. We pass the busy carpark near Angkor Wat, heading for our first stop: the Landmine Museum.
A haunting stop. Aki Ra, a former child soldier of the Khmer Rouge, has since dedicated his life to de-mining his country, supporting victims of land mines and assisting children to attend school. The museum is quiet, silent save for our footsteps. There are piles of land mines and unexploded ordinance that has been found in the fields of Cambodia. The size is confronting. The number is confronting. I want to cry. Its a very real reminder that Cambodia is still healing from its violent past. I struggle to understand how humans can show such cruelty to each other, but I am also uplifted by the way in which humans care about each other. Aki Ra’s work is never-ending; his teams continuing to sweep for mines, and educate children and locals about identifying ordinances. I leave feeling overwhelmed, bordering on tears – but also somewhat comforted by the good in people like Aki Ra.
Still reeling from the Landmine Museum. Arrive at Banteay Srei, the Lady Temple. Built from pink sandstone with such perfect and intricate carvings some believe they were carved by hands of women. Instantly notice the number of people here; we were spoiled yesterday having the temples to ourselves entirely. Each doorway and gate is crowned by an impressive lintel, depicting Hindu mythological creatures. I ask, on numerous occasions, if this is restored work. “No, Cat, this is the original work”, Devid says with a chuckle. I pick my jaw up off the ground, every time.
Banteay Srei’s beauty is undeniable. It hold a stunning balance between ruin and perfection; parts of the temple has toppled and the great stone covered walkways are no longer here. However, the decorative carvings are so pristine they look only a week old. Cut from red and pink sandstone, it boggles the mind to think these relief sculptures are hundreds of years old. Set among the green jungle and rolling rice paddies, there is a quiet awe which settles around us. I could spend hours here, and I would never run out of things to look at.
Onward to the mountain. Purchase tickets at the base of the mountain. There is a one way track up, which is a curious example of Cambodian traffic management. Until 12pm, cars and vans are only allowed to travel up the mountain. After midday, the track reverses and cars are only allowed to travel down the mountain. The road is thin, bouncey and dusty, but motorbikes zip by (in any direction), piloted by locals wearing dust masks and squinting. On top of the mountain, we strip off our shoes and socks, pay a small boy to watch them closely and hike more stairs to Wat Preah Ang Thom. The boulder on the very top of the mountain has been carved into a reclining Buddha, with a roof built over it. Locals pass through leaving gold leaf, lotus flowers and incense. Cambodia delivers yet another surprise.
We descend to the waterfalls, where local children are swimming in the shallows. There is squealing and shouting, diving, splashing and laughing. Along the river, there are small bamboo huts where some families have set up enormous speakers are playing Cambodian Top 40 turned up to 11. Plates of food are passed around, purchased from the vendors who have set up small shacks in the shade. Everyone is relaxed and happy, enjoying the weekend and the good weather. To see the falls in their full glory, we descend further down a slippery set of metal stairs, scramble over a few wet rocks and pick our way along a thin wooden boardwalks. Locals are happily throwing themselves off the boardwalk to the pool below, their shrieks almost drowned by the roar of the water tipping over the falls. Those not swimming are running profitable businesses renting tubes, swimsuits, lock boxes and anything else you can think of along the boardwalk. The water is cool, the sun is warm and noise of the waterfalls is soothing. I wonder if I can take a tube and just float downstream…
Down the mountain, lunch and on to Beng Melea. Another temple. It is in full ruin, in fact the only original pieces of the temple we are able to walk on are a few stones entering the temple, and a very dark corridor at the back. The rest, we meander through the temple on a raised boardwalk. Halfway to the canopy. Enormous banyan trees and strangler figs have completely taken over the walls and roof, tipping them into a pile of higgledy-piggledy bricks. We wind past collapsed corridors and windows, climb a set of stairs to the stop of a tower. Where the galleries and halls would have stood, are now filled with tree roots, toppled roof stones and green moss. For about the hundredth time this trip, I am struggling to fully comprehend the majesty of this place in its “heyday”. I forget we are among the tree tops until I walk past the top of a window… set near my feet. A crumbling lintel is to its left. We are so high in the temple, on the boardwalk, that we would need to crawl if the roof was still in place.
Follow Devid down a set of stairs, and into a pitch black corridor. It smells damp. Devid’s torch flicks on in time for me to narrowly avoid kicking my toe on an errant block. This is the only corridor still standing and strong enough for tourists to climb through. It is pitch black – fallen blocks have closed the windows, forbidding the sun light to enter. Make it out unscathed, and find we are now back at ground level. We head back toward the car. I ask Devid if there are any plans to restore Beng Mealea. “No,” he says, “the ruin is why people come!”. Fair enough.
Things to note
- Pineapple and watermelon fruit smoothies are delicious and should be mandatory.
- Wat Ang Thom is very much a place of worship for locals. Cover your shoulders and knees. Take your shoes off.
- Come prepared. Phnom Kulen is a glorious place for dip. Take your swimmers and towel, and throw yourself in!
- The money from your entrance ticket to the Landmine Museum helps support them and Aki Ra in their mission to educate, assist and de-mine Cambodia. A worthy cause!
Enjoying my Cambodia Diaries series? You can find the others under “Thoughts”!
