Siem Reap

This is my first day in Siem Reap! Siem Reap is northwest of Phnom Penh and close to Thailand. Its name means “Thailand defeated;” Siem means Thailand and Reap means defeated. Today we will visit Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the main temples in Angkor. First, we had to stop to buy the entrance tickets for three days to the Angkor Archeological Site. After we got the tickets, we drove to Angkor Wat. Surrounding Angkor Wat, there is a huge moat, (600 feet by 3 miles and 13 feet deep). The purpose of the moat was to stabilize the foundation because during the wet season the water table rises and during the dry season the water table recedes. In order to keep the stones used in the buildings from shifting positions every time the water table would rise or fall, the architects dug a moat. The pressure of the water in the moat would stabilize the water table.

There are many temples surrounding Angkor Wat because each king would try to build as many temples as they could in their lifetime.The kings would build temples to express their devotion to the gods and to be remembered in the future. The king that built Angkor Wat was Jayavarman II. He started building it in the 11th century and finished 50 years later. Angkor Wat was dedicated to the Hindu gods, Chiva, the destroyer god, and Vishnu, the protector god. After we toured inside, we sat outside in the grass and drew for a while.

Then, we left to have lunch. Our lunch consisted of vegetable spring rolls, steamed rice, assorted vegetables, and fish hammock, a traditional Cambodian dish that consists of a stew of coconut milk, fish, and curry. After lunch, we will visit Angkor Thom. The bridge to enter Angkor Thom is beautiful. The bridge depicts a famous Hindu story called, The Churning of the Ocean to Milk.

Carvings of the Churning fof the Ocean to milk depicted in Angkor Wat

The story tells about a fight between the gods and the demons to gain immortality. As the legend has it, to gain immortality, one must churn the ocean to milk using a mountain. To be able to churn with the mountain, the gods and the demons tied the largest snake around the mountain and each side pulled from either end. On the right side of the bridge, it shows the demons pulling the snake, and on the left side, it shows the gods pulling the snake. Angkor Thom was dedicated to Chiva, and it was built around the same time as Angkor Wat. On an outer wall of the temple, there were carvings that depicted the local people’s everyday lives. Angkor Thom was not as big as Angkor Wat, but it was equally beautiful!

That ended our first day in Siem Reap.

        Day two! Today I will be visiting a waterfall and then the most beautiful temple in Angkor. It will be a long drive from our hotel to the top of the mountain. During the drive, our guide told us more about the mountain. When the Khmer Rouge was pushed back to the countryside, this mountain was his hideout. Half way up the mountain, we stopped by a river.

The stones that lined the river’s bottom where engraved with carving dedicated to Chiva and his wife.

When we reached the top of the mountain, we first visited the reclining Buddha. Surrounding the Buddha there were offerings of fruit, rice, incense sticks, money and much more. The Buddha was located at the top of a tower that had a beautiful view of the mountain. Next, we went to the waterfall. The water in the waterfall was cold, but we got used to it quickly. We stayed at the waterfall for about 1 hour, and then we left to go the most beautiful temple. The color of the temple is different from the rest of the temples-- it’s pink! On the door frames there are ancient Khmer poems engraved in the stone. The temple isn’t very big which is why archeologists think that the temple was built by either a queen or a chief monk. Another reason they think the temple was built by a queen or a monk is because a king would not have the patience to wait for all the intricate carvings, painting, and designs to be finished. This temple is truly the most beautiful of Angkor.

        During our third and fourth day in Siem Reap, my brother fell sick and were weren’t able to leave the hotel. I took this opportunity to do school work. On the last day, we are going to do that two tours that we weren’t able to do before when my brother was sick.  First, we have a cooking class here at the hotel, and then we have a ATV tour through the countryside. First, we meet the chef that will be teaching us. He takes us to the biggest market in Siem Reap. As we are walking through the food section, I see pig heads hanging from the stalls, chickens having their heads butchered off, and live fish jumping out of baskets to try to escape being killed.

I saw a fish jump out of the basket, and a man passing by picked it up off the floor and threw it back in the basket. The people, though, are very happy, chatting with their friends, buying food, and eating snacks. Back at the hotel, the chef tells us what we will be making: Fish Hammock, Vegetable Spring Rolls, Rice Noodles with Vegetables, and a Green Mango Salad. After we finished cooking, we sat down to eat the food. Everything was delicious although I did not try Fish Hammock. I went back to my room to do some homework before we left for the ATV tour. It is now time to leave for the tour. We each get our own ATV except for Max and I because we are too young. We each had one of the guides ride behind us on the ATV. We stopped and visited a monastery and on our way out we bought a box of instant noodles to give out to the children we passed in the countryside.

We passed many rice fields and small villages. Our last stop was to see the sunset.

After watching the sunset, we drove back and then we took a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel. I enjoyed every moment in Siem Reap, and my family and I spent in Siem Reap, and I will miss Cambodia very much!