Angkor Wat - wanderlust photo feature
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Now that I’m a Mom of a little one and another on the way (not what you may think, these kids are sans the stretch marks) I have time to reminisce about recent past travels. One of my favorite solo travel experiences was to Siem Reap Cambodia to see the incredible Angkor Wat complex. For a pop culture reference think Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider.
Angkor Wat is impossible to describe in a post. Angkor Wat itself is the main temple and just THIS temple is the largest religious site in the world as well as a World Heritage Site. Unbelievably, the main temple is just a tiny portion of the complex which covers hundreds of square miles.
Solo travel is truly a hedonistic experience. I love traveling with friends and family too, but for truly special locations like Angkor, I want it all to myself. In my mind there is nothing like the chance to focus all of your attention on your surroundings and all your interaction with a culture so totally different from your own. I felt completely welcomed and safe in Cambodia. I would recommend it to anyone who is independent and self sufficient (or wants to be!). People often respond in amazement when they learn of the places I go by myself. I think that people are generally capable of more than they think they are and sometimes need to just go!
When I landed at the small unpretentious Siem Reap airport, I had my first introduction to the primary local mode of transport. A kind faced young man met me with a placard listing the name of the small hotel where I had reserved a room. “Is moto ok?” he asked. I was rather clueless as to what transport he might be referring to , but since I am not fussy (and tend towards reckless) of course I said yes. He led me to a small motorcycle, we jammed my large duffle in the front and pack on my back and we were off. I was in heaven. Wahoo!
Over the next several days I went everywhere I didn’t walk by “moto”. Don’t expect a helmet, no one wears one. Going through an intersection in Siem Reap is truly an experience; dozens of motorcycles (some of them piled with whole families), no traffic lights and generally no stopping. it’s almost music! Oh and occasionally you need to look out for monkeys.
You can travel by Tuk Tuk if you really don’t want to moto (open, 3 wheels, slow, bad fumes, makes a tremendous and unending”tuk,tuk,tuk” noise, hence the name) but that’s not my first choice! Forget about cars, they are few and far between.
My hotel arranged for a local named Na to serve as a combo guide and driver during my adventure around Angkor and Siem Reap. Na was fabulous and was happy to humor me even when I veered far from the beaten Angkor path. The fee? An embarrassing $5 a day USD. I felt so bad that I way, way overtipped him every day. He was worth so much more than $5! Of course with the favorable US exchange rate, my hotel room was also only $10/night.
Angkor is magical and overawing. I took hundreds of pictures. Even the parts that are rapidly being overrun by tourists are stupendous. But my favorite memories will always be standing in some of the more remote and completely abandoned temple ruins - just me, Na, and a moto.
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July 7th, 2008 at 3:40 am
while viewing your photos of Angkor Wat, I was looking at the exotic world, but I felt myself as if at the home.
The Recognition of oneself in the countrysides that were never seen before, enables us to discover the beauty from underfeet - your camera and words make the miracles. Thank you.