We met Bechet, a tuk-tuk driver, outside a restaurant following breakfast our first day in Siem Reap. Bechet struck us immediately as a man of integrity; he was well-dressed, honest, and knew his trade.
The driver's finger moved over the surface of a map, tracing the day's route from Angkor Wat to Banyon Temple to Elephant Terrace and beyond, afterward, he told us, we could climb a nearby hill and watch the sun set over Tonle Sap Lake. For all this, he told us, he would charge only $12, since it was already late morning. Deal!
Angkor Wat definitely lived up to my expectations, (of course it was awesome, how couldn't it be?) but it wasn't my favorite temple in the complex, not by a long shot. For one, the aesthetic beauty of Angkor was marred by the fact that large portions of it were undergoing repairs, that is, surrounded by bamboo scaffolding and draped in ugly tarps. This could hardly be avoided—ancient temples need upkeep—but was annoying just the same. Bayon Temple, with its many stone faces (peaceful giants staring out into the jungle from atop a sort of pyramid) was more interesting, and the cascading trunks of Elephant Terrace took top prize for conceptual coolness. The sunset was well attended, but underwhelming. Throngs of tourists don't add much to the ambiance of hilltop temples.
Our hotel was $6 a night, the trade-off was a detached staff and a room crawling with bugs. Amazingly, and much to Mia's delight, we found an $8 all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant and ate our fill. Though we'd already spent seven hours seeing half a dozen temples, our exploration of Angkor had just begun.
No comments:
Post a Comment