Siem Reap, Part Two - the "Tree' temples

Tree Temple, Siem Reap

As I mentioned in my last post, Preah Khan was our favourite temple and we spent over two hours ambling around with frequent stops to enjoy the calm beauty and stillness. 

When visiting places such as this my LTM is always drawn to the engineering and architectural aspects of the structures whereas I seem to be focused on what life might have been like actually doing the construction work and pictures of workers slaving away, heaving rocks, maybe chained together straining as in a tug of war fill my mind. I invariably wonder who started the whole thing, why and what was life like living there after it was completed. Who actually lived there? Why did it all go wrong ? There are some answers to such questions at Preah Khan because a sandstone stele was unearthed during the recovery of the temple around 1939. The inscription on this stone tells us that the temple was built by King Jayavarman V11 [ Similar name to those in Sri Lanka !] and was dedicated to his father. He actually lived there for a short time.

Helpful notice board at Preah Khan

According to the records, the temple was built on the site of a battle between King Jayavarman V11 and the invading Chams. I think that the Chams were rulers somewhere in Viet Nam, South Viet Nam maybe. Anyway, King J was victorious and had this temple built on the battle site and named it Temple of the "Sacred Sword."  The records also show that it was not only a Buddhist Temple and University with 15,000 monks but also a city with 100,000 officials, farmers and servants working hard to feed and otherwise service everyone. The city buildings were apparently built of timber - maybe the famous silk cotton trees - which is why they have not survived. King J seems to have been quite prosperous because mention is made of gold, silver and gems. He also built  other temples, Ta Som and the famous Ta Prohm.

Library building, Preah Khan

Preah Khan

Preah Khan

Preah Khan

Preah Khan

Preah Khan, Ta Som and Ta Prohm have all been partially reclaimed from the jungle but I believe that there is no intention of further reclaimation or extensive restoration but merely a maintainence program to retain the sites as something of Cambodia's historical record. Indeed, without the Angkor Wat area sites there would be greatly reduced tourism activity and therefore less injection of foreign funds into Cambodia's difficult economy.

Moat, Preah Khan

Preah Khan is a walk through temple and we exited it through this gate. The Buddha statues lost their heads during Pol Pot's reign of terror, so we were told.

The three jungle temples are very similar, all constructed by or for King J so if anyone thinks that I have given a possibly incorrect location for a photo, please comment as I would like to know.

Ta Som was a smallish temple and here you got the feeling that the jungle was seemingly ready to once again consume the structures. The other two "tree" temples seem better known and there weren't many people around - except for some very tenacious girls selling postcards, bags and scarves. Even though I was carrying only my camera they pursued me relentlessly the entire length of the precinct to my car where they said I could get some money to buy their offerings! 

There were mounds of rubble were everywhere. Look up when inside the narrow corridors and a patch of blue sky was to been seen through holes in the rock roof. I took comfort that an earthquake would be a big surprise in that part of the world but never the less made a decent exit. 

The sight of this papaya flourishing amoung the rocks was amusing as we struggle to maintain such healthy specimans in our home garden.

 This young Japanese lady grabbed my hands and pulled me into the picture too. Don't know why she wanted the foot pose though!

 Ta Prohm's public exposure and popularity escalated with the movie Tomb Raider. Of the three "tree" temples it is the one where you get the feeling that given half a chance, the jungle will aggressively regain possession. The roots of the huge "strangler" fig trees hold tight to their prey leaving mere mortals to take note of their strength and intentions.

Tomb Raider tree, Ta Prohm

King Jayavarman V11 seems to have been a loyal son and had this temple built at the end of the 12th Century and dedicated it to his mother. He certainy wished it to be known for all time that he was a man of action and wealth! A stele has also been found here, recording that there were about 80,000 people including 2700 officials and 615 dancers living in this temple.

Ta Prohm

The overiding memory of these three temples is one of nature dominating man. 

Once there were a few people, then huge populations with kings desirous of esablishing their power and strength. They had these cities, temples, universities and hospitals built altering the landscape as they did so. They fought wars to maintain and extend their power. They built another temple to celebrate victory - at least King Jayavarman V11 did. Had his feats and wealth recorded so that future comers would remember him and his achievements.

Then what? 

For some reason, the people disappeared and Nature took back what was hers.  And looks like it could do it again.

Makes one think. 

What am I? 

An "almost" speck on the page of time?

Siem Reap, Cambodia, Part One

I was recently talking about Siem Reap with a friend who is visiting there soon and we as we looked at some of my pictures I found I found myself reliving the experience. I have been writing this predominantly travel blog for about 8 months now and I am surprised at the number of readers and their widespread locations. Better late than never some would say, so I have decided to do a post about that trip two years ago as some may be interested.

This visit raised some confronting issues with us. The effects of the recent genocide by Pol Pot and his generals and injuries inflicted on the people and environment  by the US and their allies bombings are right in your face. A walk anywhere in the streets of Siem Reap brings you face to face with maimed people either begging or selling postcards. Intense poverty sights cannot be avoided. Corruption was visible with an example of our driver having to pay a bribe in our full sight just for not knowing that the police were on the take on that particular road at that time. It was too late to take another road - just pay up. The local money seemed worthless with the US dollar the transaction currency everywhere. Nevertheless Cambodian people who spoke with us at length seemed optimistic for a better future while telling their family's story in a factual way. Families were often without fathers, uncles and male elders in particular, leaving young men who had been unable to go to school in their young years having to take responsibility for their female relatives and young children. We heard from two of these young men that they were having problems with their teenage male relatives who were absenting themselves from school and causing concern with anti social behaviour [ my words]. The men on whom the responsibility had fallen to lead the family were busy working two jobs as well as going to classes to learn languages to be able to earn more money. They felt a sense of real injustice.

It was a long time before I could say much about our experiences - difficult to know what to say when asked.

As is now usual, I did all the research and bookings for this trip online, Doing it this way gives so many more options than going through a travel agency and is a lot of fun. The planning of a trip is very satisfying in that you are creating something for yourself and learn a lot about where you are going before you get there which adds to the enjoyment once you are there. 

We arrived in Siem Reap on the morning Airasia flight from Kuala Lumpur - I had managed to get AUD19 flights each way - and were met at the airport by the tuk tuk and driver whom I had engaged for three of our six days there. 

Tuk tuk, Siem Reap

 This pictured tuk tuk was quite comfortable and initially it was a fun way to travel. After we had booked in early at our hotel, Claremont Angkor, we went to the Angkor Temple site office some 8 km from Siem Reap, to collect our three day Temple passes. Many people collect their passes just before sunset and go inside the precinct to view the sunset from Angkor Wat but we decided that we didn't want to be in a crowded situation at that point. We instead went to a silk farm just outside of Siem Reap City.

Weaver, Artisans d'Angkor

Artisans d'Angkor was started to assist young Cambodians learn the ancient Kymer handicrafts lost during the genocide period. Today, there are several centres teaching weaving, stone carving  and such in the rural areas as well as in Siem Reap and employing a 1000 young people. Students are generally between 18 - 25 years and have their living expenses and an allowance paid during the training period of about 6 months for weaving. They are then employed by the company which was assisted by the European Union in its beginning but is now self supporting. We were taken on a tour by a young man who was clearly proud of his culture, art and organisation, being determined that he established we understood the processes he was demonstraing very well. There were several young mothers working as their baby sat beside them or played at arm's length.

We were able to see the whole process from the hatching of the silk worms to the finished products. Here the threads from ten cocoons are woven together. I forget how long on cocoon gives in thread but remember it as being amazing.

The dyes used were all extracted from various plants.

Weaving looms at Artisans d'Angkor

We were able to see several different methods of weaving and the different types of fabrics each one produced. 

At the end of the tour we enjoyed looking at very old Kymer costumes on display as well as old photos depicting the different costumes worn by royalty and commoners.

I took a long time to choose some fine silk scarves to take back as presents - the colours were just beautiful!

We then returned to Siem Reap city and had a taste of Kymer food for lunch and while waiting for our meal discussed our first impressions. It was clear that maybe for us a car instead of a tuk tuk would have been a better choice as we found the roads very dusty - not good for asthmatics! After lunch we returned to our hotel for a rest before going to a National Dance and Dinner at a nearby hotel. I had asked the guide to make  a booking for a Ramanaya performance but instead found we were at performance which was merely a collection of national dances. This was very disappointing. At the end of this show we found our driver outside with his "cousin' and a different, less roadworthy - looking tuk tuk. He quickly told us that he could not take us for the next three days but that his "cousin" would do so instead - then disappeared into the night leaving us with his "cousin". Shocked at the speed of this happening we arrived back at the hotel where I told the "cousin" that we would not be needing him at all and paid the money for the day's travel. That left us with our passes for the next three days and no transport to get to use them! Oh Dear. Not what was planned!

Siem Reap street

Our hotel, the Claremont Angkor, was located near the river and an easy walk to town. It was clean, comfortable, had free use of the internet, a great Indian Resturant on the rooftop . . .  and a lovely young man named Savy who worked on reception part time as one of his jobs. He came to our rescue with an airconditioned car belonging to the hotel, I think. He was available to drive us around the sites for two days and so that was what we accepted. In the end we didn't even try to find a car for the third day because we were "shell shocked" and 'templed out".

South Gate, Angkor Wat precinct

Moat, Angkor Wat

Early morning came and Savy took us first to the famous Angkor Wat Temple. As we drove beside this moat I could see makeshift huts under the trees around and opposite it. Soon, however, we could see the reason tens of thousands of tourists now flock to Siem Reap - the intriguing, spectacular Angkor Wat!

Angkor Wat, restorations in progress.

We spent four hours exploring this huge complex about a kilometer long and almost as wide. Built in the 12th Century during the reign of Suravarman II it was a capital city as well as a shrine to the Hindhu god Vishnu. The temple part is like a pyramid with at least three levels, each of which has long corridors around a central courtyard. The walls of the galleries have carvings of some asparas - heavenly beings - and there are about 3000 of them. One of the galleries used to have hundreds of Buddhas but these were either stolen or destroyed during the war. Many are still there, minus their heads. It is hard to understand how someone would so viciously destroy their own country's heritage, and so completely.

Buddha, Angkor Wat

This Buddha lost his arms but retained his head whereas most of the others lost their heads.

The snake has also been vandalised, by Pol Pot's men we were told.

Part of Angkor Wat

Part of Central courtyard, Angkor Wat

The roof levels of each part increased in height, apparently leading to heaven

One of the many hallways. This one was beside the courtyard

One Aspara

This young monk and his friend were trailing this tourist and were delighted when he asked if they would like to take a photo with his camera. They both spoke some English which was a bit of a surprise to me, compared with Sri Lanka where I would not expect that such young children in their situation would be able to do so.

We took our time looking around this vast monument to a lost era, stopping to sit and take in the surroundings with people coming and going past us. Although it was a really warm day, we were cool enough in the shade of the towers and in the hallways but soon we realised that we had eaten all our snacks and finished the water and should head for the exit and lunch. 

One corner of Angkor Wat

This was where the fun started with the children. There is always a lot of debate as to whether tourists should buy things from the children as this might/does lead them to stay away from school where with an education they might have a better chance in achieving a good life. Well . . these children are an education in themselves! Confidence they have in loads. Top sellers they definitely are - even if there is a minder in the background overseeing and exploiting them. [ most likely the case.] We ran the gauntlet of a wave of them calling out in different languages until they learned which language was ours, waving merchandise and calling ridiculous prices. One effective trick was to wave a book and calling out a ridiculous price, in this case USD2. When I paused, suddenly it was a different book being shown with the original being held by a second child!  When I asked what had happened to the original, it was presented with the price USD70. Nothing doing! I had actually seen previously and thought of buying it with the price being USD25. After a comical act that would win Australia's Got Talent for both the young girl and myself, I came away with it for USD25. Savy told me that one of his clients actually paid USD70 for it!

South Gate, Angkot Wat Complex

We headed to pleasant resturant and Kymer lunch at a place Savy recommended. Of course he received a lovely lunch himself from the management as a reward for taking us there. He explained that to us when we invited him to lunch with us. After this, we headed for what was to be our favourite temple, Preah Khan.

Hervey Bay Holiday

Holidays have always played an important part in our family life with planning, saving and anticipation for the next one already underway as we made the return trip home from the current one. If not for these holidays our children would have grown up not knowing most of their overseas family and we would not have had such memorable times with friends who lived far away. Many of these holidays were also spent camping in tents all around New Zealand with one being dedicated to finding an extinct bird for a determined offspring in the Bay of Islands. It remained extinct but we had a great time fishing, swimming and exploring a beautiful part of the country.

Urangan Beach, Hervey Bay

 As much fun as we had on those trips, the memories and shared experiences we hold of them now are the most significant, giving us strength and connectedness that sustain us through difficult times. As  a family, now including grandchildren, we continue to spend some of our holidays together and I treasure each one. Our latest holiday took us about 3 hours to drive 290 km north of Brisbane to Hervey Bay where we enjoyed beautiful mid "Autumn" weather with beachy temperatures of 27C during the day and comfortable nights. [ Being sub tropical, Queensland does not get the defined chances in season four times yearly, hence "Autumn".]

 Hervey Bay is an excellent beach for young families as it is protected by Fraser Island and therefore does not have surfing type waves. It is is the main gateway to Fraser Island and is an important tourist destination with whale watching trips starting from here.

Young children can enjoy the warm, gentle surge of the waves for hours.

Hervey Bay was sighted by Captain James Cook in 1770 - there is a place nearby names the town of 1770 - and has evolved out of several seaside towns that have now merged into one sprawling town. These small villages, now suburbs, have English names such as Scarness and Torquay and also Pialba and Urangan.

The Urangan Pier is now a favourite fishing spot for holiday makers but in the past it was essential to the economic development of the area. Built using turpentine timber in 1916 extending 1124m out to sea it carried trains loading sugar, coal and timber onto ships for export. In the 1960s these exports stopped and the import of petoleum took over. When this stopped in the 1980s the pier was shortened to its present length of 868m and was threatened with demolition until the Hervey Bay Council took over responsibility of        maintaining it as an historical structure.  

Just imagine this pier 264 metres longer, ships tied up at the end and steam trains shunting down loaded with coal, timber and sugar!

One of the many fun things for children to enjoy is the water park. Not only is it fun but also educational with displays informing visitors about water and how to conserve it as well as to enjoy its theraputic value.

This splash bucket fall had children of all sizes entertained for hours. There was a separate part of the funpark dedicated to under 5 year olds. Remarkably the park did not have an entry fee!

The rocky foreshore at Point Vernon provided hours of entertainment for the children as they explored the rock pools, finding severed crab claws and then trying to find the suffering crab to return his lost parts! The playground nearby had its wonderful climbing ropes totally ignored!

 We were amazed to see some kangaroos resting in the shade behind the golf course fence beside our accommodation while golf buggies and people pased by only a few metres distant. I was pleased that the fence was so high as there is a busy roundabout which carries most of the vehicles entering Hervey Bay at one part other side of the fence.

On our return trip we stopped at Maryborough, a mere thirty minutes from Hervey Bay, to see the miniature steam trains in Queen's Park. As it was the holiday period, many families were there to enjoy a ride and to listen to the bands playing in the bandstands. Many families made a picnic of the day with all generations relaxing and enjoying the event.

Maryborough, I was surprised to learn, is a railway centre with locomotives and other rolling stock being manufactured here.

 Queen's Park is on the banks of the Mary River and while looking around I was surprised to learn that in the early 1900s it was suggested that due to the large mouth of the Mary River, the Capital Of Queensland should be located here. At that time, the Maryborough was a busy port with wool, timber and other products being exported from here. 

This photo looks upstream.

 Maryborough has a very famous daughter! The musical Mary Poppins has given us so much pleasure reading the stories, dancing and singing and watching the musical. The author of these books was Pamela Lyndon Travers and she was born in the flat at the top of the bank where her father was manager in Kent Street in August 1899. Apparently a gifted child, she worked as an actress, columnist and dancer but her legacy is the Mary Poppins story. It became a Disney film in 1964 and its catchy songs and dances have been in our lives since then. One of my first posts was about enjoying the musical with my granddaughter. This statue was erected outside the bank which is now a Heritage listed building, by P L Travers' friend Patricia Feltham. The author died on 9th August 1996 a very famous woman. Thank you, P L Travers, for  the pleasure you have added to so many lives.

Post Office, Maryborough, Queensland

Choosing a juicy pineapple or two on the way home.

There ended our relaxing time with out family on the Fraser Coast !