The attraction of Kbal Spean (read: K’bal Speen), of course, was the famous “River of a Thousand Lingas”, which was situated somewhere deep in the forest, somewhere so deep that you have to trek for an hour, for a distance of 1.5km, to get to.

A one and a half-hour journey away from Siem Reap by tuk-tuk (60km from town), the ride to Kbal Spean is definitely not comfortable, but head up early in the morning so you get to enjoy the cool breeze. Also, the sun will be less harsh and will make your hike more enjoyable.

As much as I’m not sure if taking this hike so early in the trip was a great idea, as it definitely got our muscles aching afterwards, I don’t relish the thought of hiking that route at the end of the trip either. While neither extremely steep nor too rocky, there were still parts that were rather challenging, with strangely-positioned rocks that required some careful footwork. Pretty easy if you’re an outdoorsy person, but I admit a lack of exercise in the past months, and my parents, although fit, are also in their 50s.

Smart Traveller’s Tip: Bring your own water and snacks, as there are no vendors selling them along the hike route. Have breakfast before you head up, but be sure to not over-eat, as you won’t want to have to haul a big, full belly uphill!

My parents, still looking fresh at the start of the hike. 1400m to go!

Don’t let the easy parts at the beginning fool you!

Smart Traveller’s Tip: Wear shoes or sports sandals with a good grip, as some of the rocks can be quite slippery. I nearly slipped, myself, in my well-worn pair of Birkenstocks! While there are no mosquitoes here in the day time in May, there may be some in the wet season, so bring along mosquito repellents.

Stopping for a break to enjoy the scenery, which was really, just the top of trees!

And finally, we’re there at the River of a Thousand Lingas, Sahasralinga.

These carvings in the river banks and riverbed are thought to have been done around the 11th or 12th century. The phallic shaped symbols seen in the picture above, are known as linga, and they are an outward symbol of the Lord Shiva. They were supposedly carved in the river bed to bless the waters flowing from the Kulen Mountains into Kbal Spean, and which then flows into Siem Reap, and drains into the Tonle Sap.

More lingas in the riverbed. This river dries up in May-June, so what you see here is really just a small fraction of the actual volume of water that flows through during the rainy season.

There’s a small waterfall near the river.

The hike down was much easier, naturally. We met a bunch of Malaysians, who were on their way up. That was rather fun. Amidst encouragements of “Malaysia Boleh!”, everyone laughed and seemed more energized to have met fellow countrymen.

We had a simple lunch at a small restaurant at the foot of the hill. Really, it was no more than a shed. The food was alright, but rather expensive compared to what you would have to pay for in a proper restaurant in town. Nevertheless, we were hungry, and it was here that I had my first taste of the amazing Khmer curry, also known as the Amok.

photo by David Chin Photo

Amok is varied in taste and presentation all through out Cambodia. You can find fish amok, chicken amok, beef amok, and also pork amok cooked and served in either banana leaf cups or a young coconut shell. Both are equally fragrant and delicious. My mouth is just watering right now as I write this!

Anyway, moving on!

Our next stop was Banteay Srei (Read: Bun-tay S’rai). One of the oldest temples we saw in Siem Reap, this temple, about 30km north of Siem Reap and along the way to Kbal Spean, is small in stature, but one of the most beautiful temples with wonderfully intricate carvings that are mostly well-preserved, considering the fact that it was built in the late 10th century. If it still hasn’t hit you, that’s more than 1000 years ago!

Mom and I, at the East entrance to the temple.

The walls of the temple are mostly gone, but pillars remain, as you can see in the picture.

Carvings on an arch/doorway overhead.

Close-up

In my Siem Reap photosets, you’ll probably see a lot of photos of such arches / doorways. I became rather obsessed with them, photographing them in almost every temple we went to.

I found these beautiful inscriptions on the walls. Whoever did this sure had a lot of patience.

This path, with the stones from a thousand years ago, was once walked by kings.

More arches!

These balusters stood in many windows in temples and palaces of the Angkorian dynasty.

It fascinated me the way they built these doorways in such straight alignment.

Libraries, which were a repository for sacred texts, next to the main temple

Replicas of the mythical guardians that stand watch over the temple. The originals are now stored in the Cambodian National Museum. This move was done to protect the temple from pillagers, I suppose, since such statues are of high historical value, and hence, monetary value! Anyway, I do feel sad hearing about those thefts!

Our next stop was Banteay Samre (read: Bun-tay Sum-rai), a temple surrounded by two concentric walls, between which would have been the unique feature of an inner moat.

Sadly, the moat is now dry, and filled with grass, but you can see clearly what it used to be. Take a walk around the peaceful grounds and stop for a while by the moat, at some parts of which you can see that it used to surrounded by naga balustrades, and imagine a pool of clear water there, the sun reflecting off the surface of the water, like sparkly diamonds.

Interesting fact: Naga are serpent-like creatures much like dragons of Chinese folklore, and what is strange is that naga is the Malay word for what we know as dragons.

I think this was a library too

And this may be the central sanctuary, I think! (They all look the same! Argh!)

It was past 4pm by then, and we concluded the day with the East Mebon, which was also built in the middle of the Eastern Baray, a reservoir, like the West Mebon at the Western Baray that we went to the day before.

This island temple is now accessible by foot, because the old baray (reservoir) has completely dried up. Imagine, just 1000 years ago, there used to be a huge body of water measuring 7.5km by 1.8km, and it’s all gone now! How sad!

This temple is small and not very well preserved, but unlike the previous two temples we saw that day, East Mebon was built with bricks that seem more like what we use today, instead of using huge blocks of laterite (a red, porous, iron-bearing rock).

Ruins of what must once have been a small but grand temple.

Possibly another library beside the main temple sanctuary. Those ancient people sure had a lot of holy scriptures to store, eh?

We ended the day after completing this temple, and headed back to the guesthouse to rest our feet, and freshen up before dinner.

— More photos from Day 2, here, here and here. —

Next: An Angkor Wat sunrise, and even more temples!

On 30th April this year, I finally headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia, home to Angkor Wat, one of the most amazing architectural structures in ancient Asian civilizations! I guess nothing could’ve prepared me for how it would blow my mind away, but these 2 books did help me in planning my trip, and understanding more about the places I visited!

Lonely Planet, Cambodia and Ancient Angkor guidebook

I took this trip with my parents, like last year’s Chiang Mai trip, which is great cos I got to spend a lot of time with them (something I don’t do often enough), although it would’ve been a different experience altogether if I were to travel alone, as originally planned.

We arrived in Siem Reap just a little before 8am local time, with me anxiously flipping through my guidebook through out the entire 2 hr flight. Waiting for us at the arrival hall was Dara, our tuk-tuk driver, who brought us around for most of the time we spent in Siem Reap.

Tuk-tuk, which, in Cambodia, is a carriage attached to a motorcyle.

Smart Traveller’s Tip: Do not pay more than USD 5.00 for a ride to / from the airport, from areas in town or near town. Most guesthouses and hotels offer free pick-up upon arrival, so do ask them beforehand and arrange via email or phone call, with your flight details, to get them to pick you up! Also, trips around town area cost at most USD 0.50 upto USD 1.00 from outside town, into town. Tuk-tuks are readily available everywhere, so you don’t have to book a dedicated one for the entire day, if you want to save some bucks.

Babel Siem Reap Guesthouse, at 738 Wat Bo Road, Siem Reap. The guesthouse is set along a peaceful and quiet area, away from the bustle of ‘downtown’ (Psar Chaa), which is 5-10 minute tuk-tuk ride away, and costing no more than USD 1.00 per way (per tuk-tuk, not per person). Very friendly staff and management at the guesthouse also made for a wonderful stay! 4 out of 5 stars!

Our room, with three super single beds! Comfy, clean and bright room, with ensuite bathroom and cable TV. We wished there were electric jugs or hot drinking water provided though, for nightcaps and cup noodles suppers! This room cost USD 27 per night, which was pretty decent. Rates and info.

After spending an hour in the room settling in and refreshing ourselves, we set off from the guesthouse for the day’s itinerary! First stop was Wat Bo, a small temple built during the late 19th century, which had a collection of well-preserved wall paintings depicting the Reamker, Cambodia’s interpretation of the Ramayana.

Stupas, which actually began as symbolic monuments or representations of phases in Buddha’s journey to enlightenment, but I think these acted as monuments of family tombs for affluent and influential families, as well as higher-ranked monks, in Cambodia. You will see many of these on temple grounds.

After this, we moved on to Wat Dam Nak, which was formally a royal palace of King Sisowath, in the mid to late 19th century. It’s rather small, for a royal palace, especially if you consider the other palaces and temples built in the Angkorian period, but the grounds were beautiful and peaceful anyway. It’s now home to  the Centre for Khmer Studies. (Photos taken here a bit too dark – forgot to change the exposure when the sky turned dark. Boo.)

A golden pavillion!

The parents!

There was a primary school nearby, and the kids were having a recess. So we walked over to take a look. I must admit that seeing these classrooms made me feel like teaching there. At least if I can’t give money to better the school, I can help to give the kids a better education, hopefully? Plan to teach short-term, and bring books and such for them some day. Let’s see how things pan out in the next year or so!

Kids playing tag.

A classroom in the school.

The entire school consisted 2 such buildings, side by side.

Well, we’ll see how my plans to do volunteer work there (in Siem Reap) pan out in the next couple of years. Right now, things are yet to be confirmed due to the many uncertainties in my life.

Next stop for the afternoon: Psar Chaa, the Old Market, which had a section selling touristy and home wares, and another selling stuff you’d see at a wet market. There were a range of goods on sale there, ranging from silk to silverware, wood carvings products to vegetables, t-shirts to raw meat, fried crickets to keychains, bags to hammocks. The thing about shopping in Siem Reap is that they only have markets, not shopping malls, as we are used to in Singapore. And most of whatever’s found in the markets can also be bought from child vendors around the city, and at temple / tourist sites.

Vegetables and bags being sold at stalls separated by just a narrow walkway.

Fried crickets, a local favourite snack! I wouldn’t even touch them, so forget about eating them!

Had our lunch at a local eatery, which was completely unsatisfying, and kinda bland and too oily. I don’t even wanna write about it. Lunch cost USD 4.50 in total for 3 pax, but was one of the most bleah lunches I’ve ever eaten.

Smart Traveller’s Tip: Instead of one of the local eateries that look quite unhygenic, choose to eat at a “fancy” restaurant along Pub Street, a popular hang out for tourists. A very yummy and satisfying meal consisting of a local (meat) dish, served with fragrant jasmine rice, will set u back only USD 3.00 to USD 5.00, depending on what you order! Each dish is actually enough for 2 persons to share, and you just have to order an extra portion of rice. Most eateries do not charge for an extra portion of rice, but some places offer free drinks like beer and young coconut, for each “meal” ordered.

Near the market area was aforementioned popular hang out, known as Pub Street. It was a quaint little street which had many eateries and pubs (probably where it got it’s namesake). Look out for little alleys between the blocks of rows of shophouses, and turn in to find a whole new world of more eateries and art galleries and such! Most eateries have their menus displayed at the entrance.

Due to the hot hot hot weather (it fluctuated between 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in the day), we were just craving for and iced cold beer or some cold drink. Finally settled on this place, one of the many watering holes which served the local draft (Angkor Beer) at USD 0.50 per mug (offer valid till 6pm)!

Smart Traveller’s Tip: Look out for one of the pubs along this road which has a buy 2 get 1 free promotion of the USD 0.50 beers! Look out for the signboard!

The parents enjoying a cold mug of beer. Look at the gleeful expression on my Dad’s face!

After we’d had our refreshments, we headed back to where the Tuk-tuk driver was waiting, and proceeded to our next stop, Western Baray! This man-made reservoir measured 8km by 2.2km, and was excavated by hand to provide water for the intensive cultivation of lands around Angkor! In the middle of the reservoir was an island, on which stood the Western Mebon temple. We didn’t head out to the island temple, as a storm was brewing, and I most definitely didn’t want to be caught in the storm, on a sampan!

The baray was so huge I couldn’t see the ends of it! There were people picnicking on the small “beach”.

Sampans to bring visitors out to Western Mebon, the island temple.

Vendors near the beach, selling fruits, snacks and (yep, you guessed it) more fried crickets!

Headed back to the guesthouse after this, and snapped some pics of the dark clouds looming overhead, during the ride. Rain came shortly after, and it was a cool reprieve from the scorching sun and heat of the day. The poor tuk-tuk driver had to ride his motorcycle in the rain, though!

— More photos from Day 1, here, here and here. —