(Part 1) The Heat and Holiness of Cambodia: Grand Circuit Temples and the New Year

- April 14-15, 2019, Sunday to Monday.

- Traveling is one of the things that make me feel alive and appreciative of the world, but there are some trips that make us regret our decision to go there or question our judgment in life. One such trip was my recent Holy Week journey to the Kingdom of Wonder, Cambodia. OK, let me get this straight. Cambodia, like what its tourism tagline claims, is full of wonder. I think it is a beautiful country!! I went there in 2012 (click here) and decided to go back because I wanted to see more of this country. HOWEVER - it was a bad decision to visit Cambodia in the peak of summer, when temperatures can rise as high as 40 degrees Celsius. I actually went to Cambodia the day after I arrived from Korea, click here, here, here, and here, and had I known about my Korea work trip earlier, I should have stayed there to enjoy the 18-degree-Celsius temperature. Still, despite this lapse in judgement, I was able to make my Cambodia trip great!

- I flew to Siem Reap via Cebu Pacific from Manila, and after a 2-hour delay, I arrived in Siem Reap at night. The airport in Siem Reap has a taxi office at the exit where visitors can hire a prepaid taxi to the city. I stayed in Onederz Hostel Siem Reap ("Onederz" is pronounced as "wonders,") which is rated one of the best hostels in Siem Reap. I also chose this particular hostel because of its proximity to the night markets. (Sorry, no photos.)

- In the cab on the way to the hotel, I was welcomed by splashes of water (good thing I was inside the car,) since the Cambodians were celebrating their new year, or "Choul Chnam Thmey." This celebration is the same as Thailand's "Songkran," Laos' "Pi Mai," and Myanmar's "Thingyan." During this new year, it is customary for people to splash water at each other. Now, while most people intentionally go to these countries to celebrate the new year and splash water with the locals, this was another consideration that I had overlooked. Normally I'd avoid this season as prices of services become higher, streets become more crowded (which means more difficulty in going around,) and tourist spots became more packed with a battalion of tourists (harder to take photos, longer lines in ticket booths, etc. etc.) However, I treated this as an opportunity to see how the Cambodians celebrate their new year with my own eyes.

- After a full night's rest at my hostel, I hired a tuktuk (an autorickshaw) right outside my hostel for a full-day tour. Tuktuks normally have a set of places that you can visit, and prices may be negotiable. In my case, I paid around 60USD fort he day since I planned to visit the Grand Circuit (also known as "Grand Tour") group of temples, and two more outlying temples that were far away from the city center.

The best way to travel in Cambodia - by tuktuk!!

- Normally, tourists visit the Angkor Archaeological Park to see the temples that have been rediscovered and are being preserved, and restored. To visit this place, one would need to buy an entry pass to the archaeological park at the government's ticket center. Passes can be one day (37USD), three days (62USD), or seven days (72USD). Since I would be spending a few days in Siem Reap, I took the three-day pass. Take note: the temples DO NOT SELL tickets, and there is no other place, person, or office selling tickets to the archaeological park apart from the government ticket center.

- The historical temples of Siem Reap can be separated into four main groups: the Grand Circuit located north of the park (as mentioned above,) the Little Circuit (including the Angkor Wat and other more well-known temples) located at the center and south of the park, the Rolous Group (far east, away from the Angkor Archaeological Park), and the Outlying Temples (also mentioned above; far from the Angkor Archaeological Park). Most people visit the Little Circuit and the Grand Circuit, and maybe some of the Outlying Temples such as the ones I decided to visit. These days, most, if not all of these temples - even the ones outside the archaeological park - can be entered by showing the Angkor Archaeological Park entrance pass. These temples are either Hindu, Buddhist, or both, as the dominant religion of early historic Cambodia would depend on which religion the ruler is devoted to; early historic Cambodia was greatly influenced by the Indian civilization.

- After buying my ticket, I visited a temple called Pre Rup. This was a temple from the 10th century AD, which was used mainly for funerals. There were historical rumors stating that this might have been the central temple of a possible eastern city, though the existence of the city has not yet been confirmed.

Pre Rup.

Parts of the temple.

Chambers where funeral rites were performed.

Main gate.

- From Pre Rup, My driver drove me far up north to visit one of the most adored temples in Cambodia and the most popular of the outlying temples: Banteay Srei. Also from the late 10th century AD, this temple dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction of evil, is known for its intricate, detailed, and well-preserved carvings. It is also one of the major temples in Cambodia not made by royalty; it was made by a king's counselor, and a philanthropist-scholar. True to what people say, the temple's carvings made from red sandstone stood the test of time, at least a significant portion of the temple that is. While many temples in Cambodia to have carvings of dancing apsaras and other mythological creatures, it seemed that every corner of this temple had some sort of creature ready to surprise visitors. Based on the temples I had visited in 2012 (some of which I'd be visiting again for this trip,) I did not see any other temple that had as many carvings as Banteay Srei.

Stunning.

So so happy that I was able to do a photoshoot here. The place was packed even though the photo doesn't show it!!

This was also one of the temples that I had always wanted to visit; I did not have the chance to do so during my first visit in 2012.

Peek-a-boo!!

The "kala,' a Hindu mythological being that represents time. 

Main halls.

More carvings!!

- From Banteay Srei, my driver and I went further north to Phnom Kulen or the Kulen Hills to visit what could probably be one of the most unusual religious places in the whole of Cambodia - Kbal Spean. Kbal Spean is located in the heart of Phnom Kulen, and is known as the "River of a Thousand Lingas." A "linga" or a "lingam" refers to the phallic symbol associated with the god Shiva. As the name suggests, around a thousand of these lingas are carved at the river bed, as well as other Hindu gods like Vishnu, Lakshmi, and Brahma. These were carved around the 11th-12th centuries AD by mountain hermits. It was said that the river is blessed because of all these holy sculptures submerged in the river, ultimately blessing the city of Angkor to which the river flows. To get to this spot requires a 1.5km hike from the parking area. It was 11 in the morning, and taking a hike up the mountain was probably one of the dumbest things I've done in my life. 1.5km is normally an easy distance to cover, even for a short hike up the mountain, but because of the blazing run, lack of wind, and some slightly difficult steps (despite the mostly-paved and easy way up,) the short hike was mostly a torture I gave myself. Every few hundred meters had some huts with benches for resting, and I had to seek shelter whenever I'd see these huts along the path. It was so hot that drinking water was not the only thing I needed to hydrate myself, but also pour some water on my head and arms to prevent my body from bursting. I felt like a thermos with boiling hot water inside. The hike was worth it after seeing this incredible place, but again, probably not the best time of the day and/or season to visit the Kbal Spean. The river was not flowing over the Hindu carvings, and I'm not sure if the river was partly dry because of the heat, or if it was intentionally blocked off to avoid damaging the carvings via water erosion.

Most of these were supposed to be underwater.

Vishnu and Lakshmi.

Another Vishnu carving.

- Hiking up and going back to the parking lot took me around 2.5 hours, when it should be around 1 hour, or maybe 1.5 hour max. This was because I needed to take care of myself and take things slowly, because I was afraid that I might faint from the heat if I overwork myself. Once I arrived at the bottom of the hill, I rushed to the bathroom (thankfully it was clean,) and immediately bathed myself in the faucet. At some point I even used the bidet out of necessity and desperation to splash some water on my arms and my feet. After freshening up, I had lunch at the restaurant at the parking lot.

- We had a long scenic ride back to the Angkor Archaeological Park after having lunch, and encountered people at the side of the street waiting for people they could splash water with. I realized that they don't usually splash tourists, UNLESS they are also holding water guns and other "weapons of choice." Usually, those who wouldn't care to splash or squirt people with water were children. I got squirted a few times, to my annoyance, because my passport and other things were in my bag, and my phone was in my wallet. However, as the heat was unbearable, I realized that getting squirted with some water was what helped me tolerate the mid-afternoon sun. The heat would make the water evaporate in less than 5 minutes too, so it was all good. From what I understand, I think people cannot and should not get angry if they are splashed or squirted with water as this is a way to be blessed for the new year.

- I arrived at the East Mebon temple, a 10-century temple also dedicated to Shiva. You may notice that many temples back then were built in honor of the Hindu god Shiva. This is because many of the early Cambodians were Shaivites, or Shiva worshippers. There were also times in Cambodian history when they would be Vaishnavites, or Vishnu worshippers. The East Mebon temple is also known for its preserved elephant statues.

East Mebon.

Carving.

Accidentally captured a behind-the-scenes photo of me. This was how I looked like the WHOLE day because of the heat. 

Despite that, I still managed to take a photo of me and this lovely elephant.

See that elephant butt!!

- Next, I visited the Ta Som temple, a 12th-century temple made by King Jayavarman VII to his father. It partly resembles some other temples in Cambodia because of the trees that have grown over the temple. Most tourists skip this temple, and I think I should have to so I could use whatever life that was left in me to visit the other temples. Nevertheless, it was a nice temple to go around.

Ta Som.

Dancing apsaras.

Another dancing apsara.

Intricate wall design with lotus flowers.

- A few minutes away Ta Som is another unique temple called Neak Pean. Built in the 12th century, it was built as a temple and spiritual "hospital" (not just a wellness center). It was believed that those who would bathe in the sacred man-made lake around the temple would cure diseases. As much as I love this temple, the worst part is walking along a long bridge to get to the main temple. Normally this would be fine, but as I have mentioned over and over again, the heat was sucking all my energy away. I would have wanted to do a photoshoot in this place, but my driver told me to hasten my pace so we could go back to downtown Siem Reap before new year rush hour; it was a 3-day holiday in Cambodia, but the new year meant roads being blocked off for street parties at night, and so on.

I like the feel of this place. Maybe this place does have medicinal and healing properties.

The main temple/pagoda.

- Finally, I visited the most important of all Grand Circuit temples, Preah Khan. It was built in the 12th century. However, I will save the greatness of this place in another blog entry, mainly because I only reached the gate and decided to just go back because I was getting dizzy from the heat despite constantly hydrating myself. I also did not want to get stuck on the road on the way back to my hostel. (I decided to visit the Preah Khan on another day, as long as I won't go over the expiry date of my three-day Angkor pass.)

This was all I saw in Preah Khan on my first day.

Kids who would just squirt water on anyone.

SQUIIIRRTTTT.

Apparently people stopping to splash and squirt water was also another reason for rush-hour traffic during the new year despite people not having work for three days.

- That night, after taking a long cold bath and a few hours of enjoying the air conditioner in my hostel, I had a nice Cambodian dinner at the restaurant across my hostel, and had a stroll in the night market around a 10-second walk from my hostel.

Night markets near my hostel.

It was a lot more pleasant to stroll at night. Haha.

My dinner: chicken amok (a Khmer/Cambodian curry dish) with rise, and a dragon fruit shake. 

- I had underestimated the heat in peak-of-summer Cambodia, but I couldn't say that I did not like the places that I went to. I was excited to explore more of Cambodia, and I just needed to learn how to pace myself (especially since air conditioning isn't much of a thing in Cambodia, and obviously my tuktuk of course did not have one as well, so avoiding the heat was more challenging.) After my first day, I could truly say that Cambodia is one of the countries best suited for the cultural adventurer like me!! (Click for Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, and Part 6 here!!)