American dollars. American music. American citizens. How is this Asia again?
Upon my arrival at the border to Cambodia, I was given a number of lectures on how to change money and how to spend Thai Baht and US Dollars. Most of it was in order to aid our guide in his money making scheme at the Thailand-Cambodia border, but some of it was useful; like the statement that you can indeed spend both the aforementioned currencies everywhere in Cambodia along with the local currency; Riel.
Upon my arrival in Siem Reap, I noticed the place was filled with Americans and all the prices were in USD the music was American Top 40 minus Casey Kasem. It was a little strange.
After a day of necessary downtime from the night in Bangkok with my Irish friend, Justin, I was ready to attack the Temples.
Angkor Wat is a relatively well known temple. That is to say it is the World’s largest religious site. It is also the only thing that many people know about Cambodia. In recent years, Cambodia has added the Killing Fields to their short list of “accomplishments.”
For roughly 900 years, Angkor Wat has been a symbol of Cambodia and the Khmer people. More recently, movies such as Tomb Raider have popularized some of the areas. This week, I finally got around to checking it out.
Now, THIS is Asia.
The scale and intricacy of the temples was like nothing I have seen. By way of comparison, Tikal was much taller, Machu Pichu was more difficult to access, and Copan was nearly as intricate. Angkor Wat was expansive, highly intricate, easily accessible and had as rich and convoluted a history as any religious site I have seen. There was always something new to gawk at.
Perhaps that’s why I lost my guide.
Sometime shortly after entering Angkor Wat I lost sight of the band of Americans I met up with in the early morning and our guide. This wasn’t the first time it had happened; By, our guide, had made a practice of wandering off all day, and though his English was good, his accent was just too difficult for me to hang with, so I wasn’t understanding most of what he said anyway.
For much of the main complex of Angkor Wat itself, I was on my own and just wandering around. I got some quiet time occasionally, was accosted my ladies selling water and children selling baubles, and generally had a good time checking out the scenery.
Finally, thanks to some colorful clothing, I just happened to notice my crew near a pond and meet up with them.
The guide was less than concerned with me and my whereabouts. When I returned, I learned that two other people had gone missing as well during our circuit. That’s 50% of our group of 6. I didn’t feel so bad for getting lost.
The history of the temples in this area is a mix of multiple religions, Muslims, different branches of Buddhism, and Hinduism. There are large empty sections where one conquering group simply scratched the walls clean of old religious symbols. The timeline is traceable though, and you get a clear picture of the history of the temples as you go.
One thing that really struck me about the Angkor Wat specifically is what might be a refugee camp that has sprung up around the main entrance. Locals, complete with pets and children, have set up shop here in an attempt to get any and all tourist dollars possible. It’s like another town.
All in all, if you are a history or temple buff, this place is for you. Machu Pichu will still stand out in my mind as the greatest old city I have ever visited, but Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples are certainly impressive to see. If you are in the area, look it up.
Wrap Up:
Guides and transportation are inexpensive. The 6 of us paid less than $9 each for a full day of English guide, tuk-tuk and drinking water.
You can book any standard or custom trip through any hostel or hotel in town. The hostels will probably cost you less for the trip.
Locals prefer dollars. Even the ATMs don’t give riel. Riel only seems to be given as change to USD. $1 US is about 4000 riel at time of writing.
Have fun, ask questions, feel free to catch a tuk-tuk ride to the temples and just hang out with another tour going through, no one seems to mind.