Vietnam & Cambodia: Angkor Wat and Wat Nots

ANGKOR WAT.  Indeed the mother of all temples.  It's huge, like two kilometers squared huge, with wings and side temples. It is possible to buy a seven-day pass to Angkor Wat and its neighbors- better than Disney for folks like Kev who cannot get enough of crumbling architecture.  And the reason we came to Cambodia.  I have to admit, it is impressive.  Not just its size and complexity but the details in the carvings and general workmanship. Most of the interior statues have been carted away to museums (or private collections) but the buildings alone are worthy of the parade of international tourists reading the legends and tenets of Vishnu and Hinduism on the walls. It was over 300 years in the making and finished at the end of the 12th century. In the mid 15th century it was abandoned to fable and the occasional wandering Buddhist. The French stepped forward in the mid-19th century and eventually brought it back to glory.  This is the same story, more or less,  for many of the temples in Cambodia.  Some are only a couple of years into their restoration.

Our lucky day at Angkor Wat.  Some serious filming going on-crew of 22, costumers, catering, the requisite gay guy doing make-up and a bevy of beauties dressed in gold dancing at various location within the temple.  Very Thai in style but it is all glamorous.  Glad to see I wasn't the only one with flowers in my hair.

Of course, Angkor isn't the only Wat around. Before 'temple fatique' sets in, you get to stroll around many other temples, get yelled at for trying to get a rubbing of ancient khmer writing, admire carvings, dodging people selling the same postcard sets or scarves and watch guys making genuine antiques for sale.

Here is an example of what a few hundred years can do to a temple. Plant life can sneak in between stones, wedge them apart and tumble them onto the ground.  Or, what the hey, just grow around the temple like the picture on the right.  There were a number of small and large temples held hostage by tree roots.  Our temple pass is about to expire. Take a last look and we'll move on.

Vietnam & Cambodia: Intro and Comparisons

Bayon face

   The Indochine Peninsula Adventure  was completed (the eastern half anyway) with our recent temple tour of Cambodia and Vietnam.  Add our visit to Laos over a year ago and the whole experience invites comparison of its composite countries.

    There are similarities: the endless grit, rice fields abound,  bicycles as preferred transportation, everyone is short and everything is cheaper than back home-to name a few.  And to the differences...

    Laos. The poorest of the three countries, but with quiet dignity. If a person had only two shirts, one would be clean and that would be the one he would be wearing. After the damage of the Vietnam War (called the American War in these parts) people picked themselves up and got on with life and living in a very resourceful way.  There are some local business initiatives designed to help neighborhoods market their handcrafted goods to tourists. The one national road, as basic and unimproved  as it is (especially in the countryside) goes where people need to go.

Angkor Wat

     Cambodia.  Home to the massive Angkor Wat and a jillion other temples in various states of excavation & reparation all calling the tourists streaming into the country.  Tourism is the second largest industry in Cambodia beaten only by the business of "Being Poor".  From king to tuk-tuk driver, everyone is only too eager to tell you how poor they are.  The beggars, touts and salespeople were persistent to an annoying degree everywhere. Even the post office got into the act by selling bundles of stamps for amounts ($1) greater than face value of the postage. No individual stamp sales.  Sigh.  Get the picture?

     Vietnam.  We walked across the border from Cambodia to Vietnam and the difference was noticeable almost right away.  Vietnam is a much more prosperous nation. It's greener.  The food is definitely better. And it is loaded with shysters who feel that not only should tourists pay more than locals but should get their "heads shaved" (dramatically overcharged) on top of it. Hey, the Communists may have won the war, but Capitalism (Ho Chi Minh-style) Rules the Day. You'll bump into the odd Vietnamese who does not make such a distinction and keeps you from painting the entire population with the same brush. [hint: take metered taxis and if you can't shop at a fixed price store, bargain HARD]  Vietnam also has a serious sleaze factor, especially in tourist areas.

Chinese New Year spread

     You might ask, and I sure wondered, if an American in these parts would be on the receiving end of ill-will or worse because of their citizenship and the war.  The quick answer is no.  That kind of sentiment was only found in parts of government museums. Any tongue lashings I received were from vendors because I refused to buy something they had been hounding me about for the last ten minutes- and that had nothing to do with my nationality.  

     O.K.  from here we go to a few notable bits.