Visiting the re-opened Bakan

In the previous post I mentioned the re-opening to visitors of the highest tower at Angkor Wat – the bakan. Here’s an excerpt from a nice article from Byron Perry that appeared in the the Phnom Penh Post:

“I was hoping to be one of the first barang to visit the sacred third level of Angkor Wat in three years as I bounded up the steep, wheeze-inducing steps to the Bakan, as it’s called, on January 18. The Bakan had been closed since 2007 for renovation by Khmer, German and Italian archaeological teams. My hopes were dashed when the guard at the top informed me in broken English that 10,000 people had already visited in the three days it’d been open. I wandered not-alone down the 60-metre-long, dark stone hallways, inside of which are four central courtyards that are great for taking photos of the ornate carvings of the five central towers.”

You can read the whole article here.

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out my friend Savuth’s tuk tuk services and all the handy information available on Angkortuktuk!)

Angkor Wat – Ascend to heaven

According to a Jan 15 article in The Phnom Penh Post, the top tier of Angkor Wat is once again open to visitors after several years of renovation work:

“As of today, tourists will once again be able to enjoy the view from the very top level of Angkor Wat. The top tier, called the Bakan, has been closed for restoration since October 2007 and restoration work was undertaken by Khmer, German and Italian teams. On December 31, Apsara issued a letter to various institutions, tour operators and tour guide associations saying that the Bakan will be opened but only temporarily. No dates have been given for when it will be closed again, or when it might be opened permanently.”

A local tour guide explained the significance of the Bakan: “The Bakan is considered a sacred place and it’s at the very top,” he said. “Tourists are always interested in visiting the Bakan, because it was considered heaven for the gods.”

iPhone Angkor App

Main menu screen shot. Click the picture for more screen shots and complete info from Travelfish.

Travelfish has recently introduced a travel guide for Angkor Wat and Siem Reap for the iPhone – a so-called iPhone app. According to the Travelfish website, the primary features of this new iPhone app include:

» Comprehensive background information on Siem Reap and Cambodia
» Independent, anonymous reviews on 40 places to stay
» More than two dozen recommended cafes, restaurants and bars
» Unsurpassed coverage of Angkor Wat and surrounding sites
» Detailed transport information including border crossings
» Four suggested walking tours with integrated mapping
» Over 200 photos from Siem Reap, Angkor Wat, Tonle Sap and the rest of Cambodia
» Interactive and highly detailed integrated maps
» No internet connection required once the app is downloaded

This is a logical next step for Travelfish who is well known for their downloadable mini-guides which I myself frequently use. I don’t have an iPhone but would love to hear the experience of any of you iPhone users who may try it.

The iPhone “Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, Cambodia Travel Guide” as it is officially called, is available from the iTunes store and in Europe at least is priced at €5.99.

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out my friend Savuth’s tuk tuk services and all the handy information available on Angkortuktuk!)

My wishes for 2010

A graffiti wall painting I 'coincidentally' (or not) stumbled upon in Amsterdam earlier this week.

I want to wish each of you and all who are dear to you a most wonderful 2010! May it be a year of health, happiness, good fortune and spiritual discovery.

My wish for 2010 is that each of us will look inside, or as Micheal used to sing, let’s each start with the ‘man’ in the mirror and ask ourselves, “How can I change in order to bring the change that I seek into my world?”

My wish for 2010 is that each of us will break free of whatever shackles hold us back from fulfilling what we truly want to fulfill, perhaps even what we are destined to fulfill.

Each of us know or at least I hope feel somewhere deep down inside, that when it comes to overcoming the immense challenges that collectively face us all, ” what got us here, ain’t gonna get us there.” In fact, “what got us here” has created the many threats and challenges we find ourselves confronted with.

Cambodia’s Billy Elliot

Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Sokvannara Sar leaps during his dance routine as shown in Anne Bass’ documentary, “Dancing Across Borders.” Photo provided by Pacific Northwest Ballet; Credit Photo: Erin Baiano

Remember the uplifting and heartwarming story of Billy Elliot, the young boy from a poor English mining town who discovered a dream of becoming a ballet dancer? Well, meet Sokvannara Sar, Cambodia’s ‘Billy Elliot:’

While visiting Cambodia in 2000, American arts patron Anne H. Bass witnessed a rising star. Then 15 years old, Sokvannara “Sy” Sar performed a dance at Cambodia’s famous Preah Kahn temple and caught Bass’ eye. Nine years later, Sar is a member of the Pacific Northwest Ballet Company, and Bass has documented his journey every step of the way. On May 25, Sar’s story, in a film titled “Dancing Across Borders,” produced and directed by Bass, was showcased at the Seattle International Film Festival.

Disabled Cambodians Triumph Through Sport

San Mao takes podium place #1

Earlier this month the annual Angkor Wat International Half Marathon races and bike rallies was held, again a very successful event. One of the missions of the annual event is to raise money and awareness for the continuing challenges of land mine victims, the handicaps they have and the artificial limbs and physical rehabilitation they need.

The New York Times recently ran a great article on the event, showcasing the race achievements and life struggles of Mr. San Mao, a land mine victim at the age of 17 and this year at the age of 35, the winner of the 10K run for people with artificial limbs.

…But when Mr. San Mao, then 17, found he was unable to get up from the forest floor, he realized that the lower part of his right leg was gone — blown off by one of the millions of land mines planted across the country during its decades of conflict. Many mines still lurk dangerously in rural areas.

Thru Children’s Eyes

One of the kids shot this expressive photo of Vannak.

While in Siem Reap I gave Savuth and Sopiee’s three oldest kids – Odam, Kong Kea and Vannak – single-use cameras. Odam, a son, is about 8 or 9; Kong Kea, a daughter is about 7 or 8; Vannak, a son is around 6. I am a big believer in the value of encouraging creativity and am always curious to see what interests kids when they have a camera in their hands. Here is a selection of what they came up with: lots of friends, schoolmates and of each other, Mom and Dad, some nature and as you will see, it seems boys everywhere love power cars.

Kong Kea celebrates at the fun fair and her baby sister Srei Kong cries

Odam took this nearly perfect composition of his Dad, two sisters and other drivers

The full album:

Thru Children’s Eyes

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out my friend Savuth’s tuk tuk services!)

Angkor Future, Angkor Past

"Neak Pean is a tiny temple and was built by Jayarvarman VII. The King ordered the construction of a vast baray (reservoir) east of Preah Khan temple to provide water to its hundred-thousand support workers."

Some people may be wondering why there has been so little mention of the temples as that is the primary reason the vast majority of people visit Siem Reap. For one, there is so much information devoted to the temples that I don’t feel like I have much to add to that body of information and experience. The other reason is that we didn’t really visit many temples this time. I did go to see my favorites which included Banteay Srei (which I previously wrote about in The Lingas and the Lady), Angkor Wat, Bayon, Preah Khan, and Neak Prean. Unfortunately the visit to one of my real favorites, Ta Prohm, fell victim to my conviction I was leaving on Sunday when on Friday I discovered I was leaving on Saturday.

There were three distinct differences to my visits this year

Beautiful Kompong Khleang

'Main Street' Kompong Khleang

(Note: due to the slow Internet here in Laos the posting has less pictures in the body. At the end is the usual link to the full album which I thankfully uploaded in Siem Reap)

On each of my three trips to Cambodia I have visited a new place on Tonle Sap. On my first trip I started as most people do with the floating villages at Chong Khneas. Last year we did Kompong Phluk and this year I made it to what I thought to be the best of all three, Kompong Khleang.

Since I had never seen anything like any of these places before, I found the floating villages I first visited to be really interesting. Last year we visited Kompong Phluk which is a stilted village in a flooded forest as they say. I found that more interesting than the floating villages from the previous year because it was much less touristy with no floating cafes annex souvenir shop annex crocodile farm. I also had the impression, admittedly as a completely uninformed outside visitor but with decent intuition, that there was more sense of community there. And that would be logical as Kompong Phluk is a permanent village versus the floating villages that relocate with the ebb and flow of the lake.

So this year,

Education is the sweetest revenge

Meet Ponheary Ly, one of the most remarkable women I have had the honor to get to know on my visits to Cambodia. Ponheary can best be described as teacher, tour guide, human being and tireless fighter extraordinaire all in one. A survivor of the Pol Pot terror regime who lost many family members and experienced the suffering of those indescribable terror years first-hand, Ponheary has made it her life’s work to rebuild Cambodia thru education.

In short,

“After surviving the Khmer Rouge regime, she returned to Siem Reap with what was left of her family. During the time of the Vietnamese installed regime, Ponheary became a teacher and in secret learned how to speak French and English, a crime punishable by imprisonment. In 1998 when Cambodia held its own elections and the country once again opened up to Westerners, Ponheary became a much sought-after tour guide. But she never forgot her students, especially the disenfranchised village children who had no opportunity to go to school. She began leveraging her relationship with those who toured with her and accepted donations to get these rural village children into school.”

In 2005, one of Ponheary’s clients, the Texan Lori Carlson, was so moved

The Lingas and the Lady

The road to Banteay Srei and Kbal Spean passes through lovely countryside

It’s a day off today to catch my breath and to catch up on my blogging. After using most of last week to prepare a workshop I gave to a group of great university students, I have been back on the touring trail. So much to do and just not enough time! More than a week ago, on October 12 (wow, has it been sooo long!?), we headed off to Kbal Spean and Banteay Srei. I am so lucky that Chov, the university student I sponsor, has been able to join us almost every day as long as we get him back in time for his classes which take place six days a week from 18.30 – 21.30. As always, my friend Savuth is our trusted chariot driver.

Kbal Spean, also known as The River of 1,000 Lingas, is about a one hour and 45 minute tuk tuk ride from Siem Reap. The road is a perfect quality paved road all the way and passes through some great countryside and along many rural

Phnom Krom and Chong Kneas – What a Day We Had

(Note: a link to the photo essay of the day can be found at the bottom if you want to skip directly to that)

We took advantage of Sunday, the day the kids are off from school, to put together another fantastic family day. We were joined by Mau and Pul, two driver mates of Savuth’s along with Pul’s wife and their two charming kids. So all in all we were 12.

The day started with a picnic style lunch at one of the ‘hammock clubs’ in the shadow of Phnom Krom. Along the way we stopped at some local markets to pick up grilled chickens and fish and some boiled shrimps. We had brought along the salads, sauces, rice and drinks in order to put together a huge and delicious festive meal. The lakeside setting was really nice with lots of stuff to see happening around the chill-out club.

But as always the kids really made the day extra special. A day out like this is always really exciting for them but with ‘Om Len’ in tow (‘Om is a Khmer word for a respected elder) it becomes extra special for them. What they don’t know, or maybe they do, is that the time I get to spend with them is a true gift and I feel like the one who is incredibly privileged. We fished a bit, practiced English and math, ran after the ice cream man on his bike and played beekaboo. But the most fun of all was when I got to play the central role in “wake the monster sleeping (or pretending to sleep with very realistic snoring sound effects) in the hammock and get chased all over the place.”

After several hours we packed ourselves back into the three tuk tuks and headed off to the fun fair on the jetty at Chong Kneas. This is the location where the tour boats embark to visit the floating villages on Tonle Sap and with some tour companies also the stilted village of Kampong Phluk. It is incredibly insightful and even inspiring in some way to always re-discover that the fun and excitement quotient for kids has nothing to do with the sophistication or expansiveness of the fun fair. Of course we also got to see the land-side of life of many of the floating homes that now moor on the new jetty.

Our original plan was to spend an hour or two there and then head over to Phnom Krom to climb to the top to watch sunset from high above the lake. But by an hour before sunset it was clear that kids were in too much of a state of excited exhaustion (or is it exhausted excitement?) to do the climb up and down. So we decided to stay on the jetty at Chong Kneas where we got to see a very nice sunset. Having grown up myself around sailboats, I particularly enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the dark silhouettes of boats on the water as the sun set.

On the ride back to town I had two exhausted angels in my arms, deep in sleep, and totally oblivious to the bumps that on the worst parts of the damaged road were almost enough to launch an inattentive tuk tuk passenger into outer space.

As anyone will tell you who has been to Cambodia, with all there is to see and do, with the incredible awe inspiring temples, it is the beauty and warmth of the people that really steal your heart and make you long for more.

If you are planning a trip I would recommend you think of the following: If there is any way you can arrange to spend some time with a Cambodian family, most easily that of your driver, by offering to host a picnic day at West Baray, Phnom Krom, Phnom Kulen or something similar, doing some ‘Cambodian things’ they love to do as a family, I can guarantee you unique experiences and memories of unsurpassed richness and warmth. In any case, if your driver invites you out to his home to meet his family and see his village as many will do if it clicks, do your best to make time for it. You won’t be sorry if you do but you may be sorry if you don’t.

If you want to see the full photo essay of the day… here it is:

Krom and Chong

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out my friend Savuth’s tuk tuk services!)

Originally published on my travelbog Leonard’s Trails

A family visit – in pictures

Today was spent visiting with my friend Savuth and his family. After three emotional and physically tiring days I am going to let some pictures tell today’s stories (Let’s see, 24 pictures, should be worth about 24,000 words if my math is correct).The drive out there and back also gave me my first chance to see the condition of some nearby countryside.

It was great, albeit tiring, to see the kids again given their enthusiasm for my visits and naturally nearly boundless energy. I always love the food his wife cooks and it was very exciting to see the plot of land Savuth has recently purchased to move his family from tenants to landowners, a status which in a place like Cambodia still means a lot to an individual, his family and the society at large. It was cool when he showed me the sale and registration documents which still bear thumb prints versus signatures as the primary proof of identity. And I discovered today that kids all over the world do love Dr Suess’ “Cat in the Hat” series even if they don’t quite understand the words. I guess my gestures and acting was better than I thought. Maybe a second career on Sesame Street? Enjoy the stories.

October 10 – Family visit

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out my friend Savuth’s tuk tuk services!)

Originally published on my travelblog Leonard’s Trail.

The trip down, first reunions and recovering Siem Reap

Some reading and one movie later is as good a time as any for some sleep as we fly over either Georgian Republic or Ukraine.

Hello friends! Well I am here in Siem Reap. The flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur went well enough. I was able to get a seat by an exit door so had plenty of legroom which was nice, especially the way KLM packs ‘em in. Read a bit, watched “State of Play” with Russel Crowe and Ben Affleck then slept for about four and a half hours thanks to a sleeping pill with a Valium chaser. That all got me through about 7 of the 12 hour flight and then I watched Star Trek XI, read some more and dozed here and there which got me to Kuala Lumpur.

My bag was one of the last ones to appear on the carousel which can get a bit nerve racking. As the number of people surrounding the carousel kept shrinking and I didn’t see many new bags appearing I found myself looking around for the baggage service office trying to recall the compensation maximum for lost luggage on my travel insurance. But of course, they did finally appear.

They are really into H1N1 here in Asia, maybe due to their experience with SARS and the bird flu. At both Kuala Lumpur airport and here in Siem Reap you have to walk by a heat sensing camera with a battery of face-masked people watching the thermal imagery. Many of the Asian travelers look like runway models at a surgical trade show with their face masks. And here in Siem Reap they have added a third form to the immigration and customs forms: a health questionnaire asking if you have sneezed in the last three days or have experienced a host of other symptoms. Who hasn’t had a sneeze in the last 3 days?

Angkor Butterfly Centre Opens October 3

Angkor Butterfly Centre

Siem Riep is about to become another non-temple attraction richer with this weekend’s opening of the Angkor Butterfly Centre. As reported in the Phnom Penh Post:

“It’s been 18 months in the making, and has been established by an NGO, Angkor Participatory Development Organisation to raise revenue, to encourage the conservation of indigenous butterflies, and to foster the protection of the natural environment. More than 30 species of local butterflies are on display, and the largest inhabitant at the centre is the world’s largest moth, an orange-coloured beastie that has a wing span of 26 centimetres. The centre also displays the complete life cycle of a butterfly from egg, to caterpillar, to pupae to winged glory, and visitors are promised “the discovery of the miracle of insect life.”

And from the Centre’s website:

“The exhibit consists of a netted tropical garden with hundreds of free-flying butterflies, all of which are native species to Cambodia. The enclosure is South East Asia’s largest butterfly exhibit and provides residents and tourists with an interactive and visual environment to learn about butterflies. At ABC it is possible to experience butterflies feeding and flying very close at hand and to witness the complete life cycle of many species. The butterflies (in pupae form) are farmed sustainably by people from villages in the Siem Reap Province. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff will greet you on your arrival and will explain the background to the project and about butterfly life-cycle and ecology”

The Angkor Butterfly Centre is 25 km outside of Siem Reap on the way to Banteay Srei and claims to be the largest butterfly attraction in Southeast Asia. Its location makes for a perfect and varied day of touring combining Kbal Spean, Banteay Srei, The Landmine Museum and the Angkor Butterfly Centre. The Centre is open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM. I’ll check it out on my upcoming visit and let you know how it was.

(Thinking of visiting the temples of Angkor Wat? Don’t forget to check out Savuth’s tuk tuk services!)