Though we purchased a three day pass for Angkor Wat we
decided to spend our final day in Cambodia exploring the city and surrounding areas. Yes, we could have easily spent another week
exploring temples, but we felt we had seen enough already and wanted to see
what else we could find in and around Siem Reap.
We took our last bicycle journey into town and went to the
Angkor Artisan Centre where they had a free shuttle bus that takes tourists out
to their silkworm farm, about 16 kilometres outside of the city. As we waited for the next shuttle we had a
look around the facility and found dozens of local craftsmen doing intricate
carvings on sandstone and wood. They
seemed to be carving mainly Buddha heads and elephants and as the workshop was
wide open you could get up close to see how they were doing it and what sorts
of tools they were using. We learned
that this institution had been part of one of the temple restorations and had
carved a large number of sandstone blocks to be used where the original ones
were either too damaged or could not be found.
The silkworm farm was simply amazing. We were taken on a guided tour where we saw
the process of silkmaking right from start to finish. We saw the mulberry tree nursery which feeds
the worms, then the worm eggs which were hatching, then the baby worms, then
the mature worms, then the cocoons and the entire extraction, spinning and
weaving process, which is all done the same way as it has been for
centuries. The final products were all
on display and for sale at a gift shop at the end of the tour. I was tempted by a dashing grey, shimmering
silk suit, but since I’m not David Bowie or my brother Curtis, I decided not to
purchase it and left in the same cruddy shorts and sweaty t-shirt.
In the afternoon we returned the bikes then explored some
bookstores, more markets, had a snack and some drinks, then returned to the
hotel for an afternoon swim. As we had a
super fast internet connection we made some Skype calls to the family back
home. After it had cooled down a bit, we
tuk-tuk’d back into town for a final night in Siem Reap and on the way had a
wonderful experience which really says it all about the Cambodian people. It had started to rain heavily, but as the
tuk-tuks are covered we were able to keep dry.
As we motored down the busy street, a motorcycle pulled up beside us,
and on the motorcycle was a family of four, all drenched to the core, and all
giving us these huge, joyful smiles. This
simple, genuine moment was so touching, as here were two happy families, from
two different worlds, sharing a brief moment during a downpour.
In the past we’ve found that when you have a major tourist
draw like Angkor Wat, the nearby city is more often than not an appalling place,
existing primarily to rip off tourists.
But Siem Reap is truly the exception as it is a vibrant, authentic and
exciting city and worth visiting in its own right. I must admit, at first I wasn’t sure, but
after spending a couple days here it has really grown on me. I also learned that Cambodia is known as a
real party place as they allow the bars to stay open as long as they want,
while in some of the surrounding countries such as Laos and Thailand, the bars
must close after a certain hour. One of
the other things I like about Seam Reap is there is nowhere near the level of
“seediness” that we found in Chiang Mai.
This is one thing we are actually a little anxious about for our visit
to southern Thailand as we’re expecting to find a whole lot of this and don’t
want to traumatize the kids too much (though if they are not traumatized by now
I think they should be okay!).
Saying all that, as you walk around Siem Reap you do notice
a number of older, white gentlemen with young Cambodian friends. During dinner we looked over to a nearby
table to see a classic scene. A sixty
year old English man was sitting at a table with what looked like a nineteen
year old Cambodian girl. He was trying
to look natural, making small talk to her as she ignored him completely and
occupied herself by playing Candy Crush on her tablet. It is quite a pathetic display and I’m sure
those old perverts feel pretty ashamed, though obviously can’t help themselves. I’m sure when their trip is over and they are
broke and no longer a globetrotting super-stud they return to a depressing
little bedroom in their mom’s house and spend most of their time alone.
After a terrific meal, where we had a lovely chat with a
Malaysian family sitting beside us, we wandered around the buzzing streets and
Magnus decided he just had to have another fish spa. I convinced Stella to give it a try too but
the whole thing was just too creepy for her, so she just sat beside her brother
on the aquarium bench, and Ana and I looked on, enjoying a drink and soaking up
the surroundings on our final night in Siem Reap.
No comments:
Post a Comment