Each year we visit Thailand, using this as our home base to explore other countries around S.E. Asia. For years we had wanted to visit Cambodia but were told it was still like the wild wild west. Dangerous and unstable. So we avoided going until 2001. But now security has improved throughout the country, which has also increased the ways and means of getting around. However, road journeys are often long and dusty making boat, or air travel the preferred choice.

Like anywhere, it is always important to use caution so as not to become a victim. The Lonely Planet recommends avoiding areas like Tuol Kauk, north of Boeng Kak lake, which is the main brothel quarter.

It's the kind of place where drunk Khmers shoot each over a karaoke microphone after to many ales. But I also heard this happens in Tawain, too. They like their Karaoke! And there could be robberies like every where else in the world. There are rumors that it's the police.

The thing I like about traveling is that you never know what's going to happen next. It keeps things exciting and eventful which is essential for restless spirits like ourselves. Everything is an adventure! A learning experience! A change of perspective! A fascinating look at history, and this wonderful world we live in.

This adventure began at the Bangkok airport where we were loaded onto buses and taken to our plane. That was about a ten minute ride, as we passed plane after plane before arriving at ours. Then we began our taxi down the runway.......down the runway...........down the runway. Yep, we taxied for what seemed to be twenty miles or so. We starting joking that "We didn't know we were driving to Cambodia". But after quite some time we did get airborne and the rest of the trip was uneventful.

Phnom Penh (pronounced Pah Nom Pen):

The airport is small. Just a waiting room, toilets and I think a restaurant. But it suffices. We didn't have to wait on luggage. We carry as little as possible, all in a backpack, making it easy to manage. And enabling us to carry all of our stuff as we travel from place to place. So we were one of the first to exit.

Foreigners are always bombarded with drivers wanting to take you to the city. Usually for an exorbitant price. This was no exception. Every airport has it's own system so we quickly sessed out this one, getting prices from a couple of the guys, then heading to the cab station to get a price. Armed with this info we started our negotiations, got a price we were OK with, and headed in for our first look at Phnom Penh.

Sidenote: We soon found out that everything in Cambodia was overpriced for inferior, or substandard to other Asian countries. And extremely overpriced. But it is still inexpensive relatively speaking, and well worth the time to visit.

Phnom Penh actually sits at the confluence of the Mekong, the Bassac and the Tonle' Sap Rivers. Sisowath Quay is the mainstreet along the Tonle' Sap river. Crowds gather on the recently developed riverfront area, making it a lively place to visit. Wats come back to life and monks in saffron robes can be seen wandering around town carrying alms bowls.

Phnom Penh was once considered the loveliest of the French-built cities of Indochina. Many of the buildings are of colonial architecture. Though crumbling, they continue to reflect the charm of years past. It is a city in the midst of rediscovering itself. And is a fascinating place. In recent years many of the buildings have been bought and are being renovated into sidewalk cafe's.

Every place has it's legends, myths and such. Phnom Penh was said to have been founded when an old woman named Penh found four Buddha images that had come to rest on the banks of the Mekong. She housed them on a hill and the town that emerged around the hill came to be known as Phnom Penh (the Hill of Penh).

We spent most of our time walking around town. Or hiring a taxi to take us to the places we couldn't get to by foot. It was rare to see empty streets, there were hordes of people every. I wasn't prepared for the number of people that were missing a limb. I saw some statistics that said over 70 people a month are killed or maimed by an unexploded land mine. That is staggering! And unacceptable. There are many beggars. It has been my experience that these countries discourage begging, So that foreigners don't become special targets, I take my cue from the locals, giving small denominations. And I try to be discreet, otherwise you would have thousands of people lined up with their hands out. It's sad.

We visited the Royal Palace which was beautiful, but nothing compared to the Royal Palace Compound in Bangkok. Interesting all the same, learning about the history of this country. The Palace stands on the site of the former citadel, Banteay Kev (built in 1013). The Silver Pagoda, know as Wat Preah Keo (Pagoda of the Emerald Buddha) has 5,000 silver tiles weighing 1 kg each covering the floor. The staircase is made of Italian marble. And inside, the Emerald Buddha is said to be made of Baccarat crystal and sits on a gilt pedestal high atop the dais.

In front of the dais stands a life size gold Buddha decorated with 9,584 diamonds, the largest of which weighs 25 carats. The gold Buddha weighs 90kg. In front of it is a Formica case with a miniature silver and gold stupa containing a relic of Buddha brought from Sri Lanka (another fascinating and beautiful places to visit). To the left there is also a bronze Buddha weighing 80kg and to the right a silver Buddha. And on the far right figurines of solid gold that tell the story of the Buddha.

The National Museum is housed in a terracotta structure of traditional design. It is a graceful building with four courtyards which face a garden. There are significant displays of sculpture in the courtyards to the left and straight ahead of the entrance. One of the highlights includes the eight-armed statue of Vishnu from the 6th or 7th century, the statue of Shiva (circa 866-877) and the sublime statue of Jayavarman VII seated (circa 1181-1218), his head bowed slightly in a meditative pose.

The Tuol Sleng Museum, while depressing, is a must see. Quite simply so that atrocities like this are not forgotten and kept top of mind so that we can do what we can from preventing it happening again. The Museum was once Tuol Svay Prey High School which was taken over in 1975 by Pol Pot's security forces. It was used as a prison and was known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It soon became the largest such center of detention and torture in the country. More than 17,000 people held at S-21 were taken to the extermination camp at Choeung Ek to be executed. Detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison grounds.

S-21 has been turned into the Tuol Sleng Museum, which serves as a testament to the crimes of the Khmer Rouge. Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge were meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism. Each prisoner that passed through was photographed, sometimes before and after being tortured. Photos of these men, women and children cover wall after wall, in room after room of the Museum, from floor to ceiling. Virtually all of these people were later killed.

As the Khmer Rouge 'revolution' reached ever greater heights of insanity, generations of torturers and executioners who worked here killed their predecessors, and were in turn killed by those that took their place. As many as 100 victims a day were claimed during the first part of 1977 when the party purges of eastern-zone cadres were getting underway.

When the Vietnamese army liberated Phnom Penh in early 1979, it found only seven prisoners alive at S-21. Fourteen others had been tortured to death as Vietnamese forces were closing in on the city. Altogether, a visit to Tuol Sleng is a profoundly depressing experience. I literally had knots in my stomach through-out my visit, and was extremely somber the rest of the day. As the 'Lonely Planet' says, "It's not for the squeamish."

The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek was the extermination camp for S-21 prisoners. Over 17,000 men, women, children and infants (including nine westerners) that were detained and tortured at S-21 between 1975 and 1978, were then transported to the Choeung Ek where they were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets.

The remains of 8,985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one-time longan orchard; 43 of the 129 communal graves here have been left untouched. Fragments of human bone and bits of cloth are scattered around the disinterred pits. Over 8,000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in in 1988.

Wat Phnom sits on top of a 27 meter high tree covered knoll. This is the only hill in town. According to legend, the first Pagoda on this site was erected in 1373 to house four statues of Buddha deposited here by the waters of the Mekong River and discovered by a woman named Penh. The main entrance to Wat Phnom is via the grand eastern staircase, which is guarded by lions and naga balustrades.

Today many come here to pray for good luck and success in school exams or business affairs. When a petitioner's wish is granted, he or she returns to make the offering (garlands made of jasmine flowers, or bananas, of which the spiritis are said to be especially fond) promised when the request was made.

The vihara (temple sanctuary) was rebuilt in 1434, 1806, 1894 and, most recently in 1926. West of the vihara is an enormous stupa containing the ashes of King Ponhea Yat (reigned 1405-67). In a small pavilion on the south side of the passage between the vihara and the stupa is a statue of a smiling and rather plump Madame Penh.

A bit to the north of the vihara and below it is an eclectic shrine dedicated to the genie Preah Chau, who is especially revered by the Vietnamese. On either side of the entrance to the chamber in which a statue of Preah Chau sits are guardian spirits bearing iron bats. On the tile table in front of the two guardian spirits are drawings of Confucius, as well as two Chinese-style figures of the sages Thang Cheng (on the right) and Thang Thay (on the left). To the left of the central altar is an eight armed statue of Vishnu.

Down the hill from the shrine is a royal stupa sprouting full-size trees from its roof. For now, the roots are holding the bricks together in their net-like grip, but when the trees die, the tower will slowly crumble. If you can't make it to Angkor Wat, this stupa gives a pretty good idea of what the jungle can do (and is doing) to Cambodia's monuments.

At this writing, Wat Phnom is the only attraction in Phnom Penh that is in danger of turning into a circus. Beggars, street urchins, women selling drinks and children selling birds in cages (you pay to set the bird free-locals claim the birds are trained to return to their cage afterwards) pester everyone who turns up to slog the 27m to the summit. This is common at various tourists sites through-out Asia. Fortunately, it's all high-spirited stuff, and it's difficult to be annoyed by the vendors, who are merely trying to eke out a living.

You can also have a short elephant ride around the base of the hill. I personally felt sorry the animal but I am sure it's more my perception of his plight, versus the reality. Elephants are considered good luck and mostly revered in this part of the world.

Siem Reap (pronounced see-em ree-ep)

Sidenote: We decided to forego travel by the highways. It is time consuming. Hot and dusty. Also, I was told that the buses don't make regular stops, if you had to go to the bathroom simply do it on the road when they stop. I asked about going into the bushes and was told that there are still so many unexploded land mines that this would be wise. I like adventure but this was a bit much for me so we agreed to take the boat, about a 5 hour journey.

The boat is a popular and pleasant way to get to Angkor Wat, with many attractive views as you wind your way along the Tonle' Sap River. Many of the boats are substandard, overcrowded, and they have no safety gear. Most are Malaysian vessels superannuated from the Rejang River in Sarawak. We sat on top to enjoy the scenery, fresh air and the company of our fellow travelers..

You might expect that the town closest to Angkor Wat would be a bit more developed. After all, there are now tourists by the thousands coming to have a look at these 'awe inspiring' ancient structures. Yet when our boat arrived at the port, a line from our boat was thrown to someone on shore. He held it while we walked off the boat on a wooden plank that had probably been laying about at someone's house. Maybe if you fly it's a different experience. But it wouldn't be as much of an adventure now would it.

The port is a community of small wooden structures built out over the water on stilts. There were all types of boats including a large freighter looking very out of place, probably there to deliver gas, or oil, or food supplies. There was a mob of people on shore, many with signs that had the names of those that had pre-booked a hotel, or room. And just above these guys was another mob of people, dogs, and all kinds of rickety looking food stalls. It was literally chaotic.

We had not pre-booked a room so we grabbed our packs and started up the small slope to find transport. We were standing on what looked to be just a skinny spit of land that extended from the main land out to this dock area. In the middle of this sliver of land was a path where hundreds of us were trying to navigate past the locals, the food stalls that lined each side, dogs, and vehicles of all nature. We walked, following everyone else, not knowing how long we'd be walking. We were really tired and weary from getting up early, the long journey and for me, the stress of the boat ride once we were on the open lake. I took a few deep breaths and tried to exhale the tension.

We eventually came to a row of taxis, negotiated a price, threw our luggage into the trunk and settled into the back. We were further from town that I would have have thought but arrived about twenty five minutes later. The first hotel we went to was booked so we went to the one next door. It was clean and reasonable so we took it, not wanting to waste anymore time or energy. Though tired, when we are in a new place we just want to go exploring. So that's what we did.

We found the town small enough to walk pretty much everywhere. And it has a sleepy, rural quality to it. A good place to unwind for a few days. From our hotel we walked towards the center of town passing a Wat that had women outside, stationed comfortably under their Marlboro umbrellas, selling ceremonial flowers. There were hundreds of bats flying around. We were hoping this meant fewer mosquitoes, a nuisance in tropical climates.

We encountered all manner of vehicles on the street, many of which were dirt, including horse/donkey drawn wagons. The Siem Reap River flows north to south through the center of town, so we crossed one of the many bridges to get to the market we saw on the other side. We saw children playing in the schoolyard. We had a late lunch at one of the food stalls set up along the river. Then we went back to our room to rest a bit before heading up to Phnom Bakheng for sunset.

Sidenote: At home (US) you can't give blood if you've been to Cambodia so it must be on their Malaria list.

We read our guidebook so like most of the tourists, we headed to Phnom Bakheng for our sunset view of Angko Wat. Unfortunately, and inevitably, as is the case with most tourist attractions, the whole affair is very much a circus, with crowds of tourists gasping up the steep slope of the hill, pestered all the way by nimble-footed soft-drink vendors. Or, you can arrange an elephant ride up the hill. Why not go all the way and make this even more of a memorable journey.

We had our tripod, but to get a really decent photo you need at least a 300mm lens. There was also a bit of a cloud cover so as the sun set over the Tonle' Sap Lake, while impressive, wasn't as spectacular as it could have been. But awesome just the same. Phnom Bakheng is the first of the temple mountains built in the near vicinity of Angkor. Yasovarman I (ruled 889-910) chose Phnom Bakheng over the Roluos area, where previous temples had been built.

Phnom Bakheng is a five-tiered temple mountain with seven levels, including the base and the summit. At the base are (or were) 44 towers. Each of the five tiers had 12 towers. The summit of the temple has four towers at the cardinal points of the compass as well as a Central Sanctuary. All of these numbers are of symbolic significance. The seven levels, for example, represent the seven Hindu heavens, while the total number of towers, excluding the Central Sanctuary, is 108, a particularly auspicious number and one which correlates to the lunar calendar.

The temples of Angkor were built between the 9th and 14th centuries, when Khmer civilization was at the height of its extraordinary creativity. Unparalleled in South-East Asia-though temples of Bagan in Myanmar (Burma) are a close runner-up-Angkor rates among the foremost architectural wonders of the world.

From Angkor the kings of the mighty Khmer empire ruled over a vast territory that extended from the tip of what is now southern Vietnam, to Yunnan in China, and from Vietnam west to the Bay of Bengal. Angkor's 100 or so temples constitute the sacred skeleton of a spectacular administrative and religious center. Its houses, public bui8ldings and palaces were constructed of wood, now long decayed, because the right to dwell in structures of brick or stone was reserved for the gods.

From 802 to 1432, a period of over 600 years, encompassed periods of decline and revival, and wars with rival powers in Vietnam, Thailand and Nyanmar. The brief history you can find in the 'Lonely Planet' guidebook only deals with the periods that produced the temples of Angkor.

A notable king, Jayavarman II, set a precedent that became a feature of the Angkor period, and accounts for the staggering architectural productivity of the Khmers at this time. He established himself as a 'god king' or 'universal king' whose all-reaching power expressed the god-like qualities of Shiva. Shiva's dwelling place is the mythical Mt. meru, and consequently Jayavarman built a 'temple mountain' at Phnom Kulen, which symbolized the holy mountain at the center of the universe. This cult of the god king is known as devaraja.

It was the French that discovered Angkor in the 1860's. But this was a misnomer, as historian David Chandler points out, when French explorer Henri Mouhot first stumbled across Angkor Wat it was found to contain a 'prosperous monastery.....tended by more than 1000 heritary slaves'. What's more, Portuguese travelers in the 16th century made reference to coming across Angkor, referring to it as the "Walled City". A 17th century Japanese pilgrim even drew a detailed plan of Angkor, however, he mistakenly concluded he had seen it in India, not Cambodia. Still, it was Mouhot that first brought Ankor Wat to the public eye.

Angkor Conservation is responsible for the study, preservation and upkeep of the Angkor monuments. More than 5,000 statues, linga and inscribed steles are stored here because of the danger of theft. As a result, Angkor's finest statuary is housed in their warehouse, meticulously numbered and cataloged.

You could spend weeks, even months seeing the temples at a leisurely pace. There is a lot to see, comprehend and absorb. But anytime that you have to spend is well worth the visit. Especially if you focus on just a few. I have visited the ancient ruins in Sri Lanka, the temples of India, and many other places throughout the world. They've all been interesting, fascinating, and impressive. But Angkor Wat is in a league of its own.

Temples of Angkor: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphuon, Royal Enclosure & Phimeanakas, Preah Palilay, Tep Pranam, Preah Pithu Group, Terrace of the Leper King, Terrace of Elephants, Kleangs & Prasat Suor Prat.

Around Angkor Thom: Baksei Chamkrong, Phnom Bakheng, Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei & Sras Srang, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Ta Nei, Spean Thma, Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, Prea Khan, Preah Neak Pean, Ta Som, Eastern Baray & Eastern Mebon, Pre Rup, Banteay Samre', and The Western Baray.

Roluos Group: Preah Ko, Bakong, and Lolei

Around Angkor: Phnom Krom, Banteay Srei, Kobal Spien, Phnom Kulen, and Beng Mealea

References: My own experience. The Lonely Planet's Guide to Cambodia

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