Day 11: Why You Should Start Your Angkor Experience at the National Museum

On our last full day in Siem Reap, I checked out the Angkor National Museum. I kind of felt guilty we just breezed through the Angkor Archaeological Park the day before and I thought a trip to the museum would be a good recap to the whole Cambodian journey. And it was.  But if I were to decide, I’d start my Angkor experience in this museum.

Elegant facade of the museum

First, I’d like to say the museum is beautifully and elegantly built – fit for an empire indeed. The interiors are clean and well-kept. But what is most fascinating about the museum is the treasure it holds. Yesterday during the Angkor tour, I was admiring some of the carvings on the walls. What I didn’t realize is that these temples with their intricate carvings beautifully etched on the temple walls have a lot of stories to tell about the history of the Khmer empire. My trip to the museum made me understand (although belatedly) the bigger historical perspective – who were the Kings of the Empire, who built what temple, etcetera. I was awe-struck by the exhibits too, especially the gallery of the 1,000 Buddha images in all shapes, sizes, positions, and materials. It was also kind of creepy with all those Buddha eyes on you but a good kind of creepy.

 

Audio tour materials

An audio tour is available for an additional fee but it was worth the extra dollars. They will provide you with a headset and a small machine that plays the audio. You can go at your own pace, even repeat some explanations you didn’t get the first time. If you don’t opt for the audio tour, each gallery of the museum is equipped with short video introductions that will provide a preview of the entire section. So no worries, everybody goes home happy. I’ve never quite enjoyed a museum tour as this one.

One of the museum artifacts in the lobby. Look at those details in the carvings!

The Museum Shop sells a lot of cool items from soaps to books to clothes.

That night, we rode the Sleeper Bus back to Saigon, Vietnam. In this trip, we have ridden almost every known vehicle to man – airplane, taxi, motorcycle, tuktuk, seating section of the train, sleeping section of the train, bus, sleeper bus. Yes, we are living up to the backpacker’s lifestyle. And I love it.

Next: Day 12: Getting into a Little Trouble at Ben Thanh Market

Day 9: Apsara Dancing and Shopping at the Angkor Night Market

We’ve had quite enough of travel lately so we decided to rest through most of the day. Did I mention my travel buddy and I are introverts? We needed to recharge so we took advantage of the guesthouse’s free wifi and cable TV. Perfect. Just what we needed.

We can’t sleep in the whole day of course, so our guesthouse booked us to a buffet dinner with an Apsara performance in Amazon Angkor Restaurant (for $10) for the evening.

Apsara dancers taking the stage at Amazon Angkor Restaurant

Our guesthouse, Bou Savy, is quite popular with Filipino tourists so when the tuktuk driver came to pick us up for the dinner buffet, we found out there was a lovely, older Filipino couple who booked for the same dinner. It turned out the older gentleman was a former employee of the National Power Corporation. One of the industries of my former employer is power so we launched into a lighthearted discussion about coal, power plants, and sustainability. While partaking of the food and watching the Apsara performance, we also noted how Asian dances in general have overlapping similarities in costume and dance styles. Hmm. This was turning into an intellectual, cultural, and culinary evening.

Welcome to the Angkor Night Market!

When the Apsara performance ended, we went back to the guesthouse. The couple called it a day and went in to retire for the night. It was quite early so we took off to Angkor Night Market.

I would love to have this is my garden!

Angkor Night Market sells a wide range of items from jewelry, souvenirs, shirts, pants, books, and decorative items. They even have a bar in the middle of the market! I had fun looking at the stuff and strolling around. There weren’t a lot of people so we had plenty of room to move around. After a few purchases, we were good and we headed back to the guesthouse. We needed to be up early the next day for the Angkor Wat tour.

Next: Day 10: Visiting Angkor and Presenting... The Happy Pizza

Day 8: The Epic 40++ Traveling Hours For the Love of Cambodia

If Day 7 was spent entirely on traveling by train, Day 8 was spent entirely on traveling by bus, marking the completion of the longest travel time of my life to date – an epic 40 ++ hours. Phew. I seriously wonder now how we survived it although I will admit to nearly going crazy. Then again, I would say I did it all to feed the aching feet of my wanderlust and for the love of our next destination – the land of the Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

If Vietnam was about coffee, Halong Bay, and the French influence, Cambodia was about the Angkor Wat and Happy Pizza. Compared to Vietnam though, we had a shorter time in Cambodia and it was focused on Siem Reap. We ditched our plans to explore Phnom Penh at the last minute because of time constraints and because really, we needed time to breathe. The good thing about it is that I have more reasons to come back to Cambodia. And come back, I definitely will.   

Black dark clouds welcomed us to Cambodia. 

Cambodia did not welcome us with the most joyous of weathers. A huge chunk of the sky was dark with black clouds. Try adding that to the growing anxiety of being stuck in a bus for hours.

On the other hand, although the hours were excruciatingly long and tedious, riding the bus was a perfect way to gain an initial insight into Cambodia’s way of life. After passing through several houses, I noticed their houses are on stilts and the “ground floor” was reserved for livestock and in some cases, agricultural equipment. It is a country rich in agricultural resources but the people remain poor. I saw children stark naked running along the highways and makeshift houses with thatched roofs that serve as shelter to a family of four. These were all-too-familiar scenes. In many ways, Cambodia is like the Philippines.

 

Can you guess what this vendor is selling? I'm guessing
it's a kind of insect. The kind you don't want to put in
your mouth. 

We finally arrived in Siem Reap at half past 9, tired and very hungry. Thank God for our really gracious hosts at Bou Savy Guesthouse who welcomed us with drinks and cold towels.

That night, I read up on some highlights of Cambodia’s history and came across the era of Pol Pot, a revolutionary leader who ordered the torture, execution, and genocide of a million (some sources say 2 million) children, men, and women. Unbelievable, I know. Until now, I feel the country is still reeling from that horrific chapter in their history. We are still lucky after all, for not experiencing this level of pain and suffering. That night, my heart was broken. I was broken.

I know we travel because of new sights and fresh experiences and all things bright and beautiful. But we cannot take away the inevitability that travel can break us sometimes. And when it does, we are never the same person again.

This day was epic, indeed. 

Next: Day9: Apsara Dancing and Shopping at the Angkor Night Market