Cambodia - Angkor Wat

Wednesday, December 3, 2008: We gave up this afternoon. We can think of no more ways to say “WOW!”

Less than an hour’s flight from Saigon to Siem Reap, but into a whole different world. A town of only 18,000 people claims 10 5-star hotels. And I’ve only seen 4 paved roads. A huge change from Vietnam. But it has Angkor Wat.





The Temples are magnificent. More than 300 of them near this town. Almost 1,000 years old, the exterior wall at Angkor Wat is almost 3 kilometers long, surrounded by lakes. Then an interior wall, and the temples. Everything is solid rock. The tallest temple is 60 meters (~ an 18 story building). The steps to the top are each about 15” high (huge steps), and go up at a 70 degree angle. Around the inner wall, a mural is carved into the rock – it’s about 3 meters high (9+ feet), and more than 600 meters long (6 football fields). A mural carved in rock!


It took tens of thousands of people some 47 years to build the temples. They were originally Hindu temples. As the population was increasingly influenced by India it became Buddhist, and they took over the temples for their use. Today Cambodia is 97% Buddhist. Regardless, as in My Son, they were built only for use by the king and the holiest of monks; these people only visited the temples a few times a year. Which they probably spent some 30 million man-years of labor, to create temples which were used by a handful of people only a few days a year!! They wanted to demonstrate power, which they certainly did. . .
By the way, these temples are not “hollow,” they have no “inside.” They’re piles of earth, surrounded and topped by solid rock. To pray, the king and the holy men climbed to the top (sometimes to stay for several days at a time), and prayed. There’s no sanctuary, and no altar. Simply a Buddha at the top.






Carvings of angels, or Apsaras, appear throughout all of the temples. Fran was absolutely taken with them and plans to print a few for her meditation room






We also viewed Angkor Wat from up in the air. We took a tethered balloon ride at sunset.














Just beautiful!









Our hotel is lovely, our room looks directly across the park to former President Sihanouk’s house, it’s only about 200 meters away, with no forbidding walls or fences. I’ve never been this close to a President’s house, and I’ve never seen one this “accessible” (the sidewalk is only 10 meters (30+ feet) from the house.

(He’s a strange interesting fellow – check him on Wikipedia if you’re interested. He’s been King of Cambodia, President, Prime Minister, several times each, and has had a host of other titles. He’s had at least 7 wives, and at least 14 children, one of whom is now King. He kept Cambodia out of the Vietnam War, but is considered to have led the country into misery, and he made it possible for Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge to follow him. Two million Cambodians died, and the population today is only 14 million. He is not popular with most Cambodian people today, and he remains in self-imposed exile in China.)

Saigon

Saigon seems to have fewer sights and less history; the history seems largely tied to the American war (note the terminology here). We explored the Reunification Palace and the old American Embassy site, and all their special rooms. The war museum did little more than remind us how truly horrible war is, over and over and over. The photography section was especially devastating.

The city itself is growing explosively. Already with 9 million people, Saigon is projected to reach 16 million in less than 10 years. There are construction cranes everywhere. (Would I invest in Vietnam? Every penny I could. 60% of the population is under 30, they all keep having kids, and everybody works 7 days a week, up to 18 hours a day. Unbelievable productivity.)



The Reunification Palace











The recently renovated Post Office in Saigon. really nice!










A church in Saigon that's (kind of) a replica of Notre Dame in Paris. Only open Sunday mornings. Closed all other times.

The War Remnants Museum, which focused on the "American War." Depressing.










The Opera House in Saigon

The highlights of Saigon were the market and our private concert. The market (one of hundreds here, of course) is as staggering and colorful as the largest in Hanoi, with sights and sounds and smells we could not possibly record. Ridiculous prices – my knock-off (but high quality) Polo shirts were $5 each.

The Food Court at the Saigon Market.
Fran could not get used to the agressiveness of the merchants at the market in Saigon. They kept touching her and insisting that she buy from them. A few times she had to give them the New York attitudinal look when saying "No, Thank You [You touch me again and you'll pull away a stump!"]"

We visited Dinh Linh and his wife, in their home, for a private music session. He’s a most accomplished musician, probably plays more than three dozen instruments well. He and his wife sometimes accompany the President of Vietnam when he travels abroad, to bring Vietnamese culture to the world. He makes his own bamboo flutes, and played about 15 of them, in many keys, for us, as well as about 8 other instruments.

His wife is as accomplished as he, and they are a fabulously talented duo. This instrument is made of rocks, carefully shaped and toned to precise pitches. It has a lovely, mellow sound.

And these hollow tubes play specific notes with echos, when you clap your hands!

This one stringed-instrument sounds like a guitar in the right hands!

Water

There are staggering amounts of life in Vietnam, and almost everything revolves around water. From rice paddies in the mountains to the vast stretches of the Mekong delta, water is everywhere. One result is that everything in the country is green – and the Vietnamese use everything that water and nature produce. Virtually every plant is used for food, medicine, fuel, construction, or some other purpose. The population concentrates around the rivers everywhere. The Mekong delta, a staggeringly huge place (more than 40,000 sq. km.), is home to more than 20 million people, living in thousands of villages and some very large cities. (Who knew that Can Tho is larger than Atlanta and Albuquerque together?!)

As it approaches the sea, the Mekong splits into 9 separate rivers, each huge (this morning, more than 120 kilometers from the sea, one of the nine was nearly a mile wide), and connected by large numbers of canals. When the river floods every year, the people rejoice and celebrate, because it brings fresh soil and new life.

The is the General Store in afloating market on the Mekong

These shipping containers have a Mediterranean Sea label. Wonder where they started?

Fran is lovin' life as she sails down the Mekong River Delta.

The Town of Hoi An

Hoi An is a delightful little city (soon to become a much larger city, based on the resorts under construction). Another UNESCO site, the old city was a flourishing trade port for centuries, with trade from China, Japan, and Europe. The new Bond movie, Quantam of Solace, only out in theatres about 15 days, was already available on (bootleg) DVD in the stores.

This home in Hoi An has been lived in continuously for hundreds of years (seven generations) by the same family.

It is common to experience flooding during the rainy season. That immediately affects this housse since the back door opens right onto the river.

This year there was 10 feet of flooding (they've marked the water levels for various years). They save the furniture by moving it upstairs to the second floor.

This is an annual occurence and, no, they wouldn't even THINK of moving.

The old city was lovely, but our two lasting memories are cooking and the silk store. In a Vietnamese restaurant, we were hosted by the assistant to the owner, and the #2 executive chef, for a private cooking class. She was born in 1979, and has worked in the restaurant for 17 years. She taught us to make crispy spring rolls, grilled chicken with lemongrass, green papaya salad, and other delightful dishes. We ate our efforts at the table of honor on the balcony overlooking the city. What a wonderful dinner!

Two somewhat skeptical students just before class started

Lu, our illustrious teacher. By the end, Fran was ready to adopt her!

OK, it looks good and was easy to make - but will it taste good?

Oh Yeah!

Bob is all smiles! [When isn't he?]

Fran thought he looked cute in the apron and bought it for him. He models it over another handmade silk shirt.

We also found a fabulous silk store (there must be 50 in the city). I believe the only things they bring in from the outside are mulberry leaves and dye. In less than three weeks, they raise the worms to adults, feeding on mulberry leaves, who then live only two or three days. They spin a cocoon on one continuous silken thread, which is later extracted in boiling water. They remove worms, which grow into moths, and the whole process begins again. On our last night there, Bob was in the store at 4:45 p.m. He handed the saleslady two $20 bills, and selected two bolts of (brand new - only 15 days old) silk from the wall, while she grabbed her measuring tape. Four hours later, at 8:45 p.m., a girl appeared at our hotel with two hand-made silk shirts, hand-tailored to Bob’s measurements. Talk about service and quality!

These are silkworms

Bob models 2 of his purchases.

Hoi An is the perfect place to buy made-to-order clothes dirt cheap!

Pure silk, hand made, perfectly tailored. What would these cost in the U.S.??

The Town of Hue

We spent one day in Hue, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the old capital of Vietnam, and the imperial palace reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing. It’s huge, many buildings, with a long wall around the entire complex, and badly in need of repair. The temple there was similarly impressive, but also needs much work.

Here's an elephant we passed on the road!

We left Hue and drove to Danang. Danang has an impressive Cham museum, documenting the people that controlled southern Vietnam for hundreds of years. We saw little else of the city, now an industrial center, but it still has American fuel storage tanks and war plane hangars. Before we left we stopped at China Beach, a lovely sand beach with continuous rolling waves. I feel very fortunate I never had to see it 40 years ago.

From there we went over the scenic Hai Van Pass and into Hoi An. Atop the Pass, local ethnic people were selling souvenirs. A man approached us, asked if we were Americans, then proceeded to chant O-Ba-Ma O-Ba-Ma O-Ba-Ma over and over. Clearly someone in his village has a TV, and that reinforces how closely the rest of the world follows what happens in America.




















This is China Beach (mostly closed for the Winter)

At the Hai Van Pass .

When this gentleman figured out we were American, he started chanting "O-Bam-A, O-Bam-A" and gave us a thumbs up.

Final Reflections on Hanoi

There are no school buses in Vietnam – kids must get to school on their own. This is a picture of parents on scooters waiting outside an elementary school for their children to be dismissed

Most school children ride bicycles, and there are vast hordes of bicycles during commuting time. And there are a lot of kids! Our experience is that Asian people are superstitious. One guide book noted that the year of the dragon means good fortune – and in the most recent such year, virtually every woman of child-bearing age in Vietnam was pregnant! No wonder there are so many people in Asia!

Everybody is selling something. Capitalism rages. People have an extraordinary work ethic, often working 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. Some people make huge amounts of money. In one remote rural village, the one-room bamboo house had a dirt floor and walls that weren’t remotely water-proof, but there was a satellite dish receiver outside and a wide-screen TV on the wall! Those kids will grow up looking for a different world than their parents’.






This lady is preparing duck for the lunch crowd. Space is at a tremendous premium. We saw many small restaurants where food was prepared and cooked, and dishes were subsequently washed, right on the sidewalk.














Here is an outdoor barber shop...

















...and this is an outdoor beauty shop. Can you imagine women in America sitting in public waiting for their hair dye to set?















We loved Bobby Chinn’s restaurant in Hanoi. He’s an American ex-Pat, very successful restaurateur, self-described “enfant terrible.” His cookbook is stream of consciousness prose about Vietnam, with some recipes stirred in. From stories, some momentous world decisions have been made in his restaurant. We ate there twice, talked to him both times, and found him pleasant; his food and drink were outstanding!




























Vietnamese people are not large. Fran estimated one woman was a size -2. I didn’t think she was that big. As my height shrinks, it was refreshing to still be among the tallest people in the crowd!

People exercising in Hanoi

Back in Hanoi we finally got to stroll and shop and enjoy the city. At 6:30 a.m. the rush hour is already crazy, and the whole city is fully alive! Around one lake near our hotel we observed nearly 2 dozen groups doing various exercises (aerobics, Tai Chi, fan dancing, weight lifting, badminton, hacky-sack, etc.), with hundreds of participants from 18 to 80. Nobody’s self-conscious, everybody stays in shape, and it makes so much sense! An hour later the sidewalks are empty of people and equipment, and ready for the day. The same thing occurs again at 5:00 p.m., for people who miss the morning sessions, or those who are compulsive exercise addicts. Surprisingly, Jane Fonda-type exercises and bump and grinds seemed to have replaced Tai Chi as a favorite exercise in Hanoi. Fran was surprised

Badmitten is this pair's game.

This group of people even brought out heavy weights. Wonder where they store them during the day?

A woman meditates quietly despite all the hustle and bustle surrounding her.

Bob does his own form of two-fisted exercise!