Cambodia part I: 'Wonder wanderland'

Hello dear reader!

Landing in Cambodia gave me the same feeling as Laos. I can describe the atmosphere as laid-back. The landscape looks flat and dry with its vast rice fields, trees, palm trees and lotus plantations. A wild jungle full of life where you can hear the birds singing. Due to drought, the streets are often dusty.

My first days in Siem Reap were a bit difficult due to the illness.

But phew, all's well that ends well. I bought a seven-day pass to visit 'Angkor'. 'Angkor' means city and this is the same for the entire temple area. 'Angkor Wat' (Wat=temple), is the largest temple where the king lived. Before I write my story, I will give you a little bit of history.

'Angkor', the symbol of the Cambodian people, the soul of Cambodia and one of the most powerful civilizations in the history of Southeast Asia. This enormous area of 400 km2 is part of the Khmer history. An old mega city that is as big as Los Angeles or London now. It was built by Jayavarman II and the five Jayavarman kings who followed. This between the years 800 and 1200. There are two seasons per year in Cambodia: the rainy season and the dry season. King Jayavarman II invented an ingenious idea for that time of canals and reservoirs that ensured good water management in this gigantic area. In this way, water was stored during the rainy season and redistributed in the dry season. This secret made the success of the rise of the Khmer empire. Around 1300 it was at its peak, there lived a million people then. In London only thirty thousand. Enemy number 1 of this city was water and erosion. This required a lot of maintenance from the population and eventually cost the empire its downfall. King Jayavarman VII let the water in and thus the systematic collapse of the Khmer empire occurred.

Ankor Wat

This magnificent world wonder/UNESCO heritage was completely absorbed by the jungle and rediscovered by the Frenchman Henry Mureau in the 19th century. In the meantime, archaeologists and restorers have no rest to preserve this once ingenious empire.

Finally time to visit this miraculous wonder 💖. This at my own pace, that's why I rented a scooter. Wow, that I was allowed to drive around here was a miracle. This defied all imagination. Insanely beautiful and especially incomprehensible how they built this at the time. You can't even stick a sheet of paper between the large stones, not to mention the impressively engraved statues that you can find everywhere in this massive colossal large temple complex. Words fail to describe this. I can already tell you that I stood with my mouth open in amazement several times, got goosebumps and wiped away a tear during my ride on the moped. Complete madness how that majestic area is there to show off in the middle of the jungle. While I walked in the temples I felt like Mowgli from Jungle Book. Because it was climbing and I also had to pay attention to where I walked so as not to trip. The temples that I liked the most were Ta Prohm, Bayon and Banteay Srei.

'Ta Phrom' or 'the holy place of the ancestors' and the famous temple that became famous through the movie Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie. Actually, 'Angkor' has attracted more tourists because of that. I was allowed to admire this temple around seven in the morning. I had received the information that there would not be many people walking around at that time and that was also the case! The 'Ta Phrom' temple is special because it has been left as it was found, grown together with the jungle. Mysterious and unique to see how those large trees are entwined through the monument and overgrown with greenery. Wow, wow and again wow, impressive.

Ta Phrom tempel

'Bayon' temple, bombastic as it is, is the most central and is known for its fifty-four towers, each depicting four smiling faces. Again I was there early. Blessed, again it was still relatively quiet! Wow! I walked around again in amazement... almost fell down a few times, you really have to watch where you're going. Everywhere you see (again) beautiful wall drawings, decorations and statues. And those towers, there are so many. I was surrounded by two hundred and sixteen smiling faces! Once in a lifetime!

Bayon tempel

'Banteay Srei' temple or 'temple of women' was built in honor of Shiva. Its pink color makes it unparalleled and stands out because of the fascinating beautiful details in the engraving. Well, it was a long drive but it was worth it! What a wonderful experience it was to enjoy all that splendor and magnificence!

Banteay Srei tempel

And of course the temple of temples could not be missed... 'Angkor Wat': I did this at sunset (because I was in the area) and at sunrise! As touristy as I found it, this experience was phenomenal! Just the idea that I was allowed to walk around there gave me an exceptional feeling. I am not going to describe all the temples: it is far too difficult for me to put this magnificently majestic complex into words. Wow, those seven days of driving around and admiring 'Angkor' was INSANE! Wonder-wander country! Fabulous, whoever gets the chance! DO it because it is an absolute mighty wonder of the world!

Ankor Wat

During my last days in Siem Reap I met a cool English woman. She was sitting next to me at the pool. Our conversation was super pleasant and also a lot of laughs. In the evening we went to eat street food at the river and afterwards had a cocktail at ' Miss Wong '. The next afternoon she unfortunately left for Thailand. That same day I ran into a Belgian man on the street. He has been traveling through Asia for more than forty years. He fell in love with handmade fabrics, patterns and colors in ethnic style. So he went with me to an old house in the city where fabrics used to be handmade. We spent two nice days together. The time with these people was again much too short!

Lots of warm greetings! See you soon!

Love and kisses, Helena 💖🦩