THE first wonder of Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia can be found about a kilometre from the airport, well before the gates of glorious Angkor Wat.
It's a shack on the airport road, an energy depot you might call it, where a local family man has harnessed the electricity of about 100 found car batteries to help charge the electronic appliances of passers-by.
That's Siem Reap for you right there, where Third-World ingenuity butts up against ancient illumination. The wonders never cease.
Take your pick: the smiles of the kids dropping fishing lines into the Siem Reap river, hoping to jag a catfish for dinner; the thrill of watching 200 Cambodians do star jumps and sit-ups to the sound of Kenny Loggins's Footloose in the public afternoon exercise sessions at the Cambodian People's Party building; the stories of one-legged men on the street who survived the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge; the cut and thrust of the city's lively markets, selling everything from fake Ray Bans to hand-woven Cambodian silks, stone and wood carvings, statues and castings, contemporary Cambodian art, handicrafts and traditional musical instruments, temple rubbings, silver betel containers, gems and basketry.
Take your pick: the smiles of the kids dropping fishing lines into the Siem Reap river, hoping to jag a catfish for dinner; the thrill of watching 200 Cambodians do star jumps and sit-ups to the sound of Kenny Loggins's Footloose in the public afternoon exercise sessions at the Cambodian People's Party building; the stories of one-legged men on the street who survived the bloody reign of the Khmer Rouge; the cut and thrust of the city's lively markets, selling everything from fake Ray Bans to hand-woven Cambodian silks, stone and wood carvings, statues and castings, contemporary Cambodian art, handicrafts and traditional musical instruments, temple rubbings, silver betel containers, gems and basketry.
The background to it all is the city's great official wonder, Angkor Wat, the heart-stopping, mouth-gaping 425sq km temple complex that takes a day to properly enjoy and a lifetime to properly investigate.
Find yourself a good guide, one of those guys who will tell you the significance of every leg, every arm, every oddly bending appendage of every Hindu and Buddhist god they both receive tribute here whoever rained hope or terror on the hard-working, kind-hearted, beautiful Khmer people.
Find yourself a good guide, one of those guys who will tell you the significance of every leg, every arm, every oddly bending appendage of every Hindu and Buddhist god they both receive tribute here whoever rained hope or terror on the hard-working, kind-hearted, beautiful Khmer people.
If you shield your eyes in places, blocking out the many curious Chinese tourists paying for portrait shots of themselves sitting atop a donkey in a wild west cowboy hat, you are transported back to the 9th century.
If your imagination is really running wild, you could creep into one of hundreds of small empty rooms and believe for a moment you're alone in this archeological wonderland and that you've just stumbled across it, like some intrepid explorer, or, better yet, Angelina Jolie, who, my guide tells me, "dispatched some villains in Tomb Raider" in a temple down the road.
If your imagination is really running wild, you could creep into one of hundreds of small empty rooms and believe for a moment you're alone in this archeological wonderland and that you've just stumbled across it, like some intrepid explorer, or, better yet, Angelina Jolie, who, my guide tells me, "dispatched some villains in Tomb Raider" in a temple down the road.
The extraordinary jungle temple is a must-see, where giant kapok trees with roots like octopus tentacles are swallowing it whole like some beastly kraken in a pirate's sea shanty.
A good Angkor Wat temple guide will spend 10 minutes on a single sandstone wall, describing the great battles, the great tests, the great miracles depicted within the endless panels of stonework.
Then he'll invite you back to his house for a traditional amok trey, fresh fish in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed into something close to a food fit for the likes of Vishnu.
As the sun sets over Angkor Wat, make your way to the very top temple tower via a slightly precarious set of sharply ascending steps and watch that mighty ball of melted yellow drip into a pink horizon.
Now here's another wonder: La Residence d'Angkor, a boutique hotel in the heart of Siem Reap's endless bustle. Set within a walled garden, this is a sanctuary amid the dusty eternal blur of Siem Reap's buzzing tuk-tuks and motos.
The whole place is accessed by a bridge crossing a lotus pond, which is like crossing an emotional threshold between city-based sensory overload and luxury hotel serenity.
If it's daytime, there is every chance the temperature will be hot and sticky, the very best atmosphere in which to enjoy a cool beer by a long pool surrounded by palms, bougainvillea and frangipani trees.
If it's night-time, there is every chance the temperature will be hot and sticky, the very best atmosphere in which to enjoy a cool cocktail in the hotel's martini lounge.
The whole place is accessed by a bridge crossing a lotus pond, which is like crossing an emotional threshold between city-based sensory overload and luxury hotel serenity.
If it's daytime, there is every chance the temperature will be hot and sticky, the very best atmosphere in which to enjoy a cool beer by a long pool surrounded by palms, bougainvillea and frangipani trees.
If it's night-time, there is every chance the temperature will be hot and sticky, the very best atmosphere in which to enjoy a cool cocktail in the hotel's martini lounge.
You might think the hotel's spa suites are its greatest attribute bathtubs the size of cars, walk-in rain showers, private garden terraces, iPod docking stations until you try the hotel dining room.
The menu is a mix of Western and Khmer cuisine. One night you might try the "Khmer Discovery" option, a tower of Khmer delicacies Mekong lobster with ginger; "Kampot" green peppercorn spicy chicken soup; stir-fried king crab leg with pek koa salad in Khmer dressing.
The menu is a mix of Western and Khmer cuisine. One night you might try the "Khmer Discovery" option, a tower of Khmer delicacies Mekong lobster with ginger; "Kampot" green peppercorn spicy chicken soup; stir-fried king crab leg with pek koa salad in Khmer dressing.
The next night you might take your tastebuds around the world whole wild sea bass baked in a crust of Kampot rock sea-salt with Mediterranean vegetables; Argentine beef fillet; New Zealand rump of lamb braised on the barbecue.
You might think the dining room is the hotel's greatest asset until you walk out to the complex's Kong Kea Spa or "Water for the God".
The relaxation spa is designed as an "absolute sensory experience". It's like a Roman bath but with way more privacy and less weirdos.
You can hang out in this zen sanctuary for hours, occupying one of six treatment rooms, indulging in a dazzling array of body massages designed for every kind of stressed Westerner.
The relaxation spa is designed as an "absolute sensory experience". It's like a Roman bath but with way more privacy and less weirdos.
You can hang out in this zen sanctuary for hours, occupying one of six treatment rooms, indulging in a dazzling array of body massages designed for every kind of stressed Westerner.
After a few hours in here, you'll be in just the right relaxed mood to catch a traditional Apsara "female spirit of the clouds" dance performance as you sip a wine.
The next morning you'll wake up refreshed, step outside, blend joyfully back into the frenetic pace of Siem Reap, ready to embrace the greatest wonder of Cambodia: Cambodians.
Getting there
Bangkok Air operates flights daily from Bangkok to Siem Reap.
See bangkokair.com
Doing there
Orient-Express runs La Residence d'Angkor and its latest package, The Great Affordable Escape, starts at $320 a room a night and includes round-trip airport transfers, daily buffet breakfast for two, one three-course dinner for two, daily bottled water, internet access, fresh tropical fruit on arrival, and meditation sessions with local monks.
The rate is based on double occupancy and taxes and gratuities are not included. See residencedangkor.com
Visas
A 30-day visitor's visa on arrival costs about $30.
When to go
November to February, when the monsoonal rains have stopped, are generally considered the best months to visit Cambodia, but its delights abound year-round.
The writer was a guest of Orient-Express and Thai Airways.
Bangkok Air operates flights daily from Bangkok to Siem Reap.
See bangkokair.com
Doing there
Orient-Express runs La Residence d'Angkor and its latest package, The Great Affordable Escape, starts at $320 a room a night and includes round-trip airport transfers, daily buffet breakfast for two, one three-course dinner for two, daily bottled water, internet access, fresh tropical fruit on arrival, and meditation sessions with local monks.
The rate is based on double occupancy and taxes and gratuities are not included. See residencedangkor.com
Visas
A 30-day visitor's visa on arrival costs about $30.
When to go
November to February, when the monsoonal rains have stopped, are generally considered the best months to visit Cambodia, but its delights abound year-round.
The writer was a guest of Orient-Express and Thai Airways.
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