Angkor Wat is not the only ancient temple complex in Cambodia! It is certainly the biggest and best preserved/most restored, but there are others which receive significantly less visitors and are worth a look. Banteay Chhmar was one of these, especially with the community tourism scheme operating here.
Day 144: Moving on to Banteay Chhmar
So after the last post we’ve had a couple of people contact us and ask us whether we’re coming home early! It’s not totally ruled out but it’s not likely. Perhaps the last post sounded like we weren’t happy travelling? It’s so hard to explain, as we are of course having an amazing time; we just have a lot of time for reflection and are the sort of people who are always thinking ahead to the next five years. Aiden summed it up quite well when we asked him how he was finding it – ‘liking it, not loving it’. We’re not in any way sad, and we don’t wish we weren’t here and want to go home, we’re just not loving it maybe as much as we’d thought we would.
We’re also coming to the end of our prebooked flights and accommodation in a couple of months so we’re really just trying to think about what we want to get out of the travel to help us pick the right countries. The past 5 months have taught us a lot about what we get the most joy from and it’s often not the major sites. We need somewhere a bit different from SE Asia though so we’re turning our heads towards the Middle East rather than Indonesia…
Back to the actual journal…
This morning was a little bit of a mess, and probably not totally unusual here. We’d booked the bus on to Banteay Meanchey the night before, with a pick up from the hotel at around 7.30am. Breakfast came out pretty quick for SE Asia, only 15 minutes after we’d ordered it, but unfortunately at the same time as the bus arrived!
They announced that there were other people to pick up so we could walk over catch the bus from around 100m away. We presumed it was at another hotel and agreed. In the end we walked out of the hotel at around 7.40, after discovering that we were to be picked up from a crossroads somewhere, which he pointed to me on the map. It was more like a 300m walk but never mind.
We arrived at the point on the map, and it had a petrol station but not the ATM we were told to wait besides. Hmmm. Chris went back to double check and was assured it was the right place. So we waited.
It was gone 8 when a chap, who spoke excellent English, asked us what we were doing on this street corner. When we explained we were waiting for the bus he thought we were in the wrong place. There’s another crossroads in the opposite direction with an ATM which is a place buses often pick people up! Nooo! Worried our bus would have gone without us, we hot footed it back past our hotel and on to this next crossroads (whish was genuinely about 100m from the hotel). No sign of a waiting bus, but there was the ATM…
We were hailed by a tuktuk driver, who told us he had been sent to get us and that we were very late. We tried to communicate that it wasn’t our fault. I think he got it… Even so, when we arrived at the bus station a couple of minutes later, he asked for a couple of dollars for his time. It was meant to be a free transfer but he had been waiting a long time so we paid.
The bus was there, and the man there checked where we were headed. The bus was to Poipet, but we wanted to get off early. We waited as told, assuming our bags would go on last, and were then asked to sit down, this wasn’t our bus.
Sat inside at 8.15 with no bus inside we worried we’d missed it and would be waiting for the next one to go in a couple of hours. Then a minivan turned up, and a couple arrived by tuktuk at the same time. This was ours apparently! So why had we been picked up so early?
Then the minibus headed off down a street, and past our hotel! It then proceeded to pick others up outside their hotels so we had a full van. Finally we were on our way.
An hour later, we stopped for a break. Everyone had to get off the bus ‘because the driver is eating’. Which makes no sense – really they wanted us stood around their shop with snacks and cold drinks for 20 minutes so we’d buy things…
The drive itself was smooth, but the scenery was dull, totally flat. The only interesting point was that the rice paddies started off golden, but then we passed a load which were fresh and green, so some rice must be growing at this time of year. As expected, the fields looked a lot better in green.
Arriving in Banteay Meanchey an hour late, we were dropped at the roadside and pointed in the direction of the market where we could catch a ride to our actual destination, Banteay Chhmar. This was a 1.5km walk in the midday heat ☹.
About half way up, we were hailed from the other side of the road, and the man called out Banteay Chhmar. I guess he knows that a westerner walking up this road is only going to one place! We were curious so headed over. He offered us a taxi and then jumped on the phone to his brother, and then on his bike, leaving us standing in the courtyard of what turned out to be a hospital, or doctors surgery. Very different from our own, the inside was dark, but we could see some nurses and doctors sometimes appearing (the white coat seems to be universal around the world!), and there was a young boy who was sat outside with a drip in his arm, which his mum was holding above his head.
Our hailer arrived back, followed by his brother in an old saloon car. He offered us $15, which was lower than the $20-25 we’d expected to pay, so we hopped in. When Chris went to get in the passenger seat though, he was gestured towards the back seat. They wanted all four of us to cram in the back!? Wondering why his bag of dried bacon needed a whole seat, he moved off, but then stopped at the market we’d been heading to to pick up the extra person. Wait – people! Three more! The back door opened and a lady tried to get in, forcing some rejuggling of the kids seats from us. Three adults and 2 kids on the back seat, and 2 in the passenger seat – cosy!! Add the various shopping bags and it was quite a squeeze!
Luckily the car had air con, so we weren’t too hot or uncomfortable. Actually, it was quite fun being sandwiched in 😊.
We were dropped off at the head office of the Community Tourism office. Here in Banteay Chhmar, they have a system whereby the interested locals can get involved in tourism, by cooking meals, being guides or offering their houses as homestays. In theory, therefore, it’s possible to stay here and really contribute positively to a community. That’s what we’re hoping anyway..
The greeting was not one with a smile, but the man was helpful and spoke pretty good English so the check in process was smooth. They have some cooks that will feed you here at the centre, and we were able to get some lunch whilst we were looking at the brochure and choosing what we wanted to do for the next few days. It’s pretty reasonable really, $4 each for 2 dishes, rice, water and fruit. Not a bad price compared to Siam Reap. And it was good, with lots of vegetables 😊.
After a very leisurely lunch, it was time to check out our home for the next three nights. We had to walk, as we couldn’t all fit on his motorbike with the bags. It was only a couple of hundred metres to our spot though. Location wise it’s great, with the market across the road, a shop next door, Banteay Chhmar’s moat less than 100m from the door, and the CBT office a couple of hundred metres away. We heard later from other people who were staying on the other side of town so they had quite a walk in the dark to get back after dinner!
We were greeted warmly by our host, who seemed to speak pretty much no English. The man from the CBT showed us around the property and explained how it worked though, so it wasn’t an issue. Seemingly she’s a hairdresser as there’s a salon on the ground floor. It’s a basic house (as you would expect), with a lounge area which consisted of a hammock, two wooden chairs and a small tv. At one end the two scooters live (do they wheel they out across the ‘lounge’??!). Then there’s a kitchen and a bathroom off this (and another blocked room which we presume is their bedroom). The bathroom is basic, but does have a western toilet and loo roll, even if it doesn’t have a flush and looks to have no hot water for the shower (we’re so used to flushing with a bucket now it’s really not an issue. No hot water may be though – I hate cold showers!!). Upstairs there is a landing with three chairs, and three bedrooms, each small, with just enough room for a bed and some bags. There’s a mosquito net which is helpful as there’s no way we’re sleeping under covers in this heat, and the room is far from insect proof! There’s also a fan, which may just be my best friend these few days given how hot it is in these rooms in the day ☹.
After changing into our coolest clothes, we ventured out to explore the local market, which is as genuine as they come. We were surprised to see so many large buckets with fish (mainly catfish) in them – they’re alive to keep them fresh, but how long can they last in there? And who’s going to eat so many fish??
There were also rows and rows of vegetables, some we knew, others we didn’t, and bags of seasonings and rice.
Down the end there were various cuts of meat, some super fatty, and a whole cow leg with hoof to buy if you fancied it. The next stall had intestines and liver available. We passed. It’s not like we can cook it anyway!
Back on the main road, we decided to hide in one of the restaurants (if they can be called that – it’s a pretty basic set up!). The plan was to shill here under the fans with a cold drink, do some more learning and then eat dinner later. Initially they had no bananas as she said there had been none in the market that morning. Having just come from there and seen some, we said we’d get some, but she sent her daughter (?) off to pick some up so we could have a banana shake 😊. They closed up around 3.30 though as the owner was away so dinner fell on its face…
We moved back to the CBT place, where they have internet so the kids can do their online maths and Spanish learning. We met a couple of Aussie’s here who were freshly back from a lovely day spent with the locals and by the baray (lake). We’re planning to do something similar in two days so that was encouraging.
Later, we went back to the restaurant next to the first one to get dinner. We were not very hungry so we were just after some cheap rice. We sat at a table and the ladies came to take our order. With no menu in sight we tried to ask for friend noodles with vegetables and chicken fried rice. Her English only stretched to chicken and pig, so we shrugged and asked for one of each with no idea what we’d be getting! Luckily, it was a fried rice, one with chicken and one with pork, both with an egg and a fair amount of vegetables in. They were more tasty than fried rices often are, so we were pretty pleased. Two dishes with two drinks came to $5. Not bad really 😊
We wanted to get back to the homestay before it got too late, as the guidebook on their table said that they tend to go to bed at between 8 and 9 each night as they get up between 5 and 6. We didn’t want to keep them up!
The tooms had cooled off significantly thank goodness, so we could put the kids to bed and chill out in relative comfort. Fingers crossed it’s cool enough to sleep…
Day 145: Banteay Chhmar
Sleep was not great. To stop Chris kicking the mosquito net open with his large feet, I went on the door side, with the fan blowing in my face and got really cold, but Chris was shielded and hot! At 5am some loud chanting started close by, and then someone started hammering the building next door. No such thing as a lay in here!
Our plan for the day was to hire bikes with a guide and cycle around Banteay Chhmar and its surrounding temples for the morning, getting out before it got really hot. As the guide, bikes and breakfast are all organised through the CBT office, we just had to turn up there at 7.30am. Simple 😊.
We went for the rice for breakfast to make a change from egg and baguette. Our guide, Pel, turned up and introduced himself and then we were taken to the bike shop down the road to get some more bikes as the CBT does not have many, and they are only the right size for me and the locals.
Unfortunately for Aiden, they brought out two pink bikes, and Evie quickly grabbed the one with some black on it, leaving Aiden with the pink flowery one. He was not impressed and named his bike ‘we do not speak about it’. Haha. He did admit later though that it was a good bike except for the colour. We’ve had trouble finding bikes they can properly ride, so this was great.
Kitted up with appropriate sized bikes, we set off after Pel through the village, towards some of the satellite temples to the South. Initially on dirt roads through the houses, we were soon on trails. The first temple was tiny and had collapsed, so we only stopped briefly. The second one, Ta Prohm was much more impressive. Set on an island in a moat, it’s a proper jungle temple, surrounded by trees, and we had it totally to ourselves 😊.
The whole area here was built by the same architect as Bayon in the Angkor Wat complex, the one with the stone faces, so these faces are all over the temples here in Banteay Chhmar. Whilst many were looted in the 90’s and taken away to be sold in Thailand, some still remain.
Next, we biked over to the West side of the main site for a couple of other temples. There are or were two at each point, North, South, East and West, one further out than the other. At this point we were really glad we’d opted for the bikes; we were having a great time on the easy trails, and the sun was now out which would have made the tracks between the farmland seem hot and long.
When Evie’s pedal popped off as we left, and as hard to screw on, Pel simply wandered into a building site close by and asked for tools, they had none so he went three doors down, and started rummaging about in the tool box at the front of someone else’s kuyon (tractor cart). No one batted an eyelid as he tried numerous wrenches to tighten the bolt – finally one fit and we were on our way again.
The satellite temples are all fairly similar, although in different states of disrepair. Most had two towers with the faces, and there was an area with a Buddha inside. Looting in the 90’s caused damage to many, which is such a shame as they had stood for so long, and attempts to protect and re-stabilise them have come just a few years too late. The Buddha’s are now adorning houses in Thailand, but these temples still make a pleasant visit. The one on the Northern side was our favourite one as half of the tower had fallen and been replaced with scaffolding, but the other half had a clear face which looked out through clearings in the jungle.
Having done the satellite temples, we headed into the main one, Banteay Chhmar. This site is around 1km each side, with a moat and crumbling wall around it. Inside there’s a main terrace, which was undergoing restoration work when we were there, with locals carving new stone pieces in the same way as in the past.
One section of wall has been fully restored here by the gate. And tells some of the stories of this history here. Although the site was built around the same time as the Angkor Wat complexes, it sits a long way away from the rest of them, and not near any major cities. That is because the temple is believed to be dedicated to King Jayavarman VII’s son, who died here fighting the Cham armies. The restored wall tells the tales of the King’s many successes against the Cham, and something of life at court.
There’s a fire temple, in which fires were burned as part of the ceremonies. Holes to let the smoke out of the side can still be seen.
Whilst the Angkor Wat complexes show very few Buddhas as they were removed by King Jayavarman VIII, who was a Hindu, Banteay Chhmar was far enough away that the Buddhas were not destroyed. Whilst most have been looted, some still carvings still remain.
There are also statues here depicting a mix of Buddhist and Hindu symbols, as King Jayavarman VII believed both could exist together. To hear our guide speak, he was a very well respected King.
Much of the site had not received the funding that Angkor Wat has, so whilst some small sections of wall and the terrace are being restored with funding from donors; most the site is still as it was when it was re discovered, except for some propping up. This means that you have to use your imagination a little more, but it fells very real, and gives you some sense of exploring it. There are still huge trees growing throughout the piles of stones, many up and over like Ta Prohm.
There were once 56 towers here. Only 19 remain now, but in a small site they help to give an idea of how dense the towers would have been once.
Another restored section of the wall shows the Buddha with many arms, showing the Avalokiteshvara or Bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy. The many arms are to help everyone.
On the way back out, we passed an area where a whole hall has survived, and where the columns and roof are still intact.
Time for lunch. Pel left us to meet up later, and we rode up to a café at the NE corner of the moat. As usual here, no menu (or there was one on the wall all in Khmer…), no one else eating there, and a host who speaks very little English. She had no fruit for shakes today, so no cold drink for the kids, and no chicken. We asked for two egg fried rice and one pork, and ended up with three egg fried rice and the pork. Ah well, we were hungry anyway so ate it up – it was good, and pretty cheap 😊. Having seen an ice cream seller in the main temple, we headed back there to get an ice cream for the kids and wander the temple without the guide for a bit.
The ice cream man was gone though, possibly he’d only been there for the bus load of people who had turned up as we’d left?
After wandering the temple again, we tried most the eating places in town to try to get some fruit shakes for the kids with no luck. No-one had fruit today, even the people we’d been to the day before.
It was time to meet up with Pel again, so we headed back to the CBT. Pel took pity on our sweaty kids, and took us further North, back to our lunchtime restaurant, and then one a few hundred metres away, where we finally got some delicious mushed fruit and ice. Delicious!
Refreshed, we got on the bikes to continue our tour up through the village to the Baray. On the way through the village we stopped at a group of women who loved the kids and wanted to touch them. One got a little overzealous and grabbed Aiden’s genitals and gave them a good shake. We moved on quickly as he was not impressed.
The Baray is not far North of the town, although at this time of year there’s barely any water there. Instead, the 800m wooden bridge takes you over rice fields, which had herds of buffalo on them.
In the centre of the Baray is an island with another temple on. Here we met some girls who loved Evie and were shocked to find out she’s only 9. She was taller than them even though they were 14 and 17!! Here’s a picture of one taking a selfie with Evie, whilst their friend takes a photo of them.
After a quick cycle back to the CBT, we arrived to find that another group were being show rice flattening, and were invited to watch too. Normally this is done for a festival in November, in which they determine whether there will be much rain the following year. We got to see them cook the husked rice until it popped like popcorn, then flatten it with big sticks in a wooden pot. We got to have a go, but I couldn’t seem to hit it hard and right in the middle, so I sent most of it shooting out the pot and onto the floor – oops!
After flattening, it’s tossed on a large, flat bamboo basket to remove the lighter husk. Mixed with young coconut banana and sugar it was pretty nice 😊. Chewy like an oat bar.
After this unexpected display, we returned the bikes and then chilled for a bit before heading back to the temple again for dinner. Whilst it wasn’t exactly within the ruins, but rather in the car park next to the terrace, it was lit with fire in the darkness, so we wouldn’t have seen much anyway. We hadn’t expected some local musicians to turn up, including our guide Pael! They serenaded us whilst we ate, with only one other table there.
Back home for a shower using a pot and cold water as the homestay shower is broken at the moment (there’s no hot water anyway), before bed.
All in all a pretty great day, very interesting and really summing up the reasons we’d wanted to travel in the first place. Is it better than Siam Reap? Not on an individual temple basis, but yes for the atmosphere and the feeling of discovering something previously unseen, and for really getting immersed in local culture.
Day 146: Living like a local
Sleep was better last night after rejigging the mosquito net so we could change sides. We were still woken up by chanting at around 5am though…
Breakfast was at the CBT office again, where we met our guide for the day. It was Sokuon Kit, the man who had greeted us on arrival. Once we’d finished eating, we boarded the Kuyon, the only other method of transport here other than bikes.
These things are not fast, so we trundled along the road to a village, one of the oldest in the area. The route took us through land dominated by rice fields and cassava. We’d seen cassava before, with the stems stacked after the roots have been dug up. The roots are collected, chopped up, and laid out in the sun for days on large sheets to dry. Once dried, they are sold to a local wholesaler for shipping to Thailand. The Thai people grind cassava as flour to make bread or deserts. It’s much more profitable than rice and doesn’t require as much water.
Our guide spotted a snake in a tree so we stopped for a look 😊
At the village, we walked down the road, with Sokuon explaining what the locals were doing. We chatted to a few, with Sokuon as our translator. Mostly they were interested in the kids, not many western families come here apparently. One lady asked if Evie dyed her hair, she didn’t seem to believe it could be a natural colour!
As we wandered, we saw women shelling nuts, making rice wine using a home built distiller, and making charcoal.
We’d seen the cassava chips being dried all over Cambodia, and got a chance to help spread them out – Aiden loved shovelling it around with the rake, and we soon had a large audience who thought this was delightful, squealing with delight whenever he started another pile! I was not so delighted, as I was following and making sure he’d spread it evenly. It was hot work in the sun! We had a photo with them afterwards.
There were also large mud ovens in which wood was being burned for days to make charcoal for use in home kitchen fires, fish traps and vegetable gardens. Boys were playing with marbles outside their home, and a few others were studying English and Maths with a private tutor.
But not everyone here has a job, and many of them are not aware of how they can use their land better in the months when rice is not grown. There were children here who live with their grandparents as their parents are in Thailand trying to earn some money. Sometimes this works, as rates of pay are often over twice as great as in Cambodia. They can earn enough to build a nice house here and buy a tractor so they have a better future. Unfortunately, there are people who con them though, and take them to Thailand on the promise of a job and protection from the visa police in exchange for some money. Then they are given work, but not paid for months. Their ‘helpers’ then report them to the police and they are thrown in jail for a couple of months before being deported with nothing. The ‘helpers’ get the cash and free labour.
He also talked about the hatred between Vietnam and the Khmer/Cambodian people. The Khmer believe that the Vietnamese are always trying to take Cambodia as their land. Supposedly, after the French left and the countries were given their freedom, the boundary between Cambodia and Vietnam was to be determined by a vote for each province. On the voting days, whilst the Khmer people were in the fields, Vietnamese pretended to be house owners. This was allowed by the French as they were ‘friends’ with the Vietnamese after the Vietnamese Queen gave them many gifts. They voted for Vietnam on the Khmer people’s behalf, and 21 provinces of predominantly Khmer people became part of Vietnam. The Khmer people living here were then treated as second rate citizens. There’s a lot of bitterness and mistrust here, even in a Khmer village on the other side of Cambodia. We have no idea what the truth is to this, but it’s what he’s been raised to believe.
As we were about to leave, we passed a lady who was preparing some sort of deep fried banana. Delicious 😊.
After another short ride in the Kuyon, we arrived at the reservoir area. This was built during the Pol Pot regime for the rice fields, and had then fallen into disrepair, but the current government has fixed it and built a sheltered area for chilling out, and a boat dock with pedalos for the locals to run and enjoy.
It wasn’t the peaceful picnic place we were expecting on the edge of the lake, but it was very interesting watching the local people hanging around on a Saturday. Groups of youths on mopeds, families picnicking, everyone interested in this white family in their midst. We feel like celebrities again today! A group of girls looked up on Google how to ask for a photo with Evie and say that she was beautiful. We could hear them practicing amongst themselves which was sweet.
Initially when we arrived, we walked through the little market there, with vendors selling snacks. It’s totally set up for locals so there were various local delicacies, including rat and beetles. I’d have walked on by, but Evie has been really keen to eat an insect so we stopped.
I was eying up the little ones, but she grabbed a beast which was a good 2 inches long!
Sokuon showed us how to peel off the wing case and wings and it was ready to eat. Evie was straight in, snapped it in half like she was shown and took a great bite out of the abdomen. Eew! She announced that it tasted like chicken! Aiden munched some too, particularly enjoying the crunchy legs. The biggest issue they had with it was that they were cooked in chilli, so the outside was very spicy!
As everyone else had had some I had to try. We’re always asking the kids how they can know they don’t like something if they haven’t tried it. Now that was being thrown back in my face! The inside looked like small green bubbles, not at all what I’d expected! Still, it actually tasted ok although I found the carapace a bit hard to chew up – too tough! Not half as bad as I’d expected though.
Evie was not done, and requested one of the smaller shiny black ones. Again, the wings and wing covers were removed, and a spike which runs down its front. Then she popped it in whole without a moment’s hesitation. Yum! She said, crunching it up with a smile on her face! We all joined in again, chomping on our whole bug. As someone who used to be a ridiculously fussy eater, with a real thing about mixing textures, eating a bug is a big thing for me. I did it though, in whole. It really wasn’t bad!
After our little snack, we settled in the shady area whilst our picnic team set up some hammocks for us. Lunch was not as good as the previous days, a tomato and mushroom soup and some greens with pork. Fine though, and at least it’s local, healthy food 😊.
Time for some hammock chilling. The kids were desperate to go on the pedalos. At $1.25 for an unlimited time it was very reasonable! They pedalled, jumped in and swam and generally messed around for over an hour. Happy kids.
At 4pm we boarded the boat to take us out for a cruise on the lake. As we cast off, the driver realised he’d left the oar on shore and had to call to some locals to chuck it over! We were waved off by the locals.
The engine was loud as it’s a longboat, but we only went to the other side of the island, where they cut the engine and offered us some fishing rods. The kids and Chris were happy to try their hand at fishing again whilst I watched the birds on the wetlands.
They caught a couple of tiddlers, but they would do for eating apparently… I think we were catching the boat driver’s dinner!
We moved a couple of times, and enjoyed the peace and quiet on the still water as the sun slipped below the horizon, then we stayed near some trees in the reservoir where the egrets come to roost.
Soon they were circling in ever growing flocks before landing and covering the trees. Suddenly one would spook, and they’d all lift off the tree to take a turn around before landing again.
We didn’t have time to watch them settle as the light was fading. We headed for shore, re-boarded the kuyon for the bouncy ride back to the CBT, where we ate dinner before heading back to the homestay to pack before bed – we’ll be up early in the morning…
Definitely our favourite day in Cambodia so far, we have loved Banteay Chhmar, even if the bathroom was the worst we’ve had by far! Worth it! So excited to have a proper shower in what will seem like total luxury in Phnom Penh tomorrow night though!
Tomorrow we head to the capital where we’ll be reunited with Chris’s parents after 5 months as they’re flying out to join us! The kids area so excited – more excited than for Christmas! We hope they enjoy Phnom Penh. Follow us there, or click here to go back to our time exploring the temples of Siem Reap…