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Some time after the
abandonment of the mighty city of Angkor in 1432
where the whole civilization fled south, a
little place called Siem Reap arose just a few
kilometers away, halfway to the shore of the vast Tonle
Sap Lake, known as the giver of life in water and fish to
the Khmer nation.
In the 1930's, the
writer Geoffrey Gorer went to Angkor and passed
through Siem Reap, noting 'a charming little
village, hardly touched by European influence,
built along a winding river, the native houses
are insignificant little structures in wood,
hidden behind the vegetation that grows so
lushly'. Soon after, Siem
Reap's days as hostelry to rich foreign visitors
began with the opening of the Splendid Grand
Hotel Des Ruines, built in the best of European
luxury hotel tradition.
 The mighty Angkor is
still as awe-inspiring as ever but to get there,
you would have to pass through Siem Reap first.
It is the gateway to the magnificent temples of
the ancient Khmers whereby at least one million
visitors visit this spectacular place on
interest annually. To visit the ruins, you
would need to stay in Siem Reap, and this small
town in Cambodia largely exists on the
burgeoning bonanza of serving tourists' needs:
accommodation, food, transportation, tour and
guide services, shopping and nightlife. It is a
big burden for a small town but guesthouses and
hotels continue to open almost monthly.
Photo: Angkor in
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cambodia has a sad
history of conflict and loss, making it one of
the world's poorest countries but there are no
shortage of tourist attractions in Siem Reap. With tourism, it
has managed to survive the economic trials. The
number of tourists here increases by the day and
word continues to spread of Cambodia's safe
surroundings. Any history enthusiast knows that
visiting the Angkor is a must, if but once in
your lifetime.
Siem Reap is
consequently on a rocket ride of development. At
the moment, this simple backwater town exists in
a pleasant duality of a bustling market town with
distinctly provincial characteristics that is
liberally sprinkled with posh hotels catering or
international tourism and in reaching its destiny
is to be a sophisticated resort city.
Psar Chas market is
a microcosm of this duality. The core is filled
with stalls offering fresh produce for the
locals' needs. The fishmongers are the most
striking, with their huge array of catch from
the bountiful lake. Opposite them, by contrast,
are stalls selling handicrafts, souvenirs and
holiday clothes.
Nearby, colonial era
shophouses are turning into chic bars, whilst
most of the citizenry are still pedaling by on
bicycles. There buildings are among the many
famous places of interest in Siem Reap that you
must visit. Many streets are still paved with
earth, but there is an elegant town centre
composed of the Royal Gardens with a backdrop of
the resplendent Grand Hotel and a riverside
walkway.
Siem Reap is a half
asleep town, slowly awakening to the flourishing
tune of the tourist trade that provides ample
job opportunities at hotels and restaurants
within the industry. It has also had the most
salutary effect of reviving traditional arts and
crafts like wood and stone carving, silk weaving
and rattan basketry, which now have a lucrative
market amongst foreign visitors.
Around Siem Reap,
however, the people's livelihoods still depend
on growing rice and fishing, which exists in an
intimate partnership. The Tonle Sap Lake expands
and contracts enormously with the rainy and dry
seasons. What are fishing grounds at one time
become paddy fields at another. Adapted to this
cycle, many people live in floating villages of
houseboats.
The lake port of
Siem Reap, at Phnom Krom, is also moveable. An
earthen causeway slithers far into the lake,
lined with floating structures that can rise and
fall, move out or move in, with the seasonal
fluctuations in the water levels. This includes
the port authority, the police station, the
school and the petrol station which are all
built on rafts.
A chaotic huddle,
the port deals with anything from sleek tourist
express boats to lumbering cattle barges to
simple fishing boats. Amidst all this, a
solitary hill stands out, with a naga (serpent)
stairway that snakes its way up to a new
Buddhist monastery and an ancient Khmer temple
on a hilltop. The view across the glistening
immensity of the Tonle Sap are spectacular.
In the daytime, Siem
Reap is a wholly Khmer town, with all the
tourists taking in the splendor of Angkor. By
night, with the Khmers in slumber, Siem Reap
becomes a tourist playground, enticing visitors
to a town that is certainly getting seduced by
the bright lights of modernity. Among the
interesting pastime at night are the cultural
performances at hotels. The Aspara (dance of the
royal court) echoes the exquisite aspara
carvings of heavenly maidens on the temples of
Angkor is most notable.
This is truly the
greatest comeback for Aspara as the classical
dance was almost destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.
Nothing so expresses the Khmer soul as perfectly
as this Aspara dance.
The popular
dancehalls too, provide great entertainment. The
circle dance, in particular, is quite charming.
It is a gentle, sinuous circling of couples
making angular hand gestures together. And the
locals will gladly teach you how. They welcome
with great warmth anyone who is willing to
partake in the little traditions they have left.
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