it had to be siem reap.
home to the angkor wat complex, many have blogged about their stories of finding peace and solitude in this area. while i found the structures very interesting, my fascination has always been with those giant trees - they seem so other-wordly!
but since i'm a novice to the whole going solo situation, i planned a mere weekender trip. i thought that this should be enough to get started.
i arrived on evening of friday, and i booked this inn which is really close by pub street - so that food and drinks would be accessible. it was drizzling for a while, but i did find a spot in a restaurant and had some khmer food, local beer and a doze of rugby. i walked around the night markets shortly after, and found that foot spa and other services are big around here and so cheap too!
it was there that i met jeanette from san francisco, who was asked about her nationality and she said american. this clearly puzzled the masseuse because she has chinky eyes, black hair and look every bit korean. i told her that she was confusing the lady. she laughed and in a matter of minutes we were heading to the nearest bar.
we spoke about a lot of things and laughed a lot, and i was very interested about her upcoming adventure to laos to stay in the depths of the jungle and mingle with gibbons. to get there, they will have to cross via a zipline, and walk for an hour through a leech-infested swamp. it sounded like something i would wanna sign up for, but regret when i get there. haha.
we parted ways before midnight and i then had four hours of rest left before THE angkor wat day trip on saturday. we hugged, and i sincerely hoped to see her again the next day or before i leave.
four hours of rest did not really come by, primarily because my room was invaded by mozzies and they had a bloodfest. i had to sleep with the lights on and put on sleep mask, but it did little to save me.
and then, as if my misery wasn't enough, i headed out to look for my tuctuc driver but the rain - and some more mozzies - greeted me. i was considering postponing the trip to maybe some time mid-morning, but i was told many times to make sure that i come there early. well, it was really to catch the sunrise, but it was imminent that no sunshine will be witnessed that day.
but i set my doubts aside and braved the wetness and headed to the complex. 'breaking dawn' comes to mind as i arrived and witnessed the struggle of darkness and light; of the blue sky just peeking from the heavy clouds; and me struggling to enjoy the scenery despite my light head. even though there were a bunch of inconveniences, i actually found being at the angkor wat temple to be, yes, peaceful. i sat there in one of the structures, waiting for the light to take over, and observed. i noticed this old couple sitting there holding hands. i noticed the group of friends backpacking from australia, sitting quietly as if respecting the dusk. i saw a man setting up his tripod, with no clue that he was the subject of my photography. there were a lot of people, and yet it was quite solemn, and that was what i loved about that moment. it reminded me of the angels at the beach, waiting for the sunrise, in the movie city of angels. i understood then.
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| romance is so alive, so early in the morning |
the rest of the day picked up as the clouds disappeared and the sun blasted out its glorious heatwaves. my mistake though was i forgot to bring my sunscreen because i assumed it would rain all day. i came across a few interesting spots like angkor tom, banteay prei, prasat kravan and others until i was exhausted. in one of the temples, i found the perfect window, and i sat there and slept. i woke up to the sound of shutters clicking. with me blocking the sunlight coming through the temple, i guess i was the perfect subject.
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| the happy faces of bayon |
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| terrace of the lepper king |
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| top view |
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| wonderful hall way |
my anxiety was immediately lost when we arrived at my most awaited spot in the complex, at the ta prohm. i sat there for a very long time, ecstatic about this great ancient marvel in front of me. hundreds of years old fig and cotton trees sprouting from the ruins of the old temple - my eyes couldn't get enough of it. i had to look and observe every path of the roots strangling those stones and imagine, how they could have grown so big and so old. these trees are the ultimate survivors of life.
this site is extremely popular to tourists so you can imagine that this was happening without the luxury of solitude. there were many people, and it was very hot at this noon time, but they all diffuse like bees buzzing while i zero in on the much-loved trees. a thing only such a beauty can do to me.
i went back to the hotel by mid-afternoon, tired and hungry. the power was out when i went up, hence no light and a/c in my room - so i took a shower in the darkness followed by a nap with the windows open, inviting my friendly mozzies. i slept nonetheless and i can imagine they had a great time. haha. the night was spent the same way, but no jeanette this time - back to the pub street to eat, drink, ponder and wander. i left the next day feeling victorious of my first solo adventure.
i must say this trip wasn't very exciting - i played it very safe so it wasn't much to rave about - but nonetheless it was interesting and i felt good having done it. it somewhat put me out of my comfort zone and i became more appreciative of things and people around, and mindful of situations where otherwise i would not be very much in control of.
so there. my very first solo travel story. would i do it again? definitely maybe ;)
