Angkor Thom, Cambodia
Join me, if you will, on a tour of the ancient temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park. To get a true feel of what it’s like, it’s important to take the following steps:
• Dress modestly (in deference to the religion) in clothing that also will protect you from the sun. That means a long-sleeved cotton shirt, a wide-brimmed hat, pants (or at least shorts that end below the knees), and sturdy shoes for lots of walking and climbing.
• After you’re wearing all that, jump into a hot shower. Make sure you’re soaked.
• Find a sauna and stay in it for a few hours, resoaking regularly whenever your clothes begin to dry.
• Repeat for four days.
I have lived in south Texas, where high 90s can start in March and continue into November. I have lived in the California desert, where summer days can hit 120 degrees. But I have never, EVER been as hot as I was in Cambodia in early May. Just going out in the early morning and walking slowly, doing everything possible to avoid exertion, still guaranteed that I would be sweat-soaked within a few minutes — and I mean wring-out-my-shirt-regularly soaked. My pants didn’t fare much better. At the end of the day, after I placed them on the hotel balcony for a little while to dry, I found salt rings left behind well below the knees. Our tour guides kept cold towels and water in a cooler for use after we visited each temple, but we still teetered dangerously close to heat exhaustion after a few full-day excursions. Still, we wouldn’t have traded the experience. Each temple was fascinating enough to push through the sopping discomfort.
But I digress, I guess. We marveled at Angkor Thom on the second day of our visit to the Angkor Archaeological Park. The walled city, built for King Jayavarman VII in the 12th and 13th centuries, was the Khmer Empire’s last capital. Even though Angkor Wat is the main draw in this area, we had read that many people were actually more impressed with the architecture, carvings, and atmosphere in this complex. Even our guide proclaimed that the Bayon temple at the center of the complex is his favorite place to visit. And after seeing it for ourselves, we had to agree.
Our guide and driver were great, and we appreciated the occasional blast of air-conditioning and cold drinks in the car. But on the last day, early in the morning, I climbed into the back of a tuk-tuk for one final visit to the big three: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm. Even in the open air, the ride from the hotel in Siem Reap was fast enough to stir a breeze that kept the sweat at bay for a while. I was on a tight schedule, since a tour of temples farther afield was on the agenda for later in the day. Even though I had to settle for quick pass-throughs of the temples in the two-hour window that I allotted myself, there was still something magical about being there pretty much alone at these ancient sites. It was still far too early for the small tour buses to bring in the sweaty masses. The tuk-tuk driver got me back in town just as the day started to heat up and the roads of Siem Reap filled with the daily crush of bicycles, motorbikes, and trucks.