Category: 2001 after trip to Angkor Wat

While Carolyn was willing to sacrifice me in Siem Reap, she did join me in Bangkok after I survived for an anniversary tour, our 35^th, from Bangkok to Singapore.  The object was to swathe ourselves in luxury hotels, and learn more about these fascinating countries.

Our self-indulgence started in Bangkok at one of the premier hotels.  I believe it was the Oriental, whose 150 years of celebrity attraction now included Fred and Carolyn Hoyt.  Our trip included the highlights of Bangkok, especially (for me) Ayudhya and its splendid ruins.

We boarded a train that took us down Thailand, to Hua Hin, where we spent a night at the “Railway Hotel,” another on the “must stops” on the tour of the peninsula.

At the border, we were greeted by a driver, who would show us the superhighways and byways of Malaysia, a country whose mix of progressive Islam and Chinese cultures made it one of the most enjoyable discoveries for me of Southeast Asia.  It was a great start that our first stop was in Pulau Penang, one of the cities that I’d “discovered” with David as  primarily Chinese (the Straits Settlements) dominant.  The area housed one of the extensive business hubs on the country, and I would soon get to visit Dell and other operations attracted by low wages, a favorable business environment, and an educated work force.

Not coincidentally, our arrival coincided with the reopening of the refurbished Sarkie Brothers Hotel, the Eastern and Oriental, on the Gulf of Thailand.  I could sit there dreamily considering retiring to a bungalow facing the Gulf with my xiao lao po.

The trip took us via superhighway to one of the inland cities, I think Ipoh, a city whose charm (i.e., history and appearance) resembles George Town (Penang).  Small shops, Chinese influence.

The trip continued through Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, with a visit I remember to a rubber plantation, where our Hindu guide’s grandfather had worked as a cook.   Typical British mix of Chinese, Malay and Indian.  He also told us when he married a Malay, he had to raise his children as Muslim.

The crown jewel in this nostalgia trip to the past, of course, was an overnight or two at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

Imitating the rich and famous is certainly fun, but I’ll get Carolyn to Siem Reap in the future!

Tue, Jul 10, 2001, 3:53 PM

When “they” left (I paid their departure tax and made sure they left, along with my colleague Ruth Ann), I took a small plane to Siem Reap (which means Siam destroyed–that whole area, my son pointed out, is the Balkans of Asia. Whoever has power destroys those who don’t, until those who don’t, do, and they return the favor), for a visit to Angkor Wat.

I was overwhelmed.

I now understand Bangkok (and much of the rest of South and Southeast Asia), because to be a ruler there means being like the Khmer empire (just as being an emperor in East Asia means temple of Heaven, Confucius, and a writing system that has no relevance to your pronunciation!).

Three days of highlights:

1) The Grand Hotel d’Angkor (after “they” left, I got used to the wondrously expensive restored hotels that I would have stayed in had I been the rich imperialist I crave being!). The Raffles chain got ahold of it and put it back in splendor. In a poverty stricken country, $300 a night is luxurious! Because I was in the jungle (at least temperature wise), my guide and driver dropped me at the hotel from 11-2. I could
lounge in the pool (I did, reading a book on Angkor) (only one day making the mistake of standing talking with someone after a swim; sunburn city), take a sauna (only slightly hotter than the outside, but still a treat), or get a massage (a real one!). At 2 they’d pick me up and take me to some spectacular place I’d never been before. And in the evening, the usual Ramayana dancing so typical of the Khmer/Hindu influenced regions.

Question: how can a poor country like Cambodia stage events so much nicer than India. I digress! And an occasional Havana.

Even better, one morning (6 am) they had a Buddhist monk teach meditation. I can still remember him (in translation) telling me to think only of the air (breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth). It helps whenever I get tense. And believe me, I didn’t realize how tense this place makes me until I got back!

Not until the last day did I realize how close the hotel was to the old City. Still lots of old colonial architecture, some bars, and many places selling the same trinkets. Food paled compared to the Rex, but Viet Nam was THE French colony in Asia. Cambodia, I think, was a protectorate.

2) The temples were overwhelming. Four in particular. Angkor Wat is awesome in size, setting, and splendor (only the Gods had stone buildings, so only the Godlike places are left). The pictures don’t do it justice, and I was awed by the sculptures on the walls, which had the story of Good Versus Evil (Ramayana again) and the monkey king, and the history of the regime. The second is Bayon, built by Jayavarman VII (easy for me to say!), with the haunting four heads that are one of the most well-known pictures of Angkor. I finally found a sculpture (typical of Cambodia, I found it in a workshop for the homeless because of minefields!) that captured it (22 pounds; it cost 2x as much to ship as to purchase). Third was the one that they left jungle-like. The jungle always wins, given enough time! Finally, Banteay Srei, which has the most marvelous sculptures (or did! We came to one place and my guide said, “There was a head on that statue last week.” One thing I would have done differently was to spend a day in Phnom Penh at the National museum. Some of the statues are there, replaced with virtually similar reproductions.

3) Two and a half days were probably enough. The area is huge. It must have been a wondrous city in its heyday. Cambodia, today, though, is a mess. As I mentioned, we went to three or four places that had been mine fielded (if that’s a word). Unlike Laos, they did much of it to themselves (and still are doing some damage; a bomb blew up last week in Phnom Penh). But it was a lot safer than Carolyn thought it would be when she was willing to sacrifice me…..now to convince her to come with me.

4) I took seven rolls of film with the kids–and eight rolls in three days at Angkor!