At 8:30 a.m., we bade a fond, even tearful, farewell to Jahan and her magnificent crew, led by the competent Captain Quy as well as the hospitality staff, under the superb General Manager Win Min. On our five-hour bus ride to Siem Reap, we passed a rapidly growing number of rubber plantations, which are becoming a major element in the economy of Kampong Cham province. It has been found that natural rubber, the product of these plantations, has once again become competitive, due to the increased cost of petroleum products and, more importantly, because the natural product is better for certain applications. Our Trails of Indochina guides joined us for this last leg of our Mekong journey, which will culminate in our visit to the Angkor temples.
Sometime after noon, we arrived at the luxurious La Résidence d’Angkor, where we were warmly welcomed and provided an excellent buffet lunch before being assigned to our boutique accommodations. This luxury “boutique” hotel is just ten years old and is a most congenial base for our explorations over the next couple of days.
Our first introduction to the classic Angkor ruins was Ta Prohm, a monastery built by the Buddhist King Jayavarman VII and dedicated to his mother. We learned that, after his time, it was dedicated by his Hindu successors to the god Brahma. The four heads of Buddha (or Brahma) that adorn the entrances to all of Jayavarman’s many religious structures, welcomed us — in this case, they had been uncovered fairly recently by the removal of trees that had covered them for centuries. Indeed, amid the clearing of forest growth and reconstruction that has taken place over the previous 100 and more years, Ta Prohm remains unique because of the interdependence of the sandstone and laterite that went into its construction and the variety of large and invasive trees and vines that literally hold it together. It is a marvel, richly engraved with imagery that is easily identified with either Hinduism or Buddhism; every corner unveils new images and new mysteries. This is a wonderful way to begin our all-too-brief adventure among the temples of Angkor.
We regrouped in the evening to enjoy a “barbecue” in the lovely gardens of our hotel, overlooking the pool. We retired early in anticipation of a 5 a.m. departure on the morrow to visit the centerpiece of the Angkor temples, the fabled Angkor Wat.
