Fine blend of history, nature and city life

Anil Thakore reports on an enjoyable week-long excursion to the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the picturesque Ha Long Bay and Hanoi city in Vietnam

During the past three decades since foreign exchange purchase rules and regulations were liberalised and Indians started travelling abroad with vengeance, the charm of Western countries — the hitherto popular destinations of outbound Indian tourists — has worn off. Staggering prices and poor quality service often mixed with overt and covert racism have reduced the allure of European countries, if not America which is too far away for short vacations. Therefore when we planned a foreign sojourn, we chose a ten-day expedition covering Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.

The expedition began with a six-hour midnight flight by Thai Airways from Bengaluru via Bangkok to Siem Reap — the gateway for tourists to Angkor Wat. Landing an hour behind schedule at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, we rushed to catch the connecting flight to Siem Reap just about making it to the plane. But our baggage arrived 24 hours later!

Siem Reap (pop.245,000), a town about which we knew nothing, was a revelation. Immigration formalities done, we walked out of its ultra-modern new airport sans check-in baggage — thanks to our Thai Airways flight which erroneously offloaded luggage of all Siem Reap bound passengers in Bangkok — into a luxury coach with tuneful Khmer music playing on its public address system. We instantly hit a four-lane highway and sped past farmlands and paddy fields to reach this well-laid out town. Apart from wide roads and neat housing colonies, several shut-down luxury hotels (crippled by the Covid pandemic) also met the eye in Siem Reap, but most astoundingly, no litter!

The hospitality at the eco-friendly Golden Temple Boutique Hotel was overwhelming and helped to soothe our frayed nerves over the baggage mishap. The rooms are large and well-appointed. Lunch comprised freshly prepared Amok (steamed coconut fish with rice served on banana leaf), herbal juices and malted beer. (We had to be cautious though about our protein choices as snails and insects were also on offer.)

After a satisfying meal, we soaked in the luxury of an afternoon nap followed by an expert massage. Nightlife in this sleepy little-known town was a revelation. Pub Street thrives on tourists, with all forms of entertainment, food and drink on offer. Dance bars, karaoke bars, ice cream and, massage parlours, apparel and curio shops — Siem Reap has them all! Well past midnight, Pub Street is alive and swarming with tourists from around the world.

Restaurants abound in Siem Reap. With fresh vegetables and fruits easily available, choosing to go vegetarian in this resort town is a very doable option. Most veggies and fruits that we consume in India are available in Cambodia. We sampled restaurants offering French, Thai, British, American, Chinese and native Khmer cuisines. All of them were excellent.

Angkor Wat
Set within Angkor Archaeological Park that covers several thousand acres of flat plain in Cambodia is the temple complex of Angkor Wat — the world’s largest religious site. There are literally hundreds of temples within the Angkor Archaeological Park, all built during the Khmer Hindu period (9th-14th centuries).

Our first stop was the legendary Angkor Wat (or ‘City Temple’, the word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit nagara or ‘city’). Built in the 12th century by the Khmer King Suryavarman II, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, this is the world’s largest shrine and officially recognised as the 8th Wonder of the World surpassing Italy’s Pompeii. It is Cambodia’s greatest tourist attraction, a national symbol highlighted at the centre of Cambodia’s red-and-white striped flag.

Adorned with an incredible array of carvings, sculptures and images of devatas, apsaras and scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata on its walls, this masterpiece is astounding in its artistry and magnitude. Two full days and strong legs are required to absorb the magnificence of this temple complex.

The Khmer empire was established in the 9th century when Jayavarman II declared himself king in 802 AD at Phnom (mount) Kulen and two temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu were built, ruins of which are still visible. The empire shifted its capital several times between the 9th and 12th centuries. The wealth of the Angkor period is directly linked to its rich agricultural foundation, and its superbly engineered irrigation systems which enabled three crops of paddy harvesting possible per year. During this period, the Khmer Empire was one of the largest and greatest civilisations in human history.

This kingdom stretched across the whole of modern-day Southeast Asia and was one of the world’s major trade centres. The Silk Route brought traders from India and with them Hinduism in the 9th century, which King Indravaraman II adopted as the national religion. Architectural similarities and the commonality of Hinduism and Buddhism suggests that there could have been a strong connection between the civilization centred around Hampi beginning with the Chalukyas (5th-6th century) to the Vijayanagara empire (13th-16th century).

The Angkor Wat temple, originally dedicated to Lord Vishnu, was built during the reign of King Suryavaraman II in the early 12th century. In the reign of King Jayavarman VII (1181), Mahayana Buddhism was adopted as the national religion and the temple was embellished with magnificent Buddhist statues and carvings. During his reign, King Jayavaraman II built the capital city of Angkor Thom, which remained the seat of the Khmer Empire for four centuries until it was abandoned in 1431 after conquest by Thai King Ayuthayya in 1352.

Historians suggest the decline of the Angkor civilisation began in the 13th century with the national religion changing from Mahayana Buddhism to Theravada Buddhism (which preached the abandonment of all things material in pursuit of personal enlightenment). The people of Angkor no longer maintained the irrigation systems, the reservoirs and culverts became silted and unusable, crop production fell precipitously, the economy began to crumble and the country became vulnerable to invaders. Moreover the dense forests of the Dangrek Mountains enveloped these magnificent structures for close to 200 years, hidden from view until a French botanist stumbled upon them in 1860.

Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon Temple, and the many magnificent temples and other structures around them symbolize the magnificence of the Khmer Empire. Much of their carvings and artefacts were stolen, but some have been saved and preserved in the ultra-modern Angkor National Museum in Siem Reap. A visit to this museum was another highlight of this trip and witnessing the Apsara dance performance followed by a candle-lit dinner was an additional bonus.

To do justice to the magnificent Angkor Wat ruins one needs a minimum of five days (against our two) to fully absorb the magnificence of the Khmer Empire. But somewhat footsore and weary, we took off for Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam, and the picturesque Ha Long Bay to rest and recuperate.

Hanoi & Ha Long Bay
Awaiting us at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International airport was a luxury coach which took us to The Peridot Grand ($130 per night), a charming old worlde hotel with French influences. After a restful night in very comfortable rooms, and an early morning breakfast, we headed for Ha Long Bay. The two-hour drive to the bay cut across miles and miles of paddy fields, banana and fruit plantations. Green landscapes were interspersed with huge housing complexes, sprawling villas and industrial estates.
Ha Long (“descending dragon”) Bay is an extraordinary agglomeration of hundreds of “islands” (limestone karsts) that emerged from the emerald green ocean over 500 million years ago. After the over-exertion of Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, a relaxing and luxurious two-night cruise ($350 per person) on the emerald waters of Ha Long Bay was what the doctor would have ordered. Warmly welcomed aboard our cruise liner Aqua of the Seas, we were served welcome drinks followed by a variety of Vietnamese cuisine, continental choices, and a wide spread of desserts. I dived into Vietnamese cuisine and found the fare so agreeable I stuck with it throughout our trip.

Cruising around the uniquely shaped and carved limestone rocks (karsts), kayaking in tranquil lagoons, swimming in waters that were still quite cold ( winter was not over yet) and off-shore visits to caves replete with stalactites and stalagmites, a model village tour where I experienced the thrill of a fish pedicure and evening sessions of music, dance and karaoke after dinner were some activities our cruise captain “Jackie Chan” had charted out for us. At the crack of dawn, we even had Tai Chi lessons! Never a dull moment.

The three-nights cruise alas, ended much too soon, and we returned to Hanoi city (pop.5.4 million) and the comfort of the Peridot Grand. Living in the heart of this thriving and bustling city provided a true picture of the life and activities of the Vietnamese people.

Hanoi is a lot like Mumbai. There was hustle and bustle all around with hundreds of restaurants, roadside eateries, cafés. One lane has a railway track on which trains actually run, with citizens calmly dining on either side of the tracks undisturbed by the whizzing trains!

Beauty is also big business. Parlours and boutiques abound, exquisite textiles, costumery, arts and crafts are on display on every street making the city a shoppers’ paradise. Hanoi is a thriving metropolis, uniquely confident about its own culture and traditions. Although Vietnam is officially communist, there’s no evidence of food and goods shortages and pervasive drabness of communist countries.

The next day a tour on a hop-on-hop-off bus round and across the city offered glimpses into the world’s fastest growing economy. A whirlwind trip through the architectural beauties of the French Quarter, a sighting of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, a glance at the Hoa Lo Prison, and a whizz through the Xuan Market and Hoan Kiem lake.

Hoan Kiem lake, in the heart of the city centre, was buzzing with couples in wedding attire, frantically being photographed along the lake front, on the steps of the Opera House, and the General Post Office surrounded by shopping malls, hotels, parlours and entertainment arenas. The Tran Quoc Pagoda, constructed within the Hoan Kiem lake, offers a peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the lake area. It is dedicated to the Buddhist ancestry of the nation and is surrounded by beautiful gardens and meditation sites.

The Temple of Literature showcases a variety of bonsai. Then to the Sofitel Metropole Hotel in the French quarter where high fashion is prominently displayed — a cultural acceptance of western influence. Regretfully, we were too exhausted to watch the water puppet theatre, another popular attraction in Hanoi.

The comfort of the hotel lured us back after a tiring all-day outing. The multi-cuisine food at the hotel was excellent as was dining out in nearby restaurants. Hanoi is a foodies’ paradise!

Overall the ten-day expedition was excellent, rejuvenating and refreshing, providing a fine blend of history, nature and city life.