It had been more than a year since I had a break from work. So I badly needed this trip to Neora valley and Chilapata wildlife sanctuary. This was again through India Terrain Nature Club (My spiti valley trip which I have blogged about in an earlier post was through them as well). This time it was a group of five - two of us from Bangalore and three more joining us at Calcutta.
Neora valley is at the border of Sikkim and West Bengal. And Chilapata is about 4 hour drive from Neora.
On 16th Feb, I flew into Calcutta. An overnight train journey to New Jalpaiguri and then a 3 hour drive brought us to the Neora Valley Jungle Camp. Situated on a mountain top, the cottages open out to a beautiful view of the valley. On a clear day, you are treated to a view of the majestic Kanchenjunga at a distance. The cottages were terrific and the food was delicious (even for somebody like me who is not really a foodie, I really enjoyed the food). We spent the next two days birding. Among others, we spotted yuhinas, forktails, thrushes but the best was spotting the yellow throated fulvetta and the black eagle.
On the 20th, we drove to Chilapata wildlife sanctuary. The resort here was a disappointment, it was not well managed and after the wonderful experience at Neora, this resort seemed like an afterthought. Be that as it may, what was more concerning was the wildlife sanctuary itself. During the safaris into the forest, I hardly saw any ungulates except for a lone gaur. Not one deer or sambhar were to be found. The forests here are dense and the habitat looks perfect for tigers but none exist. Naturally, since the prey base is so perilously low, it can barely sustain the few leopards that roam here. Rampant poaching has had a tragic toll on this place.
But the stay had its bright spots too. Apart from sighting a herd of elephants with calves, we were able spot an Oriental Hobby which is a rare sight. We even managed to get a glimpse of a solitary Indian Rhino.
Two days in Chilapata and now back to civilization and work. New friends made, new experiences lived and new memories to cherish. All in all, a good trip.
Showing posts with label Travelogue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travelogue. Show all posts
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Saturday, October 16, 2010
A trip to Spiti
A couple of months ago I got a mail from IT Nature Club (it’s India Terrain and not Info Tech) about a trip to Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh purportedly in the quest of snow leopard sighting. This was too good for me to pass and so I signed up immediately. What follows below is the account of that trip.
Spiti is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan range. It lies in the rain shadow region of the Himalayas and receives very little rain, except for this year where there has been a copious amount of rainfall (ominous signals ?)
Though the trip was promoted by IT NC, it was in conjunction with an NGO called Ecosphere which is run by some very dedicated individuals who have made a difference in the lives of the residents of the Spiti valley.
I set out to Delhi on the 4th of Oct. We had to take a bus to Manali that evening. And for the first time, I met up with the rest of the folks who had signed up for the trip. There were six of us in all with ages ranging from 28 to 64.
At first I was apprehensive about my ability (or rather lack of) to gel with the others. I have always had this problem of staying isolated in a group (my friends say I space out quite easily). It is ok to be that way with friends (they are not so interesting anyway) but not so among strangers. But talking to the other five, I found that it would not be so difficult after all. Four ladies and two guys made up the six of us. While the two guys as usual had some initial aloofness, the ladies really broke the ice with their lively discussions and their energy easily rubbed off on me as well.
We spent a day at Manali. The next morning, we took a jeep to Kaza which is where Ecosphere is based. To reach Kaza, one has to pass through the Rohtang pass and the Kunzum pass. While the view is breathtaking, the road is backbreaking. The road through these passes is pretty much non-existent. It is a gravel ridden track with just a semblance of a path. It is a miracle that when vehicles ply this route, they don’t come out the other end as a bag of bolts and nuts. The 200km journey from Manali to Kaza took us about 12 hours (we stopped a few hours in between clicking birds). We finally reached Kaza at around 9.00pm. (Some of the birds sighted – Himalayan Griffon, Ruddy shellduck, yellow billed choughs which is so common that after a while it actually gets annoying. The other birds sighted during the trip – European Goldfinch, Common kestrel, Yellow billed blue magpie, coppersmith barbet)
The next day - Oct 7, we met our guide at Kaza, a sprightly chap named Tsering, who preferred to be called Anjaan instead (I guess because every second guy there is called Tsering). This was a day of acclimatization. We were at an altitude of more than 3600mts and hence most of the activity that day was by jeep. We visited a monastery at Kee (a monk there served us some wonderful tea).
Oct 8: Our actual trip starts. We drive to a village called Longzha. This is a small village with around 15 houses at an altitude of more than 4000mts. The weather is very cold. Some of the houses here have ‘homestay’ facility as well. This is again an initiative from Ecosphere so that these villagers can earn some extra money through tourists. We split up in groups of two.
The altitude effect began showing on me as I seemed to develop a cold (which got worse the next couple of days) and a slight headache. But the family with which we stayed that night were very hospitable and we had a good time interacting with them (I admit, it was more of a question-answer session than a conversation). That day, we trekked to a nearby stream which is famous for its fossils. Apparently, around 150 million years ago, the whole of this region was under water. You can see fossils of the aquatic life from that period. Unfortunately, a lot of these fossils were collected and sold by the villagers to tourists but that practice, thankfully, has now been stopped.
We also spotted blue sheep (called Bharal) which forms the prey base for the Himalayan wolf and the snow leopard. We also saw some footprints of the wolf and the Himalayan fox.
The Himalayan wolf in this region is critically endangered, apparently less than 300 of them survive. You would think for such a sparsely populated area, the wildlife would not have a problem. But that is not the case, the villagers in the valley view wolves as a threat to their livestock and hence they go about killing wolves cubs when they find them. Ecosphere is again working with the villagers to end this practice and this has had some success. My fear is that if the numbers are so low already, then it may be too little too late to help these canids.
The next morning – Oct 9 - we began a four hour trek to another village called Komic which was about 9 kms away. While the terrain itself was not too challenging, the altitude does create some issues. I had to frequently stop and gasp for air. At high altitudes, even a minor upward walk can leave one panting.
We finally reached Komic which the villagers say is the highest village in Asia but somehow I have my doubts. But at an altitude of around 4500mts, it definitely is in the top 10 for sure. Like Langzha, Komic is also a small village with around 30 homes. The name means eye of the snow leopard (‘Kom’ means snow leopard and ‘ic’ means eye in spitian). Komic has an ancient monastery which about 800 years old which we visited.
By the way, a word about the spitian houses. All the houses here have two floors and is mostly made of mud and wood. The kitchen is in the ground floor and during winters the entire family moves in to the kitchen. An interesting aspect is the toilet which is located in the first floor and it is just a hole in the floor. You squat, you go and then throw some mud on it. The...err...stuff just accumulates in a room below and gets used along with cow dung as manure every year or so.
These people do seem to have a tough life. One of the tasks for the women is to go out into the mountains every morning with a basket on their back looking for dry dung which is used as fuel (there are no trees growing here and hence firewood is expensive to buy)
All these villages get completely cut off from the outside world during winter for about four months or so due to snow blocking all the roads. So the villagers stock up what ever is required for winter and then prepare to last it out.
Oct 10 – This day, we were supposed to trek from Komic to Demul which is 18 kms away. But the previous day’s walk of 8 kms was a little too much for the most of us. So only two decided to trek while the rest of us (me included) decided to just take a jeep ride to Demul. We reached Demul by afternoon. Demul is a much larger village and has about 150 houses. The two who chose to trek joined us by evening after an 8 hour trek.
Oct 11 – We decided to climb a local mountain near Demul which has a beautiful view from the top. It took us all about one and half hours to trek to the top. And once you reach there, it is hard to not be wowed by the immensity of the Himalayas and our own trivialness before it. The descent was much quicker and took about half an hour. We drove back to Kaza
Oct 12-Oct 14. Drove from Kaza back to Manali, spent a day in Manali. Took a bus to Delhi and then back to Bangalore.
Overall, it was a great experience especially the homestays at the villages of the spiti valley. I am also happy about the fact that irrespective of the size of village, there was a school in every village and classes were being conducted regularly (even during winters).
But I am most happy with the fact that I got to know some great people on the trip and while the trip lasted for only 10 days, the memories will last forever, thanks to these wonderful people. Thanks G, S, L, R and V.
Spiti is nestled in the foothills of the Himalayan range. It lies in the rain shadow region of the Himalayas and receives very little rain, except for this year where there has been a copious amount of rainfall (ominous signals ?)
Though the trip was promoted by IT NC, it was in conjunction with an NGO called Ecosphere which is run by some very dedicated individuals who have made a difference in the lives of the residents of the Spiti valley.
I set out to Delhi on the 4th of Oct. We had to take a bus to Manali that evening. And for the first time, I met up with the rest of the folks who had signed up for the trip. There were six of us in all with ages ranging from 28 to 64.
At first I was apprehensive about my ability (or rather lack of) to gel with the others. I have always had this problem of staying isolated in a group (my friends say I space out quite easily). It is ok to be that way with friends (they are not so interesting anyway) but not so among strangers. But talking to the other five, I found that it would not be so difficult after all. Four ladies and two guys made up the six of us. While the two guys as usual had some initial aloofness, the ladies really broke the ice with their lively discussions and their energy easily rubbed off on me as well.
We spent a day at Manali. The next morning, we took a jeep to Kaza which is where Ecosphere is based. To reach Kaza, one has to pass through the Rohtang pass and the Kunzum pass. While the view is breathtaking, the road is backbreaking. The road through these passes is pretty much non-existent. It is a gravel ridden track with just a semblance of a path. It is a miracle that when vehicles ply this route, they don’t come out the other end as a bag of bolts and nuts. The 200km journey from Manali to Kaza took us about 12 hours (we stopped a few hours in between clicking birds). We finally reached Kaza at around 9.00pm. (Some of the birds sighted – Himalayan Griffon, Ruddy shellduck, yellow billed choughs which is so common that after a while it actually gets annoying. The other birds sighted during the trip – European Goldfinch, Common kestrel, Yellow billed blue magpie, coppersmith barbet)
The next day - Oct 7, we met our guide at Kaza, a sprightly chap named Tsering, who preferred to be called Anjaan instead (I guess because every second guy there is called Tsering). This was a day of acclimatization. We were at an altitude of more than 3600mts and hence most of the activity that day was by jeep. We visited a monastery at Kee (a monk there served us some wonderful tea).
Oct 8: Our actual trip starts. We drive to a village called Longzha. This is a small village with around 15 houses at an altitude of more than 4000mts. The weather is very cold. Some of the houses here have ‘homestay’ facility as well. This is again an initiative from Ecosphere so that these villagers can earn some extra money through tourists. We split up in groups of two.
The altitude effect began showing on me as I seemed to develop a cold (which got worse the next couple of days) and a slight headache. But the family with which we stayed that night were very hospitable and we had a good time interacting with them (I admit, it was more of a question-answer session than a conversation). That day, we trekked to a nearby stream which is famous for its fossils. Apparently, around 150 million years ago, the whole of this region was under water. You can see fossils of the aquatic life from that period. Unfortunately, a lot of these fossils were collected and sold by the villagers to tourists but that practice, thankfully, has now been stopped.
We also spotted blue sheep (called Bharal) which forms the prey base for the Himalayan wolf and the snow leopard. We also saw some footprints of the wolf and the Himalayan fox.
The Himalayan wolf in this region is critically endangered, apparently less than 300 of them survive. You would think for such a sparsely populated area, the wildlife would not have a problem. But that is not the case, the villagers in the valley view wolves as a threat to their livestock and hence they go about killing wolves cubs when they find them. Ecosphere is again working with the villagers to end this practice and this has had some success. My fear is that if the numbers are so low already, then it may be too little too late to help these canids.
The next morning – Oct 9 - we began a four hour trek to another village called Komic which was about 9 kms away. While the terrain itself was not too challenging, the altitude does create some issues. I had to frequently stop and gasp for air. At high altitudes, even a minor upward walk can leave one panting.
We finally reached Komic which the villagers say is the highest village in Asia but somehow I have my doubts. But at an altitude of around 4500mts, it definitely is in the top 10 for sure. Like Langzha, Komic is also a small village with around 30 homes. The name means eye of the snow leopard (‘Kom’ means snow leopard and ‘ic’ means eye in spitian). Komic has an ancient monastery which about 800 years old which we visited.
By the way, a word about the spitian houses. All the houses here have two floors and is mostly made of mud and wood. The kitchen is in the ground floor and during winters the entire family moves in to the kitchen. An interesting aspect is the toilet which is located in the first floor and it is just a hole in the floor. You squat, you go and then throw some mud on it. The...err...stuff just accumulates in a room below and gets used along with cow dung as manure every year or so.
These people do seem to have a tough life. One of the tasks for the women is to go out into the mountains every morning with a basket on their back looking for dry dung which is used as fuel (there are no trees growing here and hence firewood is expensive to buy)
All these villages get completely cut off from the outside world during winter for about four months or so due to snow blocking all the roads. So the villagers stock up what ever is required for winter and then prepare to last it out.
Oct 10 – This day, we were supposed to trek from Komic to Demul which is 18 kms away. But the previous day’s walk of 8 kms was a little too much for the most of us. So only two decided to trek while the rest of us (me included) decided to just take a jeep ride to Demul. We reached Demul by afternoon. Demul is a much larger village and has about 150 houses. The two who chose to trek joined us by evening after an 8 hour trek.
Oct 11 – We decided to climb a local mountain near Demul which has a beautiful view from the top. It took us all about one and half hours to trek to the top. And once you reach there, it is hard to not be wowed by the immensity of the Himalayas and our own trivialness before it. The descent was much quicker and took about half an hour. We drove back to Kaza
Oct 12-Oct 14. Drove from Kaza back to Manali, spent a day in Manali. Took a bus to Delhi and then back to Bangalore.
Overall, it was a great experience especially the homestays at the villages of the spiti valley. I am also happy about the fact that irrespective of the size of village, there was a school in every village and classes were being conducted regularly (even during winters).
But I am most happy with the fact that I got to know some great people on the trip and while the trip lasted for only 10 days, the memories will last forever, thanks to these wonderful people. Thanks G, S, L, R and V.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Cambodia Calling
Africa, a continent that is ever so stunning in the diversity of wildlife, I have always wanted to witness the beauty of Serengeti and the raw wilderness of the Masai Mara.
So I flew to Cambodia.
You see I had a chance to avail a free round trip in lieu of the air miles that I had accumulated over the past few years. The air miles were good enough to take me as far as any country in south east Asia. Africa will have to wait for another time.
I chose Cambodia for three reasons.
1. I wanted to see Angkor Wat
2. It has a visa on arrival facility
3. I was secretly hoping to run into Angelina Jolie and maybe persuade her to adopt me.
I landed in the capital of Cambodia which is Phnom Penh (pronounced "Pphhhh....Pphhhh...")
Here is a question for you all - "What is hot, sultry and makes you sweat all over ?". The answer is, of course, Bipasha Basu.
But truth be told, during this time of the year, Cambodia is hot and sultry too in a very non Bipasha way. And that is precisely why I chose this time of the year because when you are single and don't want to spend too much money, you always pick the off-season. This way you get the best deals. For example, you could visit Egypt during summer or visit Siberia during winter or Iraq pretty much anytime.
Here goes what happened there (25th to 30th Sept 07)
Day 1 and 2 - Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh could be just about any city in India, the dirt, the grime, the chaotic traffic including. Cambodians are supposed to drive on the right side of the road and they try their best. So I felt right at home.
I checked into a hotel called Tonle Sap Guesthouse which is situated in the heart of the city very near to the river front and close enough to most of the tourist attractions.
The first day I visited the National Museum which houses ancient works of art, sculptures of Buddha, Vishnu, Ganesha and other Hindu Gods. If you did not know already, Cambodia was a Hindu Kingdom till about 16th century after which the king converted to Buddhism and his subjects followed suit. But you can still see a lot of Hindu relics and practices in their culture. Next, I walked to the King’s Palace nearby. It’s a wonderful work of architecture, in the typical Khmer style with sloping roofs and sculpted art around the sides.
The next day, I took the 'tuk tuk' (it's a motorcycle rickshaw) to the Killing Fields . This place bears testimony to the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. The regime of Pol Pot for four years (1975 – 79) left around 2 million dead and you can still see the scars of the regime. I met a lot of people who have had their parents or their near ones killed during that time. The ‘killing fields’ houses a building where around 20000 human skulls and bones of the victims are on display showing the depravity that man can fall into in pursuit of strange idealism. During my return, I stopped by Tuol Sleung Prison which was used by the regime to imprison and torture innocent people accusing them of conspiracy against the movement.
Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 – Seim Reip
It was time to explore the spectacular Angkor temples. I flew to the city of Seim Reip (pronounced…”Seim Reip”) where the temples are located. On the first day there, I visited the Tonle Sap lake. This is a huge huge lake formed by the Tonle Sap river. Apparently, during the wet season it covers an area of more than 10000 sq kms. To give you an idea of the size, it means that we can fit in three pre-diet versions of Adnan Sami and still have space for two more, yeah I know, it is that huge. There is a floating village in the periphery of the lake. Vietnamese and Cambodian families inhabit this floating village and fishing is their main occupation. I took a boat ride that lasted about a couple of hours and it was fantastic.
The next day it was time to explore the temple complex. First stop was at Angkor Wat. The three towers of the temple representing the Hindu trinity seem to rise from the middle of the forest trying to reach for the sky. The majestic view of the temple is simply breath taking. The temple is a three storey structure, symbolizing hell, earth and heaven. The stairway to the third floor is really steep indicating that the climb to heaven is an arduous task.
I then went to Angkor Thom which is not as well preserved as the Wat but it oozes a lot more mystery and has a surreal feel about it. There are giant images of faces sculpted on the towers of this temple. They again represent the Hindu trinity, mostly Vishnu. The expression on the face evokes a feeling of tranquility and the smile suggests a sense of contentment that we miss so badly in our lives today.
I visited a few more temple complexes, the best being the one at Banteay Srei. This one has intricately carved designs that are a joy to behold. It would take at least three days to cover all the temple complexes in Angkor and I just had one more day left with more to see and so had to satisfy myself with just a day’s visit. But it was well worth every moment of it.
That night, I had my dinner at a local restaurant that stages the traditional Apsara dance. A group of gorgeously dressed young women came on stage, slowly moving their hands and bodies to the beautiful beat of the music in the background. As you watch this slow rhythmic performance, it is hard not to fall asleep…oops…I mean fall in love with the dance form. The whole performance took about an hour and it was a nice end to a great day.
The third day, I stepped into the Cambodian Cultural Village that showcases the various cultural setups of the different people living in Cambodia. When I went in, it was time for the ‘traditional Khmer wedding’ show. I was sitting there waiting for the show to begin when a couple of guys asked me to follow them to the dressing room. They told me that I had been selected to play the groom for that show……… WOW………An older lady dressed me up in traditional Khmer clothing. I was then handed a vessel of flowers to be held in both hands and I walked to the stage with music and drums beating and a bunch of people following me. As an aside, if you go there and you don’t get picked as the groom, don’t feel bad, it’s probably because you are too ugly. Did I mention, I got picked ??. To continue, the bride emerged from the other side, a lovely young woman and we both held the vessel of flowers and walked towards a bench on the stage where my future “parents-in-law” were seated. We prostrated before them and then were led to our chairs in the centre of the stage. After that, two people came on stage and there was a discussion in the local Khmer language which nobody translated but there were people giggling around me, I assume that it was some kind of pre marriage negotiations taking place or maybe they were just making fun of me “Hey look, another tourist we conned into paying 9 dollars to watch this…………moron”. Anyway, two Chinese tourists were picked to play my parents. They and my “in-laws” took turns in cutting my hair (of course just a mock cut) as a part of the ritual and the marriage was done.
Later, my “wife” started to dance slowly and I was asked to follow her. Me !!, dance !!!!, when it comes to dancing I am a log of wood with a face. I told them I can’t but they would not listen, apparently it is very important for a mock marriage you see. Anyway, I started moving my hands in all general directions. I suspect I must have looked like a guy having a nervous breakdown and trying to swat flies at the same time. There are at least 20 Chinese tourists out there who took pictures of the whole thing. Somewhere in China, I can hear people looking at these photos and laughing their guts out “Hey Tong, what’s wrong with this guy ?, my chicken can dance better than him”. If you are reading this Mr.Tong, you better be aware that inspite of my terrible dancing, I got picked as the groom and not you.
My flight back to Phnom Penh was still a couple of hours away and so I visited the war memorial. A word of advice, don’t ever visit the war memorial. It is just a bunch of rusting tanks and rocket launchers and a whole lot of used up artillery. They charge you 3 dollars for going through a dump yard.
Day 6 - Back home
Anyway, flew back to Phnom Penh that evening. The next morning at 10 was my flight back home. I overslept and when I got up it was 8.25 already. Then followed the fastest ever getting ready exercise and I was out of the room by 8.29 (don’t ask). I caught my flight with time to spare. Had a 7 hour layover at Bangkok (by the way, the airport has 32645 floor tiles, ha ha of course I am exaggerating…………… it is actually 31224) and finally landed in Bangalore at 9.30 in the night. Went to my office, picked my car and drove home.
All in all, a wonderful holiday…
PS: Special thanks to ‘P’ who dropped me to and picked me up from the Airport. It’s hard to find friends like her (my other friends were too clever for me to con them into it). And thanks to ‘A’ who let me borrow his SLR camera knowing fully well that it would be like handing over a crystal ball to a caveman.
So I flew to Cambodia.
You see I had a chance to avail a free round trip in lieu of the air miles that I had accumulated over the past few years. The air miles were good enough to take me as far as any country in south east Asia. Africa will have to wait for another time.
I chose Cambodia for three reasons.
1. I wanted to see Angkor Wat
2. It has a visa on arrival facility
3. I was secretly hoping to run into Angelina Jolie and maybe persuade her to adopt me.
I landed in the capital of Cambodia which is Phnom Penh (pronounced "Pphhhh....Pphhhh...")
Here is a question for you all - "What is hot, sultry and makes you sweat all over ?". The answer is, of course, Bipasha Basu.
But truth be told, during this time of the year, Cambodia is hot and sultry too in a very non Bipasha way. And that is precisely why I chose this time of the year because when you are single and don't want to spend too much money, you always pick the off-season. This way you get the best deals. For example, you could visit Egypt during summer or visit Siberia during winter or Iraq pretty much anytime.
Here goes what happened there (25th to 30th Sept 07)
Day 1 and 2 - Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh could be just about any city in India, the dirt, the grime, the chaotic traffic including. Cambodians are supposed to drive on the right side of the road and they try their best. So I felt right at home.
I checked into a hotel called Tonle Sap Guesthouse which is situated in the heart of the city very near to the river front and close enough to most of the tourist attractions.
The first day I visited the National Museum which houses ancient works of art, sculptures of Buddha, Vishnu, Ganesha and other Hindu Gods. If you did not know already, Cambodia was a Hindu Kingdom till about 16th century after which the king converted to Buddhism and his subjects followed suit. But you can still see a lot of Hindu relics and practices in their culture. Next, I walked to the King’s Palace nearby. It’s a wonderful work of architecture, in the typical Khmer style with sloping roofs and sculpted art around the sides.
The next day, I took the 'tuk tuk' (it's a motorcycle rickshaw) to the Killing Fields . This place bears testimony to the brutality of the Khmer Rouge. The regime of Pol Pot for four years (1975 – 79) left around 2 million dead and you can still see the scars of the regime. I met a lot of people who have had their parents or their near ones killed during that time. The ‘killing fields’ houses a building where around 20000 human skulls and bones of the victims are on display showing the depravity that man can fall into in pursuit of strange idealism. During my return, I stopped by Tuol Sleung Prison which was used by the regime to imprison and torture innocent people accusing them of conspiracy against the movement.
Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 – Seim Reip
It was time to explore the spectacular Angkor temples. I flew to the city of Seim Reip (pronounced…”Seim Reip”) where the temples are located. On the first day there, I visited the Tonle Sap lake. This is a huge huge lake formed by the Tonle Sap river. Apparently, during the wet season it covers an area of more than 10000 sq kms. To give you an idea of the size, it means that we can fit in three pre-diet versions of Adnan Sami and still have space for two more, yeah I know, it is that huge. There is a floating village in the periphery of the lake. Vietnamese and Cambodian families inhabit this floating village and fishing is their main occupation. I took a boat ride that lasted about a couple of hours and it was fantastic.
The next day it was time to explore the temple complex. First stop was at Angkor Wat. The three towers of the temple representing the Hindu trinity seem to rise from the middle of the forest trying to reach for the sky. The majestic view of the temple is simply breath taking. The temple is a three storey structure, symbolizing hell, earth and heaven. The stairway to the third floor is really steep indicating that the climb to heaven is an arduous task.
I then went to Angkor Thom which is not as well preserved as the Wat but it oozes a lot more mystery and has a surreal feel about it. There are giant images of faces sculpted on the towers of this temple. They again represent the Hindu trinity, mostly Vishnu. The expression on the face evokes a feeling of tranquility and the smile suggests a sense of contentment that we miss so badly in our lives today.
I visited a few more temple complexes, the best being the one at Banteay Srei. This one has intricately carved designs that are a joy to behold. It would take at least three days to cover all the temple complexes in Angkor and I just had one more day left with more to see and so had to satisfy myself with just a day’s visit. But it was well worth every moment of it.
That night, I had my dinner at a local restaurant that stages the traditional Apsara dance. A group of gorgeously dressed young women came on stage, slowly moving their hands and bodies to the beautiful beat of the music in the background. As you watch this slow rhythmic performance, it is hard not to fall asleep…oops…I mean fall in love with the dance form. The whole performance took about an hour and it was a nice end to a great day.
The third day, I stepped into the Cambodian Cultural Village that showcases the various cultural setups of the different people living in Cambodia. When I went in, it was time for the ‘traditional Khmer wedding’ show. I was sitting there waiting for the show to begin when a couple of guys asked me to follow them to the dressing room. They told me that I had been selected to play the groom for that show……… WOW………An older lady dressed me up in traditional Khmer clothing. I was then handed a vessel of flowers to be held in both hands and I walked to the stage with music and drums beating and a bunch of people following me. As an aside, if you go there and you don’t get picked as the groom, don’t feel bad, it’s probably because you are too ugly. Did I mention, I got picked ??. To continue, the bride emerged from the other side, a lovely young woman and we both held the vessel of flowers and walked towards a bench on the stage where my future “parents-in-law” were seated. We prostrated before them and then were led to our chairs in the centre of the stage. After that, two people came on stage and there was a discussion in the local Khmer language which nobody translated but there were people giggling around me, I assume that it was some kind of pre marriage negotiations taking place or maybe they were just making fun of me “Hey look, another tourist we conned into paying 9 dollars to watch this…………moron”. Anyway, two Chinese tourists were picked to play my parents. They and my “in-laws” took turns in cutting my hair (of course just a mock cut) as a part of the ritual and the marriage was done.
Later, my “wife” started to dance slowly and I was asked to follow her. Me !!, dance !!!!, when it comes to dancing I am a log of wood with a face. I told them I can’t but they would not listen, apparently it is very important for a mock marriage you see. Anyway, I started moving my hands in all general directions. I suspect I must have looked like a guy having a nervous breakdown and trying to swat flies at the same time. There are at least 20 Chinese tourists out there who took pictures of the whole thing. Somewhere in China, I can hear people looking at these photos and laughing their guts out “Hey Tong, what’s wrong with this guy ?, my chicken can dance better than him”. If you are reading this Mr.Tong, you better be aware that inspite of my terrible dancing, I got picked as the groom and not you.
My flight back to Phnom Penh was still a couple of hours away and so I visited the war memorial. A word of advice, don’t ever visit the war memorial. It is just a bunch of rusting tanks and rocket launchers and a whole lot of used up artillery. They charge you 3 dollars for going through a dump yard.
Day 6 - Back home
Anyway, flew back to Phnom Penh that evening. The next morning at 10 was my flight back home. I overslept and when I got up it was 8.25 already. Then followed the fastest ever getting ready exercise and I was out of the room by 8.29 (don’t ask). I caught my flight with time to spare. Had a 7 hour layover at Bangkok (by the way, the airport has 32645 floor tiles, ha ha of course I am exaggerating…………… it is actually 31224) and finally landed in Bangalore at 9.30 in the night. Went to my office, picked my car and drove home.
All in all, a wonderful holiday…
PS: Special thanks to ‘P’ who dropped me to and picked me up from the Airport. It’s hard to find friends like her (my other friends were too clever for me to con them into it). And thanks to ‘A’ who let me borrow his SLR camera knowing fully well that it would be like handing over a crystal ball to a caveman.
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