Well, if history is any guide, I'll be over or under-dressed. Was in Germany and Norway a bit ago and of course - even though we checked the weather, and even though we kind of packed for hot and cold ā didn't bring enough for hot. Especially in Germany. Thankfully, two season won't be a problem in November in Southeast Asia. Oh, wait, We're starting the trip in Japan. š¤š¬
I think the rules are unfortunately more strictly enforced for women, even in generally laidback countries like Thailand. I was in a templ there a few months ago and a young Thai entered with her shoulders uncovered and was promptly and politely told to cover herself.
A very few places do require long pants, mostly religious (and we always respect that). But that's becoming rarer and rarer. Even if places where we wore long pants, most people seemed to be wearing shorts. Tourists rule, I guess. No one is turned away.
But again, we ALWAYS respect these rules, and carry long pants in our backpack and change when necessary.
I used to feel the same about the temple ruins but after seeing photos from the 1940s, the temples were breathtaking and majestic with even more enormous statues in and around the temples which are missing now. It would be nice to see them with the statues at least.
For the slavery part, there is no real evidence of slaves building Angkor Wat. New satellite images revealed traces of canals that were used to float down the huge blocks of stones to the temple's location from Mt. Kulen. The main "evidence" of slavery is a mistranslation done by French historians defining the Khmer word for "myself" as "slave". During the colonization of Cambodia, the French controlled their government starting in 1887 and sadly taught a generation of unsuspecting Cambodian students and the rest of Indochina that Cambodians were descendants of slaves and not part of the ruling class of the empire, thus, corrupting their history education up until their independence in 1953. I'm glad technology is slowly revealing the truth and hopefully the people will continue to progress and have a voice in their own history. I am currently studying their history and it's been a while since my last visit. Thank you for your review and info. I shall update my itinerary when I visit again.
Interesting! Our guide mentioned slavery many times, but he did note very little was known about that -- no records. The 6000 elephants used to haul the stones depressed me too.
Yes, no records. Most of the records were lost due to degradation and war, but there are manuscripts from European and Chinese merchants/sailors visiting as far back as the 3rd century to the 19th century. So far, I haven't come across any details about a society that have/had chattel slavery in Cambodia. I didn't think it would be this hard to find actual details but this question leads me to more questions.
But yes, in those times, human and animal labor were used, unfortunately. I hope the work load for the humans and the elephants was somewhat lessened with the construction of canals used to assist in floating the rocks to the temple.
This whole research has opened my eyes and have expanded my interest into visiting great monuments from other ancient civilizations. Thank you for allowing me to share what I've learned so far. Happy travels!
Fabulous review & great info. We are in Siem Reap now in low season visiting our nephew, who lives here. Most roads were dirt & no sidewalks in 2017 when we visited last & we saw only inner Angkor Wat that visit. This time we're visiting the outlying temples, so beautiful & empty of tourists. What a transformation in Siem Reap, good roads & so many great restaurants, cafes & hotels. Very safe, which our nephew confirmed as a resident. We also loved the temples further away, and agree that fellow travelers should aim to get here sooner rather than later. It will be a very different place once the buses of Chinese tourists pour in. In 2017 it was so crowded & it's so peaceful right now. Your advice is spot on!
Well, if history is any guide, I'll be over or under-dressed. Was in Germany and Norway a bit ago and of course - even though we checked the weather, and even though we kind of packed for hot and cold ā didn't bring enough for hot. Especially in Germany. Thankfully, two season won't be a problem in November in Southeast Asia. Oh, wait, We're starting the trip in Japan. š¤š¬
We were supposed to be in Japan in another month, but plans had to change. Hopefully 2025!
I notice you were both wearing shorts, yet I keep hearing "no shorts." What was the reality of that? Thanks!
I think the rules are unfortunately more strictly enforced for women, even in generally laidback countries like Thailand. I was in a templ there a few months ago and a young Thai entered with her shoulders uncovered and was promptly and politely told to cover herself.
A very few places do require long pants, mostly religious (and we always respect that). But that's becoming rarer and rarer. Even if places where we wore long pants, most people seemed to be wearing shorts. Tourists rule, I guess. No one is turned away.
But again, we ALWAYS respect these rules, and carry long pants in our backpack and change when necessary.
Excellent, thanks!
I used to feel the same about the temple ruins but after seeing photos from the 1940s, the temples were breathtaking and majestic with even more enormous statues in and around the temples which are missing now. It would be nice to see them with the statues at least.
For the slavery part, there is no real evidence of slaves building Angkor Wat. New satellite images revealed traces of canals that were used to float down the huge blocks of stones to the temple's location from Mt. Kulen. The main "evidence" of slavery is a mistranslation done by French historians defining the Khmer word for "myself" as "slave". During the colonization of Cambodia, the French controlled their government starting in 1887 and sadly taught a generation of unsuspecting Cambodian students and the rest of Indochina that Cambodians were descendants of slaves and not part of the ruling class of the empire, thus, corrupting their history education up until their independence in 1953. I'm glad technology is slowly revealing the truth and hopefully the people will continue to progress and have a voice in their own history. I am currently studying their history and it's been a while since my last visit. Thank you for your review and info. I shall update my itinerary when I visit again.
Interesting! Our guide mentioned slavery many times, but he did note very little was known about that -- no records. The 6000 elephants used to haul the stones depressed me too.
Thanks for the additional info!
Yes, no records. Most of the records were lost due to degradation and war, but there are manuscripts from European and Chinese merchants/sailors visiting as far back as the 3rd century to the 19th century. So far, I haven't come across any details about a society that have/had chattel slavery in Cambodia. I didn't think it would be this hard to find actual details but this question leads me to more questions.
But yes, in those times, human and animal labor were used, unfortunately. I hope the work load for the humans and the elephants was somewhat lessened with the construction of canals used to assist in floating the rocks to the temple.
This whole research has opened my eyes and have expanded my interest into visiting great monuments from other ancient civilizations. Thank you for allowing me to share what I've learned so far. Happy travels!
Appreciate your chiming in! Fascinating place...
Great info - thank you. Looking forward to the suggested itinerary. Will get there next year.
thank you! And I think you'll enjoy it.
Fabulous review & great info. We are in Siem Reap now in low season visiting our nephew, who lives here. Most roads were dirt & no sidewalks in 2017 when we visited last & we saw only inner Angkor Wat that visit. This time we're visiting the outlying temples, so beautiful & empty of tourists. What a transformation in Siem Reap, good roads & so many great restaurants, cafes & hotels. Very safe, which our nephew confirmed as a resident. We also loved the temples further away, and agree that fellow travelers should aim to get here sooner rather than later. It will be a very different place once the buses of Chinese tourists pour in. In 2017 it was so crowded & it's so peaceful right now. Your advice is spot on!
Thank you! So interesting that you've seen "before" and "after." I'm happy for the Cambodians that things are looking up.
You're not the first person to tell us things were grim, crowd-wise, before. Yikes!
Excellent travel summary and explanation of the area. One of my dreams is to go to Cambodia to see Anghor Wat and the other temples.
Thank you! I hope you get to go. Very worth seeing!