BANTEAY CHHMAR, Cambodia - The sun had just set on the western horizon as my wife, Lisa, and I walked across a causeway to the ancient Khmer temple. In the clearing near the temple entrance, it looked like musicians were getting ready for a performance on the green. But where was the audience? As we got closer we saw just two chairs set up. We’d be the entire audience.
We had signed up for the dinner concert as part of our rural homestay in Cambodia. Getting past the initial discomfort at finding ourselves patrons instead of anonymous audience members, we settled into our seats. I sipped an Angkor beer in the front yard of the gods.
The five-piece traditional ensemble included two versions of the stringed tror, a big sitar-like krapeu (meaning “crocodile” in Khmer, for its shape – hard to transport), a hammered dulcimer and drum.
Our host, Sokoun, lit several torches and placed a candle on the tip of the dulcimer. As dishes were placed on the table before us, the musicians began, their minor-key tunes reminding us of sad Appalachian ballads. A young man rode up on a moped, stopped, and took a seat nearby to listen. We feasted on chicken coconut curry soup and a spicy pork and green pepper stir-fry.
At one point Sokoun leaned over and said, “That’s my father,” nodding towards the man playing the krapeu. The young guy with the moped was Sokoun’s brother.
Angkor Wat is by far Cambodia’s most popular attraction, but our homestay with a family in Banteay Chhmar, a few hours’ drive to the north-west, showed us stunning temple ruins from the same period. Its magnificent late-12th-century carvings rivalled those of Angkor, telling the stories of a king’s triumphs and defeats alongside scenes of everyday life.
What’s more, our homestay gave us a rare glimpse into life for many Cambodians, through a programme that is locally managed and which provides hosts with income.
Cambodia continues to recover from the devastation wrought by the Khmer Rouge and the civil war that broke out in the 1970s, claiming the lives of an estimated one in four Cambodians. In the past decade, the country’s tourist economy has grown, especially around Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is a major Unesco World Heritage site.
The broader economy and services such as education are lagging behind. Only 20 percent of Cambodians finish secondary school, and teachers are woefully underpaid. Human Rights Watch has called the country “a human rights basket case”, and cites a failure of democratic governance. How long does it take to heal from genocide?
Difficult question. Living next door in Thailand for four years while it was dangerous to visit Cambodia, we became fascinated by relics of the ancient Khmer empire we saw in north-eastern Thailand. From Phimai, we had followed a path of increasingly dramatic ruins to the eastern border, and saw the magnificent ruins of Muang Tam, where we had the place to ourselves. I’m no archaeologist, but these vestiges of an empire nine centuries gone were beautiful and intriguing.
At Ta Meuan, an ancient clinic with a sunken pond nestled in tall grasses, we marvelled at a 12th-century culture that provided health care.
Years later, we would resume the path to Angkor Wat on the Cambodian side, beginning with Banteay Chhmar in the north-west corner, home of one of the most important yet least understood temple sites of the Khmer empire – a huge complex with eight outlying temples and a reservoir. Had it been a place of pilgrimage or a frontier fortress?
On the way to Banteay Chhmar, we realised we hadn’t picked the easiest homestay to get to. But cellphones have made it more possible to get off the beaten track. Although I had no Khmer language skills, I could call a lifeline and hand my phone to a driver and someone in Banteay Chhmar could explain where I wanted to go.
At Sisophon, a crossroads town, we pulled our suitcases off a bus and hailed a three-wheeled tuk-tuk across the street. The driver nodded when I said “Phsa Thmei” and drove us to that market, north of town. There, we’d been told, we could find a share taxi to Banteay Chhmar.
I called the number for the manager of the community-based tourism office in Banteay Chhmar and he answered. After passing my phone back and forth with a taxi driver, I negotiated a price for the back seat. Then – along with one fellow passenger in the front swathed in a dust mask, cap and black jacket that said “Police” in big letters – off we went.
The road deteriorated to gravel and then to red dirt. After an hour and a half in the countryside we suddenly came to a cluster of larger-than-life stone figures at the edge of a moat. The water’s surface rippled with pink lotus blossoms.
It’s stunning to arrive this way at Banteay Chhmar, a site the Global Heritage Fund has been reclaiming from the forest and looters. John Sanday, the archaeologist who leads the project, says it was built as a garrison temple of the Khmer empire – “the religious centre for Buddhism”.
Sanday calls the restoration work “a complicated jigsaw puzzle”. That’s an understatement. The bas relief on the eastern wall alone – a stone mural stretching about 70m – involved more than 1 500 sandstone blocks, each contributing a piece of an epic story.
At the small, open-air community-based tourism office we met Sokoun: librarian, assistant operations manager and guide. He led us on a short walk to our host family’s traditional wooden house on the dusty road east of the moat. In an open compound we met Niang and Som, a friendly couple in their late 30s. They welcomed us and showed us our room upstairs, and the shared bathroom below.
We loved our room: windows on three sides, teak floors and a mosquito net over the bed that was in excellent shape. It was also searingly hot and, of course, there was no air conditioning, nor electricity to power the pink fan in the corner. We were lucky the town had electricity for a few hours a day, from 5pm to 10pm, unlike most villages.
The shared bathroom, while plush by village standards, was very basic. It had tiled walls and floor, a basin full of water and a plastic bucket for flushing the toilet. A corner was dedicated to bathing – kind of a juggling act with a flashlight.
That evening as dusk settled we sat out on a straw mat, playing cards. Our hosts offered us slices of watermelon. Eventually Sokoun fetched us for dinner, served at Community-Based Tourism. The Khmer soup and pork-and-vegetable stir fry were prepared by a chef trained to please Western palates: simple Cambodian food with just enough spice to be interesting.
Our first night felt like endless darkness with surprisingly noisy rural neighbours. A baby crying, a gecko’s chirps, someone’s cough, roosters near and far into the distance. An occasional dogfight. How do we ever sleep in the city?
A tasty fried-rice breakfast revived us and we took a walk through town with Sokoun. He told us he left school after Grade 9 when his mother died and he took up farming like almost everyone else.
Eventually Community-Based Tourism recruited him to manage the library. Sokoun mastered English and graduated to guide. He continues to farm with his brother and is knowledgeable about plants.
Community-Based Tourism uses a kitty, funded by 20 percent of tourist fees, to upgrade host family homes (toilets, mosquito nets) and install such community-wide improvements as water filters. More than 70 families participate as hosts, guides, cooks and other roles.
Begun before the Global Heritage Fund project, Community-Based Tourism makes Banteay Chhmar “a great destination for the more adventurous traveller”, Sanday says. They expect more visitors now that the improved road to Siem Reap is nearly finished.
Sokoun led us through the temple, from the first spectacular bas relief story wall at the eastern entrance into the tumble of stones and trees of the interior. Piles of stone stood near well-preserved towers bearing a face on four sides like those at Angkor Wat. Along the western wall, another remarkable series of bas reliefs backed up against the forest.
In the 1990s, relatives of Sokoun living not far from the temple heard one night what sounded like a horrible explosion. It was the temple giving way as looters chopped out columns to sell on the black market – followed by screams of people trapped in the debris. The next morning, Soukon said, they saw looters making off in trucks with their heritage.
“There are many looting stories,” says Sanday. The last “big loot” happened in January 1999, when four of eight large sections of bas relief were stolen. Two were returned, the others remain unaccounted for in Bangkok, according to Sanday.
One evening before sunset we took a path beyond the moat, past farms, following a sign to one of the site’s small outlying temples. The path got narrower and the light more golden. We seemed to have missed the little temple, so we turned back. That’s when we nearly tripped on the ancient stone threshold. Through the overgrowth we could just see a doorway – a few stones made magic by discovery.
Our second night was much quieter – until 5am, when a temple began broadcasting monks’ chants and music. Later we learnt someone had died and it was a tradition to play music for the departed spirit.
Then we were on our way to Angkor Wat. In time, Banteay Chhmar may show more travellers what Angkor Wat looked like before tourism. It could become a “second Angkor”, says Sanday.
David A. Taylor, The Washington Post
IF YOU GO
WHERE TO STAY
Banteay Chhmar Community-Based Tourism Homestay Programme
National Road, No 56A, Banteay Chhmar
011 855 012 237 605
www.visitbanteaychhmar.org
Rustic homestay room in a family home, $7 (R84) a night for each person.
Channa’s Angkor Homestay
Trapeang Ses, Angkor Archaeological Park, Siem Reap
011 855 16 757 356
www.channasangkorhomestay.hostel.com
Stay with a Danish-Cambodian family near Angkor Wat. Rooms from $15.
Soria Moria Boutique Hotel
Wat Bo Road, Siem Reap
011 855 063 964 768
www.thesoriamoria.com
Near the river with a rooftop bar that’s great at sunset. Also, it’s dedicated to responsible tourism through an employee ownership programme. Rooms from $35.
WHERE TO EAT
In Banteay Chhmar, Community-Based Tourism arranges meals at its office: breakfast is $2, and lunch and dinner are $4. The only other option is the market restaurant (no sign or phone), serving coffee and Khmer dishes.
Moloppor Café
Siem Reap River Road, Siem Reap
011 855 63 966 690
Outdoor seating with river views; Khmer, Japanese and Western dishes. Entrées start at $3.
The Square 24 Restaurant
Street 24, Achasvar, Siem Reap
011 855 12 614 092
www.thesquare24.com
A nouvelle take on Khmer food near the river. Entrées start at $6.
WHAT TO DO
In Banteay Chhmar, visit temple ruins ($5 fee, $10 a day for guide), hike to satellite temples ($10 a group) (on paths only – the forest has landmines), hear traditional music ($15 a group).
INFORMATION
www.tourismcambodia.com