In the footprints of Jackie & Angelina: AHHngkor!
We traveled back through 900 years in less than a day at the magnificent 12th-century Angkor Wat, gasping at every lotus-shaped tower, column, façade, and courtyard, as the temple continues to gloriously defy time and the whims of man and nature. It was truly an AHHngkor moment!
Angkor was the ancient Khmer capital that flourished from the ninth to the 15th century.
Since a day at Angkor Wat, the heart of Angkor, wasn’t enough, we returned the next day at sunrise. We stood vigil as the sun quietly rose behind the temple, its gentle rays bathing its five towers, as the lake in front of it mirrored nature’s quiet performance. We then had a champagne breakfast by a nearby lake, and then visited more temples—Bayon, famous for its stone faces; and Ta Phrom, also known as the “Angelina Jolie” Temple, as she filmed her Lara Croft: Tomb Raider here and put the jungle temple on the world map. Ancient giant trees grow through walls, while their roots wrap themselves around edifices and ruins.
At Angkor Wat, time seems to have stood still; at Ta Prohm, time has grown roots.
I read that it was former US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s dream to visit Angkor Wat, and so she did in November 1967. So you could say I was walking in Jackie and Angelina’s footsteps, thanks to CITTI Elite, which curates high-end travel itineraries and premium cruise experiences across all seven continents. Its president, Shan Dioquino-David, invited a group of us on a bespoke cruise on the mighty and calm Mekong River on board the Scenic Spirit of the Scenic luxury fleet.
The cruise began on land in Siem Reap, the gateway to Cambodia’s ancient capital, Angkor.
In Siem Reap, we stayed in the 94-year-old, French-colonial Raffles Grand Angkor, which, like the Scenic Spirit, has a butler assigned to every room. Our three days in Siem Reap included a visit to the floating village of Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, and a tuktuk tour to the city and its public market for some souvenir hunting.
Our three days culminated in a culturally enriching dinner at the 10th-century Prasat Kravan, an elegant Hindu temple in Siem Reap seemingly etched on the dark sky. Unlike sandstone structures like Angkor Wat, Prasat Kravan is of red brick. At Prasat Kravan, we again time-traveled, this time to the 10th century, while dining elegantly al fresco as wines flowed and Apsara dancers regaled us with their fancy footwork.
Unique to Scenic guests, the Prasat Kravan dinner was monumental. A millennium was breached as we basked in the glow of the 10th-century brick temple and Buddha figures carved out of ice standing like sentinels on the grounds.
Ancient and modern were mixed in the cocktail of awe.
Truly all-inclusive and unique, Scenic Enrich events are the moments you will treasure forever. These cultural experiences will enhance your journey, as the Prasat Kravan dinner and the classical music performed in a church that awed us in Porto during a Scenic cruise on the Douro.
The next day, we motored through a stone-cutting village to board our ship at Kampong Cham.
Our journey had just begun.
(To be continued)
