WEST BARAY

East-west is located just west of the walled city of Angkor Thom. Rectangular in shape, it measures about 8 km long and 2.1 km wide, making it the largest baray at Angkor. Its waters are contained by tall earthen dikes. The center of the baray is the artificial island of Western Mebon, where a Hindu temple is built.

The construction of the baray probably began in the eleventh century under the reign of King Suryavarman I and was completed under the reign of King Udayadityavarman II.

Angkor engineers who created the Western Baray seem to have used elements of the existing site buildings. Is the dam seems to be largely a section of a dike surrounding the capital of King Yasovarman which was built in the center of the temple of Phnom Bakheng. In other places, the construction of the baray resulted burial or submersion other sites. South dike and partially buried temple Ak Yum pyramidal and built of brick. The western baray appears to have been formerly inhabited archaeological research have indeed unearthed in the area of the bases of walls, stairs and shards of pottery and a stone engraved dating from 713 AD which provides an overview how were delimited fields of rice were offered a queen Jayadevi.

In the early excavations, French archaeologists believed that the Western Baray functioned as a vast reservoir of water retention for powering irrigation canals in times of drought, thus multiplying rice crops each year. More recent studies, however, theorize that the Baray had mainly symbolic function, acting as an earthly representation of the primordial ocean, with the Western Mebon temple at its center.

In modern times, a valve was built on the south dike of the baray, thus raising the water level and water supply to the fields of the south. Today the baray not retain water throughout the year in its western end. During the rainy season, however, the water advances to the eastern breakwater.

Baray waters, clear and calm, made it a place frequented by locals, for swimming and boating. The body of water was also used occasionally landing site for seaplanes.

MY TRIP AT SIEM REAP TOWN AFTER ANGKOR WAT TEMPLE

It was a week into my time at Siem Reap when we were all sitting around the hostel bar, and the topic Angkor Wat came up. I mean of course it did, how it could not, after all we were sitting 20km away from the ancient temples, drinking Angkor Beer. It was then that I realized I had been in Siem Reap a full week without seeing what has been dubbed the 8th wonder of the world, Angkor Wat. My fellow travellers couldn't believe it, for sure I was bluffing, but I wasn't. At that point the question arose, what did I do for a week in Siem Reap?

Vegetables's Farmer 

The simple of it would be that I hung out with the nicest people I've ever met, Cambodians! However, the nicest Cambodians are found in the country side and the villages. These people truly are genuine; they value their quality of life more than trying to get rich quick. Rich obviously being a loosely used term here, as most Cambodians make around a $1000 a year. The ones that haven't decided to move to the city still make it by farming their own food and trading it amongst the village people. Working by sunrise and drinking rice wine by day, and early to bed at night. One of my best days in Cambodia was when I took a trip out to a village and visited with true Cambodian's for the day. Cooking fish and beef on an open fire, next to a fresh water reservoir where the locals fish and take fresh afternoon dips to cool off! Furthermore they showed us their farm, their techniques, their home and introduced us to their family, making us all feel extremely blessed.

Growing the Rice

The town of Siem Reap is also the perfect place to be at any time of day. With the French influence here, there's always a coffee shop, or a baguette for 25 cents nearby. Bustling bars line every street here, not just on Pub Street! The locals are always keen for a game of pool or snooker at one of the many snooker halls, or on one of the many bars if your lucky enough to score a table. Or why not grab an ice cream cone from Swensens' ice cream (the best in town) and head out on a river stroll towards where the locals play beach volleyball. The fast paced game, of the highly talented locals will keep you on your toes, or maybe you even want to join in and play on one of the many courts available. Looking for more sporting opportunities, well Siem Reap is also home to Cambodia's only climbing gym. Not quite your pace? Maybe try heading back across the river towards "Common Ground" an American owned coffee shop with a good cause. The prices are a little hefty, but with every $1000 of profit they're able to build a house in a new city located in Khan Dang Kao. Cambodia's poorest area where 1500+ families are living in extreme poverty, It's a $1.50 for an ice coffee, a buck for a small bottle of water or more than I care to admit paying, $2 for a large bottle of water. I went for the molten lava cake, a rich chocolate dish topped with whip cream, that ran me a well worth it $2.

Then I'm sure 0.75 cent draft Beer at one of the many pubs on Pub Street will do you well! Bustling bars line every street here, more than just on Pub Street! The locals are always keen for a game of pool or snooker at one of the many snooker halls, or at one of the bars if your lucky enough to score a table. Some places serve 50 cent draft through all hours of the night, but most backpackers tend to head towards the famous "Angkor what" bar, the bar that started it all back in 1998. Here you can meet countless other like-minded travelers, eager to tell their stories and hear yours. It's no longer 1998 anymore, nowadays there's plenty more late night bars for you to check out as well. Temple bar is across the street, and is the place to go for a late night meal, since their kitchen never closes. Down the street is X bar, an Australian ran rooftop bar with a half pipe at the top! Yes! A half pipe, even if you don't have your own board (since I'm yet to meet someone who travels Asia with a skateboard) you can rent one for 5 bucks and they'll throw in a pint with it! More options include Tuk Tuk Bar, Laundry Bar, Mezze bar, Miss Wongs Bar and whatever special one you find on your own!

Siem Reap is much more than just a party town of buckets and music. In fact for a week of my stay the music was shut off and I never once was left wishing it was on. Music less Pub Street lost its vibe quickly, so we looked elsewhere to entertain us. Whether that be, the locals taking a group of us out and showing us there favorite spots or spontaneous decisions to go mini-golfing at 9:30pm a good time was always found! Some nights were nothing more than a beautiful sunset at lesser known locations like Phnom Krom or Wat Atwea and then early to bed. If overcrowded tourist attractions aren't your thing, then these temples will be for you! Maybe not as impressive, but seemingly as good when there's no crowd!

Tee, the owner of the mini-golf course, was another genuine local of Siem Reap, who arranges a pick-up service for his mini-golf, as it's on the south out skirts of town. Unfortunately for Tee, he owed me three beers before are group even left the hostel, after a few games of pool. Once at mini golf, a hole-in-one, won you a free beer and between the five of us we managed to get two hole-in-ones which made six free beers out him. Since Tee wanted a rematch, but this time at snooker, he took us out to a local snooker hall on the way home from mini-golf where I managed to keep my streak up and beat him once more. The group of six of us shot many games of snooker and drank a few more beers for only eight bucks in own private a/c room. Tee then dropped us off at Temple bar for a late night eat to cure are hunger before it was time to go in. We talked over pizza, a little in awe about how nice the locals here can be, and of course about the mini golf course itself, a fun challenging course in which we all shot over sixty in just fourteen holes!