May 6th, 2010 Siem Reap
Every evening we invariably end up on Pub Street.
The police do a good job of cordoning off the traffic so the street is only accessible to the walkers. Restaurants have bistro style tables on the sidewalk. As the sun sets and the heat becomes bearable, temple-tired-tourists slowly trickle in for a glass of cold beer. Attractive Khmer waitresses in stylish cotton cocktail gowns snag tourists, wafts of appetizing aroma – Num cha gio pale (spring rolls), Saich Moan Ang (grilled chicken), fresh garlic bread – making their jobs easy.
I am on my second Angkorian draft at Banana Leaf when Nathan decides that I absolutely must see the Apsara Dance. The nearby Temple Club runs a daily no-admission-fee show that starts at 7:30. So we drain our glasses, climb up the stairs that take us from a floor with beer stained pool tables to a room that smells incense sticks.
Apsara Dance at Temple Club on Pub Street
We grab a seat with a view. I order a garlic fillet with Morning Glory – at $6 my costliest dinner in Cambodia – and settle down for a dinner and a show. A cold glass of the Angkorian appears near the elbow as the lights dim. A pinpeat orchestra starts a heart beat. The music instruments are rudimentary. A drum. A stick on tin. A string. As the pace picks up, beautifully women in intricately designed silk tunics and large golden mekut (headsets) gently take center stage.
The leading lady of the Apsara dance
The dancers move in slow motion. Every movement is deliberate, graceful and well articulated. Every expression is channeled through delicate, complex kbach - gestures of the hand. The intricate gesticulation acts like a hypnotist’s wand mesmerizing the crowd. The dancers maintain an expression somewhere between a poker face to a mild mysterious smile avoiding any eye contact with the people around.
By the time, the music stops, and the dancers retreat backstage, the food had disappeared from the table. Under the table, a couple of mosquitoes have equally enjoyed feasting on our shorts-shorn legs.
We realize the only way to stop the beer glass refilling automatically is to call for the check.
