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Published: April 22nd 2009
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We catch a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the town that serves as basecamp for visits to the temples at Angkor. As we leave the suburban sprawl for the grasslands and paddy fields of rural Cambodia, I'm struck by how flat this part of the country is. More than that, it's like a basin. All the timber houses are built high up on stilts, at least 6' off the ground, ready for the monsoon. When the rains come, the Mekong water levels rise dramatically, causing the Tonle Sap, the largest lake in South East Asia, to flood the country each year.
Before we came here, I'd thought that there was just one wat at Angkor, but there are scores of them. Much in the way of Ancient Egypt, successive Khmer devaraja (god-kings) built evermore impressive temples around the ancient capital of Angkor, striving to improve on the efforts of their ancestors. The trump card was laid during the rule of Suryavarman II, between 1112-52, when the inimitable Angkor Wat was built.
We buy a 3 day pass for $40, and from our cheap and cheerful digs at Hello Paradise Guesthouse, we pore over the maps and decide
which we want to see. For our first day we hire a tuktuk driver to take us to some of the older, more far flung temples. He picks us up early which is just as well...we've just driven through the south gate of the fortified city of Angkor Thom and Ritch reaches for the camera when we spot an elephant. Nothing happens...the battery is still in the charger back at the hotel. A couple of dollars to the driver and round we go and start again...he thinks we're a bit dumb, and he'd be right 😊 Second time lucky...there's still elephants near the south gate and also a gang of monkeys mugging tourists when we pass this time.
Considering we decided to leave the big hitters for day 2 and 3, I'm blown away by what we see on this first day. The ancient Buddhist university of Preah Khan (Sacred Sword), a cruciform complex of vaulted corridors decorated with incredible carvings of flowers, mythical creatures and dancing girls. A fusion temple, the Eastern wing dedicated to Mahayana Buddhism, and the other three wings dedicated to the Hindu gods, Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Then there's the even more elaborate carvings
at Banteay Srei, meaning 'Citadel of Women', as the carvings were thought to fine to be the work of men. And the small but dramatic Ta Som, it's eastern gate almost totally overwhelmed by a huge banyan tree. These less famous sights are almost empty of people except for a few small kids selling postcards and books. I'm hustled into an unwinnable game of noughts and crosses by a tiny girl who is well versed in the art of capitalism...Alan Sugar could do a lot lot worse when looking for his next apprentice.
Our driver has picked a route that has kept us ahead of the tour bus circuit all day; the only time we find ourselves surrounded by crowds is when we're sat high up on top of Pre Rup temple...a recommended spot for sunset. At first we have it all to ourselves and it's beautiful, but as the sun lowers, a couple of coachloads turn up and our view for two gets a little crowded with the brainless herd of snappers standing right in front of where we'd sat undisturbed minutes before. We head back to the tuktuk, and our excellent driver stops at a deserted lake
where the setting sun glows orange just for us.
We decide to hire bikes for the next two days. To avoid the crowds around the most famous sights, not to mention escaping the incredible mid-afternoon heat, we get up at 5am and cycle through the pitch black to Angkor Wat for dawn, not realising that the bikes have lights til we lock them to a tree, but at least we remembered all the camera equipment this time. Even though it's not really too busy yet, we spurn the fenced off area in front of the moat where most people are gathering to take the 'postcard' shot. Instead we cross the moat carefully, (doh...forgot the torch...well, it's early!) the huge temple just a slightly blacker mass looming ahead of us in the pre-dawn darkness and look for a more private spot. A guard ushers us over and advises us to go inside to the inner courtyard where he promises the best view. It feels like a real priviledge...we are alone in the huge temple, the biggest religious monument in the world, but for a few monks and small children lighting incense at a shrine.
The inner courtyard is all
ours and as the sky lightens from indigo, to purple and through a rainbow of pastels behind the famous towers, it takes my breath away. Eventually a few people start to arrive and the spell is broken, but I'll always remember those moments we had, exploring the silent corridors which seem to go on forever, clambering up the steep staircases, watching the carvings come alive in the dawn. We head back out to the other side of the moat, across the bridge that we can now see is decorated with huge seven headed naga, a mythical serpent being that guided souls to the gods. We arrive in the now emptying photography pen before the sun has even risen over the highest tower. Not only did we have the staggering complex to ourselves for that precious time, we were also able to catch 'the money shot' as the bright orange sun finally rises above Angkor.
We've started the day on such a high, and as we cycle towards the city gates of Angkor Thom I'm unsure if anything can top what we've just seen, but I'm wrong. We pass thorugh the 6mtr high gates, topped with four faces of Avalokiteshvara,
the Buddha of compassion, and into the ancient capital of the Khmer empire, which once covered most of modern day Laos, Thailand and Vietnam and was unrivalled for well over 300 years, from the 9th-13th century.
The jewel of the temples inside the city walls, and my favorite place in all of Angkor, is the incredible Bayon. Over 200 giant sculptures of the face of Avalokiteshvara stare down, smiling serenely. And that's not all...there's the so called 'world's largest jigsaw puzzle' of Bauphon...a pyramidal temple that is being painstakingly reassembled after the Khmer Rouge's mindless destruction of the site and all the archaelogists records. And then you get to the Terrace of the Elephants, where once a huge gold pavilion sat on top of stone terrace, used by the king for public ceromonies and parades. The bas reliefs of elephants along the 300mtr long terrace, and the stairways supported by three headed elephats are amazingly well preserved. Even more perfect are the carvings of apsara (dancing nymphs) that decorate the next monument, the Terrace of the Leper King, which look like they were rendered yesterday. Topped by an intimidating statue of Yama, the Hindu god of death, it is
thought to have been the royal crematorium.
Exhilerated by our morning and not wanting to succumb to temple fatigue or the heat, we call it a day. Cycling happily south through the complex back towards Siem Reap, I can't wipe the smile off my face and attract the attention of a tuktuk full of monks. They toot and wave flirtatiously, collapsing into giggles as they drive off...the first of many such corrupting encounters...seems I'm quite popular with the orange robed ones!
For our last day, and following a happy hour fuelled night on town, we have a long lie in and lazy morning, before cycling to town for lunch then back to Angkor Thom in the late afternoon. We bike round the so called 'Little Circuit', heading to Ta Prohm, a wonderful temple that has almost been totally reclaimed by the surrounding jungle. Banyan trees and huge vines strangle the stonework and devour the walls of this 12th century Buddhist temple that was used as a film set in Tomb Raider. The lengthening shadows and rich light as the sun begins to set amkes this beautiful ruin even more spectacular and it's a fitting last stop to this, our latest adventure. Completing the 'Little Circuit', added to the distance to and from Siem Reap, means that we have cycled 30kms today and I am exhausted. It's going to be an early night before our 6am bus to Sihanoukville on the south coast.
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