Because the Photo Will Never Do It Justice

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Because a picture is never going to capture Angkor. Anything at Angkor, really. Even the dirt seems special when you realize that it's mixed in with the ground up sandstone, sweat, and blood from the temples of the empire that dominated Southeast Asia for centuries... and you're definitely not getting that feeling in a photo. So I'm going to try and use words in a situation where photos fail, and describe a couple of the moments I had in Angkor.

First, just to clarify, Angkor is the name of the empire that existed in SE Asia in the centuries around 1000AD. It's now also the name of this region of Cambodia where all of these temples - toooooons of temples - are still standing. Angkor Wat, which is sometimes used to describe the region, is actually just one temple. But really that's an understandable mistake...

...Which I'm now going to describe in my biggest goosebumps moment of my trip - the first time I went to the temples of Angkor. So here's how it goes.

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When you come visit the temples of Angkor, you actually stay in the city of Siem Reap, a few miles away from Angkor. It's a huge tourist city, but a pretty fun one. Everything about the city is geared to the temples, and in this case it doesn't feel in the slightest bit contrived. In fact, Cambodia as a country is totally rallied around Angkor at the moment, which deserves its own explanation later.

Anyway, you head to Angkor for the first time in the evening, around 5pm, in order to go see the sunset. You don't really know what you're doing other than seeing the sunset, you told your hotel that's what you wanted to do and they're hooking you up. You assume you're seeing it at Angkor Wat... where else would you watch it but the greatest temple of the whole collection? You ride in a tuk-tuk, the quintessential SE Asian mode of taxi: one wooden carriage pulled along by one motorbike. It's fun (google it to see pics). The wind whips past you keeping you blessedly cool from the otherwise chokingly oppressive jungle heat and humidity, and you get a completely open air view to everything you pass. What more could you ask for?

As you leave Siem Reap and head to Angkor, the hotels, restaurants, spas, all give way to perfectly kept up forest. This place is obviously cared about. You have nothing but straight road lined by trees for a few miles. The only interruption for you and the other tuk-tuks to see along the way is the occasional food stall and the hauntingly humble sign, saying in font size smaller than a speed limit sign "Welcome to Angkor."

Then more forest.
Excitement and Anticipation are normal.

Finally you start to come up to a T-intersection... beyond which lies a river as wide as two football field's length.... beyond which lies a stone wall maybe 30 feet high. You think "Cool, my first temple sighting at Angkor. Can't really see the temple... but I'm sure there's a couple ruins or something on the other side of that wall." You grin.

Your driver takes a left and you drive along the river a ways, maybe a quarter mile and the wall follows the river too.

The road comes makes a right turn ahead, and on the left side of the road is a series of restaurants which catch your interest. You casually check out their settings and such before focusing back on where you're going. Only then do you see it.

As the road makes a 90 degree right turn, so does the river, and you continue to follow its left bank. And..... there. Ahead about a quarter mile and on the other side of the river it sits - Angkor Wat. You've seen enough photos of it to recognize it when it's there in front of you. And it's awesome... but for a second you're let down. Your smile falters a little bit. In that second you find yourself instantly contemplating the fact that you've seen taller, older, more ornate structures before. You tell yourself "But this is Angkor Wat... it's awesome right?" Your mind acknowledges the causeway crossing the river... nope... wait....

And then the moment hits you; all at once you realize. Rivers don't turn 90 degrees. You understand that it's not a river, it's a moat. You're not looking at Angkor Wat, you're looking at the front gate to Angkor Wat. That wall you first saw? That was Angkor Wat's outer wall. That whole drive since you saw the wall? The drive that took a few minutes to make? All Angkor Wat. If you would have turned right back at the T-intersection, you still would have been circling Angkor Wat. If you kept following this moat way way way up ahead, you would still be circling Angkor Wat.

Your smile has totally fled the scene (it never did stand a chance). Now your mouth is open. You have no words, no sounds even, only goosebumps. The sheer scope of what you're encountering is like a physical blow. 203 acres. One structure. You sort of stop thinking.

Now you finally see the heart of Angkor Wat, rising up slightly above the gate in the distance. You manage a sound that is something more or less like "Oh."

But your tuk-tuk keeps driving, slowly chugging away along the perimeter of Angkor Wat. You aren't stopping here tonight. Because after you visit it, how can something impress you? Instead you skirt its edges; you tease your imagination.

And you are left to try and fully comprehend that wonder.
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That was my first experience with Angkor. Of course we followed that by a painfully hot and humid climb up to a hilltop temple to watch the sunset... along with hundreds and hundreds of other tourists. The temple was literally overflowing with tourists. So from that point we decided to base our temple exploring on avoiding crowds of people.

Of course we did eventually go back to actually visit Angkor Wat, at sunrise no less. It was beautiful, and Angkor Wat is really incredible. The problem is that when I say it is the least capturable structure by photo I have ever seen, I'm not trying for hyperbole. It's just not possible to photograph, it's faaaaaaar too great. I really can't do any more to describe it through words either. It's more like it has to be understood. You have to stand in the middle, and understand that you are surrounded, on an epic scale, by an incredible achievement. Feelings are as much a factor as sight, which is why I chose to give the description of the first time I saw it instead. I think it gives a better feeling.

Now that I've got that aside, it's not really my favorite temple. There's a few I liked better. And all things considered I was probably more inspired by some cathedrals in Europe. But still... it's a must see.

So which temples were better? Personally I think Tha Prohm is cooler, a temple that contrasts quite nicely with Angkor Wat. While Angkor Wat is a tribute to the wonders humans can achieve, Tha Prohm is the proof that when nature wants to it will have its way. It was once probably an amazingly impressive temple.... but now the forest has taken over. That iconical image of trees growing out of temples, their roots running down the walls, climbing around and twisting the temple to pieces - that's Tha Prohm. Much of the temple has collapsed from the forest beating it down. Everything is green: trees, moss and lichen covered stones, grass... only the tree roots are white. The trees also provide an intricate shade/sunlight effect throughout the ruins, as the light flickers across the destruction. All in all there's quite a bit more ambience.

But there's still tourists... usually quite a few.

My best experience was in a temple with no tourists. Literally no tourists. It was even the last temple we saw. Late in the afternoon wandering through the former walled city of Angkor Thom, we were more or less just trekking through jungle in the direction Lonely Planet said a temple was. Finally we see a structure start to show up through the trees. It's crumbling, and the large central tower looks like it's pretty much just a loose pile of rocks. Then we realize that there are (once again) trees growing out of the temple - waaaaay up high. And.... we are completely alone. No sounds but jungle. If I've ever felt like an explorer, that was the moment. It was a little unreal.

There's so many more Angkor moments I could share... but it would take too long, and I have other things I want to write about. Trust me when I say you should go there. It's an experience not to miss, especially now. The tourist industry is growing exponentially there right now, and the traveling world is obsessing over Angkor. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing (which I'll explain later), but I do think the best experiences are to be found now.

So go. Because this blog and the photos I bring back are no substitute.

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