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Published: March 1st 2009
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Angkor Watt by Sunrise
Angkor Watt at sunrise. Hello,
Last Saturday was an incredible day. We awoke at 5am and stumbled into the dark driveway of our guesthouse to meet our Tuk-Tuk driver. Within minutes we were driving through the empty streets of Siem Reap, avoiding night dogs but otherwise heading in pretty much straight lines. This was a success.
I wasn't that sure what to expect from Angkor Watt. Before traveling to Cambodia it was set up to be one of the highlights of the trip, but as I spoke to more travelers who had passed through that way my expectations changed slightly as people often described it as "over-rated." We arrived at the temple grounds at around 5.45am and saw for the first time the ancient towers against the blueish backdrop of the morning sky. It was amazing. There were tourists from every nationality there to share the sunrise with us, but not even close to the number I had expected. Sheepishly, hordes of photo-starved tourists edged towards the entrance... not all that sure as to where they should be going. We were pretty much the same... in fact for the first 15 minutes we stared in awe at what we thought was Angkor Watt
Angkor Flower
These flowers were scattered across the water outside the temple. - we found out soon after that we were actually looking at the humble gateway to the temple grounds.
Approaching the gate we arrived at a long bridge of two parts. The section on the left is the original walkway to Angkor Watt, and a new bridge has been developed on the right hand side. It's amazing to think of how much stone was needed to build this bridge, and how long it could have taken using just basic tools and technology. Crossing this bridge in pitch black leaves everything to the imagination.
I walked through the gate pretending I was Indiana Jones. I'm not ashamed to admit that. If there's a time you're allowed to let your imagination take hold, it's when you're walking through the ancient ruins of one of the most celebrated temples on the planet... or if you've built a cardboard box equivalent.
A few more steps and we arrived upon the straight path to Angkor Watt. In comparison to the gateway (we had believed to be it), it was gigantic. The sun was rising behind the thin covering of clouds and a slow procession of tourists galloped into photo friendly positions. I
Angkor Artwork
Symbolic artworks cover the walls of Angkor Watt. Many of these have survived the test of time, though unfortunately the same cannot be said for the statues here. Tragically, during the reign of the Khmer rouge the heads of Buddha were removed or disfigured leaving many of the sculptures in pieces. swear that some of the lenses being used were bigger than the photographers head. You don't really see yourself as a tourist when your there - why would you?
I spotted a path that led from the raised stone walkway into the temple grounds. I was desperate to get a picture of Angkor Watt by sunrise without having some umbrella holding, poker hat wearing horde ruining it. There were probably snakes, massive ants and scorpions hiding in the grass but on the plus side, there weren't any tourists. We made our way along a crudely cut path through short grasses until we arrived on the right hand side of the temple. The rising sun wasn't quite what I had in mind, but the sky transformed from black to a deep red. The sky set a dramatic backdrop for the ancient towers and we stood watching for awhile as the detail emerged from the silhouettes.
The temple itself is both intimidating and beautiful. Every surface has been carved by artisans and stone sculptures and statues are carefully placed throughout the grounds. I've never seen anything like it in my life. Naturally, I imagined I was hunting for some ancient
Peering Through the Cracks
This picture was taken as I stepped through an opening in the main doorway. Patterns are etched into every surface. treasure lost countless centuries ago by some crazed professor, so I was in my element. I took it upon myself to examine every piece of artwork I stumbled upon and tried to imagine the artist standing in that same place centuries before...how anyone could ever say that Angkor Watt is over-rated I don't really understand. Even seeing it from a distance would be worth something - in the temple's presence you can't help but ask silent questions to yourself...almost all of them beginning with - "How...?"
As we left Angkor Watt I was alerted by my amigo's to a temple monkey that was making his way across the bridge. This is my second sighting of a wild monkey, my first being in Gibraltar. He looked pretty full of himself to be honest. Fame will go to your head - no time for the fans.
We also saw several monks walking around the temples. Me and Rich were pulled to one side by a Cambodian man dressed normally who asked us to join him in prayer. Not wanting to offend we followed his actions and took a stick of burning incense from a statue of a decapitated Buddha. He
Lighting Incense
A monk kneels in a dimly lit corridor and lights slow burning incense. Around 50 monks remain in Angkor Watt as a permanent presence. informed us that during the reign of the Khmer Rouge all statues of Buddha were beheaded and sold to Thailand. It was quite nauseating looking around, to know that this defiling and pilfering of sacred art and culture was carried out not by foreign invaders but by disillusioned, twisted inheritors. We continued repeating the man's words until replacing the incense back into the statue. It was at this point the man propositioned us for a donation to the temple. Not knowing whether he was genuine, or if he was someone wanting to make a quick dollar we declined. We've agreed that any donations we make will be considered. There are so many desperate people here that two visitors with our pocket sizes would be swallowed in the sea before you could blink. It's difficult to refuse donations, particularly when someone has made an effort... but it's a necessary habit to pick up when spending any kind of time out here. It also makes you feel pretty guilty at times.
I'm not sure I've ever seen more cameras lined up in one place than those at the famous "water shot" of Angkor Watt. I'm also convinced that there was at
Lesser Temple
A smaller, but well preserved temple found within the grounds of Angkor Watt. least 2 people from every nationality stood at the waters edge. The tour groups were quite embarrassing to look at - they had there uniforms on and their official gear and hats etc. We saw an increasing number of these as the day grew with age. It was also quite uncomfortable to watch this ancient and historic site being treat like a token picture conveyor-belt for fat, unimaginative tourists. It's a strange concept to me for someone to just turn up to somewhere as impressive as Angkor Watt and find satisfaction in queuing up behind a hundred other people to take the same photograph that's in all the magazines, that you're not going to take a better shot of anyway. Maybe save the effort and buy a print of that one? You're not going to be able to do it differently to everyone else... but at least you could experience the place in your own way. Each to their own.
This was just the beginning of a very long day of temple watching. It was truly inspiring and I would recommend the experience to anyone. It's a wonderful thing to be able to see something in it's natural environment
Monkey Arrogance
This guy wouldn't even look at the camera. A bit of attention and he lets it go straight to his head. I worry for the future of pop star primates. - visiting the temples of Angkor is a little like looking at history without the chains. There are several restrictions at the temple - sensible choices really, but you are genuinely able to experience the ruins however you wish. An extremely rare and (I imagine short-lived) opportunity.
Chris
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