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Published: March 3rd 2009
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Bayon Temple
The approach to Bayon by foot. Ants crawled on our feet - they went unnoticed. We left Angkor Watt and traveled to Bayon, a temple known for the huge faces that are carved into its many towers. My immediate thoughts when approaching the place were of how few people there were around. The heat was incredible. My shirt could have cured the Sahara...and my boxers could have probably given the Indian ocean a run for its money. Gross - whatever. Bayon feels a little more wild than Angkor Watt, it still gets many tourists visiting but nothing by comparison. Any controls or boundaries that you see at Angkor Watt are lost at Bayon. There are several temple staff around to offer tours and generally point in the right direction, but you are able (at your own risk) to explore as you like. In fact there was one point where we were climbing a vertical stone staircase up to a temple...when we noticed that inch-long ants had started to crawl along the tops of our fingers. I never checked, but it's quite possible that at this point, I soiled myself.
It's quite an incredible feeling being able to walk freely amongst the ruins - the red rope of historical death made me quite disinterested in many
Bayon Face
One of the many faces at Bayon. This one was about as tall as me. There were countless faces amongst the walls. heritage sights when I was younger, these temples retain the magic that these other places have largely lost.
As we approached the temple from one side there was pretty much no one else in sight. Just us, the wild surroundings and then this awe-inspiring temple towering above us. Ants are everywhere, they bite the hell out of your feet if you stay in one place too long, but generally its okay. I've no idea what other wildlife surrounded the jungle but for the sake of interest, I'm going to say bears - lots of them... and they have teeth of obsidian. There are also probably dragons.
Besides a modern road connecting many of the large temples - the Angkor region is largely jungle. We still haven't seen a snake yet though. Bayon was designed as a place of worship, but it is also clearly something of a power statement. It looks a little like a fortress, its walls are high and the towers are thick and (although the faces are mostly smiling) pretty intimidating. Inside the temple is a little more crowded. We were assailed by a horde of Japanese tourists taking pictures of EVERYTHING. If Jesus had
Bayon Monk
This is one of the monks I met at Bayon. He was happy to have his picture taken and also seemed adept at avoiding the tours. The second this picture was taken I pretty much lost sight of him. a camera, he would have had one of the ones they were wielding that day. They were ridiculous, and unfortunately looked like they were going to waste. There seems to be a trend amongst the Japanese tourists here to look ecstatic 99% of the time, but when they have their photo's taken their faces suddenly drop to a "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed" face. Pretty crazy really, but I suppose its no different to the horrific cheese that oozes from the fake smiles of European tourists. Seriously, you can taste the cheddar.
The faces at Bayon are far beyond what I had expected. I couldn't count how many there were. They are part of every tower and face in most directions. Some say the temple would be alive today if it hadn't been for a single imperfection in the stone. Contented with having eyes in every direction, the occupants apparently sacked their sentries and slept soundly under the stars night after night. Unfortunately, one evening whilst they slept, their enemies somehow avoided the lifeless eyes of the unthinking stones and conquered the towers in just a few moments. Survivors maintained that had the invaders approached from any other
A Temple - A Fortress?
Bayon is both captivating and confusing to look at. There is so much to see around the walls on the towers its difficult to know where to set your gaze. The faces are more decisive in this one. angle, they would have been alerted and destroyed by unseen powers almost immediately. This is, of course, a wild lie and bears no relation to my actual experience of the temple.
Back on track: If someone built something like this today it would take years. They're pretty much all smiling, although some of them are starting to look a little disgruntled. It's got to get a little samey just being a stationary face on a rock for thousands of years. Eye Spy would be the absolute worst game they could play, particularly for stones on opposite side of a rock face:
"Eye Spy with my little eye something beginning with "S"..."
"For the last time Steve, I can't see the B#&$#@! SUN!"
"Chalk up another point for me then?"
Still, we enjoyed looking at them. We also found a few monks around the temple, I think a large part of their presence is in raising funds for temple restoration. Generally monks won't ask you for money, but I think by being there they improve the experience of tourists and in that way encourage donations to the temples. The monks I've spoken to so far have been incredibly
Tah Prohm Entrance
This is the incredible entrance to Tah Prohm. I was quite lucky to get a picture of it without anyone wandering through. How many places in the world could you do this? friendly and are always an impressive spectacle when set against the backdrop of their inheritance.
After Bayon we headed to Tah Prohm. This was the temple they used for the Tomb Raider films and is every bit as impressive as it looks on screen. Whilst the other temples are a testament to what can be achieved by people working together (slavery or no), Tah Prohm reminds you who's really in charge in the whole life business. In Tah Prohm, plants and trees have taken back the temple grounds for nature. It's essentially the Last March of the Ents in Lord of the Rings...just played at about a millionth of the speed...and there is virtually no loss of life. Nature has taken over here and the evidence is all around you and builds with every step you take.
Before I came to Tah Prohm I saw pictures in the lonely planet guide and on the internet. Like with most of these places there is one key feature about a place and then the rest is fairly standard practice. Every magazine, photo album and guide book delivers the same famous picture of a tree growing over a doorway. I honestly
Wing Commander
For a brief moment in Tah Prohm, I lost my mind. couldn’t wait to see it…then when we got there, we suddenly realized that the whole temple has been engulfed in trees. The trees have become part of the temple structure and interwoven their roots with the carefully laid rocks and stones. Remove the plant life and the whole structure would come crashing down. It was a very magical and beautiful place and perhaps the most incredible site I’ve had the opportunity to visit.
Again… we played at Tomb Raider for awhile. Why wouldn’t you? I was on the set of a film and there were all these amazing things around. I’m also pretty sure I found a doorway to a treasure cavern. Couldn’t get it open though…the trees had sealed it shut. I wondered for a long time what it is they could be protecting.
After accepting that the trees were hiding the elixir of eternal youth, I worried for my beard and began a slow retreat to the temple openings.
The visit to Tah Prohm was overall a great experience. A man from South Korea latched on to Rich and for some reason decided to have his next 4 or 5 pictures with him. I coined
Monks at Tah Prohm
These monks were here for there own purpose when we visited Tah Prohm. They moved together and didn't seem interested in the fascinated stares of nearby tourists. It's sometimes hard to see the monks as more than a tourist attraction, so this was very good to see. a photo angle dubbed the “Dabbs - Tah Prohm”, when I noticed that there were about 30 people queuing up for one of the token-shots, I ducked under a gateway and took mine from the other side. It was exactly the same…possibly better. Why can’t people get a personality and think for themselves? Unsurprisingly, the second I’d finished taking my picture I was handed a camera by a fellow tourist. I swear to god it was the only piece of shit camera that the Japanese tour had amongst them. I was gutted - it wasn’t even digital and…I don’t want to jump to any conclusions…but it could have, quite possibly, been the first ever camera. They were very nice, happy people though so it was fairly entertaining.
As I ducked under two or three more cameras, I (possibly) threw a flashbang beneath my feet and disappeared into the smoke. I glanced over my dramatically cloaked shoulder from a shadowy strip and noticed that another 20-30 people were now queuing to take Dabbs-Tah Prohm. Turning aside, I left my monster to wallow in its filth.
We left Tah Prohm incredibly happy people.
Chris
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