February 19th-22nd: The Temples of Angkor

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Ah, the temples of Angkor. This was something I have been looking forward to since the conception of our journey. Krista, having been here once before, filled my head with her descriptions and recollections of the place. Rising at quarter to five in the morning, well before sunrise, we met up with a tuk-tuk driver we had prearranged to meet us the day before. Off we go, in the crisp air of the early morning, a breeze and the putter of the tuk-tuk tapping at our senses. It was a decently short ride and, though I should not have been surprised, we were not alone. There were other tourists in tuk-tuks headed the same way, for the same thing. Unlike the majority of them, however, we did not spend our first sunrise at the main spectacle of Angkor Wat. After a little explaining to our tuk-tuk driver (him having taken us straight to Angkor Wat, as he thought it the obvious choice for a tourist) we were taken to a different site. The sun rose as we sat, apart from a small gathering of people, at the edge of the royal bathing pond, Sra Sang. It was an enormous rectangle, filled with water shallow enough that there were a couple of men wading through it in the distance. With light now spilling over everything in sight, we crossed the road to explore our first site for the day. Blue-shirted men checked our passes as we proceeded through a stone entrance to the grounds. Dotted with trees, the space before us gave way to the beautiful Banteay Kdei. The place was nearly empty with only two people pacing around, far off. In the morning light, with the crisp and cool, atmospheric air it was a delightful experience. The near perfect isolation was also very appealing and we leisurely made our way around the area, taking in the battered stone and the weathered, ancient carvings depicted everywhere.

Every place we visited following this first contained an increasing number of tourists; not that it makes the temples any less rewarding, but a group of thirty babbling Chinese pushing through a small, echoing corridor is an unwelcome experience. On this first day, with our tuk-tuk driver making long distances possible, we took a large loop to see the outlying, lesser temples. Thus, we saved Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat for last. Our second stop that morning was Ta Prohm, an exquisite example of Angkorian architecture overrun by the encroaching nature that surrounds it (and sits on top of it). Massive trees perched themselves on top of the stone walls, in some circumstances causing them to crumble under the immense weight. It baffles me as to how these trees managed to survive on stone. This was perhaps the most picturesque temple we visited that day and we did not leave until Krista got a picture under the same giant roots she stood on years ago as a child. Onwards we puttered, to four smaller, pinkish-hued towers around a larger one that rose high above their surrounding walls. This was Pre Rup. Ta Som came next, a smaller, yet still captivating work of art standing amidst the forest. Then followed Neak Pean. We walked along a long, wooden bridge to see this pretty fountain, amidst trees that rose from water that went on as far as the eye could see. Our last stop before the sun became overbearing was Preah Khan, which like its brother Ta Prohm, had a massive tree set atop its moss-covered stones.

On our second day, we took bicycles; a very pleasant, cheap and freeing way to explore the temples. Our objective on this day was sunset at Angkor Wat. The ride there was very enjoyable apart from a rascally, young Cambodian boy, also riding a bicycle, who grabbed onto mine without me noticing and managed to hitch a ride until I realized and shook him off. I had been wondering why it was suddenly harder to pedal on my bike that was without gears. We arrived and locked our bikes up, a short distance from Angkor Wat's bridge. We crossed over, walking past the wide moat that ran for miles all the way around the complex. Ahead of us loomed the great entrance, rising up over its adjacent walls with three places to enter. Entering on the left, avoiding the mass exodus of tourists exiting the grounds, we stepped through and before us opened the enormous courtyard. Split through the middle by a stone pathway, there were but two small structures in the whole area. In the distance rose a magnificent sight; the three pointed peaks of Angkor Wat covered in an orange-red Cambodian sunset. There was a green canvas over the main entrance, which was blocked off. This was a little disappointing, for the purpose of pictures, but not a deterrent.

We entered left of the main entrance, and inside were confronted by an incredible sight. I felt as if I were standing in a work of fiction or fantasy. It seemed like its own city of stone, each corridor lined with pillars and stairs leading off in all four directions. There were four, square pits beyond the entrace, whose purpose we could only guess at. Up a lengthy flight of stairs was another horizontal corridor, which then led through more doorways out to the main temple. It was much more majestic up close. Rising high into the sky, I was in awe of it, something that happens very rarely. This was ancient. This was exquisite. I felt, for a moment, the brevity of my life in comparison to these timeless towers. The main stairway was blocked off. We climbed up the side, clambering up on the great blocks of stone, then made our way up the rest of the steep, uneven staircase to the top. In front of us was a breathtaking sunset; one neither of us will forget. A perfect sphere, red and pink, loomed in the distance and cast a brilliant shade on the entire courtyard and the gates that lay out, far below and far in front of us. I could not help but release a sigh of satisfaction and contentment. Our moment was interrupted by a guard who snapped at us to get down. So we got down, then walked around on the grass that surround the temple. This was peaceful; the place was a testament to serenity and hardly any people were around as the sun was nearly gone. Our ride home was in the dark, lit by dim, orange streetlights, but our moments in Angkor Wat were very much worth it.

Our last day was also with bicycles. In the morning we went much further than the previous night, all the way to the large complex of Angkor Thom. This, an area much larger than Angkor Wat and containing numerous temples, structures and sights. As described in my guide book, the combined parts equal a greater whole than Angkor Wat itself. After crossing the bridge that was lined on either side with a line of statues holding the serpent Naga, we came upon the Bayon temple. This was a striking structure, and on each of the main parapets were the faces of a bodhisattva, the name of whom I never did find out. It exuded its ancient heritage more intimately than any of its counterparts and was my personal favourite. Angkor Wat was spectacular, but this place had an exotic characteristic that drew me in. The outer wall of the main temple had exquisite carvings all the way around and many towers stood around the main one, each with faces as well. In the northeastern corner of the temple grounds was another small structure, and we climbed its very steep steps for a better view of the Bayon temple. This was another extraordinary way to spend sunset. Onwards, and getting a little lost, we bicycled the wrong way completely out of Angkor Thom. Not that it was not a pleasant ride, just time consuming. We approached the next temple, down a very long stone bridge to the entrance. Krista was not allowed in, for her shoulders were bare and this was a temple still in use. Still, it was pretty to see from the outside. We saw the Terrace of the Elephants, a basin guarded by two elephants, beside a 100m stretch of wall covered in elephant carvings. We also saw the Terrace of the Leper King, an asexual statue in the image of a long-forgotten king, behind a wall covered in incredibly detailed carvings. The sun was high in the sky; it was time to head back. We returned that night, hiring a tuk-tuk for two hours to save our legs and bums from exhaustion. Managing to see one more major temple, Ta Keo, which was under heavy reconstruction and so was too covered to be appreciated. Our last sunset was spent back at Angkor Wat. We walked to it once more through the entrance, over the long, stone bridgeway, through the eerie stone city and out at the base of the Wat. I consciously tried to get those images and the feeling of being there to stick in my mind. I hope my memory of the place remains vivid for a long time.



Jord::

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