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Published: February 28th 2007
Hardcore Temple Visiting…the Next X-Games Sport?
Could Temples Really Be Worth This? As I awoke at 5:45am the question above was the first thing that entered my mind. Mr. Han had been very adamant that getting to the temples early was really worth it because the crowds got more and more ridiculous as the day progressed. We believed him and were therefore ready for our 6:30am pickup to start the day.
Our first stop was to drop off the our bags at the Villa (hotel change today) so that we could set out for a very full morning. From there it was straight to the actual Angkor Wat temple to start the day off. Despite the fact that the sun had already risen, the view of the temples was amazing from across the mote. You may not be able to see in the pictures but the crowd was already immense. Many tours show up for sun rise and all of them were on their way out of the temple to go elsewhere. The good news for us, everyone was leaving which meant that inside of the temple we would have less congestion.
Angkor
Wat was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II as a temple to Vishnu, a Hindu god. The 1.3 square kilometer site is an amazing view into Khmer architecture. Originally inside the outer walls would have been a huge city that was originally the capital. Since all of the buildings were made of wood, that city has long since disappeared. All that remains is the huge temple that was in the middle of the site. The temple has three levels which signify heaven and hell. The tallest level is well above the ground and gives a great view of the whole complex.
We spent about an hour walking around the temple site as the sun came up to full height. The site is amazing by anyone’s standards because everywhere you turn there are carvings, towers and staircases. We eventually made it all the way to the top which involves walking up an incredibly steep set of stairs. As always, up is not that bad but down is incredibly difficult. Thankfully the site has improved one stairwell and added a hand rail which makes getting up and down much easier. Without the added infrastructure, you can only image
what would happen if you fell, rumor has it many have fallen and some have even died.
On to the Lesser Temples in the Area After leaving Angkor Wat we stopped for breakfast at Restaurant #16 (there are many restaurants in a row and all numbered) in Angkor Thom. Since we had rushed out to get started on the day we had been unable to grab anything to eat so the stop was a welcome one. With a little food in our tum-tums we were ready for some serious exploring.
We headed north out of Angkor Thom on a road way created specifically for tour groups. The number of temples in the area is staggering and without Mr. Han’s guidance we would have been lost as to what to do. It is amazing what a little knowledge can do to help make one’s experience a thousand fold better than average.
Unfortunately the combination of the number of temples and the similarity between them has made it nearly impossible for me to recount which ones we saw when. Instead of recounting each one and giving you a history lesson I will just recap some of
the cool stuff we saw.
After stopping the tuk-tuk, Mr. Han would stop and tell us a brief history of each temple and would tell us what to look out for while we were inside. He brought with him a stack of pictures of the important sites so that he could make sure we wouldn’t miss anything and so he could do a better job of getting us to understand everything’s significance. If I had been smart I would have brought a pad with me and took notes because after a few temples the histories started getting muddled in my head. I will say this, Mr. Han is awesome! His histories were succinct yet very thorough which greatly increased our appreciation of the sights we were seeing. Without his help the temples could have been a huge waste.
We stopped at Preah Khan which was dedicated to the King’s father. Actually three temples were built to honor the Kings father, but Preah Khan was the last and biggest of these. We also got a chance to stop at the what used to be the local hospital of that time which was small but pretty interesting. Once admitted to
the hospital the patient would meet with the shaman who would do a diagnosis to ensure that the patient got the right treatment. Inside the temple were four pools with a special fountain/face at each end. These fountains were created for the purpose of healing certain types of ailments. For instance, the human face was created to heal sicknesses that were created by evil. Each person has two entities that represent the good deeds and the bad deeds they have accomplished in life. Similar to our depiction of an angle on one shoulder and a devil on the other, these entities rest on the persons shoulders. Their purpose is to recount a persons deeds when they die so that they can either go to heaven or hell. Sometimes the entity responsible for recording evil deeds can cause someone to get sick. In this case they would go from the shaman to the pool with the face fountain so that they could be bathed in water that would flow from the head’s mouth. Interesting huh?
Each pool had a different face, one a tiger, one a horse, one a human face and one an elephant. Each face represented one of
the elements: earth, air, water, and fire. In the center of the temple is a pedestal built on a circular snake. The shape of the temple was supposed to have had something to do with the use of the snake wrapped around a cross as the sign of hospitals around the world.
If Mr. Han hadn’t told us about the fountain heads we never would have found them despite their importance. Everyone else in the temple was hanging out on the giant tower in the center of the temple while we snuck around into the dried pools on each side and took pictures of the four heads. This is just one example of how Mr. Han’s knowledge made sure that we didn’t miss anything during our visits. While all these huge tours were clowning around and posing for silly pictures, we were getting a chance to see the cool stuff that actually meant something.
As the day stretched on we got tired of exploring the temples more because of the sun than due to the temples themselves. Every time we would exit the tuk-tuk we would start sweating profusely because of the direct sun exposure and bewildering humidity.
When done with the temple we would have sweat in our eyes and be completely soaked. Then we’d jump back in the Mr. Han-mobile and would cool off due to the moving air as we drove to the next site. The sweat would dry up in a matter of minutes and we’d be cool again, then we’d just start the whole thing again.
We figured that we were done by the fourth temple but then Mr. Han took us to another one. I think he was very serious about ensuring that we got everything in during the time we had allotted. Finally after our sixth temple (now 12:00ish) we called it quits and asked Mr. Han to take us back to the Villa Siem Reap for us to check in and get some lunch.
Lunch and Enjoying the Tree House We ate another fabulous Western food meal for lunch. My pizza was awesome and Kel’s cheese, salami, olive and bread plate was superb. When we were done eating and drinking a fair amount we were both feeling a thousand times better. We had really put our all into the 5 hours we spent at the
temples and figured that we would rest in the afternoon. Kel asked me if I wanted her to cook dinner to which I emphatically responded yes!!
After dropping me off at the tree house, Kel went and bought some groceries to cook dinner. I spent my time reading and blogging in the luxurious new place we would be calling home for two nights. The tree house is really just a house on stilts like the locals use. The Villa owners have really decked it out though - it has a kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a dining table and a sitting area with a TV. We really got a great deal for not that much money.
Having a kitchen to ourselves and a place to eat dinner in front of the TV, like home, was awesome. Kel made spaghetti almost as good as she does at home and we watched American Idol, not our favorite but still cool, while we ate dinner and had a bottle of red wine. Mr. Han seemed disappointed that we weren’t going to go out and enjoy the Siem Reap nightlife but we tried to impress upon him that this was a welcomed
change to eating out every night. He reluctantly said he understood, but I think he really wanted us to go out and get dinner. I’m sure he eats home every night and would love to eat out sometimes…but three months of eating out makes one long for some home cooking.
After dinner we sat around for about an hour, watched Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Far and Away. Then we got to bed early. Our plan for the next day was to start even earlier. Mr. Han planned to pick us up at 6am for our start of the final full day we had in Siem Reap. While this is early, we had already experienced how important starting early really was. Once again, thank you Mr. Han for pushing us to get up and get started!
Hope you are all well back home!
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JennyinJamaica
non-member comment
what kind of crowds?
I'm curious about the makeup of the crowds at the temples. Are they mostly Southeast Asian, or European or something else? I don't think Cambodia is a big destination for Americans.... I could be wrong though! I really would have loved to see some pics of your custom clothes. I'm bugging my husband to take me there for the express purpose of having a ton 'o clothes made for us! :-) Happy traveling, Jenny