Angkor What?!

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Tuesday 1-11 to Friday 1-14
We spent three days exploring the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat with Jane and Rae. They were A-MAZING! Breathtaking! I had no idea that the Khmer culture (ancient Cambodian culture) started out Hindu. As a result, most of the ruins were spectacular artistic homages to Hindu gods and their myths that, over time, were blended into Buddhist symbolism and statues. It was beautiful. The ruins were built between 800 and 1200 C.E. and many of them are crumbling or barely standing upright. Aside from the main temple of Angkor Wat, most of the temples suffered damage and disrepair during the Khmer Rouge years. But a lot of restoration work has been undertaken and is still going on to a) make them more stable and b) if possible, restore them to close to their original splendor so you can actually still see some of the original art work. What looks like weather-worn sandstone and piles of rock were once incredibly ornate stone carvings and spires that were painted red and gold! I can only imagine what these structures looked like back in the 12th century! [Nick Note: Reminds me of ancient Roman sculpture which we always admired for their understated marble elegance but in reality those sculptures had more color than a lady of the night.] Every single piece of wall that has been restored has extremely elaborate decorations, from miniscule flower patterns to 3-D bas reliefs of entire mythological battles! Beautiful! I know my words won’t really do much, but hopefully the pictures can elaborate some more.

We took a tuk tuk to and from the ruins each day – a much better (and funner) mode of transportation than a cramped car. Although, you do get covered in red dust, which makes your shower at the end of the day a lot more colorful. Our first impression of the ruins was great! We drove to the Southern Gate of Angkor Thom and were greeted by 54 gods on one side and 54 demons on the other, battling it out in an ancient tug of war known as the “Churning of the Ocean of Milk.” The statues were huge! And at the top of the gate were 4 giant stone heads of the Bodhisattva staring out over the kingdom. Bayon was spectacular for its hundreds upon hundreds of faces carved into the stone. We stayed late the first night (forgot headlamps) to watch sunset at Phnom Bakheng. The sun wasn’t so spectacular, but climbing the hill up to the top of the ruins gave us a really nice view of the surrounding plains and the West Baray.

We got up at 5am on the second day (again, forgetting our head lamps!) to await sunrise at Angkor Wat. Sunrise was disappointing, but the ruins were not. Dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was built as the king's main temple in the 12th century capital city. The bas-reliefs around the first gate are breath taking! It took Nick two days to take it all in! (It was so huge, it was like taking him to Target – only this time I don’t have a cell phone to use to try and find him when we inevitably get lost.) [Nick Note: The bas relief walls surrounding Angkor Wat are the most impressive structures in the place. They are huge, maybe 3 meters high and each extending about 100 meters, they have multiple layers in each and are filled with symbolism. Artists who carved them spent their entire lives devoted to their section. There is one that shows heaven, earth, and hell in Hindu belief; heaven looks much like earth (except there are lots of servants which makes me wonder who are the servants, maybe the non-believers) but hell looks terrible, lots of dismemberment and even demons performing forced abortions on women. Probably the most spectacular relief is called Churning the Sea of Milk where a series of demons are at a tug of war with a group of gods and they the mountain at the center of the universe in order to create an immortality serum for the gods.] They were stunning and the restoration work was really good. In some place, you could still see the ancient Sanskrit writing on the wall and you could see patches of original red and gold paint. I can only imagine what this massive place must have looked like, gleaming red and gold! Sadly, Jane wasn’t allowed to go to the top of the central tower (they told her that her shorts were too short), but up there you could see how the Hindu and Buddhist religions had come together. Many faces of the Hindu gods had been scratched out and in the main alcoves, statues of Buddha replaced those that had been there before. We ended up going back to Angkor Wat three times just to take it all in.

A few other temples of note were Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei for the massive trees that were growing among the ruins. After about 800 years of disrepair, the jungle starts to take over and it makes for a beautiful backdrop! We must have seen 2-3 weddings having their formal pictures taken among the ruins. I love Cambodian weddings – they are so ornate and colorful (no stuffy black and white)!

Back in Siem Reap, we laid waste to the food scene and ate some great Khmer food (chicken amok and Khmer bbq – yum!) and even treated ourselves to some delicious French food. The best pork chops I’ve ever had! (Sorry Dad but they were amazing! Don’t worry though; you’ll still have to make them for me when I come home.) We also took in a traditional Apsara Dinner Show. The food was OK (as most buffets), but the show was really cool. The traditional apsara (mythological celestial nymphs – the sultry ladies carved into the temple walls) costumes were so ornately beautiful and their hand movements are so flexible and sinuous, it’s crazy! I tried bending my hand as far back as they do and I got a cramp!

For those in the know, you’ll be happy to hear that during the trip, Jane got much better at telling stories and we did finally rustle up some anti-malaria meds.

Friday was a sad day; we had to say goodbye to Jane and Rae :o( We had such a GREAT time traveling with them and I hope Rae’s cold feels better soon! Experiencing Vietnam with Jane & her family was a privilege and an experience, and I’m so glad that Raelene is a world traveler now! Just think of all the places you can go with a passport! We had a great time ladies – thank you so much for putting up with us!

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Photos

Elephant Bas Relief
You can still see some remains of the original red and gold pigment.