Continued from here:
(A note to my readers: I apologize for the messed-up formatting of this post. After spending an entire morning cursing and trying to fix it (more the former than the latter, I must confess), I gave up in despair. Rahu Kalam, perhaps?)
Golden Temple Villa: our hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Prelude
I got off the plane at Siem Reap, into the blazing heat of a tropical afternoon. What a change from the sleet, wind and miserable cold in New York! I had a joyous reunion with the rest of my group, which had arrived earlier in the day from Madras. Along with them was our guide for the trip, Sarng, a gentle, always-smiling young man whom you took to instantly.
We decided to stop on the way to our hotel to buy our passes for the various temples. En route, we passed Angkor Wat! I could not believe my eyes. What a miracle modern travel is! Just a few hours on a plane, and you emerge into another world altogether, so different from the one that was left behind. I could not believe that we were looking at the Real Thing! As in the case of the Taj Mahal and so many of the world’s wonders, no picture can actually do it full justice, but not everybody is lucky enough to be able to see it, so here is one, taken from our vantage point across the moat.
Angkor Wat from across the moat: first glimpse!
We spent a happy 15-20 minutes clicking away. We witnessed a bustling, vibrant scene much like in India : vendors and hawkers, many of them the most adorable children, of every Angkor-related memorabilia you could conceive of. A noticeable difference was the almost complete absence of litter, flies and stench. Although the currency here is the Riel (4,200 Riel to the U.S. dollar), it is almost as if this currency does not exist: all prices are quoted in dollars, in a lovely sing-song voice – one dahler, two dahler…
After some urging from Sarng, we tore ourselves away to go to the temple pass office, where we paid the price for our dawdling and lingering at Angkor Wat: the office had closed for the day. Oh well.
We headed to our hotel – Golden Temple Villas. This is a cute little place, quite a bargain at $15 per night for a double room. The rooms are tiny, but clean and air-conditioned, which was all we needed. All guests have to remove their footwear before entering the main building. There is a restaurant on the side, with free Khmer coffee, tea and bananas! Across the street is a laundry (one of many laundries on our street) where they charge $1 per kilo of dirty clothes.
Our group of eight had a hearty dinner at the Golden Temple Villa restaurant. Exhausted by the travel and heat, all of us turned it in early. Our plan was to set out at 5.30 the following morning, to go temple hopping!
Day One
That unfailing tyrant, the cell-phone alarm, woke us up at 5 am. Refreshed after a night’s sound sleep, we set out at 5.30, piled into the van and a car. I must confess here that I had done minimal reading about this place before coming here. I had a vague and confused notion about an array of Hindu and Buddhist Varman kings, of temples lying abandoned in the jungle, and an embarrassingly sketchy idea of what lay ahead. Angkor Wat, yes, of course I’d heard of that, but Angkor Thom, Bayon, Banteay Srei, Preah Kahn….? I bow my head in shame at my ignorance.
After (successfully this time) buying our passes (quite expensive, at $40 for a three-day pass), we made for the city of Angkor Thom, one of the largest of the Khmer cities. The early morning air was still clear and cool, and a refreshing mist hung about the air. The roadside vendors were up and about, setting up their colorful stalls in readiness for the crush of visitors who would start descending on them shortly. We munched contentedly on the fresh, fragrant baguettes we had bought from the young lady who had come to our hotel that morning, bearing a basketful of these baguettes on her head. They appear to be one of the few remnants of French colonial rule, at least here in Siem Reap.
We stopped just before the South Gate entrance into Angkor Thom, where Sarng pointed out the rows of devas and asuras, on the left and right respectively, on the causeway across the moat. They, 54 of each, were pulling on a Naga, in a Cambodian re-creation of the Churning of the Milk Ocean legend. The devas, with their almond-shaped eyes, looked calm and tranquil, while the asuras, with their glowering eyes, looked distinctly disgruntled. Sarng told us that this South Gate entrance was in the best shape of all the (five) entrances into Angkor Thom.
Line of Devas pulling on their Naga, near South Gate entrance to Angkor Thom
Asuras pulling their Naga, and a view of the moat, near South Gate entrance to Angkor Thom
The South Gate entrance into Angkor Thom; note the Devas and Asuras on either side of the road
We entered through the South Gate with its eerie-looking, massive faces, carved on all four sides. These, reportedly modeled after King Jayavarman VII, who ordered their creation, are supposed to represent Avalokiteswara, the head Boddhisatva.
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Aside: a few basic facts about Angkor Thom
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We tarried awhile at the South Gate, marveling at the carvings on the South Gate, particularly those of the three-headed elephant and the lotuses. We could have spent hours here in the cool morning air, but again, Sarng had to gently urge us away, promising more treats ahead.
A short drive later, we arrived at our first temple, the
Bayon. Built in the late 12th-early 13th century by Jayavarmans VII
and VIII, this was an imposing and awe-inspiring sight, with its 54 (?) towers,
most of them carved with the same likenesses of JV VII we had seen at the South Gate. Narcissism was alive and well in 12th century Cambodia!
Each of the towers of Bayon has four massive faces carved into it, two benign, and the other two non-so-benign. It was certainly quite creepy and spooky to see all those faces staring impassively ahead!
Bayon: Can you spot the faces?
We moved on to the side galleries, which had incredibly detailed carvings showing the battles (mostly between the Khmers and their old-time enemies, the Chams of present-day Vietnam) and daily-life scenes of those days. We enjoyed the gory battle scenes where the hapless Chams were pitched into the water, into the waiting jaws of fierce looking crocodiles. There was also an abundance of “Aappssaaarrra” (in Sarng-speak) statues.
Bayon: Off to war!
Apsara: The Beauty Queen of Bayon
Giving us a foretaste of what lay ahead, we climbed up some steep steps to the upper levels, where we found that our exertions were well worth it. We got up close and personal with some of the faces, and this level was dotted with many active Buddhist shrines. We spent a good deal of time wandering around this level, putting off the inevitable: the steep descent back to the ground level! Our knees did us proud – we made our way down with a minimum of creaking and groaning!
Bayon: A monk at one of the Buddhist shrines
Once down, we gazed for the last time at the faces of Bayon. The brightening light made them stand out more clearly – this temple looks different at different times of the day, which is part of its fascination.
After all that climbing and tramping around the rubble, we deserved a treat. It lay just ahead of us, in the form of an elaneer (tender coconut) stand. The coconuts were kept chilled in an ice-box, so the water was divinely cool and refreshing. These were HUGE coconuts – like swimming pools! The flesh was delicious – sweet and silky smooth. The coconuts were cut differently here than in India: a sparkling, super-sharp butcher’s knife was used to cut off the top in a zig-zag pattern. Even though this was a simple, no-frills shack, it was spotlessly clean, without a fly in sight. How do they achieve this??
Eventually, we hauled ourselves off to the ruins
of the Bapuon Temple, trailed all the way by children trying to sell us
all manner of things. I succumbed fairly quickly, and bought 2 bead bracelets,
and a book, Ancient Angkor.
The Bapuon Temple was built in the mid-11th century by King Udayadityavarman II, and is a “mountain” temple. Because of its age, it is in a state of fairly advanced ruin, and large-scale renovations are going on. Sarng told us that we would only be able to see the temple from outside, after walking across the entranceway. Here is what we saw:
Bapuon Temple
Next we walked towards the giant maidan, and the Elephant Terrace (built by that old narcissist, Jayavarman VII, in the 12th century), from where the king and his generals surveyed their troops, and where the circus performers did their acrobatics. We admired the carvings of elephants, battle scenes, garudas and assorted monsters. Then we wandered through the grounds where the Royal Palace stood. Since it was made of wood, no trace remains of this palace. We saw the men’s and women’s bathing pools (the latter much bigger and cleaner…wonder why?). On our way out, we stopped at the Leper King Terrace. Sarng told us that since the surface of this terrace was scarred (by lichen and other growths) in a manner reminiscent of the skins of those with leprosy, this terrace came to be called the Leper King Terrace. I did not fully follow what he said, but I think he mentioned something about one of the Angkor Kings being a leper (?)
Terrace of the Leper King, Angkor Thom
By now the sun was out in full force, and we flopped
gratefully and exhaustedly into our air-conditioned van, and after a brief
bathroom stop we set out for
the Ta Prohm temple, where the movie Tomb Raiders was filmed.
We arrived at Ta Prohm, to a scene somewhat reminiscent of that outside the Taj Mahal, on a smaller and cleaner scale. Throngs of tourists, dozens of enormous buses belching smoke and heat, clamoring vendors, all intensified by the burning heat. I wonder how much Tomb Raiders had to do with this!
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Aside: a few basic facts about Ta Prohm
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Ta Prohm and India!
Among the most amazing sights at Ta Prohm were the trees: monstrous, evil-looking spungs, and the smaller but as-persistent strangler figs, which have grown unfettered, their gnarled roots and branches writhing and twisting their way through the ruins. In some places, the trees act as a support, as without their thick, strong trunks, there is nothing to hold the stones up, and in other places they have caused the stones to crumble to rubble. See it for yourself:
Ta Prohm: Beauty and the Beast
Even amidst the ruins and rubble lying all around, there were many beautiful carvings which have survived. Apparently this place has been deliberately left this way, to give the public an idea of the state many of the Angkor temples were in when they were first “discovered” by the first French archaeologists. I cannot even imagine the hows and whats of the renovation process here – quite a challenge, to put it mildly!
Lovely carvings at Ta Prohm
Although this was the first time we had seen anything like this, the effect was somewhat marred by the hordes of tourists, all photographing the trees, all exclaiming over them in a babble of tongues (I plead guilty to doing the same), and the heat and humidity only made it worse. We managed finally to escape to a more secluded area, where we enjoyed the shade and the peace. The only sounds were the chirping, buzzing, whirring sounds of the forest all around us.
On our way out, we saw a group of musicians, all landmine victims, performing melodious, haunting Cambodian music. It was a sobering sight.
Outside, we were assaulted again by the vendors, crowds, buses, tuk-tuks, more heat and more dust. This is a bargainer’s heaven. I wonder where the vendors get all their stuff from, particularly the books, which are brand-new and of high quality, all sold at a fraction of their original price.
Hectic vending scene outside Ta Prohm
We had lunch back at our hotel and rested awhile. Around 3.30, we set out to see another temple, Preah Kahn (Sarng told us that Preah means sacred, or holy. Kahn means sword).
Preah Kahn, built in the 12th century by
Jayavarman VII, is a bigger, quieter version of Ta Prohm. Jayavarman dedicated
this temple to his father, while Ta Prohm was dedicated to his mother.
Apparently Preah Kahn, in addition to being a temple, was also the site of a
large Buddhist monastery. A royal residence also used to be here.
The entrance has a causeway across a moat, with devas and asuras pulling on their nagas, much as in the entrance to Angkor Thom. However, they are in far worse condition here, with only a handful of devas and asuras remaining, blackened and worn away with age. Once inside the complex, it was hushed and tranquil, with only the sounds of the forest all around us. Without the jostling, thronging crowds of Ta Prohm, the atmosphere here was so much nicer. We enjoyed walking around, admiring the many “aappssaarra” statues and the carvings of scenes from the Ramayana.
Entrance to Preah Kahn
It looks as if this temple was initially Buddhist, then Hindu. An entire row of Buddhas/Bodhisattvas has been cleanly carved out of their niches. Right opposite, a row of Hindu ascetics survives unscathed. It reminded me somewhat of the Bamian Buddhas, although obviously the circumstances, history and method are very different. Take a look:
Preah Kahn: Fill in the blanks
The survivors
Sarng was quite delighted to learn that some of us were avid bird-watchers, and he pointed out various birds (sorry, I’ve forgotten them all) and their sounds. We regretted having forgotten to bring the binoculars, since there was much bird-watching to be done here.
Preah Kahn has a rambling and confusing layout. We saw many, many “aappssaarras”, garudas and monsters. Finally, we came out to a place on one side, where in front of us was a two-storied building with circular columns. Here Sarng stood, and, shuffling his feet and not looking us in the eye, awkwardly mumbled something about that being the place where men “cleaned their bodies”. Our puzzled queries and requests for more details were met with more shuffling and throat-clearing. Finally, he gathered his courage and came out with it: that was where the men who worked in the women’s harems were castrated! We all burst out laughing, and Sarng breathed a sigh of relief: an embarrassing moment was done and dealt with.
Apsara at Preah Kahn: Rival Beauty Queen
Preah Kahn: Two-storied building with circular columns
We had hoped to see Neak Pean, an island temple, after our
visit to Preah Kahn, but it was already past 5pm,
and so too late for that. We decided
instead to hang out by the moat at Angkor Wat, drinking in the evening scene.
So, back at nearly the same spot – were we here just
yesterday? To use a time-worn clichéd phrase, it seemed like years ago! It was
fun relaxing by the moat, watching the crowds and the vendors. The fierce heat of the day had abated, and it
was actually quite pleasant. We sat back, enjoying the scene, when a flurry of
noise and activity caught our eye. We witnessed a very strange scene – a woman,
in her thirties, maybe, was in some sort of a trance, moaning and wailing in
distress, while a man held her, chanting and touching her. It looked like some
sort of exorcism. The crowds were
enthralled. Not quite knowing what they
were witnessing, thinking that perhaps this was some exotic local ritual going
on, they put their cameras and video cameras to work, no doubt to take back
home and discuss excitedly with their friends and relatives. I am proud to state that I did no such thing
(only watched, as agog as the rest).
We returned to the hotel, where after nice, long baths to wash off the sweat and grime, we settled down to dinner in our friendly little restaurant. We were riveted in a most unseemly manner to the movie screen, which was showing “The Killing Fields” today. This was hardly the movie to watch while trying to enjoy dinner, filled as it was with scenes unflinchingly portraying the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. But we did it any way, mechanically spooning fried rice into our mouths, unable to tear our eyes away from the screen. The restaurant has “movie night” every evening at 7 o’clock. The movies alternate unvaryingly between “The Killing Fields” and a BBC documentary on the Angkor civilization.
A peek into our hotel's restaurant
All of us collapsed to sleep after this very long, very hot, very full day.
That "Beauty and the Beast photo" is FANTASTIC! Those tree roots look alien and absolutely evil!
Lovely write-up. I'm sooo desperate to visit Angkor Wat...
Posted by: shammi | February 07, 2008 at 04:14 AM
We were actually thinking of those coconuts on Sunday, after our bird race, when we were hot and sweaty!!
Posted by: Ambika | February 07, 2008 at 04:50 AM
Hi,
Looks like rahu kalam didnt stop u fm having a great trip..lovely pics and thanks for stopping by
-Lakshmi
Posted by: backpakker | February 08, 2008 at 01:02 PM
No Rahu Kalam, kamini..its just that code wants to give you a relaxing time..than struggling with it..
This is such a wonderful post...the pictures look breathtaking..so I can imagine how out of the world it must've been for you!..I loved those ones with devas and assuras on either side of the road...just beautiful ..wish we could visit them sometime.....great read
Posted by: Srivalli | February 12, 2008 at 12:36 AM
Dude, check this out.. http://mginger2009.blogspot.com
Posted by: mginger | December 28, 2008 at 06:02 AM