Cambodia

Temple Ruins Overload

December 2013

Stepped out to the hot and humid air of Garden International Airport in Siem Reap, we are still snickered at the tactic and the manner of the Cambodia Immigration Officer who asked for the “other paper” while holding on to our passports.

Angkor Village Resort interior lush landscaped

From the airport, it’s around 30 minutes tuk-tuk ride to Angkor Village Resort from late evening arrival. The streets are dark with dimly lit houses and murky markets scattered along the 2-lane highway. We take comfort in knowing our tuk-tuk driver is going in the right direction when catching a glimpse of green sign says Angkor Wat straight ahead and Siem Reap to the right. After making an abrupt turn into a small muddy dirt road, we arrived at the Angkor Village Resort with no one at the front desk, except for a cloud of buzzing mosquitos looking for fresh blood.

In the following morning, we took a dip in the refreshing water of the resort river shaped pool
Tons of mosquitos in the otherwise charming guest pavilion
Arts and crafts souvenir shops lined the cute walkway

After a day rest at Angkor Village Resort, we took a 12-minute tuk-tuk ride to visit the infamous Angkor Wat temple complex. For several centuries Angkor was the center of the Khmer Kingdom that stretched out to modern-day Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. This UNESCO heritage site has been on our sight for a while.

Khmer Empire once included modern-day Myanmar in the west, Malaysia in the south and southern Vietnam in the east
Tuk-tuk is our preferred traveling method around the huge area

Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in Cambodia, and the world. Around 2,500 years younger than the creation of venerable pyramids of Egypt, there are more sandstone blocks in Angkor Wat than all Egyptian pyramids combined. Unlike the stones used in the pyramids harvest just 0.5 miles away, the stones in Angkor Wat were from 25 miles away. Walking on Angkor Wat west entrance to an 820 ft sandstone causeway crossing a wide moat, we realized that our visit to this 500-acre complex is going to be a strenuous walk.

West corner towers and gopuras (gates) of Angkor Wat can be seen from North Reflection pond
The 3 miles perimeter moat separates the central temple to outside ground and connected by an 820 ft sandstone causeway
Intriguing large feet carving caught our attention

All sandstone blocks paved the west causeway are smooth, except for intriguing two large feet carving near the middle of the causeway. As it turns out, the interesting block came from Angkor Thom temple to repair the damaged causeway .

Southside entrance leading to the second level of the central structure
Stone lintel framed the amazing 2,600 ft long bas-relief circling the 2nd level outer gallery carved from tightly fitted sandstone blocks
Part of the Heaven and Hell Gallery depicts heavenly leisurely pursuits on top and hells on the bottom

Like any good religion found elsewhere, horrific tales of how sinners face their punishments in hell (or purgatory) for breaking the rules! We absolutely love these tales and spent a great deal around these and admire their creativities.

Sinners are tortured by hanging from a rack (purgatory has gravity!) while demons drove nails into every part of their bodies
Demons (interpret as predominantly male, wear clothes, and perfect hairdo) were seen pushing sinners into the sea of fire
The East Gallery is also called the Churning of the Ocean of Milk by the Ravana (multi-head and multi-arm being) and asuras (demi-gods) by pulling on a seven head Vasuki serpent
More than 1,500 Apsaras (celestial singer and dancers) carving have peculiar frontal views with sideway feet
The beautiful Apsaras all have different guestures, hair dress and costumes
The gated steep stairway from the east second level leads to the central tower on top
Only kings and the high priests were once allowed at third level
Lotus symbolizes purity and enlightenment can be seen blooming near west entrance pond

Some scholars believe the temple served as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II due to its west-facing orientation, while others argue that the temple layout represents new era of peace. For us, Angkor Wat temple city is an amazing sight and great national pride for Cambodia, despite a steep hike of $62 per person for 3-day pass and various scams ran rampant inside the temple ground.

About 2 miles north of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom is a massive ancient city that served as a capital for King Jayavarman VII during the 12th century. The 8 miles long moat border the great city and at one point contains crocodiles to deter attacker.

Tonle Om Gate (South Gate) has Buddhist influence with four faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
South causeway adorns by 54 gods on one side and 54 demons on the other, some with heads missing to looters
The broken balustrade reveals the 300 ft wide moat covers nearly 4 sq. mi. and once infested with crocodiles

Most of the ruin temples were not as large nor well preserved as Angkor Wat, but has significantly more interesting features. Angkor Thom was the first Khmer temple dedicated to Buddhist that includes the sentinel faces of buddha adorn on top of its 54 towers.

In the middle of Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple central tower stood at 150ft height features dilapidated faces on all four sides. With over 2,000 large faces carved on the 54 towers, this temple exudes its serene and eerie characters.

Bayon Temple served as the religious center for the Great City of Angkor Thom
The Bayon Temple sandstone blocks taken from Phnom Kulen mountain is located 18 miles northeast of Angkor Thom

The building material from Bayon and other temples at Angkor were quarried from the holy mountain of Phnom Kulen. Blocks of sandstone floated down the rivers or canals to the construction sites by bamboo rafts, then stone blocks were pull off the rafts by a herd of elephants to build the temples and terraces.

The interior passages in the Bayon interior are generally darker, narrower and more ominous
Crumbling reclining buddha altar graces the Bayon north entrance
Interior bas-relief deeply carved of the king’s court while other panels show ancient Khmer daily life
Unfortunately, the massive Bayon are disintegrating on its own weight due to shoddy workmanship
Turn a corner and visitor will come face-to-face with one of the beautiful Apsaras
Many stones used in construction have strategic placement an-inch holes on them that baffled scientists for years
Most stone sections were joint together by dovetails (above) joint or just gravity

Taking a break from walking the massive temple ground and save ourselves from temple overload syndrome, we took side-trip to a unique Kompong Phluk stilt village and the mangrove at Tonle Sap Lake. We booked both destinations from the convenience of the resort tour desk. The following morning, a tuk-tuk driver picks us up and brought us to a strip of dirt beside small canal. From there, we boarded a tourism boat along with other tourists headed straight to the stilt village of Kompong Phluk.

Tall stilted houses, hospital, school, fishery, piggery, and sense of an authentic Cambodian lifestyle open before us
Our boat engine put-put sounds breaking the silence of the colorful fishing village

Village life was difficult in the 1980s due to Khmer Rouge regime destruction but has steadily improved since 1990s thanks to world aid organizations.

To get to dry land, the villagers either ride a boat or flip-flop their way on the rickety wooden bridge
A narrow wooden walkway will lead you to a floating restaurant
The flooded forest provides the much-needed shade as our wooden canoe meandering the dense mangrove

During the dry season, stilt houses in hovering more than 26 ft in the air, while in the wet season, the water rises to within 1 ft of the stilt houses.

Village folks harvesting fishes at the end of the rainy season and revert to (include turtle and crocodile) farming during wet season

Although the village life is simple and hovering near poverty, the creativeness of people can be seen through floating piggery farms, bountiful garden on bamboo terraces, and fish processing on large floating platform, boat vendors with loads of grocery items and some even have floating restaurant shuttle back and forth on the richness of the Tonle Sap lake.

The following morning, we returned to the Angkor temple complex and visited the most idyllic temple thus far, the Ta Prohm. The exotic nature of a healthy jungle overtaken the 15th-century ruin is the most recognizable feature of Ta Prohm.

Mythical lions guarding one of the entrances to the temple
Silk-cotton tree root snakes its way gracefully on top of a disintegrating wall
Northeast corner of Ta Prohm has surreal looks with roots mingling with crumbling sandstone blocks
Dangerous passages sometimes reveal hidden carvings and interesting rooms
Lumber supported the crumbling entrance lined with two balustrades leading to flowery decorative bas-reliefs on the west tower
Silk-cotton tree roots reclaiming the neglected 15th century Ta Prohm temple
The eerie qualities of ruin lend itself well in 2001 movie Tomb Raider
Damp and musty walls scent from lichen, moss and creeping plants permeated the air
With roots strewing on both sides of the southwest wall, the quiet power of the jungle resiliency stands the test of time

From exceedingly large temples like Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, we reexamined our perspective with the smallest temple in Siem Reap, the Banteay Srei. Located more than 20 miles away from the venerable group of Angkor temples, the smallish temple has one of the most beautiful bas-relief carvings and interesting sculptures during Khmer 10th century kingdom.

The intricacy of its bas-relief carvings and interesting statues evoke thievery tendency in some people

Considered by many as a jewel of Khmer arts, Banteay Srei built around 967AD from finely grained pink sandstone, the whole structure exudes a certain level of nakedness and raw beauty. From deep bas-reliefs carvings of floral patterns to realistic carvings of devatas (demi-goddess) or dvarapalas (demi-god) with proper feet geometry, to sculptures of mythical figure Kala, to the gable-shaped story-telling pediments, have captivated us from our first encounter.

Large pediment tells story of a Kala (a mythical creature representative of time) and of the god Siva
Exceedingly rare find of Hindu triple yoni (with lingam missing) on rectangle bases
Fine-grained pink sandstone sculptures once subjected to looters, now vandalism occurred even with the replicas
Inner structures are completely covered in carvings except for many “blanks” stone panels
Simple exterior wall belies the most enigmatic building structures inside
Like other temples in Angkor, Banteay Srei also surrounds by moats

Despite the power and riches of the Khmer empire from 802CE to 1431CE, its civilization came to grinding halt by the 15th century. Many historians attribute various factors lead to the downfall of Khmer great empire; religious conversion turmoil, internal power struggles, foreign invasions, to environmental changes that affect their economics. For us, the Khmer empire legacy represents the brightest point in Cambodia history with lasting impression and newfound appreciation.

Nowhere else one can witness a downfall of a great empire with the resiliency of mother nature

When we arrived at Siem Reap Airport, the Immigration Officer sometime pull Asian visitors aside and asked for “other paper” after 19hrs of tiring flight and it’s already getting very late in evening… there is no “right” way of handling the blatant demand because it shouldn’t have happened. So, pick the course of action best suit your attitude and demeanor.

Visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park was not our bucket list, nor one-time deal, as its worthy of multiple visits. Nowhere else one can witness a downfall of a great empire with the resiliency of mother nature.

GPS Coordinates

  1. Angkor Village Resort – 13°22’35.7″N 103°52’07.3″E
  2. Angkor Wat Temple Complex – 13°24’45.2″N 103°51’34.0″E
  3. Angkor Thom Temple Complex – 13°26’28.7″N 103°51’30.6″E
  4. Ta Prohm Temple Complex – 13°26’05.6″N 103°53’21.2″E
  5. Kompong Phluk Stilt Village Pier – 13°12’32.9″N 103°58’25.9″E, floating temple 13°13’08.1″N 103°58’28.0″E
  6. Banteay Srei Temple – 13°35’56.3″N 103°57’46.8″E
  7. Phnom Kulen Mountain (part of Phnom Kulen National Park) – 13°34’08.8″N 104°06’28.8″E

References

  • Destination details from local knowledge, some were extracted from hand-out literature/brochure, or website, and Wikipedia

  • Coordinates are from Google map in Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds (DMS)