Day 51: Angkor Archaeological Park

We were finally going back to Angkor. Beth and I have really fond memories of Angkor from our trip years ago. It was definitely a perfect storm situation that made it such a huge impact on that trip and therefore has left us with some very strong, positive memories.

"Angkor" and "Angkor Wat" are terms used interchangeably and can be confusing if you haven't been here. Here's the deal... Angkor Wat is the biggest temple/structure within the entire Angkor Archeological Park. The park is 400 square kilometres and has close to 200 temples in it. The word Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple" (in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand). So Angkor Wat is loosely the "City Temple". The city it refers to is Angkor Thom, which is located near Angkor Wat and is an enclosed city that is 9 square kilometres and houses a bunch of important temples and structures. Check out the map below to clarify...

Beth's Dad referred us to a guide he used last year for four days when he came here. We had tried looking up our original guide, Lap Tek, but couldn't find him so we booked with Siya to guide us for two days. Angkor is a place where you need a guide - for a whole bunch of reasons that I will get into later. Within about 10 minutes I decided I really liked Siya.

We left the hotel at abut 8:30 after a nice Khmer noodle soup breakfast. Siem Reap is right next to the park, so it was a very short drive before we were at the gates getting our two day tickets. Turns out, Robin was free so we saved $40!

As soon as we entered the park, it struck me that I'd forgotten how beautiful the scenery is. The roads are surrounded with trees that rise way into the air, providing some much needed cover. When we turned the corner to the road that runs in front of Angkor Wat, a slight chill ran down the back of my neck - I was recalling the first time we were on this road on the back of a moto, seeing the outer wall of the temple, then being denied seeing the main temple until the end of our stay there. Siya was no different - he was going to save the best for last, which was just fine with us - we drove right past.
We drove up towards the South Gate of Angkor Thom - one of the very popular sights for tourists in the area. I saw a horde of vehicles and people and I have to admit I was a little iffy. However, Siya had the driver "stop short" of the gate. He had something quieter in mind, saying "I don't like the crowds" - I had a good feeling about Siya from this point on. In fact that became the theme of the day - we pretty much avoided crowds, diving into popular places from unconventional routes, walking nice forested paths to reach less seen temples hiding in the jungle. Very cool.

A little highly inaccurate background info will help here. Basically, the park was occupied and structures built between roughly 950 A.D. to the mid 14th century. Indian envoys had come to the Khmer empire before that time and had introduced Hindism. The religion stuck and was enthusiastically embraced by the Kings. Thus, most of the structures built before 1100 A.D. or so were Hindu worship structures. But, like an entire country with religious ADHD, Buddhism was introduced in the early 12th century, and quickly overcame Hinduism as the religion of choice. It wasn't exactly a holy war where you would see evidence of Hinduism eradicated and replaced by Buddhist iconography, but the earlier Hindu temples were definitely enhanced with Buddhist references and statues of Buddha. Basically, the Hindu artwork and carving was so beautiful and extensive that it added to the magnificence of any future construction or renovation in the area.
Got it? Good!

So we stopped short and went up to the very steep pyramidal shaped Baksey Chamkrong, a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu the Destroyer (of bad things!). We've got three main Hindu gods - Vishnu (the protector), Shiva (the destroyer) and Brahma (the creator). Shiva rides a giant bull (this is one of the reasons why cows are sacred in India) and there was once a giant stone bull in front of this temple, but it was looted and removed long ago, a fare shared by many artefacts in Angkor unfortunately.

It was very cool to see the intact carvings at the top of this temple.... Carvings created by artisans over 1000 years ago! It was also great to see, not 500 yards away, a few hundred people taking pictures of the South gate of Angkor Thom, while we were alone.

We got back in our car, reloaded on ice cold water, and drove through the South Gate of Angkor Thom ("Big City"). We saw glimpses of fantastic sights that we would examine on foot later, and it was great to hear the oohs an ahs from the girls. We didn't know how this whole thing would work out with the girls - would it be interesting? Last an hour? So far, so good.

Angkor Thom has 5 gates (4 symmetrical middle gates, and a fifth Victory gate on the East side meant only for the king. While all of the tourists were at the south gate, Siya had us climbing up the berm against the wall next to the North Gate which we had to ourselves! I've seen both gates up close and confirmed with Siya - they are exactly the same. Loving Siya!

A poor shot of the girls with Siya on top of the wall at Angkor Thom.

We found out that Siya is also an avid cyclist and leads mountain bike tours in the park, and outside, around Cambodia and even into Laos. Check, check Siya! We benefited from this as we ditched the car and took to foot. He led us on a 7km walk on a soft sandy trail through the forest, pointing out various natural points of interest (Abby and I loved the termites - there were tons of large termite hills throughout and every once in a while we would come across thousands of termites in the path and you could hear them munching away on leaves and wood). They eat eveything in Cambodia, so a lot of wildlife has disappeared - they eat tarantulas, scorpions, snakes, rats, crickets, ants - pretty much anything that moves. In fact, in the afternoon we came across a woman who was collecting red ants and ant eggs from trees and drawing them in a bucket. Siya said she could probably collect 2kg of ants on a good day and sell them for 7US per kilo.

Halfway through the walk, we stumbled upon Preah Khan, a really cool temple structure that the girls really liked. I remember in '97 we couldn't got to temples that were off the main road as land mines were a real danger. There used to be both land mines (laid defensively by the Khmer Rouge to protect their makeshift base in Angkor) and buried bomblet UXO from American bombers that we'd heard about in Vientiane, but the government made a huge effort in the early 2000's and managed to clear all 400 square kilometres of the park.

The trees were beautiful, particulately the Spung trees that grow throughout the temple structures, and the fig trees that grow around (and kill) larger trees.

Here's an example of a Spung tree growing on top of a wall. It's between 300 and 400 years old. The wood is very soft and not good for furniture, so it's not in demand, which is probably the biggest reason they are still standing.

We walked over to Ta Prohm, the site of filming Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider movie.

Here are the girls in front of the "tomb raider tree" lol.

Robbie discovered a natural jungle swing.

The "bas reliefs" or carvings are everywhere. The foundations and strength for temples and walls comes from limestone (excavated and cut near the mountains of Vietnam and floated by boat to Siem Reap) and the decorative and finishing layer is done in sandstone panels that are cut and laid in place, and then carved and shaped. There was no mortar or concrete in Angkor construction, so all of the structures are fully self supporting - this has allowed them to last for so long, but also enabled the fruit seeds from the Splung tree to germinate in the rocks, take root and grow "into" the temple structure. Some temples or parts of temples are now completely symbiotic with the trees - kill the tree and the temple may fall down and visa versa. Here is Yama, the Hindu god that decides if you go to hell or heaven based on Karma ("yeah Abby, Karma!" Says Robin with a knowing distasteful look at Abby) on the beautiful Terrace of Leper king.

There are a few large Buddhas that have been restored like this one. There are only three active Buddhist shrines in the park, and we witnessed one small group of three in a blessing ceremony getting doused with water as a monk chanted rhythmically. Siya seemed a little disillusioned with the Buddhist movement in the area. It seems like there is a big money grab going on, as Buddhist organizations have built over 20 new temples in Siem Reap at a cost of one million dollars each, while there is plenty of poverty. As Siya puts it, a true monk smiles and gives a blessing no matter what your offering is - including nothing. They are supposed to be completely selfless and devoid of possessions or passions...you know, like the order of the Jedi....

After lunch, it was time for the penultimate attraction of the day and a big one - Bayon. Bayon is one of my favourites - it is a Hindu temple with 54 towers that each have 4 faces, in identical fashion to the 5 gates around Angkor Thom. I don't know how he did it, but Siya found the time when the hordes had gone and we had the place virtually to ourselves. Beth and Robin were both starting to hit the wall, however they made it up the steep steps of the Bayon for some truly cool sights.

Siya had been pointing out opportune photography spots all day, and he was now comfortable enough to ask to use my camera, always finding cool and funky shots.

Around 4pm, we headed over to the road in front of Angkor Wat for sunset. Robin was not doing well. We'd probably walked close to 15km and it was damn hot. I give her full credit, as I thought she'd be asking to go home 8 hours ago. Beth too was as white as a sheet. Abby was a rock - that kid is tough as nails. We waited until the sun got a little lower for some great shots of the front wall and moat, but we pulled the chute on full sunset in favour of heading to the pool to cool off.

On the short drive home, Robin was giving a step by step demonstration of the term "nodding off". This was about 30 seconds after getting into the car!

Miss Bounce Back was back to herself one minute after slipping into the pool, so we lazed around for an hour before getting a Tuk Tuk to and from town for an awesome dinner. What a great day. I'm so impressed with the girls - their interest and ability to interact with Siya was impressive. I didn't even get too many embarrassing laugh-out-loud comments from Robin after explaining just what all the talk about Shiva Lingam was!

Tomorrow we are up early for sunrise at Angkor Wat. I can't wait!