CAMBODIA AND ANGKOR WAT

One of my favorite places to visit is Cambodia. I guess everyone knows of my archaeological interests from all my previous blog posts. In the latter half of 2006, I had visited Siem Reap, cambodia (famous for Angkor Wat and hundreds of other Angkorean temples and cities) for a long holiday and blogged about the trip in three parts. You can find that here titled "Siem Reap, Cambodia" and second part titled "More of the Angkor Kingdom" and last part titled "Siem Reap Trip Ends". Click on each of them to be directed to the blog posts. Now, in the year 2009, I made a short return visit to Siem Reap. Last week to be precise! I had guests who'd never been to Siem Reap before. My previous posts have plenty of still pictures.


(Here above is a vdo clip of the inner courtyard of Angkor Wat now. They are doing a lot of restoration works in the Angkor Wat complex currently, being funded by foreign governments, saw a banner mentioning German Government aid for these works)

Information contained in my 2006 blogs on Cambodia is still relevant today because the details provided in them are still current. Almost nothing has changed except that many more hotels, shops and restaurants have sprung up. Tuk Tuk's (carriage pulled by a moped) still costs $2 anywhere in Siem Reap town and food is still cheap. Hotels are cheap as well, tourism is down like everywhere else. Very attractive for those looking for an interesting and adventurous holiday. This time I stayed at a slightly upmarket boutique hotel called the Victoria Angkor, rates being so affordable these days.
Terms of entry into the country are the same. E-Visa can be obtained online here and having that ensures that you spend very little time in line filling up on-arrival visa forms, paying fees and then having to standing in line at Immigration. E-visa is the fast track way of getting in.



(Above is a short vdo clip of a ride through Siem Reap town, taken from my Tuk Tuk moped-carriage. This is the central park area and houses the King's Palace which is not an extra ordinary building anyway)

This time I went in March, hot season actually and predictably muggy. It's all worth it at the end of the day. So, if you are remotely interested in history or archaeology, this would be the place to put on the top of your "must visit" list. I found a group who had just come to visit those temples where Angelina Jolie starred movie "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" was shot.


(Above is a vdo clip of the Bayon Temple complex, a part of it, taken from the upper-inner courtyard)

Backpackers hang around Cambodia because things are really cheap, there are loads of things to do on a lean budget. You'd find masses of whites on bicycles all around towns and the temple complexes. During my last visit to Siem Reap, I had described and photographed Pub Street, a common watering hole for many foreigners and expats living in Siem Reap. Pub street has expanded, the lanes and by lanes that feed pub street have improved a lot, adding many new restaurants and bars, all reasonably priced and wonderful street side ambiance.

(Doesn't the Mok look good?)

After a hard day of exploring, this would be a perfect place to chill out. Read my previous Cambodia blogs for details of Pub street and the food available there but one thing I'd strongly recommend is to try the Seafood Mok which is a seafood curry in young coconut. Usually served with rice, this is a complete meal, delicious and available everywhere. There are places where one can find the vegetarian versions of the same or sweet talk the waiter to get the chef to put in veggies instead of the seafood.



Here's a short vdo of one part of pub street at night ending with a shot of an Indian restaurant offering Kabab dinner.

MORE OF THE ANGKOR KINGDOM

This post continues from the last one, based on our trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. There’s lot more to see than Angkor Wat and the Angkor Thom complex in Siem Reap. The first day had been hectic and we had covered lots. We decided to slow things down a bit since we had bought a $40 pass good for three days at all the temple complexes spread all over the place. There are shorter tours that one can take and not see everything on offer, but that’s not us.

The second day’s tour was beyond the main complex, starting from the Bantey Srei temple, and a good 32 kilometers away from Siem Reap town. The roads were not in great shape and the journey takes a bit longer because of this plus we had torrential rain coming down literally in buckets. Bantey Srei is located at the foot of the Kulen Mountains. This site is rather small but contains many rich and intricate stone carvings representing various stories in Hinduism. This temple was constructed by a Brahmin priest called Yajnavaraha who later reportedly became the guru of King Jayavarman V. He must have indeed been an influential chap to have had the kind of resources that are required for a sculpture rich site such as this one.

Narasimha (half man half Lion) tearing open the demon Hiranyakashipu's chest at Bantey Srei

This was one of the best sites for me, to see intricate carvings, from stories that I knew from Indian mythology, stories that we grew up with. Some of you may recollect stories that were told to us or read in comic books of Narasimha killing Hiranyakashipu, fight between Vali and Sugreeva that ends with Lord Rama vanquishing Vali and many other incidents, all stories carved out in pink sandstone.

Sea Faring chaps, these Angkoreans, from a relief in Bantey Samre'

We spent the rest of the day visiting Bantey Samre’, Preah Kahn and Neak Pean (pronounced Puan). Bantey Samre’ was constructed early 12th Century C.E. by King Jayavarman II and is a typical Angkor style with the gopura or towers representing Meru Mountain and so on. This temple has some unique representations in the carvings such as the sun and moon deities, very large carvings of stories from the Ramayana including building the bridge between India and Lanka, saving Lakshmana after he is injured and so on.

Pink Sandstone doorway carved with the Narasimha relief at Bantey Srei

For non Hindu readers, this may all sound completely confusing but bear with me, I will not go too deep into Hinduism or the philosophy connected with it. That’s too big a subject to handle in a blog, at least for me. It is sufficient to say that such detailed carvings of ancient Indian philosophy and mythology are almost never found anywhere in India. However, due to lack of awareness (I’d say) Indian tourists were absent. Our cabby told us that Indians were rare during any season. I’d also like to emphasize that one need not know about Hindu and Buddhist culture to appreciate the intricate carvings and architecture of the sites in Cambodia. All you need is a good eye for appreciating all things ancient and beautiful.

Bantey Samre' complex

Back to the subject of temples and Preah Kahn was next, built in the late 12th Century C.E. in the Bayon style by King Jayavarman VII and later additions by Jayavarman VIII. This is mainly Buddhist in nature and therefore you’d see a few Naga depictions common to Hindu and Buddhist sites and specifically stories centered on the life of the Buddha. This site was not just a temple but a Buddhist university with more than 1,000 teachers, according to the inscriptions found there. Later in the late 13th Century, this place reverted back to Hinduism and one can see giant 15 meter tall rock carvings of “Garuda” the mythical eagle that is known as the vehicle of Lord Vishnu. Garuda is seen clutching two serpents (his favorite food, of course!) and spreading his wings in delight. I saw a smirk on his beak, I swear it!

All Angkor temples and sites are surrounded by a moat and during the wet season, these are full

A two story structure at Preah Khan

A photo that got here by mistake-from Ta Phorm Temple mentioned in the previous blog post

The Garuda, mythical bird and vehicle of Lord Vishnu clutching two snakes, see the glee on his face! This was at the outer wall of Preah Khan complex, mentioned above.

The Horse in the pond at Neak Pean

Neak Pean is unusual and it has a central square pond surrounded by square ponds on four sides. The small temple is in the middle of the pond. This place apparently used hydraulics to create a fountain of sorts. It started out as a Hindu concept and structure but changed to add Buddhist ideas and motifs in the temple. One can see a large stone flying horse (unfinished) in the central pond and when observed closely, one can see people hanging on to the horse, even at its tail. This is based on a Buddhist story where a Bodhisattva took the form of the horse called Balaha and rescued sea faring merchants from an Island that was ruled by an Ogress!

After finishing visiting all the sites, we went back to Siem Reap and wandered around town mainly around an area known as “Pub Street” where all foreigners hang out to have a drink and eat. Some of these “pubs” have live performances of local dances based again on Hindu Mythology and it’s good to see them. Some of these places offer free performances so long as you stick around and drink something. The local dances are commonly known as “Apsara” dances, named after the beautiful Apsara women that are thought to inhabit heaven! Apsara carvings dominatemany of the Angkor sites, in various dance positions.

Another tree growing out of the temple at Ta Phrom complex mentioned in my last blog

There are lots more temples, complexes, photos and even mountains and rivers on this trip and they’ll be featured in my next piece and I’ll call that “Roluos and Kulen Mountains” because that’s where we went next. Those temples pre-date the Angkor period and is actually the origin of the empire. It’ll also have a bit more about Siem Reap and boating on the Ton Le Sap Lake as well.