Today was the day we were off to the temples! Knowing it was going to be a hot one, we got up around 7am and made our way to the patio for breakfast at 7:30. Filling up on a delicious western breakfast, we suited up with plenty of bug-spray and sunscreen and made our way to the van, heavily anticipating the wonders that lay ahead.
Our first point of order was to ride on an elephant around the Bayon Temple. Our tour guide, Mr. Santhou, thought it best to start here as most people start at Angkor Watt, the largest temple in Cambodia (the three-point temple which is incidentally also the symbol on the Cambodian flag). We arrived at the elephant site and piled all 4 of us in. Each elephant was suited with a platform-type saddle. At first, the girls were a bit worried that we carried too much weight for the elephant; however, our guide assured us that the mighty beasts are quite used to carrying much more weight than the 4 of us (and let’s face it, Brianna and Elaine hardly weigh anything at all!). We all enjoyed the scenery at the Bayon Temple, and riding around the perimeter made Terry and I quite excited about visiting later. However, after our ride was over, Mr. Santhou suggested we go to Angkor Watt as much of the traffic had died down a bit.
When we walked up to Angkor Watt, the first thing we noticed were beautiful girls all dressed in bright orange. Mr. Santhou informed us that this was a wedding procession and the beautiful women were there for wedding photos. It was then that we also noticed a few men who vaguely looked as if they belonged. As in America, the women were much more breathtaking than the men (hey, it’s all about the bride, isn’t it??!!). Our guide explained that in the local folklore, each Cambodian must see Angkor Watt at least once in their lifetime…why, I don’t know...that’s just what he said!
Angkor Watt at first glance was beautiful…it was a bit surreal, and to be honest, I don’t think I truly appreciated it until we left Cambodia. It is perfectly symmetrical, and almost every detail that went into the structure has some symbolic meaning. The apsaras (female guardians whose carvings number in the thousands), the bas-reliefs…this all came to life for us, mostly due to our guide, Mr. Santhou. He expertly guided us through this monumental piece of architecture and ensured that we saw the key pieces and understood their significance.
I learned about the 30-some-odd levels of hell which progressed from minor sins and minor punishments to the most severe level of hell, which was reserved for females who chose to abort a pregnancy (interesting to note that abortion was controversial even back in the early 12th century!). I also learned about the ‘churning of the sea of milk’, a very famous story from Hindu mythology, which became my favorite (for details, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudra_manthan).
I also learned that Angkor Watt was built largely as a religious monument, originally thought to have been dedicated to the Hindu God, Vishnu, by a King of Khmer. It was definitely the most culturally rich temple we visited by far, and many many many great stories were to be had. Having a guide at Angkor Wat I believe is essential for a true appreciation of why this great temple is so historically significant.
However, as amazing and rich as the journey was, the morning wore on and the sun was relentless. While we tried to keep cool in the shade, this mom made a rooky move and forgot to bring snacks!!! So, we called it an afternoon around 11:30 and agreed with Mr. Santhou that we would meet up with him at 3pm for the next round of our journey at the Angkor Complex.
Back at the B&B, Andrea invited Brianna and Elaine to join her and the children at the Community Center (which they founded, and happens to be in the same complex, through an adjoining gate) for an art class offered to the local kids. Afterwards, they were invited to stay for swimming and snacks. Terry and I quickly jumped on the chance to go touring without them and rushed to meet our guide for the next leg of our tour, the Bayon temple.
I understood why we were advised to take the afternoon easy. The heat was definitely intense; although not as suffocating as I had expected…perhaps because I had been expecting it…perhaps because I had come from a humid climate (although TPE was REALLY cold when we left!). We met our guide, Mr. Santhou, around 3pm and headed straight to the Bayon Temple (also known as the ‘smiling temple’). Terry and I felt remarkably fast and light as we were travelling sans children. With traffic (keep in mind that the Angkor complex was only 3 miles away!) we reached the temple around 3:45. While this temple is about 100 years younger than Angkor Watt, is it not nearly as robust and is quite small in comparison. However, I found the architecture much more eye-catching.
The temple is a fraction of the size of Angkor Wat, and seems to be falling apart, when compared to the robust architecture of the larger temple. I learned that one of the great mysteries is learning where the builders obtained the stones for Angkor Wat, as the stones are not believed to be located close by. Those that built Angkor Wat chose a much more durable stone, whereas the Bayon builders were in more of a hurry (the King who built the Bayon was the most prolific builder in the Khmer history) so they used what was closest. I find the stone to be more beautiful in color and more interesting, as the stones to me appeared the size of bricks. However, as one can see walking around, the temple is in far worse shape and needed quite a bit of restoring and structural assistance to keep from crumbling.
The one aspect of our temple touring that bothered me somewhat was how accessible the temples are….which can be seen as a precious and rare opportunity, but somewhat disturbing. Walking in, on and through the temple just felt…..sacrilegious. Something as rare and precious as this sacred temple should be treasured…walking all over it just felt weird. I felt some small relief that there was no vandalism and the trash around the complex was quite minimal; however, I still couldn’t help but wonder with the increasing numbers of tourists who visit the temples every year, how much longer will the country allow this to happen? Then again, this is a 3rd world nation with one of the most corrupt governments known to man, so, I shudder to try and answer my own question.
After taking some gorgeous photos at the temple (Terry definitely was having a blast with his mid-life crisis purchase!), we headed to Phnom Bakheng, which is not exactly the most beautiful temple, but just happens to be the oldest, and also happens to be built on the highest hill at the Angkor Thom complex. It is where Terry, Mr. Santhou, and about 3,000 of our closest friends sat to watch the sunset. While it sounds romantic, let me tell you it’s overrated! We practically ran up the hill (which is the equivalent to running up the P-town ridge) to get there in time, as we spent too long at Bayon. Once there, the temple is quite steep. We clamored our way up to the top and squeezed in with some other folks to get a decent glimpse. Yes, the sun was beautiful, and I can’t remember the last time I stopped to simply watch it set (wait…yes I do…it was yesterday, March 30 in Taipei!!); however, it was VERY VERY crowded. The way down was quite treacherous. This is another thing I am amazed at…there are no waivers one must sign before climbing to the top…anyone of any fitness level is welcome. There is no mention that the stairs are about 6 inches deep, but each stair was about 18 inches tall….and one must climb down at about a 40-45 degree angle. Terry and I quickly decided that we would NOT be taking the kids to see the sunset. Our guide reluctantly acknowledged that there had been 2 accidents that previous year.
Quite happy with our visit, we headed back to the B&B to see how the girls were faring. We discovered them upstairs with Andrea’s children, watching American cartoons (in English, what a treat!) and relaxing. They participated at the art class and had made Valentine card holders, then went swimming and after a snack, were relaxing.
We ate a meal in town that night (uneventful…the food this night, unfortunately, was not very good and the service was SLOW!) and headed back to get a good night’s sleep before our next temple excursion!
