Winter 2016 - 10 The Temples of Angkor (Part 2)

II. Cambodia

Chapter IV. Siem Reap (part 2)

Day 27 Romancing the Stones

In the LP, Beng Melea (12th century) is described as ‘the ultimate Indiana Jones experience’.

– it’s one of the few Angkor sites that has remained in the same condition in which it was discovered (and there should be some climbing involved…)

The temple is more than 60km away from Siem Reap. You do need a car or a bus to get there.

Of course, all the guesthouses organize tour groups, but they need a minimum of three people.

Fortunately, the owner of our hostel says that if we pay a little extra, he can drive us there himself.

It is a bit pricy, but it’s a special day and we can afford it.

We leave Siem Reap around 6am.

1h 1/2 later, we stop on a dirt road, in front of the path that leads to the temple.

The temple is definitely in a chaotic state, with collapsed galleries and towers. Some parts are nothing but big piles of rubble.

But its appeal lies in the fact that it’s hidden away in the jungle - even though some of the dense foliage has been cleaned up in recent years.

When we arrive, there’s barely anyone else. It’s amazing.

All we hear are the sounds of the jungle and the chirping of the birds.

We really soak up the mysterious atmosphere.

Less than 10minutes later, I see no less than four buses full of Chinese tourists coming our way.

Unlike Westerners, most Asian tourists like to travel in groups, that’s a fact.

I wouldn’t mind them so much in other temples, but we came all this way for some peace and quiet.

And these guys are loud! It instantly ruins the beauty of this place.

If we could get ahead of them, or to another courtyard , at least it would be easier.

But for the most part, we are forced to stay in line and follow a long wooden walkway .

What a waste of time!

For sure, we weren’t expecting that in their ‘ultimate Indiana Jones experience’…

This is the only dark , unlit corridor in the entire temple.

I really expected more of them.

Thankfully, the walkway stops after the corridor.

We arrive now in a large courtyard, where it’s easier to get some space for ourselves.

There’s only so much you can do in one courtyard.

After a while, we decide to walk around the outer walls.

Suddenly, one caretaker offers to guide us to a new area.

This time it’s only the two of us.

This is the central area where the tower has collapsed.

Water used to flow under the bridge, but it’s now dried up.

This is clearly the best part of the temple and the most fun we’ve had so far.

But it barely takes us 10min to go around the central area. Foolishly, I thought that the guy was just showing us around to help us.

Nope. Now, we have to pay him for the ‘tour’. And this leech asks for 5$ - the price of the entrance for the whole area !

We pay him what we think is fair (at least we got some cool pictures and a bit of ‘us’ time).

We’re going to leave soon.

But if we have to pay extra to visit a part of the temple (included in the price of admission),I’m going to do something worth remembering.

So, I climb on one of the roofs (just for the sake of it) and get closer to a high part of the temple.

When we arrived this morning, the parking lot was empty.

Now, it’s about noon and it’s definitely time to go.

For lunch, we go to a restaurant called ‘The Red Piano.

I don’t know why, but there is actually a red piano inside.

Apparently, Angelina Jolie was a guest here when she was shooting the movie.

She even has a cocktail named in her honour.

They also have some strong obsession with Waldorf and Statler.

But I have no idea where it comes from.

This is a really good restaurant though.

It has a big balcony for watching the streets below and the food is more reliable than other places we’ve been to.

I have fish amok and this time it’s the real deal.

After some souvenir shopping, we go for some local Khmer BBQ for dinner.

On TV, people are watching live Khmer boxing .

Well, there you go. Our Valentine’s Day dinner.

Pork and pineapple BBQ , beer and boxing on TV. Not the most romantic, but we went for effective, not subtle.

We’ll try to sleep early tonight because tomorrow we have to get up before dawn…

Day 28 Angkor What?

This morning, we’re not only riding our bikes - we’re riding our bikes at 5am.

After visiting all these temples, it’s finally time to explore Angkor Wat itself.

I’ve been waiting for this moment since we left China.

To make it an even more memorable experience, we want to be there at sunrise.

It’s less than a 1h ride from town to get to Angkor Wat , but I’m not surprised to see that we’re the only ones riding bikes so early.

Every one else either came on a tuk tuk or a bus.

When we arrive, it’s still dark. We need to use our flashlights to find the way.

It’s such a strange feeling.

I am now crossing the gates of one of the world’s most magnificent sights and I can’t see a thing.

All I know is that we have to cross a really long stone bridge to get to the entrance (high and large enough to have fitted an elephant).

And this is where it hit me‌

The door after the bridge only leads to a narrow corridor.

It’s only when you emerge from the other side that you can contemplate the temple itself.

For the moment, I only see the outlines but I can tell it is massive.

The reason why sunrise at Angkor Wat is so popular is because it’s one of the only temples facing west (most are facing east).

So, at the right angle, the temple becomes silouhetted against the morning sky.

We still have about 1h to wait. Where to sit is the question that remains.

There are two large pools facing the temple. The left one is already crowded. We go for the one on the right.

Good thing I’ve brought my mosquito repellent...

There it is!

To be honest, I’m a bit disappointed.

All this talk about the sun rising right behind the towers… I didn’t expect it to be that far on the right of the temple.

I’m still glad because we did it. We rode our bikes before dawn and enjoyed the sunrise at Angkor Wat. A once in a lifetime experience.

Then, I understood why so many people chose to wait near the pool on the left.

The view of the sunrise is so much better and you get the reflection of the temple in the water.

If I had known‌ But now the sun is in perfect position to take some good pictures.

Now that we are in Angkor Wat and the sun has risen, it’s time to‌ leave.

Just after sunrise is the time where the temple is the most popular. So, we plan to come back a bit later.

I can see now what we’ve walked on before dawn.

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a 1.5km x 1.3km giant rectangle moat.

There’s a sandstone causeway used to cross it.

From Angkor Wat, we ride north to the vast city of Angkor Thom.

To get there, you need to pass the south gate but it’s a jumbled mess of tuk tuk, cars, buses‌

‌ and elephants!

It’s right here, Ray. It’s looking at me.

Founded by Jayavarman VII, Angkor Thom is one of the largest Khmer cities ever built (it is set over 10 sq km).

There are so many monuments to visit, we have to make a choice.

Undoubtedly, the most mesmerising place is Bayon.

It should definitely come first.

We enter by the east side of the temple, which is being renovated.

Bayon is certainly one of the most enigmatic and fascinating monuments ever made.

The temple has gone through numerous architectural changes over the years, so it is quite complex both in term of its structure and its meaning.

Nevertheless, it uses a unique collection of face-towers that create a mountain of ascending peaks.

These enormous faces are believed to either represent the king Jayavarman VII or Avalokiteshvara (a widely revered character in Buddhism).

From the base of the temple, the faces are already impressive.

But when you climb to the upper terrace and you get ‘face to face’ with them, it’s even more surreal.

Wherever you go, there’s always someone watching you…

I didn’t count them but there’s supposed to be 54 towers up there, with a total of 216 smiling faces.

Some say that the Khmer Empire was divided into 54 provinces at the time the temple was built.

Hence the all-seeing eye of the almighty king (or the Buddha) watching over his subjects.

There used to be a statue of the Buddha here, but only the pedestal remains.

When I’m finished with the upper terrace, I climb back down.

We’re not done yet. You come for the signature tower-faces, you stay for the bas-reliefs.

Bayon’s outer walls (35m long, 3m high) are decorated with thousands of extraordinary carvings, depicting anything, from epic battles to scenes from everyday life.

Quinn is still downstairs with a book, trying to decypher them - one panel at a time.

Some historical details are fascinating.

The soldiers with a topknot and a beard are Chinese, not Khmer.

A scene from daily life.

A cockfight between Khmers and Chinese is about to begin.

A scene from daily life. Khmer barbecue.

A scene from daily life.

A buffalo has been tied to a post, probably for a sacrifice.

A scene from daily‌ What the.. !

Is this guy really doing what I think he’s doing?

Khmer army on the march.

Sea battle.

Sea battle between the Khmers and the Chams The Cham is now central Vietnam.

They took Angkor in 1177.

After years of fighting, the Cham were eventually driven out

by King Jayavarman VII’s army in 1181.

Also, free meal for the crocodiles.

Even the elephants are fighting.

The monkey god Hanuman (left).

A statue of the Buddha (below).

A large fish eating an antelope.

I guess it happens sometimes‌

After Bayon, we keep going north.

A lot to see here, but we won’t have time for everything.

We first stop at Pleah‌ Parlay‌ Preah Palilay!

A small Buddhist sanctuary from the 13/14th century hidden in the forest.

Mostly famous for its large seated buddha and the fine nagas on the balustrade.

Next one on the list is the Terrace of the Leper King (13th century).

On top of the terrace, Yama (the god of the Underworld) is sitting down with his right knee raised.

Possibly because of the strange aspect of the statue and the corrosion of time, it later became known as ‘The Leper King’ – a reference to an old folk-legend that one of Angkor’s kings was a leper.

This one is a reproduction.

I know that the original is in the National Museum in Phnom Penh.

Our tour of Angkor Thom ends with the enormous temple-mountain of Baphuon (11th century).

You approach it by following a 200m elevated walkway made of sandstone.

The central structure is about 43m high.

This is awesome!

An empty door at the top of an ancient temple.

It’s like a gateway to another world‌ My imagination is running wild.

On the western side of the temple, the entire wall was apparently fashioned into a 60m long reclining buddha.

We’ve spent half the day in Angkor Thom.

Now, it’s finally time to get back to Angkor Wat.

Just like other temples – but at a much larger scale – Angkor Wat is a microcosm of the Hindu universe The five central towers are the earthly representation of Mt Meru (the home of the gods) and the moat symbolises the mythical oceans.

‘Angkor Wat’ means ‘City Pagoda’. It wasn’t only the most sublime of all Khmer temples, but also a city in its own right.

It was first built in the 12th century, during the reign of Surayavarman II and modified several times in the later years.

Including its broad moat,the total surface area of Angkor Wat is almost 200 hectares – the temple terrace itself measures no less than 9 hectares.

In the corridor that leads to the temple, there’s a 3m high eight-armed statue of Vishnu.

I have to say that there were things I didn’t expect to see in Angkor Wat. A horse.

A guy climbing in a tree.

And monkeys running everywhere‌

Angkor Wat is famous for its alluring apsaras (heavenly nymphs).

More than 3000 apsaras are carved in the walls of Angkor Wat. They are all unique.

Quinn has found the only one showing her teeth.

Angkor Wat is a pyramid of three levels.

Climbing up to the highest level is supposed to give you the feeling of ascending a real mountain (and reach the kingdom of the gods) – hence the really steep staircases.

This is clearly an experience that every visitor is eager to do.

Myself included.

Angkor Wat is the pride of Cambodia (it’s even on the national flag) and the jewel of the Khmer civilisation.

We’ve been in Siem Reap for almost a week now and we’re leaving tomorrow.

I’ve been waiting patiently for this moment until now.

At last, I will finally have the chance to ascend the temple and…

Are you kidding me?!

I ask around to see if there’s any way to climb up the tower.

‘Come back tomorrow’ they say. Fantastic…

I’m really disappointed, but all is not lost. We only leave Siem Reap at 1pm.

It should still give us the whole morning to come back one last time.

Since I’m stuck on the lower level, it would be a good idea to start looking at the bas-reliefs along the walls.

Because this is gonna take forever – they are 600m in length and 2m high.

If the carvings in Bayon were mostly about the Khmer history, here they mainly tell myths and epic Hindu tales.

King Suryavarman II leading his troops to battle.

A vivid depiction of Heaven and Hell.

Yama, god of Judgement and of the Underwold.

18-armed and riding a buffalo (his traditional mount)

The sinners fall to Hell through a trapdoor.

The Khmer have 37 heavens and 32 hells.

Each hell is sin and torture-specific – and very imaginative.

Sadly, these depictions may have inspired the Khmer Rouge methods of torture.

Below, the hell of bone-smashing.

The hell of getting nails hammered into your body‌

This is the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, the famous tug of war between gods and demons to get the elixir of immortality.

The carvings depict 88 asuras (demons) and 92 devas (gods) This is the great Hindu creation myth.

By pulling alternatively on the body of the giant naga Vasuki, which is coiled around Mount Mandala, the gods and the demons rotate the mountain for 1000 years to churn the cosmic sea and so produce the elixir.

As soon as they succeed, their cooperation is shattered. The gods refuse to give half of the elixir to the demons, who then will try to steal it.

Here is multi-headed giant Ravana holding the five heads of the serpent.

The cosmic sea is represented by a swirling mass of sea creatures, caught up in the turbulence.

Above the demons, thousands of apsaras are created in the process.

At the centre, four-armed Vishnu direct the operations.

He also appears as a giant turle, supporting the rotating mountain as it threatens to sink below the sea.

At the very end, Hanuman encourages the gods to pull harder.

It’s important to notice that the presence of Ravana and Hanuman is not part of the original legend.

This is the combination of Khmer’s folklore with characters from the epic Ramayana.

The next section represents Vishnu, riding his garuda, who fights against the demons.

A group of demons riding giant birds, their legs wrapped around the birds’ necks.

Krishna (or Vishnu) appears on Garuda and faces a wall of flames thrown up by Agni (the God of Fire), who rides a rhinoceros.

Multi-armed demon Bana rides a chariot pulled by lion-like creatures.

Krishna pays respect to Shiva at the end of the battle with Bana.

The next gallery runs over 90m long and depicts the intense battle between the gods and the demons

21 important gods in the Hindu pantheon make an appearance, all with their traditional attributes and mounts.

Honestly, the gods are so colorful and so over the top, they could be in a superhero Marvel comics.

As always Vishnu kicks ass on his garuda.

Skanda, God of War, on his giant‌ peacock.

Yep. The God of war, ladies and gentlemen. Beware.

Finally, the carvings on the last wall depict the Battle of Lanka – the epic climax of the Ramayana, These carvings are of remarkable quality and exult such raw power that they remind me of Frank Miller’s 300.

Here’s 20-armed demon Ravana riding a chariot drawn by monstruous lions.

Of course, I’ve kept the best one for last‌

The sun’s going down. Time to ride back to town.

The bikes did fine all day. But on the way back, Quinn blows up a tire and gets a ride to the hostel.

I stay behind and ride my own bike all the way. I’m thinking about tomorrow.

This is my last chance to do everything right‌

Day 29 One Last Ride

Our bus leaves at 1pm. We have the whole morning to do anything we want, but we need to plan carefully.

It could have been easy to hire a tuk tuk but where’s the fun in that? We’re going to ride the bikes one last time.

I want to see the sunrise again, but Quinn wants to sleep a bit longer. We’ll meet in Ta Prohm around 8am.

I ride on my own to get to Angkor Wat at dawn. This time I’m going straight near the left pool.

I don’t care how large the crowd is, I’m not even gonna sit down. I’m just gonna wait here.

If it happens like yesterday, the sun should be up around 6.30am. I have about 30min to wait.

Vendors know that Angkor Wat is really popular in the morning and they are everywhere.

Here, they are five on the same target. That’s what I call a tourist trap.

However, I overhear a conversation between a vendor and a tourist.

It seems that sunrise is at 6.55am today. Dunno if it’s true, but I keep that in mind.

6.30am. Everyone’s waiting for the sun to make its appearance. Unfortunately, it’s cloudier than yesterday. You can’t see the sky…

This is such a letdown.

I know that many visitors came on a tour and they can’t wait any longer. Others need to leave early as well. All I see is anger and disappointment.

Yesterday, I saw the ocean of milk, today it’s more like ‘the sea of sad faces’. Doesn’t matter where you come from, body language is universal.

This is such a letdown.

I know that manyvisitors came on a tour and they can’t wait any longer. Others need to leave early as well. All are really sad.

Yesterday, I saw the ocean of milk, today it’s more like ‘the sea of sad faces’. Doesn’t matter where you come from, body language is universal.

For a lot of visitors, watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat is a once in a lifetime experience.

But I have a second chance and I’m not gonna waste it. Since I’m not in a rush, I stick around until 6.55am. Just in case.

Well, wouldn’t you know it? Spot on. Not a minute early or late.

Still cloudy, but whatever.I can finally take the pictures I wanted – with the sun behind the towers. Not far away to the side like yesterday…

Call it obsession, I call it ‘the opportunity to do it right the second time’.

Now, I’m satisfied but it’s already 7.20am. I’ll have to ride my bike pretty fast to get to Ta Prohm before 8am.

I’m leaving - still taking pictures as I get further and further away.

Last picture in front of Bayon.

We’ve already been to Ta Prohm.

But this time, since it’s early morning, we hope for a smaller crowd.

When I arrive, I’m exhausted, but it’s not 8am yet.

Quinn has just parked her bike. We meet at the entrance.

We have managed to beat the crowd.

Definitely less pushing this time around.

Let’s take 1h to enjoy the scenery.

One last Tomb Raider location.

Oh and can somebody tell me why there is a dinosaur in the bas-relief of the temple ?

We leave Ta Prohm and ride back to Angkor Wat. Quinn wants to finish examining the carvings.

I want to get to the upper level and be done with it.

To make sure we come back at noon in Siem Reap, we give each other 50min before we meet again.

Right away, I get inside to the second level of the temple.

There’s already a line to go up‌

I was expecting it since there is a limited number of visitors allowed.

However, I thought that, since we’re close to noon, the tour groups would have stopped for lunch somewhere.

I was wrong. Still, I won’t have another shot at this. I’ll just wait in line.

10min. 20min. The heat is killing me. The line moves slowly but steadily. I have now less than 30min left.

Eventually, a caretaker hands me a pass. Time to ascend the steep stairs of the tower.

Unexpectedly, there are now sturdy wooden staircases instead. They are still quite steep, mind you, but it’s a much less rewarding experience.

In this particular case, I’m actually thankful for it because I’m really running out of time.

I take a deep breath and climb the stairs to the top as fast as I can.

This is it. I am now at the uppermost level of Angkok Wat‌ and I have 15min left to visit the area, climb down the stairs, get back to the first level of the temple (I’m on the third one), and meet Quinn halfway through the 500m long balustrade in the courtyard.

Better get cracking!

The summit is enclosed by a continuous gallery 60m square.

Four towers are rising from the corners, and it all connects to the central shrine and tower (42m).

I am actually surprised but there’s not much to do once you’re up there. I was expecting a massive statue or something.

Maybe most of it has already been transferred to a museum.

The fact is that the shrine has changed since its foundation.

Originally, all four sides were open and the shrine contained the statue of Vishnu that now stands near the entrance (below).

At some point during the 14th or 15th century however, the temple was converted for Buddhist worship.

The doorways were blocked by walls and the vestibules turned into Buddhist shrines.

But for me, just saying ‘I was there’ is already an accomplishment.

I was there because we had carefully planned our time schedule.

I was there because I came back the day after the temple was closed.

I was there because I rode my bike at 5am in the dark to see the sunrise - again.

I was there because we followed our schedule and it worked.

I was there because I waited in line under the scorching sun.

And I was there because I got my chance to ascend the tower.

And I’m proud of it.

Anyway, I mostly came up here for the view.

And I got it.

This is where I’m meeting Quinn.

I don’t know how I managed to visit the upper level, climb down the steep stairs, get back to the first level and meet Quinn halfway through the 500m long balustrade in the courtyard in less than 15min. But I did.

Now, we have to ride back to town before check out time, take a shower, and wait for the bus.

Our plan couldn’t have worked better. The bags are packed, we get some snacks for the road.

Time to say goodbye to all these Cambodian god-kings and all the vestiges of the ancient Khmer civilisation.

We’re going back to the modern world for good.

Before we leave, I take the time to tip the hostel staff for their help during our stay.

Especially because they let us refill our water bottles several times every day.

Thanks to them, we didn’t have to buy new plastic bottles all the time.

Less money spent and fewer empty plastic bottles thrown away.

It’s a long minivan ride back to Phnom Penh. It took much longer than expected. When we arrive, it’s already dark.

We have an early flight tomorrow, so we chose a hostel near the airport. We hire a tuk tuk to drive us there.

Funny enough, the first driver stopped at some point and asked us to go with a friend of his because he had something else to do.

The second driver, who couldn’t speak any English, drove us to the airport instead of the hostel.

And there, we had to show the address to four different people and call the hostel to finally arrive at the right place.

The hostel advertises a restaurant on the ground floor. But when we ask, the receptionist replies that they have no food.

They apparently closed the restaurant four months ago. I’ve been up since 5am. I’m tired and starving. Any place will do.

Good thing I’m hungry because the restaurant we go to serves food worthy of a fast food joint.

My day started with a sunrise at Angkor Wat. It ended with a 40min tuk tuk ride in the middle of heavy traffic and some crappy food near Phnom Penh airport.

I feel like I’ve just woken up from a dream and reality just slapped me in the face.

Back in the room, I check our bags one last time and crash on the bed.

We may be leaving Cambodia tomorrow, but our trip is not over yet…