TRAVEL
Angkor Diary
It was nine in the morning when the Bangkok Airways flight from Bangkok landed at Siem Reap (SR) airport. The heat could be felt already as we came out of the aircraft and walked down the gangway. However, the air seemed quite fresh and what struck me particularly was the neatness of the surroundings. SR is a province of Cambodia – a country whose per capita income is lower than that of Bangladesh. So, one couldn't expect to see a big airport. But this was a newly constructed one – with very unique Khmer style architecture (resembling Thai temples). Since no jet bridge had been put up, passengers could walk down to the terminal building in an old fashioned manner. But that gave one an opportunity to see (if one cared) how the elegant entrance and general cleanliness of the whole place.
Visa on arrival proved to be remarkably smooth, fast and efficient. But our daughter who seemed to be the only passenger on that flight travelling with a Bangladesh passport had to be handled separately because their “system” was not prepared to take this type of old fashioned hand-written passports! Anyway, the process was completed without major fuss and we soon came out to be greeted by a representative of the hotel where we had booked accommodation.
Siem Reap was on the list of my “to visit” places ever since the peace process took hold in Cambodia and the country opened itself to tourism. It was the famous Angkor Wat that put Siem Reap on the map of global tourism; but Angkor was only one of the many such temples.
Temples can be found all over Cambodia, especially in SR province where Hindu kings reigned during the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. From the number of temples that date back to that period, it seems that the construction of temples was a major activity of the kings. Altogether, there are 1080 temples in the country, of which 294 are in SR province and 65 are in the area surrounding the city of SR which is known as the Angkor Archaeological Park (AAP).We visited only a few of those 65. Our selection was naturally influenced by distance from SR city where we were staying, although we did visit a few that were about an hour's drive from there. The latter were Bantey Srei, Bantey Samre and Pre Rup. For those who may be interested in a trip in the future, a spectacular view of the sunset can be had from the top of Pre Rup.
A few general points regarding the temples may be worth noting. First, the temples were constructed during reigns of Hindu kings, and as such, they started as Hindu temples. However, from about the 13th century, people in Cambodia started to convert to Buddhism. And since then, the same temples started to be used by the Buddhists.
Second, the temples that we saw (and I guess most) are basically in ruins, and have been restored to various degrees. In fact, in many cases, the process of restoration is a continuous one, and is likely to continue for many more years. A number of countries including Germany, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Switzerland are helping in the work.
Third, visiting the temples can be physically arduous, involving long walks inside the compounds and climbing steep stairs. Examples are a climb to the top of Pre Rup from where we had a lovely view of sunset and the climb to the main part of Angkor for viewing the interiors of the temple. One needs to be in good health and in appropriate attire.
Fourth, given the climate (hot and humid), a good idea is to start temple tours early in the morning and finish by mid-day. The afternoons are very hot and should be devoted to other activities like visiting attractions in the city and/or sites that don't require too much of physical work.
Temples in Bantey Srei, Bantey Samre and Pre Rup
After installing ourselves at the hotel, we took a little time to refresh ourselves, have lunch and a short rest after that. Our designated guide along with the microbus that we rented for sightseeing came at 2 p.m. The first thing that we did was to buy tickets for our visits to the temples. On way to Angkor Wat from SR city, there is a sprawling place where visitors buy their tickets. We bought what is known as three-day temple passes that contained our photos. The process was very quick and efficient (reminded me of entry passes that one gets in Manhattan office buildings that contain instant photos of the person entering). These tickets allowed us unlimited entry to all temples in the area during the three days marked on them.
The temples that we visited on the first day afternoon were in the areas called Bantey Srei, Bantey Samre and Pre Rup – all about an hour's drive from SR. So, by the time we arrived in the first of those, the sun was no longer so scorching, although it was still quite hot and humid. Fortunately, the area was green and the first two did not involve too much of climbing up. The third one (Pre Rup) is the one from which sunset can be viewed; and we had planned our trip in such a way that by the time we arrived there, the sun had already started to go down. Along with hundreds of other tourists, we found our own vantage point and waited for the expected moment and the spectacular sight. And as the sun changed its colour and was about to go down behind the row of trees at the distance, suddenly there was total silence on the temple top – as if everybody was preparing for a solemn occasion. To me, it was not surprising. After all, that is the time of an important transition – from light to darkness, and from period of activity to period of rest. I always like to spend a few moments at such a time in quietness, looking at nature and enjoying the changeover. And I was happy that the crowd's behaviour helped create the right environment.
The second day started with a visit to the most famous of the temples known as Angkor Wat, situated about six km away from SR city. Built by the Hindu king Surya Barman around the 12th century (implying that this is one of the more recent ones, because there are those constructed during the ninth century), it has one central tower surrounded by four smaller ones in four corners (see picture on p.3). The structure is remarkable for its symmetry as well as style. Some of the walls are full of intricate carvings depicting normal life, war, love, gods and goddesses. The western side of the temple has a moat constructed to protect it. To get a perfect view and reflections in water, one has to visit the temple in the afternoon. However, in order to avoid crowd and heat, we visited the temple in the morning and went back for the view against setting sun in the afternoon.
Two kilometres away from Angkor Wat is an area called Angkor Thom which has a few temples including the spectacular Bayon temple with giant human faces looking at four different directions. There are 39 towers of different sizes in that temple. As Hindu God Brahma has four faces, the general belief is that this temple was built as a temple for worshipping Brahma. But this apparently was constructed as a Buddhist temple.
Ta Prohm
We began the third day with a visit to a temple called Ta Prohm which is located in a sprawling compound (only 15 minutes drive from SR city) where trunks and roots of huge trees (looking like centuries old) cohabit with temple walls and roofs . This temple complex is a good example of nature's and human marvels combined in one. It is very difficult to understand whether the temple was built first and the tree grew on that or the other way round.
We also visited a silk producing complex, an artisan's workplace cum sales centre, and the so-called “Pub Street” in SR city. At the silk producing centre, one can see the entire process of producing silk fabrics starting from the raising of cocoons in mulberry trees through the production of silk threads to various products. The Pub Street is an interesting place where an entire stretch of road is closed to traffic in the evening and where a large number of restaurants are located. For those who are interested in a lively environment and in having a traditional Khmer meal in the evening, Pub Street is the place.
In addition to visiting temples, we allocated a part of our time for visiting other interesting sites including what is called “floating villages”. There are a number of such floating villages in Cambodia where entire communities live and carry out their daily life on water. They are located in various parts of Tonle Sap lake which has been formed by water brought in by tributaries of the Mekhong river. People belonging to the fishing community have built their houses on floating platforms, and some in boats which are kept parked at the edge of the lake near the mouth of the tributaries. Since the level of water in the lake varies considerably over the year (depending on the flow of water in Mekhong), the locations of the floating houses also have to change. The communities that live in these floating houses don't have to go to the land at all because schools, churches/temples, markets, etc. are all organised on water. We even saw a basketball court (completely covered by net on all sides) on a floating platform. Small children rowing their own boats towards their school (picture below p5) is the aquatic equivalent of children riding their bikes to schools! These communities provide perfect examples of how human beings can live in harmony with nature. There is perhaps a lesson for flood prone Bangladesh where global warming is predicted to lead to the drowning of a large part of the land mass under sea!