Temples, Tourists and Touts Extravaganza
18th November 2010
Today Aaron and I have seen more Ankgorian temples than you could think possible! We left our hotel about 6am, rented bicycles and headed north, towards Angkor. The site is named Angkor, meaning "capital city" as it was once the capital of the Khmer empire. "Khmer" is the dominant ethnic group in modern and ancient Cambodia. On route Aaron and I both purchased tickets which allow entry on any 3 days within the next week. After having visited Angkor National Museum yesterday we were excited to see the monuments in real life. We decided to begin with the temples on the "grand circuit" today and build up to the great spectacle of Angkor Wat, thought by some to be the 8th wonder of the world!
The route we cycled skirted around the edge of Angkor Wat, but the trees blocked our view, so the suspense was maintained. The first stop on our tour was at Prasat Kravan, constructed in the early 10th century during King Harshavarman I's reign of the Khmer Empire. It was only the 3rd monument built in the Angkor area and was dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu (the preserver. My favourite Hindu god!). From the 1st Centuary AD south-east Asia became a hub of a trading network which included China and India. Indian influence became widespread, including religion (Hinduism and Buddism). When Aaron and I arrived at the site we looked up at the impressive temple, back lit from the east by the morning sun. In our magazine the temple was only give a 1* (out of 4) rating, signifying it was a "minor ruin". I wondered what was in store for us next!
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| Prasat Kravan |
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| Banteay Kedi |
Soon after leaving Prasat Kravan we came across Banteay Kedi, built in the late 12th – early 13th century, by Jayavaraman VII (our favourite king! More about him later). The building originally functioned as a Buddhist monastery. It was constructed with poor techniques using low grade sandstone, hence it has suffered much deterioration. As Aaron and I stepped into the building I looked up to see gaping cracks between the precariously balanced stones overhead. Out in a courtyard I turned my eyes in apprehension to a tower that looked as though it was only held together by a couple of pieces of tape. Unconvinced the restoration attempts met my safety standards, I searched for an exit in order to view it from outside. As I wandered around the maze of corridors I noticed how nature had infused itself with the ruins and trees had grow up around the stones. For a while two small boys followed my whining "Hello, one dollar" in a monotonous, apathetic tone.
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| Banteay Kedi |
After safely escaping Banteay Kedi, our next stop was Pre Rup the state temple of king Rajendravaraman II, constructed in the late 10th century. The huge building towered above us, it's multi layered platforms reaching towards the sky. I looked up in awe. I hadn't realised the ruins would be so vast and substantial. We climbed the many steps up the temple-mountain, which provided a great view of the dense woods surrounding. Opposite the temple was a group of stalls selling anything from cold drinks, food, scarves to small statue souvenirs. When we made our exit Aaron swiftly got on his bike and made a quick escape from the hawkers rushing towards us, some clutching goods or menus. I followed more slowly with the calls of "Hello lady, cool drink" and "Hello lady, buy something" echoing behind me
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| Pre Rup |
Next we visited East Mebon which was built shortly before Pre Rup. The temple was dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva (god of distruction). It was built on a island in the now dry Eastern Baray (reservoir). It amazed me how well presereved the carvings were. As at many of the other monuments we were met outside by a variety of vendors, mostly women and children. I was addressed so often with "Hello lady" or "Hello one dollar" I began to wonder if one of them was my name! However I stayed as patient as I could because I know that sometimes it's just a language gap. For example instead of saying "Hello, would you like to buy something" they just say "Hello, buy something", which I have to forgive them for since they know far more English than I know Khmer.
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| East Medbon |
Cycling another few kilometres we reached Ta Som. This and the next three monuments we visited were built in the late 12th century by Jayaravaman VII. When we walked through the ruins of the Buddhist monastery, I saw another tourist playing with a young girl and I wondered if I was becoming to cynical about the locals. Usually I ignore the children who should be in school, but this time when a small girl selling postcards asked for a game of noughts and crosses I agreed. After a couple of moves she proposed that if she won I buy her postcards. She made me laugh so I accepted and subsequently lost the game (hey I haven't played for a while and I wanted some postcards anyway!) Clever selling tactic!
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| Ta Som |
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| Neak Pean |
To revive ourselves we sat outside Prasat Prei, a small temple, eating baguettes and bananas. Since it was a minor ruin we were able to relax without a soul in sight. We couldn't help but compare the temples to the Medieval metropolis we had visited in Hampi, India, a couple of months ago. The temples in Angkor are more substantial and impressive than those in Hampi but there we had enjoyed the charm of exploring a far less touristy area.
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| Prasat Prei |
Although we were tired, we had made it this far, so I dragged Aaron to the last temple on the circuit, Preah Khan, meaning "sacred sword". At the entrance to the Buddhist monastery there was a bridge with statues which looked like they were playing tug-of-war! They actually represented a scene from Hindu mythology, depicting the churning of the ocean of milk. Just then it began to pour with rain, so we scuttled after another group of tourists into a building. We soon discovered that the roof was not water tight, so everyone laughed and put their umbrellas up again. Once the rain eased off we made a quick tour, squelching through puddles. Prah Khan was dedicated to Jayaravaman VII's father. Like many other monuments the Buddha images were vandalised during the Hindu resurgence. The misty air seemed to add to the charm of the mystic atmosphere where nature was taking over the ruins.
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| Preah Khan |
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| Preah Khan |
As the sun was setting we headed back towards Siem Reap, by cycling through Angkor Thom and past Angkor Wat. We hurried back towards town, hardly pausing, only catching a glimpse of what we are going to see tomorrow. By the time we got back to the mayhem of traffic in town it was close to 6pm. We cycled about 35km and visited 8 temples in the last 12 hours! We were exhausted, but gluttons for punishment we kept the bikes for tomorrow. We plan to set out about 5am to catch Angkor Wat at sunrise, I'm excited since that it's supposedly one of the most spectacular views.
Comments
Cycling was good, the bikes were decent. Roads around the main temples were great, but returning to the town the traffic was scary! Luckily we didn't have far to go across town. We later did some interesting and more challenging cross country roads...you'll see some photos on Aaron's blog later. Cycling through sand in midday sun is hard work!