Siem Reap / Angkor
Trip Start
Nov 16, 2007
1
12
20
Trip End
Jan 14, 2008
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Sunday, December 9, 2007
As expected, we found the many ruins of Angkor beautiful and fascinating. The Khmer empire of Angkor began under Jayavarman II in 802 CE and was finally sacked by the Thais in 1432. The 10th - 13th centuries were the golden era, culminating in Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious building.
The Angkor kingdom was heavily influenced by India, and the religious influences traded between Hinduism and Buddhism. To this day the Khmer (Cambodian) religion, while officially Theravada Buddhism, retains many aspects of Hinduism
Khmer Empire
. Angkor architecture primarily consists of enormous blocks of sandstone, brought from 100km away using bamboo rafts pulled by elephants and placed on sandstone foundations 4-6m deep. The buildings are covered top-to-bottom with intricate bas-relief carvings. In the three days we had, we visited all of the significant ruins and several lesser well known ones. It was fantastic! Our guide, Pakdei, knew the history and stories behind each site and pointed out a number of small details we would have otherwise missed. He timed our visits so we weren't rushed, missed the biggest crowds, and were in the right place at the right time to capture the best light, etc. The pace was great - we'd be out ~9-12:30, break until 3pm (it was rather hot and sweaty), and then went back out through sunset. We would be happy to recommend Pakdei and provide his contact info to anyone planning to visit.
There are hundreds of fascinating details about each of these sites, but I'll stick to a few highlights and some pictures. My recommendation is to go see it for yourself - amazing!
Angkor Thom: great walled city surrounded by moats, with walls 6m high and 8m deep/wide, extending more than 12km.
Bayon: 54 towers (one for each province), each topped with four giant heads of the God-King Avalokiteshvara, facing the four directions and representing love, compassion, equality, and sympathy. It also includes 1200m of 3-panel high bas-reliefs.
Angkor Wat: immense and breathtaking - we stayed until after sunset. Walls, pedestals, everything covered with very fine, delicate bas-relief carvings. It is best known for the "Churning of the Ocean of Milk", but I liked some of the others better.
Giant head at Angkor Thom
Ta Prohm and Preah Khan: huge complexes left to the ravages of time and the jungle - very much like "Raiders of the Lost Ark" - massive roots and limbs growing around and through everything. In Ta Prohm a solid gold sarcophagus was discovered, and its chamber was lined with large diamonds. Many were still there when the French found it, but they took them and the Cambodians don't know where they are. Mixed blessings, as in other parts of the world: European discoverers and archaeologists (here mostly French) did lots of excavation, stabilized and renovated sites, but also took many of the treasures. Neak Pean (Nirvana): five large ponds with carved fonts.
Banteay Srei: Citadel of Women - bas-reliefs and carvings all done by women. Pink sandstone, very intricate and delicate 3-d carvings, small temple built in the 10th century, different style.
