Angkor

Superlatives are heaped upon the Angkor archeological site, which is just 6 km outside of Siam Reap in northwest Cambodia, to such an extent that some tourists who arrive find that Angkor simply cannot stand up to the hype. But for most, it's the highlight of any trip to Cambodia, if not the highlight of South-East Asia. Travelfish.org states that Angkor is "quite simply, one of the most splendid attractions in all of Southeast Asia." Lonely Planet proclaims it as extravagantly beautiful, "the perfect fusion of creative ambition and spiritual devotion", and the eighth wonder of the world.

The Angkor site encompasses hundreds of temples spread out over a vast area -- it's all that remains of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, which lasted about 600 years from 802 to 1432 AD. Most of the significant temples that remain today were built between 900 to 1200 AD. At that time, the Khmer civilization was dominant in the region and Angkor likely had a population over 1 million. The houses and most of the buildings of the Khmer civilization were built of wood, and so quickly disappeared, but the Khmer's elaborate temples were constructed of stone, and remarkably many have survived in various states of ruin and restoration. Notably, most of the temples combine Hindu and Buddhist elements; some are dedicated to specific God-Kings or their mothers/fathers.

There are many books on Angkor and a vast amount of information available on-line, so I won't go into detail about the history or significance of Angkor or the Khmers (from whom modern Cambodians are directly decendended). Instead, I have decided to post some of the pictures that I took during our 4 hot and sweaty days of touring the temples. I've tried to restrain myself and just post a few, but I have almost 800 photos! (Yes, that's almost 200 photos a day, 40 photos an hour ...) I've mostly stuck to the big, famous temples, but I have lots of photos of the minor ones that I would be happy to share when we return. I've tried to use photos that Adam or I are in to show "proof of life". (No, we haven't killed each other and yes, we're still smiling, despite the dust and heat!) I had a great time touring around Angkor, and I think Adam, who unlike most people, had few expectations for Angkor, was pleasantly surprised at how much he enjoyed it as well.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the largest and most well-known of the temples at Angkor. (In fact, most people use the term "Angkor Wat" to refer to the entire archeological site, when in fact it refers to the central temple -- or "wat" in Khmer.) It is widely believed to be the largest religious structure in the world, although Adam and I contemplated whether this excludes the pyramids of Giza as 'religious structures'. In any event, the symmetry of the temple is startling, and the size and state of preservation makes it impressive.

Pictures, or my pictures anyway, don't really do Angkor Wat justice. It's the kind of place that you need to experience yourself. I have included a few photos that include either Adam or I. But my favourite photograph of Angkor Wat was taken by John McDemott during a solar eclipse over Angkor in 1995. I cannot include it here for reasons of copyright, but an image of it can be found on the web at the following address: http://www.asiaphotos.net/photo.php?id=352. It's well worth clicking on to see a much more majestic Angkor Wat.



Above, Adam dutifully posing for just a few photos while the tourist hordes are temporarily abated. Below, me, on a very rare occasion of being in front of the camera.

Below is just one photo of a few of the hundreds of Apsaras that Angkor Wat is famous for. Most of the stone walls of Angkor Wat are intricately carved.

The Bayon

The Bayon is one of the most favoured and photographed temples at Angkor, and probably the most unusual. The temple, like others at Angkor, features a central tower (45m high) with additional towers surrounding it (a total of 54) in a pyramid design. However, originally each of the 54 towers had four faces at the top -- one looking to each of the north, south, east and west. Many of these remain today, and the effect is remarkable. Visitors to the temple often feel as though they are being watched by the giant faces, which surround them and look down on them in all directions. No one is sure what the faces represent, but my favoured theory is that the faces represent King Jayavarman VII (who ruled at the time it was constructed) as a God-King, looking down on the entire Khmer empire in all directions. We were fortunate to plan our visit to the Bayon for early morning before the masses of tourists descended, and it was quite peaceful and beautiful.

Ta Prohm

Most people will have previously seen an image of Ta Prohm, perhaps without even knowing that it's from Angkor. This is the temple that is being reclaimed by the jungle, and it is in various states of ruin. Images of Ta Prohm are scattered in our popular culture. The temple is perhaps most notable for being used in the Tomb Raider movie, and the "Tomb Raider tree" is now featured on most guidebook maps! Our first visit to Ta Prohm was in the middle of the day, and the site was swarming with Asian package tourists who queued up to have their photo taken in front of the aforementioned tree. Not the relaxed, spiritual visit I was hoping for. We went back the next morning when it was quiet and tranquil, and we could actually hear the birds chirping and feel a connection with nature and the temple.

I must note that there are sections of the temple that are cordoned off with pink tape for safety, so that tourists don't wander into unstable sections where parts of the temple could come down on their heads. A laudable aim, but not so good for my photos of the ruins. Adam was very helpful and temporarily removed some of these ropes/tapes in out of the way locations so I could get my photos. Of course, we put the rope/tapes back!

Above, the (in)famous crocodile tree. There is a platform in front so that tourists can stand on it and get a good picture in front of the tree! I had to wait about 15-20 minutes to get this shot with no one in it. There's about 40 people just beyond the frame ...

And below, Adam doing the tourist-thing and getting his photo taken in front of the Tomb Raider tree. Not the most remarkable image in the temple, but the most well-known.

Ta Som

Ta Som is one of the 'minor' temples at Angkor, which is quite beautiful and as it gets fewer visitors, it is more peaceful than the major sites. The eastern gopura (gate) is completely overgrown. I love this photo with the Cambodian children in front ... they are running to catch up with me.

Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei is set apart from the other temples at Angkor - it's about 25 km beyond Angkor Wat. This is perhaps because it was commissioned by a high-caste Brahman rather than a King. It is quite small, even petite, compared to the other temples (again perhaps because it was not a royal temple), but it is undoubtedly the most intracately carved and thus perhaps the most beautiful. It features some of the most detailed, exceptional carvings extant in the world. Mystery surrounds Banteay Srei. Some have suggested that it was built or designed by a woman as no man could have created something so beautiful and so delicate. Unlike the other temples at Angkor, the carvings were done directly into the pink sandstore rather that into a plaster coating that was later attached to the temple face. It has been dated at mid-10th century (which would be almost 200 years before Angkor Wat was built), but this has been called into question recently. It may have been built much later. No one really knows when it was built, why, or by whom. But its a highlight of Angkor, that's for sure. I have at least a hundred photos of it, but I've limited myself to including just one, below.

And finally ...

Who would be surprised that Adam couldn't resist clamouring about on some of the lesser temples, doing a bit of a traverse? (see below) This is at one of the earlier temples, Ta Keo, where it didn't seem out of place or inappropriate given that other people were scrambling up the sides of the ruins to get to the top for a view. Adam didn't desecrate any of the major temples, and we respected "no climbing" signs when they were present.

I hope you enjoy! This is the first time in weeks I've found a computer fast enough and with the applications to post these, and even then it's been a painstaking process. So I'm not sure when the next photos will go up. Perhaps Saigon or Hanoi ... or when we get home! We just arrived in Vietnam, and I feel like we're in the home stretch now.

Robin