Encore Angkor

We spent the last two days traveling around the ancient city of Angkor. It has been incredible. Most people know of Angkor Wat, but there are actually over 1000 temples throughout the area around Siem Reap. We saw only a small number of these, but we saw some of the best.

First, some background. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Khmer empire ruled much of what is now Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The capital of this empire was Angkor, near present-day Siem Reap. The city had urban sprawl reaching miles in every direction, covering nearly 400 square miles. Each king marked his reign by building bigger and more elaborate temples. Many of these temples have been destroyed by weather, the jungle, or human destruction. Some have fared better, still displaying much of their former splendor.

All of the temples were built from stone blocks or bricks. They all were decorated floor to ceiling with elaborate carvings or plaster castings. The remains of the temples show varied levels of decay. Some have art that is easily seen, others have eroded into rough piles of stone. Most were originally Hindu temples, later converted to Buddhist.

 Angkor Wat is the best preserved, having never been abandoned to the elements and jungle. It is not the oldest, nor the newest, but it has been in use as a temple since it was built in the 12th century in honor of Vishnu. It now houses Buddha statues, but much of the Hindu imagery remains. It's impossible to exaggerate when talking about Angkor Wat. It is huge. It is beautiful. It is impressive. It is probably the most awe inspiring thing I've ever seen that human hands have built.  The immense grounds are surrounded by a wide moat. You walk through an outer wall into the grounds. The temple itself has a beautiful kilometer-long stone carving depicting history and mythology. There are five towers in the center, decorated elaborately. You can climb near the top of the center tower to get a view of the surrounding area.

The other temples were impressive, though none could live up to the size and preservation of Angkor Wat. Preah Khan was our next favorite. It was more ruined, but was an intricate system of halls and labyrinths. It was a good view of what a larger temple looks like when abandoned and allowed to deteriorate.

 Ta Prohm was also impressive. This was built around the same time as Angkor Wat. It did not have the help of people keeping the jungle at bay. Massive trees have taken over the temple. Roots cling to the stones, strangling and logging the stone structures. It felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie as we explored this amazing site.

We visited Angkor Thom this morning. It was once the capital city of the empire. There are a number of temples within a short walk. Bayon was the largest, with 200+ stone faces looking down on you from every angle. Baphuon had been destroyed, then rebuilt, then dismantled, then rebuilt again. It is known as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle.



Other temples we visited were Neak Poan, Ta Som, Bakong, East Mebon, preah palilay, and others in passing.

Around each temple, there were shops and refreshment stands. When you walk out of a temple gate, you are surrounded by women shouting at you to buy their wares. "Sir, you want cold drink. Ok, you want coconut. Lady, You buy cold water, one dollar." It was worse at the smaller, out of the way temples. At times, it was hard to enjoy the site because a woman was standing in front of you with elephant print pants. The worst was when a small child tried to sell you a bracelet or origami bird. It was very hard to ignore a 4 year-old boy walking next to you for minutes repeating the same mumbled line. "lady buy bracelet, three for a dollar. Ok, you buy." Over and over. Wee weren't sir whether to be sad or annoyed.

On the whole, the temples were a lot of fun, but very exhausting. We are ready to be moving on to Hong Kong tomorrow.