Intriguing Angkor

While most of my posts about travel have mostly been trip reports, this trip report has both a prologue and an epilogue. This is all about my trip to see the Angkor temples in Cambodia.

Part 1: Planning and run-up

The Angkor temples had been someplace I always wanted to visit. It wouldn't be suitable for little kids so I thought I'd have to wait a while before a trip to see them would be possible.

But I guess there is a time for everything. Or is it that 'when your mind wants something, the entire universe conspires to make it happen'. Either way I'm a happen person because it did happen and I climbed to the top of Angkor Wat. While this might not seem like much of an achievement at first, I must say I will take the satisfaction of reaching there as an important achievement in life. 

A person who's disability level is pegged at over 90% persevering through sultry weather and scorching sun to climb 3 extremely steep staircases of a crowded ancient ruin is not something that happens everyday. I understand that it is by no means a great feat, it is something that makes brings a smile to my face as I type this :)

The story of how this trip happened. My childhood friend, P wanted to do a girl-trip and allowed me the freedom to choose the location and duration of a trip. After a brief discussion of the possible nearby locations, we both realized that we'd love to visit Siem Reap and the time of the year would be suitable too weather wise. She left the entire planning of the trip to me and I couldn't be happier.

My cousin (Dr. Jo - medical kind!) would be in SG during my travel and so I was sure N would be fine without me. (Until then N & I hadn't spent a night away from each other.) I chose to travel on weekdays so it would be easier for N. My biggest worry in the weeks before the trip was whether I'd be able to manage the strain on my body. As someone with a severe case of FOMO, I knew that in all likelihood this would probably be my only shot at climbing to the top of the temples. But I told myself that I would try to cover some of the temples of my choice and be happy if I managed those... that that is good enough to be happy about. But my knee started giving me a tough time a week or two before the trip. I was worried the knee pain would hamper my attempt at climbing the stairs. And then a couple of days before the trip I got a nasty blister near my site of amputation - that would bear my whole body weight as I walked. My cuz ensured she'd massage my leg almost everyday as a run-up to the trip to ensure I was in as good shape as possible. Y massaged my back even on the day of travel to help.Y and cuz, it appeared, were training me for a marathon of sorts!

Y is the best partner and gets me. As soon as I had told him the choice of location, he was worried about all the strain my body would have to put up with and he also knew that unlike the usual, he wouldn't be around to massage my sore leg and hurting foot. It is because of his daily massages that I have managed to do so much on every trip I have taken with him. Yet he didn't once ask me to rethink my call.. as difficult as it is, he stands by the sidelines watching me in pain knowing that I want something so badly. He stocked up on several pain relief patches and heat patches for me to take on the trip. My cuz apprised P of my health. Aren't these three just the most wonderful people? 

Part 2: Tripping... October 20- 25th

P reached Singapore the day before we were off to Siem Reap. 

Day 1: Sunday, Oct 20th

We took a Sunday afternoon flight into Siem Reap. Our hotel provided a free airport pick-up on a tuk-tuk. During our entire stay, tuk-tuks were our only mode of transport. 

We stayed at a wonderful hotel in the middle of the town, only a stone's throw away from Pub Street. I would easily recommend this hotel to others. As they didn't have an elevator, we stayed at their sole ground floor room. There is a semi-private big plunge pool attached to the suite room. The room was spacious and well-furnished.

We started our exploration of Siem Reap with a Khmer Classical Ballet performance. Wanting to avoid some of the many dance shows with buffet dinners, we chose the 'Sacred dancers of Angkor',  a simple yet more authentic experience that is part of the NKFC foundation in an attempt to empowering the local communities towards a sustainable future. It was a calming ambience and performance though I cannot say it kept me in rapt attention through the entire 70 minutes. A good experience nonetheless. 

We headed out for dinner at Elia Greek Kitchen at a stone's throw away from our hotel. The portions were huge and we had to carry some of the salad back to the room. We retired early as we had to be ready for a long day next morning.

Hummus wrap and salad

Day 2: Monday, Oct 21st

The main reason we were in Siem Reap was the Angkor temples and because they are so spread out, I decided the best way to get a bird's eye view of it all was in exactly the way a bird would- by flying over them. A helicopter would have to fly higher and the ride would be over in 5 minutes, so I chose to go Microlighting, a small flying machine. We took the 40 minute route around temple complexes. It was indeed a wonderful way to understand how massive the temples were and the amount of effort building it would have taken 1000 years back. They are architectural marvels. The symmetry they have achieved in the absence of most modern machinery is unbelievable.


The microlighting trip was the highlight of our trip. A wonderful experience.

After this our next stop was the Angkor National Museum. Our hotel had packed us breakfast boxes before we left in the morning so we had breakfast in the cafe next door. We headed into the National museum that took us a couple of hours. It is a modern building and wheelchair friendly. Since we were expecting to spend the rest of the day and the next few walking a lot, P&I decided to avail a wheelchair to explore the museum to minimize the strain on my leg. We decided to do the museum before seeing the temples as we would have a good overview of the different complexes and basic information to make our temple run more meaningful. In hindsight, it was a good decision.

Our guide Noung was waiting for us as we completed our visit of the museum. She suggested that we complete the Bantaey Srei first as it was 25km North-East of the bigger complexes.

For lunch we stopped at VIBE, probably the most famous vegan restaurant in Siem Reap. The food was delicious.

After a sumptuous lunch, we headed to the Angkor Park Pass Ticket Counters to secure our 3-day tickets. The counters were close to empty and our tickets were issued in minutes. I got myself a wide hat to see me through the next few warm, sunny days. Please note that the tickets have your photo on it and the dates of visit will be punched. If you lose your ticket, you've got to buy another one. So be careful with it!

We shall now start our temple run of some of the temples of Angkor. Most of these temples were built between the 9th and 13th century by the Khmer kings as Hindu temples. When the Khmer dynasty started following Budhhism in the following centuries, most were converted to Buddhist temples. Most of the visible carvings in all temples are depictions from Hindu mythology. In many temples, the Hindu idols (the Shivalinga, Nandi etc) are seen to be in partially destroyed form - some when it was taken over by Buddhism and some in ruins due to passage of time. We even noticed a buddha sitting atop a yoni (lower part and pedestal of the Shiva Linga)

The first temple we decide to visit is the Banteay Srei which is one of the farthest away and a must-see on my list. It was such an extremely bumpy ride towards Banteay Srei that at one point we told our tuk-tuk driver that if the road is in such terrible shape, we'd rather head back than end up with lower back issues. But after persisting for a 2.5 hour, we finally got there in one piece. The dust on the roads had triggered off an allergy issue in P.

Our experience at Banteay Srei, though, made all the travel worth it. We hired a guide to show us around the temple. Literally, Banteay Srei means 'The women's citadel' or 'Temple of Srei' where Srei would stand for the Sanskrit word 'Shree'.

Built almost entirely in red sandstone, it was a temple for Lord Shiva. It dates back to the year 967AD (almost 200 years before Angkor Wat).

The Nandi statue facing the inner sanctorum is broken but the ornate carvings are still intact.

The arch of each of the many towers have three levels and each depicts a different story from Hindu mythology - of Narasimha and Hiranyakashapu, Indra on the Airavata, Krishna killing Kamsa, stories from the Ramyana and Mahabharata. Any one who is familiar with these stories would be naturally more drawn to this temple. I was.

Because I realize that merely writing a few (unstudied) words or adding a few (improperly taken) pictures will not come close to explaining to you the beauty of the place, I shall move on. Banteay Srei was beyond beautiful for me.

Our journey back to Siem Reap was nowhere as rickety as our afternoon ride here. Our driver chose a longer route but the roads were in good condition. We tried to reach the Pre Rup temple for sunset but we reached 5 minutes too late. We did see the warm orange sun set far ahead of us along a straight deserted road with the evening breeze in our hair as we drove back in the tuk-tuk. This was one of the most peaceful sunsets I have experienced.

After getting to the room and freshening up, we roamed for a while at the old market and then headed to Pub Street only 200m from our hotel. It was a typical lively Asian touristy street with pubs and restaurants lining the wide street. We chose to have a quiet dinner of Khmer red curry and rice while watching people dance and have fun across the road.

We wandered in the markets for a while which was fun. But we decided to hit the sack as our next day started at 5 am.

Day 3: Tuesday, October 22nd

I sprang up by 4am in excitement for the day. We were ready by 5am with our packed breakfasts for our sunrise rendezvous with Angkor Wat. After driving for 30 minutes on a dark, cool, windy morning, we got to the complex and walked inside. 

We took the west entrance and crossed the bridge over the moat. The bridge was essentially floating so not too stable for my liking. a person with no walking disability would probably not even notice,though. A short walk ahead and lo behold- In front of us stood the mighty Angkor Wat complex and the five stone towers symbolizing the five peaks of the Mount Meru standing in all its splendour with the first rays of the sun falling on it.

I am guilty here of precisely two things. One, of not taking pictures as the several thousand people around me were- I just stood there watching what was in front of me. And the second is for making the whole description rather dramatic in effect. The truth is (and by now you know well) that this is one place I have yearned to see, to touch, to drink with my eyes ever since I first heard about it decades back. So basically the two things I mentioned above are results of the same feeling: me being in awe of what stood before me- a man-made stone structure built in the 12th century.

The Angkor Wat complex was built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple for Vishnu. It stands on a rectangular land 1300 metres x 1500 metres and unlike other Angkor temples that face the east, Angkor Wat faces the west. There central structure has 5 towers surrounded by three concentric  galleries connected with a long causeway to the outer enclosure wall with a surrounding moat. Inter

The sun which rises exactly over the central tower during the vernal and autumnal equinox (in March and September respectively) must be a mystical sight. But it probably ends up being way too crowded with the Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia cashing in on the occurrence. We saw the sun as it rose from the right of the complex, beautiful nevertheless. We headed to the library in front of the complex to get a few fun pictures. 

Then headed back to the eateries lining the boundary of the entrance of the complex outside the moat. We were joined by our guide for the day and a fellow traveller from London. We had breakfast and headed to our tuk-tuk. The guide led us to the eastern entrance from where the walk would be much shorter. We had to request the security staff to let us in this way on account of my physical condition.

We climbed a flight of stairs to reach the outer rim on the eastern side. We started with seeing the detailed carving of the churning of the celestial ocean of milk- the Samudramanthan as Indians would know it. Mount Mandara as the churning rod standing on Kurma avatar with Vasuki as the rope with the Devas and Asuras holding either end - Devas the tail and the Asuras the head. The detailing was so intricate and was well preserved.  All that mythology says emerged from the ocean- Lakshmi, apsaras, Airavata, flowers, jewels, Amrita (the divine nectar) and the poison that came from it- were depicted in this massive carving that formed the eastern wall of the complex.

  

We saw the battle between Ram and Ravan in Lanka was also depicted on the northern wall. The outer galleries have undergone a good amount of renovation.

We then climbed up to Level 2 which is the second square. Some of the shrines sheltered the standing/sleeping Budhhas with people coming to pray and offer obeisance.

The stairs to get to the top level was steep and crowded. I decided to take a breather before I started ascent. The guide checked with me if I wanted to go up. I wasn't sure how to respond. I simply smiled and said 'yes'. As they permit only a limited number of people to the uppermost level, we had to queue up and receive a lanyard permit written 'Bakan pass'. 'Bakan' means the uppermost terrace.

As I queued up to enter the 'Bakan', one of the security guards indicated to my guide that I cannot be permitted to go up. I told them that I can and want to go up. Then they indicated to me the instruction card that indicates the people who may not be allowed to the top. Pregnant women, people who are improperly dressed (showing shoulders, knees) etc. I said I don't fall in any of these categories. I called aside my guide and told her to communicate the following: 'I have come here to experience all of the temple and the top level as well. I am an adult and I am responsible for myself. I understand that if anything goes wrong, I fall or anything, it will solely be my responsibility. The only inconvenience I may possibly cause them or the other visitors is if I take a little longer to climb up and down the stairs to the Bakan.'

I was permitted.

  

That’s me right at the top of Angkor Wat.

It is believed that the principal sanctorum housed a statue of Vishnu and was open to the four cardinal directions. Later, when Angkor Wat became a centre for Buddhism, the central sanctorum was closed from all sides with sandstone walls sculpted with impressions of the standing Buddha.

We spent some time exploring the walkways, the towers above us and the view of the outer galleries. Far ahead on the western side, we could see the library from where we took our pictures in the morning.
  

My guide was very thoughtful in asking one of the security guards, a person known to her, at the Bakan if he would be able to assist me to go down the steep staircase to the second level. I must add that he supported me so well that I was able to get down quite easily. At the second level, we saw prayers being offered- our fellow traveller chose to get blessed by the monks.



By the time we got down to ground level, we were all pretty tired. We headed to a shaded area on the right by open-air coconut cafe where the seller sold chilled tender coconuts. We downed the water of one coconut each and shared another! Though it was barely 10.45 in the morning but P & I were exhausted. I believe it had more to do with the sweltering heat than the strain of walking and climbing. Yet my leg was begging me for rest. P&I asked to come back to our room.

Then P called for an in-room massage. The foot and back massage was the most gratifying and relaxing massage I've had in my life!

After a shower, both of us felt much better and decided to visit another temple in the afternoon. We had lunch at New Leaf eatery next door to our hotel. We had steamed tofu amok curry with red rice and salad. They offered us a very refreshing drink as well. We asked for seconds.

We set out for the afternoon jaunt to Ta Phrom. Ta Prohm is one of the temples made famous by the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. The old temple with trees growing through it is a very captivating sight. This temple is believed to have been built a little later than Angkor Wat in the later part of the 12th century by the King for his mother. It is interesting to note that each of the Angkor temples are preserved and restored by APSARA (it is an acronym of a French term that translates to Cambodian National authority for preserving the Angkor Archaeological Park) and governments around the world. Ta Phrom is being restored in collaboration with the Archaeological Society of India.



The temple has undergone many conservation efforts and many areas are still undergoing restoration and are closed to public. 

We saw amongst the detailed carvings, one that looked like a dinosaur- a stegosaurus to be precise.

The original name of the temple is supposedly 'Rajavihara' or the 'Monastery of the king' and over 12000 people are believed lived within the temple complex that housed temples for royalty, a monastery and a university. Ta Prohm means 'old/anscestral Bramha'.

As it was late afternoon when we visited, there were only a handful of visitors and we were able to see the temple complex in detail. The deserted feel of the place added to its mystical charm.



Ta Prohm serves as an eerie reminder to man that regardless of our advances and technological developments, the jungle will take back what is rightfully its.



A good few hours later, we moved on to Srah Srang- the 'Royal Bath', a man-made reservoir (baray) built in the mid 10th century and refurbished at the end of the 12th century. The inscriptions indicate that the reservoir was maintained to ensure water supply to all creatures. True to its original purpose, Srah Srang seems to perennially have water.

The sweeping water views surrounded by lush greenery make Srah Srang the perfect place to witness sunrise or sunset. We chose to see the sunset which later felt like a very good call as we were the only ones there.

It was drizzling as we got there and a lot of local kids surrounded us trying to sell us their wares. After a while, both the rain and the kids abated. We sat on the platform watching the warm orange sun slowly dip into the trees beyond the water. A calming experience indeed.

We then returned to Siem Reap and after a little rest in the room, headed out for dinner at Viva restaurant, a stone's throw from our hotel. The tofu Amok was a touristy twist of the original but the morning glory stir fry was tasty. We retired for the day quickly as we had another long day the next.

Day 4: Wednesday, October 23rd

We started our day visiting Angkor Thom. Let me take a detour here to discuss the Khmer terminology for its temples.
Angkor is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word 'Nokor' that stands for city, 'Wat' for temple and 'Thom' for great.
So while Angkor Wat stands for 'The temple city', Angkor Thom means 'The great city.

Angkor Thom was built at the turn of the 13th century as a fortified city of 10 square kms that enclosed the Royal Palace built earlier in the 10th century where the kings lived. It is interesting to note that Kings did not live inside the Angkor Wat complex. Angkor Thom is being restored in collaboration with the French government.

The gateways to Angkor Thom have a tower with four faces along the four cardinal directions with either side having carvings of Indra on the 3 headed elephant.



We started our day at the Bayon temple.

The Bayon temple was built to be at the centre of the Angkor Thom complex and is one of the most impressive of all Angkor temples with faces carved on each tower, with around 200 faces in all.

The lower level has an outer gallery with carvings of Khmer army, people and historical events while the inner gallery has depictions from Hindu mythology.

A yoni (pedestal of a Shiva lingam) with a Buddha statue placed over it. 

The faces are so beautiful.. 

Posing..


Posing again!

We then walked to Baphuon, built in the mid 11th century as a three-tiered mountain-like temple for Lord Shiva. 

When the later Khmer kings embraced Buddhism, a reclining Buddha was constructed along the western wall. 

If you look carefully you can see the Reclining Buddha with the head on the left.

This temple was in ruins by the 20th century and had to be reconstructed after reinforcing its core.



We then saw the Phimeneakas which is a corrupt form of the word 'Vimanakas' that stood for Vimana+Akash or 'Sky palace'. This was a pyramidal temple believed to have been built in the 10th century.



We saw the Tep Pranam, a temple with a seated Budhha where worship currently takes place.

The last of the structures we visited was the Terrace of the elephants & Terrace of the Leper King.

The terrace of elephants is a 350 metre long platform featuring sculptures of elephants amongst others and is called 'Royal terrace' because it is believed to be platform from where the king watched processions and parades on the ground facing it. It dates back to the late 12th century.

The Terrace of the Leper King is a 25m tall terrace filled with finely carved figures of garuda, serpents and apsaras. It's name comes from the statue of an earlier king who suffered from leprosy.

After completing the massive Angkor Thom, the next temple we visited was Preah Khan which translates to 'The sacred sword' was a temple built in the latter part of the 12th century was named so by the Khmer King to commemorate the battle won by the Khmer against the Cham dynasty of what today is Vietnam.



After dedicating Ta Prohm temple to his mother earlier, the king dedicated Preah Khan to his father.

A big stupa that was supposedly built many decades after the temple itself.

A pedestal that looks like a triple linga if I may call it that.

The West Entrance to the inner sanctuary is guarded by dwarapala with swords to the entrance of the Vishnu temple. As indicated by a friend, (thanks tkl) this in all probability should be Jaya-Vijaya, the dwarapalakas of Vishnu.

Next, we headed to East Mebon temple. It was built in the mid 10th century and was built on a man made island in a water reservoir called the East Baray which was then known as 'Yashodhara tataka' and was only accessible by boat. The East Mebon was one of the smaller temples we visited and was flanked by lions at the entrance.



It was not the main temple of the kingdom during its period- the main temple was the Pre Rup, exactly 1.3 km to the south and built 9 years later. 'Pre rup' translates to 'turn the body' and is hence believed to be a temple where funerals took place. The main stone stairs are steep but the southern side has wooden steps with hand rails. The five towers are dedicated to Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu and Lakshmi. One of the most notable carving is that of the Varaha and Narasimha avatars on the left most tower.

By the time we were done with Pre Rup temple, the sky was overcast. After all the temples we had seen over the three days, P & I were okay to end our temple run. So we got into the tuk-tuk to head back to the hotel. Just as we took off, it started raining.

We decided to go back to the Greek restaurant to get lunch. Then P who loves getting massages dragged me to a spa nearby. The massages weren't really much value for money though it was enough to get us out of exhaustion.

In the evening, we headed to the Made in Cambodia Market. Siem Reap is dotted with numerous markets- old market, night market etc. But what sets apart the Made in Cambodia Market is that it showcases wares only produced in Cambodia by local artists unlike all others that sell generic wares mass produced in China, Thailand and Vietnam. Due to this, the prices are higher at the Made in Cambodia Market. But the products are of much better quality and have an eclectic variety. We roamed the market and bought some trinkets and souvenirs.

 Then we walked around pub street and enjoyed the lively atmosphere. We had dinner at the easy speaking. We had fried artichoke and a veggie stir fry with rice.

Day 5: Thursday, October 24th

After our 3 days of temple visits were over, we had two options for our last day. A day trip to Tonle Sap lake or staying within Siem Reap and taking in the place. We decided on the latter.

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We headed to Artisans Angkor and their silk farm north of the city. We went for a guided tour of the silk farm. Much to learn and understand.

Natural ways of dyeing silk

We had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Yes. I found it weird that we were having lunch at HRC in a place like Siem Reap but that was where we would be picked up from for our afternoon cooking class.
For lunch we ordered vegan spring rolls and a Thai green curry which they said they could make vegan. When the food arrived we realized that the only 'vegetables' they had were long beans and avocado. So we basically ate 'Green curry avocado' which was the most tasteless dish we had on the trip. By far.

After lunch we were picked up and started our class at a local wet market. The raw meats and filth aside, it was a nice experience. The produce was mostly familiar and extra fresh :)

After buying a few supplies for our afternoon class, we sampled some of the fried food and snacks at the market. Since only two of us had chosen the vegan class, the others had enough to taste.
We then reached the class and spent the next couple of hours making raw mango salad, Khmer red curry and a dessert with coconut milk and pumpkin/banana.

Then we sat together (6 of us) and had dinner- the delicious (if I may say so myself!) food we cooked.

After the class, we dropped in at the Made in Cambodia market and engaged in a little retail therapy. As it was our last night at Siem Reap, we headed out to the Siem Reap Art Center night market. Because of all the walking and standing through the day, my leg was killing me and I said out loud.. 'If only there was a foot massage for $2 at the market'. We only walked another 50 metres or so and what did we see.. 'Massage for $2' board. 30 minutes later my leg was thanking me. The massage was not bad at all.

We spent the next few hours walking in the market and treating ourselves to some homemade strawberry ice cream.

We walked back to the hotel once the stalls started shutting shop at night.

Day 6: Friday, October 25th

We had a leisurely breakfast and then headed to Wat Preah Prom Rath, a beautiful temple near our hotel. 

 We had a very peaceful visit with hardly any tourists around. 

The temple is very beautifully designed and maintained.

We dropped in at a supermarket to get some souvenirs and foods to bring home. I got a few beers for Y to sample.

After packing, we headed to the airport, checked-in, had lunch and then parted ways. P was headed to KL for the next leg of her S.E. Asia trip and I back home.

Part 3: Being back

As you can see, the trip was wonderful. I could tick off an important item on my (very long) bucket list. I persisted though the sun, humidity, sweat, the uneven surfaces, make-shift staircases and visited many of the Angkor temples. I am very happy I managed this ‘feat’. 

PS: I know this was a very long post and I'm not sure how many of you managed to read all of it. But if you did, do let me know how it was.