We were here so early so that we might see the sun rise behind the large temple, built in the 12th century in the capital of the Khmer Empire. This Hindu complex is the largest religious monument in the world. As we arrived with the crowd, we found most people sitting on the edges of a small reflecting pool, facing the temple. We sat down in the grass nearby as it began to drizzle, and foolishly, we did not have our raincoats with us. The whole crowd would gasp in awe when the lightning lit up the temple. It was both eerie and exciting, beautiful and haunting, ancient and solitary. It was filled with people waiting eagerly to see it in daylight. We never saw the sunrise, because the clouds didn’t give way for at least an hour past the sun’s arrival above the horizon. Instead, it began to rain harder, and many of us in the crowd sought shelter in one of two small old temple buildings that sat on either side of the walkway, between the gateway and Angkor Wat. This temple was also somewhat eerie, with its crumbling brick, the darkness and lightning flashes, and the hole in the ceiling through which you could see the foreboding sky. I must have spent close to an hour huddled in that temple, waiting for the rain to let up. Malone went out into the rain before me to go explore Angkor Wat; I left about ten minutes later, after the rains had ceased to a drizzle, and stayed relatively dry and had the luxury of exploring the temple in solitude and at my own pace. Meanwhile, Malone was doing the same, in complete awe that she stood in the same places that her grandmother had so many years ago when she visited Angkor Wat.
There were people in the courtyards of the temple, but the hallways all around, filled with elaborate bas reliefs and statues of headless Buddhas, were completely empty of people. I wish there had been more text within the temple, explaining the stories told by the reliefs, but the only information was about when things were built and by what king. Instead of looking at the stories that the reliefs told, I looked at individual carvings within them—elephants, horse-drawn carriages, warriors, princes, yogis. I can’t imagine the time or number of workers that went into the completion of these carvings, which covered every inch of wall space. They were the most impressive part of the temple. I walked around the wet pavement of the inner courtyard and finally saw the sun come out behind the eastern wall. Outside of the temple, Malone and I found each other again, and she briefly went to explore one other part of the temple while I went to the northeast corner to watch the monkeys playing on the walls.
Outside of the temple, we ate fried rice for breakfast, then found our driver. There were probably hundreds of drivers and tuktuks parked outside of the temple, but our driver was always so helpful, finding us before we found him. He took us next to Ta Prohm, which was, by far, my favorite temple in the complex. The ruins, much more crumbled than Angkor Wat, were covered with green, leafy shade from the giant trees that stood outside the temple and grew amidst the ruins. The gray bricks were covered with green lichens and mosses, as were the statues and wall carvings. The trees grew, giant, with roots exposed, winding around bricks and over temple walls. The place smelled of wet rock and was lit with an ancient green light of ancient trees and ancient ruins.
We walked back down the wooded path away from Ta Prohm, where limbless victims of unexploded ordnances left by the Vietnam War played string instruments and percussion and vendors sold reed instruments, bracelets, and artwork. Our driver took us to Ta Keo, a temple with a similar layout and just as many, if not more, steep steps to the top as Phnom Bakheng the night before. We then drove along the forest-lined roads to Angkor Thom, an ancient fortified city that was home to one million people when London hosted only 50,000. It was surrounded by walls which opened at five different gates. The one we had passed through was the Victory Gate, where 54 statues of gods line one side of the road and 54 statues of demons line the other.
We walked along the main strip of attractions there, beginning with Bayon, my favorite temple after Ta Prohm. From a short distance away, Bayon looks like jagged mountain peaks. Closer, you can see the disarray of individual bricks, but the best part is the many giant stone faces carved on each side of the many tiers. The faces are peaceful, with big, lazily smiling lips, closed eyes, and broad noses. They are majestic carvings, overlooking the world beyond the temple. We walked along the Terrace of the Elephants, where long-trunked elephant heads lined the wall. It was a place used as a giant viewing stand for public ceremonies. On the Terrace of the Leper King, intricate carvings covered the brick and the top was used an area used to cremate royalty. A statue on the Terrace of the Leper King represents Yama, the god of death.
We had lunch in Angkor Thom, then passed by two smaller temples, Thommanon and Chau Say Tenoda, before making our final stop at Banteay Kdei, a pretty temple whose crumbled brick hallways stretched out pleasantly in the shade of trees. After this final stop, we knew our driver was getting tired, so we left the park early in the afternoon, rested a bit at our guest house, splurged on a pizza for dinner, and then visited the night market. Siem Reap was expensive because it was such a touristy down, but all the prices were in US dollars! Cambodia uses both the dollar as well as its own currency, the riel. So you will usually pay for something in dollars, and they will give you change in riel, and you will be slightly ripped off. The night market did have some great items. I still use the wallet, made from recycled rice bags, that I purchased there.
Our stay in Cambodia was short but filled with history and wonder. To imagine these majestic temples at the prime of the Khmer Empire was awe-inspiring. People flock from all over the world to see this religious monument, and it is no wonder. It was breathtaking. I think it brings out the primal spirit in everyone.
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