May 28, 2006
By Maja Czarnecka
Inquirer (The Phillipines)
DURING THE NINTH TO THE 15TH century, the Angkor Empire was the greatest civilization in Southeast Asia, reaching from the coast of Vietnam to Myanmar and down to the Malay Peninsula. Brought up with a heavy dose of American and European history, I was particularly impressed that the mother lode of my Malay race was such a distinguished and accomplished civilization. At the heart of this great kingdom—allegedly ruled by god-kings—are the magnificent towers of Angkor Wat and the nearby capital city of Angkor Thom.
Approaching the causeway to this magnificent edifice, one catches one’s breath—that same awesome feeling one gets upon seeing the pyramids of Egypt or the Taj Majal for the first time.
The small provincial town of Siem Reap in Cambodia serves as the gateway to the millennium-old temple ruins—also known as the Khmer Empire.
Designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the Archeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins. They say the area it covers is as large as Los Angeles and that there are more ruins that have to be discovered in the surrounding jungles.
In “Tomb Raider,” the Angelina Jolie character picks a jasmine flower near a massive stone doorway intertwined with a huge banyan tree. Actually, the place is a major site to visit in Angkor Wat—it’s the Ta Prom.
This quiet sprawling monastic complex is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth, which has been deliberately left unrestored by authorities, with massive fig and silk cotton and banyan trees growing dramatically from the towers and corridors offering some of the best tree-in-temple photo opportunities.
Jackie Kennedy, recently widowed, also visited with Lord Harlech when Cambodia was politically embroiled, and I can just imagine her clutching on to his arm as she saw Angkor Wat from its causeway, wending her way through the uneven flagstones.
Breathtaking
Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehives—like towers rising some 65 meters from the ground.
King Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive temple-mountain dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu in the mid-12th century.
Surrounded by an immense moat and an exterior wall measuring 1,300 m by 1,500 m, the temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels.
The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas reliefs and carvings. Archeologists counted as much as 2,000 distinctly rendered “apsara” (diwata-like ladies) adorning the walls.
The visual impact of Angkor Wat is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, its size and architecture make it appear two-dimensional like a giant postcard against the sky. Then when you cross over and approach the temple along the walkway, it slowly gains depth and complexity.
The morning is not a good time to take photos unfortunately, so just concentrate on what the guide will tell you and marvel at the bas reliefs throughout.
The high point of the visit is the central tower that is really steep to climb up; only the brave and nimble venture up those steep steps. I am proud to say that I did make the climb, but I freaked out when I looked down. Up there you get a sweeping view of the whole complex.
There are four Buddhas that face the four cardinal points and your acknowledging all four of them is supposed to give you good luck. Coming down the steps was made easier by handrails on one side and the encouraging cheers of everybody venturing down shouts of “you can do it.”
The whole morning is usually taken up by the visit to this major temple. I strongly suggest you go back to your hotel, swim or dunk yourself in the pool and have a sandwich before venturing out to the afternoon’s excursion to two other major temples.
The ride to the next temple is a good 20 minutes from town. Ta Prom, as I mentioned earlier, is totally different because the strong fusion of nature and stone structures gives it a character unlike any other temple ruin I have ever visited.
Enchanting
It is just so enchanting. It is said that this temple was dedicated to Jayavarman’s father. It was a Buddhist monastery and was very wealthy during its prime with over 3,000 villages under its control, bestowing riches in gold and jewels.
Ta Prom is also the most photogenic and everybody poses beside the “Angelina tree.” She must have seen Maddox here, the boy she adopted, because there were a lot of Cambodian boys selling trinkets at the entrance.
The old capital Angkor Thom has a dramatic entrance flanked by full-size head images similar to the sphinxes lining the Karnak temple in Luxor. One side represents the good people and the other side the evil people playing out the good versus the bad dramatically. Both images hold on to a naga or snake.
The 3-km walled and moated royal city was built after Angkor Wat in the early 13th century and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire.
Bayon, at the center of this city, is the crown jewel. There are 37 standing towers most of which have four faces of Buddha carved on them.
The giant stone faces of Bayon epitomize the massive building skills of the Khmer empire. A touch of whimsy has been discovered by tourists. You can have your photo taken as if you are nose to nose with a Buddha in the horizon. Great fun!
Also in this complex is the fabulous Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Intricately carved elephants and giant garudas adorn the wall. By the time you see these elephants, you want a break and happily there are stands selling the sweetest pineapples on a stick which hit the spot.
Sunset-watching
Seeing the elephants is also a good intro to your visit to the next temple which is Bakong Hill to watch the sunset.
You can get a $10 elephant ride to the top of the hill but, that afternoon, all elephants were booked so we had to go up via the elephant path. When two elephants are walking into each other—one going downhill and the other going uphill, you better stick close to the wall and hold your breath as the elephant trunks come swinging close to you. Up close they don’t look that dumb to me.
There is a scramble every afternoon before 6 p.m. to watch the sunset from this high point which oversees a jungle and Angkor Wat in the horizon.
It was hazy that day and, frankly, I’ve seen better sunsets in our Batangas beaches, so we opted to beat the crowd going down a stony hill in droves (another “Amazing Race” episode)—and made it back to Angkor Wat to take photos beside the reflecting pools. Temple overload? Not really, because all four temples were truly different in architecture, in feel, offering impressive glimpses of that glorious era.
The next day we opted to watch the sunrise at 5 a.m. but was rained out. So we took the balloon to watch the sunset. This was not a hot air balloon ride, just a giant balloon tethered to a mooring that brought you up like a Disney ride. But in the horizon Angkor Wat was bathed in glorious sunset colors. That image has stayed in my mind.
Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat and the other temples are located, is a provincial town with many hotels of all categories.
There is an Amman hotel, a Grand Raffles, Pansea, Sofitel and Le Meridien within sprawling grounds, and the charming Victoria Angkor.
A sleek modern Hotel de la Paix is an oasis in the center of town.
For good value, there is the four-star Prince D’Angkor Hotel which has comfortable rooms and a big pool area. An added plus is the bountiful buffet breakfast of continental and Asian selections.
If you are not in a package tour with a one-day temple tour included, you have to pay $20 for a day-long visit and $40 for a three-day visit. You can go around town in taxis and the ubiquitous tuk tuk which is a better-built version of our tricycle. You can hire one for around $8-$10 a day.
Incidentally, you can pay everything in US dollars. I never even saw the Rialles, since the dollar economy brought about by the two million tourists that come to Siem Reap make it a dollar economy.
Delicious food
Cambodian food is not as hot or spice-laden as Thai food. Their national dish is a flavorful chicken amok served in a buko—quite delicious.
The FCC Club or Foreign Correspondents Club is a good place to have meals in, although there are restaurants in the national road leading to the temple that have good Asian selections.
Shopping in markets like the old and new market and the central market offers Cambodian silk which has a wonderful sheen and other made-in-Cambodia crafts.
The Artisans Village is a good place to visit because you see that they are harnessing the traditional crafts into marketable items which are packaged in a very pretty and innovative way.
One of the best buys is the kramen, a piece of finely woven silk cotton that can double up as a scarf. If you bargain, you may get it for 50 cents.
Other buys are silver and stones mined in Cambodia like rubies and sapphires. But I guess you have to know how to spot a good one. I don’t think they were cut well.
Phnom Penh is the capital and the royal palace and national museum are worth a day’s visit. It is 40 minutes away by plane—and $70.
Again the FCC club was a wonderful place to have meals. The shopping is also slightly cheaper.
A big surprise is Cambodian rice which is even better than Thai’s jasmine rice. Makes you forget you have to go on a good carb diet.
But while on a trip, the cardinal rule should be to “seize the moment” carpe diem and imbibe the culture of the people. In this case, your pride at being part of the Malay race gives you an added adrenaline high.
Approaching the causeway to this magnificent edifice, one catches one’s breath—that same awesome feeling one gets upon seeing the pyramids of Egypt or the Taj Majal for the first time.
The small provincial town of Siem Reap in Cambodia serves as the gateway to the millennium-old temple ruins—also known as the Khmer Empire.
Designated a World Heritage Site by Unesco, the Archeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins. They say the area it covers is as large as Los Angeles and that there are more ruins that have to be discovered in the surrounding jungles.
In “Tomb Raider,” the Angelina Jolie character picks a jasmine flower near a massive stone doorway intertwined with a huge banyan tree. Actually, the place is a major site to visit in Angkor Wat—it’s the Ta Prom.
This quiet sprawling monastic complex is only partially cleared of jungle overgrowth, which has been deliberately left unrestored by authorities, with massive fig and silk cotton and banyan trees growing dramatically from the towers and corridors offering some of the best tree-in-temple photo opportunities.
Jackie Kennedy, recently widowed, also visited with Lord Harlech when Cambodia was politically embroiled, and I can just imagine her clutching on to his arm as she saw Angkor Wat from its causeway, wending her way through the uneven flagstones.
Breathtaking
Angkor Wat is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by five beehives—like towers rising some 65 meters from the ground.
King Suryavarman II constructed Angkor Wat in the form of a massive temple-mountain dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu in the mid-12th century.
Surrounded by an immense moat and an exterior wall measuring 1,300 m by 1,500 m, the temple itself is 1 km square and consists of three levels.
The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas reliefs and carvings. Archeologists counted as much as 2,000 distinctly rendered “apsara” (diwata-like ladies) adorning the walls.
The visual impact of Angkor Wat is awesome. As you pass through the outer gate and get your first glimpse, its size and architecture make it appear two-dimensional like a giant postcard against the sky. Then when you cross over and approach the temple along the walkway, it slowly gains depth and complexity.
The morning is not a good time to take photos unfortunately, so just concentrate on what the guide will tell you and marvel at the bas reliefs throughout.
The high point of the visit is the central tower that is really steep to climb up; only the brave and nimble venture up those steep steps. I am proud to say that I did make the climb, but I freaked out when I looked down. Up there you get a sweeping view of the whole complex.
There are four Buddhas that face the four cardinal points and your acknowledging all four of them is supposed to give you good luck. Coming down the steps was made easier by handrails on one side and the encouraging cheers of everybody venturing down shouts of “you can do it.”
The whole morning is usually taken up by the visit to this major temple. I strongly suggest you go back to your hotel, swim or dunk yourself in the pool and have a sandwich before venturing out to the afternoon’s excursion to two other major temples.
The ride to the next temple is a good 20 minutes from town. Ta Prom, as I mentioned earlier, is totally different because the strong fusion of nature and stone structures gives it a character unlike any other temple ruin I have ever visited.
Enchanting
It is just so enchanting. It is said that this temple was dedicated to Jayavarman’s father. It was a Buddhist monastery and was very wealthy during its prime with over 3,000 villages under its control, bestowing riches in gold and jewels.
Ta Prom is also the most photogenic and everybody poses beside the “Angelina tree.” She must have seen Maddox here, the boy she adopted, because there were a lot of Cambodian boys selling trinkets at the entrance.
The old capital Angkor Thom has a dramatic entrance flanked by full-size head images similar to the sphinxes lining the Karnak temple in Luxor. One side represents the good people and the other side the evil people playing out the good versus the bad dramatically. Both images hold on to a naga or snake.
The 3-km walled and moated royal city was built after Angkor Wat in the early 13th century and was the last capital of the Angkorian empire.
Bayon, at the center of this city, is the crown jewel. There are 37 standing towers most of which have four faces of Buddha carved on them.
The giant stone faces of Bayon epitomize the massive building skills of the Khmer empire. A touch of whimsy has been discovered by tourists. You can have your photo taken as if you are nose to nose with a Buddha in the horizon. Great fun!
Also in this complex is the fabulous Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. Intricately carved elephants and giant garudas adorn the wall. By the time you see these elephants, you want a break and happily there are stands selling the sweetest pineapples on a stick which hit the spot.
Sunset-watching
Seeing the elephants is also a good intro to your visit to the next temple which is Bakong Hill to watch the sunset.
You can get a $10 elephant ride to the top of the hill but, that afternoon, all elephants were booked so we had to go up via the elephant path. When two elephants are walking into each other—one going downhill and the other going uphill, you better stick close to the wall and hold your breath as the elephant trunks come swinging close to you. Up close they don’t look that dumb to me.
There is a scramble every afternoon before 6 p.m. to watch the sunset from this high point which oversees a jungle and Angkor Wat in the horizon.
It was hazy that day and, frankly, I’ve seen better sunsets in our Batangas beaches, so we opted to beat the crowd going down a stony hill in droves (another “Amazing Race” episode)—and made it back to Angkor Wat to take photos beside the reflecting pools. Temple overload? Not really, because all four temples were truly different in architecture, in feel, offering impressive glimpses of that glorious era.
The next day we opted to watch the sunrise at 5 a.m. but was rained out. So we took the balloon to watch the sunset. This was not a hot air balloon ride, just a giant balloon tethered to a mooring that brought you up like a Disney ride. But in the horizon Angkor Wat was bathed in glorious sunset colors. That image has stayed in my mind.
Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat and the other temples are located, is a provincial town with many hotels of all categories.
There is an Amman hotel, a Grand Raffles, Pansea, Sofitel and Le Meridien within sprawling grounds, and the charming Victoria Angkor.
A sleek modern Hotel de la Paix is an oasis in the center of town.
For good value, there is the four-star Prince D’Angkor Hotel which has comfortable rooms and a big pool area. An added plus is the bountiful buffet breakfast of continental and Asian selections.
If you are not in a package tour with a one-day temple tour included, you have to pay $20 for a day-long visit and $40 for a three-day visit. You can go around town in taxis and the ubiquitous tuk tuk which is a better-built version of our tricycle. You can hire one for around $8-$10 a day.
Incidentally, you can pay everything in US dollars. I never even saw the Rialles, since the dollar economy brought about by the two million tourists that come to Siem Reap make it a dollar economy.
Delicious food
Cambodian food is not as hot or spice-laden as Thai food. Their national dish is a flavorful chicken amok served in a buko—quite delicious.
The FCC Club or Foreign Correspondents Club is a good place to have meals in, although there are restaurants in the national road leading to the temple that have good Asian selections.
Shopping in markets like the old and new market and the central market offers Cambodian silk which has a wonderful sheen and other made-in-Cambodia crafts.
The Artisans Village is a good place to visit because you see that they are harnessing the traditional crafts into marketable items which are packaged in a very pretty and innovative way.
One of the best buys is the kramen, a piece of finely woven silk cotton that can double up as a scarf. If you bargain, you may get it for 50 cents.
Other buys are silver and stones mined in Cambodia like rubies and sapphires. But I guess you have to know how to spot a good one. I don’t think they were cut well.
Phnom Penh is the capital and the royal palace and national museum are worth a day’s visit. It is 40 minutes away by plane—and $70.
Again the FCC club was a wonderful place to have meals. The shopping is also slightly cheaper.
A big surprise is Cambodian rice which is even better than Thai’s jasmine rice. Makes you forget you have to go on a good carb diet.
But while on a trip, the cardinal rule should be to “seize the moment” carpe diem and imbibe the culture of the people. In this case, your pride at being part of the Malay race gives you an added adrenaline high.
1 comment:
what a beauty of vongkotburei serey moha khmer!, maybe not Cambodia any more!..
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