GENTLE TRAVELLER: Siem Reap's ubiquitous tuk-tuk
The Hindu Business Line (India)Siem Reap in Cambodia is a town geared entirely for tourism.
The Siem Reap tuk-tuk is very different from the tuk-tuks of Sri Lanka or the familiar autorickshaws of India. To begin with, Siem Reap's tuk-tuks are mostly two-seater — open at the side — carts hitched to a motorcycle. And they putter along unhurriedly, which can be a welcome change for those used to hair-raising, express rides on autorickshaws in India. You also pay for the ride in US dollars and not Cambodia's own riel.
"Everyone wants dollars and not riels," says the friendly woman behind a shop-counter in the Phsar Chas or old market area. Not surprising, perhaps, as it's tourism that contributes significantly to the economy of this town, which is the gateway to Cambodia's Angkor Archaeological Park world heritage site.
With a million or so foreign visitors every year, it's a town geared to meet tourist needs. So, every other hotel or restaurant on the road from the airport to the town has Angkor tagged on to its name. Prices are generally in US dollars and spirited but friendly bargaining is the norm in the shops, especially those in the busy Phsar Chas area.
The place stocks everything from jewellery to apparel and music instruments to incense. There's also a fresh produce market with meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and other essentials on sale. The old market area is also home to a number of restaurants and bars, including the supposedly Indian `Kamasutra' restaurant.
"You from India?" asks the boy trying to sell me postcards as I trudge through Phsar Chas one afternoon. Seeing me nod, he continues: "The capital of India is... " "New Delhi," I finish for him, and he giggles and scampers away, all thoughts of selling postcards forgotten.
However, the teenagers who had buttonholed me the previous day in front of Angkor Wat were made of sterner stuff and stopped their pitch only when I agreed to buy some colourful scarves. Deal done, they moved on to another group of tourists, leaving me free to explore the dreaming spires of Angkor.
Angkor Wat or `temple of the capital city' is, arguably, the centrepiece of the Angkor monuments. Built by the Khmer ruler Suryavarman II as his State temple, it was originally dedicated to Vishnu. But in keeping with the changed religious affiliations of the Khmer people, it is today a place where Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism co-exist in apparent harmony.
It's also still a place of worship. So you turn a corner and stumble upon a little alcove with sticks of incense and other offerings placed in front of a statue. Many Cambodian newlyweds can also be seen visiting the temple.
On the afternoon I visit Angkor Wat, it's overrun by visitors, both foreign and Cambodian. From the very young to the very old, from the supremely fit to those walking with the aid of sticks — tourists could be spotted traipsing through the temple's three levels and long galleries.
Despite its size, Angkor Wat is not intimidating, but appears captivating and mysterious. The galleries running along its façade have exquisite carved panels that depict scenes from the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other Hindu religious texts. The gallery on the south-eastern side depicts the churning of the `ocean of milk'. The vagaries of time have eroded some of these carvings, but you can still spot a few familiar images such as Bhishma resting on a bed of arrows, Hanuman rushing to Rama's aid and the image of Jatayu.
The Angkor Archaeological Park spread over 400 sq km is dotted with several temples, monasteries and other remnants of the mighty Khmer empire that ruled from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The walled city of Angkor Thom, built by Jayavarman VII, and the Bayon with its towers carved with intriguing faces on all four sides are as famous as Angkor Wat. But my personal favourites are the Ta Prohm complex and the lesser-known Prasat Kravan temple.
Also built by Jayavarman VII, Ta Prohm is currently the focus of an Indo-Cambodian conservation and restoration project. Ta Prohm was a royal temple monastery or Raja Vihara, says Pich Keo, a former Director of Conservation at Angkor. The lingering impression of this temple complex is of towering strangler fig trees and silk-cotton trees sprouting out of the ruins, their gnarled roots twisted around the stone structures in an embrace that has lasted decades if not centuries. Prasat Kravan, supposedly built during the first half of the 10th century, is another of Angkor's many gems. Extensively restored by a French team in the 1960s, the temple with five towers lined up on a single platform is dedicated to Vishnu. The interiors of two towers have exquisite bas-relief sculptures on brick depicting Vishnu and the goddess Lakshmi. These sculptures, which are life-like, are reported to be the only known examples of this style of work in Khmer art.
An early 20th-century explorer wrote: "Go to Angkor my friend, to its ruins and to its dreams." And having done just that one would want to do it all over again.
Picture by the author
