What a Wat!

March 16, 2011

The Angkor temples around Siem Reap are each extremely impressive on their own. They are more impressive when you consider that the ancient city they dotted supported an estimated 1,000,000 people at a time when most of Europe was busy flinging shit at each other. The closest European rival would have been London with a paltry 50,000. Quite impressive for a civilization that still defecated onto the street.

Arriving in Siem Reap at a keen 3am, we trusted a driver to take us to his friend's new guesthouse. Cheap cheap he promised. We've all heard it before! But we didn't really have a choice. We hopped in the tuk-tuk and crossed our fingers. About 400m down the road the bike stops and the driver hops off. No, we weren't being robbed, we weren't picking up a load of livestock or dry goods, we were out of gas. A great start to our stay in Siem Reap. Our hotel turned out to be fantastic; a pool, fan room with a balcony and hot (warm) shower for $10/night. The only downside was our room was on the 5th floor, and elevators seem to be out of style here.

Our first day in Siem Reap was spent recovering from the 16 hour border trek. Day 2 saw us heading out for our first day of 'templing'. Our driver started us on the grand tour at Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of the Angkor temples in the area. Allegedly the largest religious facility ever built, the grounds cover a square kilometer, surrounded by what was a 100m wide moat. The 5 spires of the temple tower over you no matter where on the grounds you go. Every face on the stonework is meticulously carved with stories or images of both Hindu and Buddhist origin. It would have been quite a sight to behold in its prime. While the temple is almost completely restored, the years or wind, rain and sun have taken their toll on the sandstone.

The fortified city of Angkor Thom lies to the north of the Wat and sprawls an impressive 16 sq km. A 4km x 4km square encircled by a 200m moat and stone wall. As you enter from the west you come upon Bayon; a temple of near 50 towers, all with the face of the king carved on each wall. One east, one west, one north and one south. Each tower was built to represent a province of the ancient Khmer empire, which, at it's height, stretched from the Mekong delta to what is now Myanmar. I guess a king gets to be that vain. The rest of Angkor Thom is filled with various other stone structures all built for the gods, or the king. Living in stone structures was reserved for deities.

For two days we walked in awe of the remains of this huge city, it's surrounding temples and our ability to keep sweating. On our third day we decided to head to the last true ruin in the area. Beng Melea is a pile of enormous sandstone blocks that has only last year begun restoration. Beyond the front gate, everything is exactly as nature left it after 700 years of abandonment. Roofs collapsed, walls teetering, vines and trees rooted in the most amazing places. In some cases a wall that once supported the tree, now stands only because of the giant roots surrounding it. It is bittersweet that eventually all of the Angkor temples will be reconstructed and visitors will only be able to see an attempt at the temple's former glory. I prefer to see the ruin and use my imagination (guided by repeated viewing of Indiana jones) to see what may have stood here in the past.

Anyways... After 3 days of scorching treks in the temples of Siem reap we are on our way to Phnom Penh for a few days, then to the beach. After nearly 2 months on the road, I can almost smell the sea breeze already.. Or that might be the large man in the seat ahead of me...

Sander.