After my bout with Delhi belly, I came back to life just in time for Angkor Wat, the highlight of our cycling trip! I was awed by its beauty and impressed by the size, power and wealth of this civilization that remained relatively unknown to the world until the mid-1800s.
ANGKOR (or THE ANGKOR SITE), CAMBODIA
We started our Angkor Wat tour with a morning sunrise. Unfortunately it was a disaster as it was pouring rain. NOTE TO SELF: do not agree to a morning sunrise tour if the forecast is for rain. I guess we should have known that, but we were with a local guide and he suggested it. So we figured he knew what he was doing. Next time we will use our own judgment!
Finally, later that morning, we got a chance to explore and stay dry! It was fascinating because so many people think of Angkor Wat as a temple, but there is an entire complex called the Angkor Site that is chock full of incredible historical monuments. To give you perspective, The Angkor Site is twice the size of Manhattan! Stretching over 400 km2, the Angkor Site contains the remains of the various capital cities of the Khmer Empire between the years 800 to 1400. Remember, Khmer refers to the indigenous Cambodian people. Each Khmer King would build a new capital city with his own temples and palaces, many times building to out do his predecessor. Just imagine, a bunch of capital cities set inside the an area of two Manhanttan islands. It’s a pretty cool concept, albeit quite excessive.
The monuments these kings built in their respective capitals are a testament to the empire’s immense power and wealth; it is believed that Angkor was the largest pre-industrial urban center during the 11th through the 13th centuries. And its rule was expansive — the Khmer’s Kingdom at the time included most of mainland Southeast Asia, parts of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Interestingly, the empire was a Hindu-Buddhist empire with certain Kings showing allegiance to one or the other religion, with some Kings showing tolerance for both.
During our time exploring The Angkor Site, Paul and I hit three major monuments worth mentioning:
- Ta Prohm (also known as Tomb Raider since Angelina Jolie filmed there in 2001)
- Bayon
- And of course the most famous Temple of Angkor Wat itself
The Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider) and Bayon Temple were both part of the same capital city called Angkor Thom, built in the late late 1100’s by Khmer King Jayavarman. Jayavarman was a Buddhist King with a declared aim was to alleviate the suffering from his people; he was particularly dedicated to building infrastructure for his people including hospitals, rest houses, and reservoirs. In today’s Cambodia, you will find hospitals named after this King. In fact, we passed by several during our travels.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm (Eye of Brahma) is the most famous of his structures and was dedicated to his mother. Best known today as “Tomb Raider”, its appeal is that it is swallowed by the surrounding jungle with trees growing from its every inch. Supposedly, we see parts of it the way the European explorers discovered it in 1860. Upon first glance, you see a tree coming right out from the top. When you get closer, you realize there are trees growing everywhere. The roots look like they are grabbing the walls; you can see why it was used for a movie setting!
Ta Prohm (Tomb Raider), a temple swallowed by the surrounding jungle
Ta Promh’s reconstructed colonnade
Ta Prohm, trees growing from every inch with roots grabbing its walls
Bayon Temple
King Jayavarman also built Bayon Temple, which stands at the center of his capital city Angkor Thom. This temple took over 27 years to build. When you look at the detail, you can understand why; it has 54 towers, over 200 faces, and thousands of inner and outer reliefs. Its setting is so peaceful, I felt like I could stay there for 27 years (okay, not quite, but it was quite serene).
The Bayon, with 54 towers and over 200 faces it took 27 years to build
It’s most recognizable by its multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on its many towers.
The faces and towers of Bayon up close
Scholars have various theories on who the faces represent.
This pic I nicknamed the “Two Faced” Bayon – no disrespect of course!
The theory that makes most sense to me is that the faces are King and the Buddha combined. Like other Khmer Kings, this King likely saw himself as a God-King and therefore identified himself with Buddha and the bodhisattva (bodhisattva is a person who can achieve nirvana but delays in doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings). I liked this theory so much I had to the smiling face an Eskimo kiss!
Me rubbing noses with the smiling Buddha/bodhisattva/king
Bayon is also known for its reliefs, which present mythological, historical, and mundane scenes designed as teaching tools for the people. These were everywhere; I guess he felt he had a lot of stories to tell!
Bas-relief depicting common theme of Khmer’s defeating the Chams at Bayon Temple
Bayon was my favorite temple within all of Angkor. I found it sublime, a place where my mind could rest in comfort and peace.
Enjoying peaceful Bayon
The Famous Angkor Wat Temple
The largest religious monument in the world, Angkor Wat is the The Angkor Site’s most well known temple. It was completed in the mid-1100’s by King Suryavarman II, a Hindu Khmer and is as stunning in person as the pictures we’ve seen in our history books.
Angkor Wat (meaning City Temple), view from the west
It is over 1 square kilometer and includes three levels and is overwhelming upon first blush. One could spend years and never cover every inch of the temple.
Angkor Wat, view of the east
It took over 37 years to build, 40K slaves, and 30K elephants.
Parial view of east entrance, Angkor Wat
Built from sandstone (also called lava stone), it has served as both Hindu and Buddhist temples throughout the years. While today it’s mostly a tourist site, it is also an active Buddhist temple, reflecting the dominant religion of today’s Cambodian people. We saw several monks paying respect while we were there.
Today Angkor Wat is a practicing Buddhist Temple
In addition to being a temple, it is thought to have served as the King’s mausoleum; but no one knows for sure given the lack of written record.
Angkor Wat (top level), thought to be burial site and temple
Detailed reliefs fill the walls. Particularly prominent are the Aspara dancers, mystical dancers in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are pictured in the relief below and were inspiration for us to go see a traditional Apsara dance that evening.
Capturing the Apsara dancers in the background
So important is this temple to the Cambodian people that it is featured on its national flag. We noticed this when we first crossed the border and saw the flag flying high.
Cambodian Flag displays image of Angkor Wat in center (see flag in foreground)
Angkor’s Downfall
Unfortunately, like most great things, they don’t last forever. After centuries of wars with neighboring lands, in 1432, the Thai people defeated the Khmer. The Khmer fled south and established a new capital in Phnom Penh, which remains the capital still today.
Additional Observations
Both Paul and I had a few additional reflections as we absorbed The Angkor Site. Paul was struck (and less impressed) by the fact that most of the monuments had to be completely put together and rebuilt, contrasting this to other civilizations’ monuments that remained more in tact. Below is an example of the rubble the explorers discovered.
Strewn stones that were being pieced together (the notches were where the ropes attached for the elephants to drag them)
Personally, I was struck by the fact that there was a very little written historical record, again a contrast it to other advanced civilizations, even ones from hundreds of years before.
The minimal Sanskrit/Khmer writing that remains does not lend signficant insight into their history
That being said, Angkor was true highlight. We were surprised and awed that we were able to walk upon most of these monuments. We hypothesized this would change as restoration efforts advance. We believe that if Angkor is on your bucket list, your should go sooner rather than later to get the up-close-and person perspective!
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
We stayed in Siem Reap, which is the city within which The “The Angkor Wat Site” sits. Siem Reap means “Siemese Defeated”, indicating a defeat of the Thai people and likely refers to the Khmer’s general defiance of Thailand (remember it was because of the Thai that the Khmer Kings fled Angkor in the 1400s). Given Siem Reap’s proximity to the famous Angkor monuments, the city center has become a bustling mecca for tourists and hosts a plethora of restaurants, bars, markets and nightclubs. “Pub Street” is featured below.
Bustling and touristy Siem Reap (good food, cheap beer, and busy all night)
Being a little too touristy for us, we snapped a few pics in the city center and then headed to two shows for our evening entertainment.
One evening we enjoyed a traditional Apsara dance performance
Another evening we enjoyed Phare, Cambodia’s version of Cirque du Soleil with a social mission to boot!
BANGKOK, THAILAND
Our final destination on our gAdventures trip was Bangkok. However we were only there to explore as the cycling portion of our trip had ended. We only had one day in the city, and since it was during the World Series we got a late start exploring as we were watching the game.
Enjoying watching win #2 for the Cubs in the World Series from our Bankok hotel
Finally, after the Cubbie win, we headed to the Old City of Bangkok, home of a glittering array of temples and palaces representing the cultural, historical, and governmental center of the city.
Temple complex of the Reclining Buddha in Old City
Reclining Buddha
The King of Thailand had recently died and the city was still in mourning. Thousands of people were wearing black, paying their respects to the King at his palace. While this precluded us from entering the palace grounds, we were able to gain an appreciation for how loved the King was.
Thai mourners lining up to enter the palace and pay their respects
It was clear that Thailand was one of the more prosperous nations in Southeast Asia due to its governance. The King was said to have had boundless love for his people and instituted many policies for Thailand’s progress. It was interesting to learn, however, that the people generally dislike the King’s son, the expected heir to the throne. That being said, the people could not speak negatively about the son for fear of imprisonment. It was against the law to say anything bad about the monarchy. This was puzzling to me: how could the people love their King so much but be so fearful of the monarchal institution?
The beloved King was featured everywhere, including street art where mourners were posing for pics
On our last night of the cycling trip, Paul and I enjoyed lovely meal at the Shangri La Hotel. We sat at a beautiful table on the river and reflected on our latest adventure. Most rewarding for us was learning about this part of the world. We shared regret regarding the atrocities committed, particularly in Vietnam and Cambodia, but were also gratified to see economic progress and feel the warmth of the people of this region. We took it all in, acknowledging that we were having an experience of a lifetime.
Paul at the Shangri La, sitting on the river for a delicious dinner and appreciating our experiences
On to Chiang Mai
The next day, we were off to Chiang Mai where where I would attend my meditation retreat (which I already wrote about) and Paul would relax in his nice hotel diggs until I was to return, more enlightened than ever :).
Taking off for Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand