Angkor Wat & Cambodia January 27, 28, 2010

Regardless of how much you have read about or glanced at pictures of  the complex of temples known as Angkor in Cambodia - seeing it in person will still surpass all expectations.  Even after 3 trips and three tours through the vast mazes of these architectural ancient wonders, I have yet to lose my sense of awe and wonder at their beauty.  They are the largest sacred temple complex in the world.

Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of them all, was believed to be built between 1113 and 1150.  This borrowed ariel shot is necessary to really give one an understanding of what tugs away at your inner explorer heartstrings.

It's rich bas relief sculptured walls tell stories of its Hindu and Buddhist history and its mathematical architectural precision reveal a story of one of the greatest dynasties that ever existed.

Over 5 years ago, I was able to climb up and into the third and highest vantage point around the tall middle spheres on remarkably steep, narrow steps rising high into the sky.  There, in corners, were Buddhist nuns willing to pray with you, offering blessings for long life and tying red yarn bracelets on your wrists for donations.  Around a year later, when a couple of Korean tourist slipped and plunged to their death, the access was understandably closed.  No nuns, no workers, no one allowed up on my second visit there.  This year, some scaffolding with steps was in place over the narrow, stone original and they were letting 50 people at a time climb up the makeshift wooden ascension.  I took the chance to go back for the top view experience, discovering it would only be available during these temporary repairs.

How ever many days one has devoted to temple touring, you must not miss the Bayon temple in Angkor Thom with 54 towers carved with the same serene face in all 4 directions of the cylindrical type towers.  54 X 4 = 216.  Add 2 + 1 + 6 and you get 9.  (In Hindu - there are nine forms of devotion, nine recognized planets, the human body is considered to have nine gates, etc)  You'll see the number nine play a significant part in all of the temple structures throughout the entier 400 plus kilometers of Angkor.  Here you'll also smell the incense burning and see nuns tucked away in various quadrants offering chants and blessings.  Bayon is a photographer's dream, that's why you'll encounter so many of them vying for the perfect spot to rest their tripod.  There is the perpetual search for the perfect angle to capture the full, immense carved faces.

These temples have also been used as a backdrop in movies, most notably, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie.  It is now common knowledge that Jolie fell in love with Cambodia and its people during the filming of that project, so much so that she began the adoption process for her first child, a Cambodian baby boy.  Her charity work and frequent visits here have made her quite beloved with the locals.  Mention her name to them and everyone reacts as if she were royalty.  And to them, she is.  (click on the pic of me in front of the roots to get perspective)

Jolie's film did major exterior shooting in the temple known as Ta Prohm, famous for its massive stone walls swallowed up over the years by equally massive roots of banyon trees.  To try and remove the tree roots would literally send it all crashing down.  The interwoven connectedness of stone and root gives it an extraordinary appeal.  As of January 2010, there is quite a bit of support reconstruction taking place.  Even in the midst of that noise and the steady flow of tourist that enter, it is still possible to find a hidden corner somewhere and just sit in meditation.  The energy of this temple is my favorite.

Banteay Srei, translation The Citadel of Women, is also known as the pink temple because of its pink hued sandstone .  It is assumed that because of the intricacy of the carved art here, that perhaps only the delicate hand of a woman could have produced such work.  It is one of the finest examples of Khmer Art that exists. 

Banteay Srei is one of the oldest of the temple complexes (967 AD), much smaller, but rich in detail and surprising durability.  In the main entrance are carved tablets in sanskrit still very decipherable.  Alas, I didn't take sanskrit as an elective and our guide said he knew of know one who was able to translate it into anything understandable.  Theory is, it pays homage to the Hindu god Shiva.