Zephyrous Travels: January 2014

This would be the last day of my 5 day temple ruin trip to Cambodia. Originally wanted to sleep in, not too sure why I woke up at 8 am local time. Damn, I was hoping I can bunk in till 11am or something. After washing up, I finished up my blog entries from last night (worked till around 2am local time). Well did not take me long to complete yesterday's entry, soon it is time for breakfast. The warmth of the staff in the hotel never failed to put a smile on my face. The lady at the reception greeted me and was asking how was I. Well you don't even get this level of personal service in 5 star hotels these days. As I had finished up my breakfast, I checked with the lady at the reception about this hot air balloon ride that would take me up to the sky to have a last look at Ang Kor Wat from the sky, afterall I am not too sure when will I ever visit this part of the earth again.

On the way to the balloon ride area, as we were passing by the ticketing area for Ang Kor archeology site, the staff at the site told my tuk-tuk driver that the balloon was not flying today due to strong winds. I am kinda disappointed with that.... maybe god did not want me to board the balloon for some reason. So I got the tuk-tuk driver to head back to town, this begins the (boring) day of wandering around the town like a zombie. As I had been to the town for the past 4 days, walking around especially under the hot sun was a torture. The weather was so hot here that I finally gave in and seek refuge in an air-con restaurant. Initially I was here only for a drink and to chill out from the hot sun. The staff was rather irritating and kept asking what food I wanna order. Well since it is time for lunch, I ordered this Siem Reap soup. The soup was so-so, not spicy but abit on the sweet side. I guess most of the Khmer food are sweet in nature, and this soup is rather acceptable to me. After eating, I walked around the old market area twice to kill time. As I was walking, the usual "Sir you want tuk-tuk", "Sir you want to buy T-shirt", "Sir you want to buy something from me?" chants became audible. I must admit after hearing that for the past 4 days, it is rather irritating. How I wish time would fly I could quickly get to the airport. After wandering round the area for a few more rounds, it is time to head back to the hotel for a good shower before heading for the airport. The journey to the airport on tuk-tuk was enjoyable, despite the crowd at the check-in counter, I saw this business class cum internet check-in counter. The queue was way shorter. Did not take long for me to check in and sit down to write up my blog.

Walking around Siem Reap Town

Shopping at a local market

A market in Siem Reap Town

Walking around Siem Reap Town

Lunch Time

Walking around Siem Reap Town

On my way to Siem Reap Airport

Siem Reap Airport

At the immigration area of the airport

The bird that is going to fly me home

Boarding time

The bird that is going to fly me home

Boarding the aircraft

The bird that is going to fly me home

Taking off

A reflection of the past few days. My first impression of Cambodia was that it is a country strike with poverty. The kids here did not have much choices of entertainment other then fishing at any water pond they can see. The very same water pond is also their swimming pool where they take a swim with their friends to past time. These kids do not have sophisticated gaming machines like PS 3, X-box 360, and yet they still enjoy with what they have. As my guide has told me there is no public bus service in Siem Reap. To get to school these kids would either have to cycle or walk there. As a result of the lack of a chance to be a couch potato and exercising daily, I din't see any fat kids around. As I was telling my guide, the kids here are allowed to be kids and enjoy their carefree childhood. Touring around the temple with a guide certainly is a better idea. With a guide, the guide was able to relate the importance of the temples, the significance of the carvings and where to look out for these carvings that will be commonly missed. I drew my experience from my trip to Ayutthaya last december, where I went around without a guide. Without a guide, it is synonymous with walking around blindly, as I do not know what was I suppose to look for, what is the significance of these temples. After awhile all the ruins just look the same to me. This time round with a guide, I was able to know more about the ruins, the lore behind it, as well as the story behind the carvings. It has made me realise that touring around the temple ruins is not just to see the temple itself. It is also to know how the temples interacted with the people, the community around it.

Many people visit Siem Reap just to visit Ang Kor Wat, no doubt it is a must visit for people, it is not THE only temple that one should visit. Other then Ang Kor Wat, the other temples that I really like are Ta Prohm, Ta Som and Bang Melea due to the state they are in at the moment. Especially Bang Melea, the unknown purpose and the unknown builder of this temple further adds a mystic flavour to it. This trip to Siem Reap has educated me alot on the history of Khmer people and opened my eyes to see how fortunate we are to be born in Singapore. My next destination will be Iran (hopefully I can make the trip there), where I hope to see more of the ancient historical site.

My day started with a long drive towards my first destination and the 2nd highlight of the trip. A trip to Bang Melea is considered a must for the locals other then Ang Kor Wat. Bang Melea is located some 70km from Siem Reap. When we first reach the grounds, there are lotus ponds on either side of the bridge leading into the temple grounds. As we passed the bridge, a lion which was originally facing outwards (and now facing the temple) caught my eye. My guide has explained that was not the original facing of the lions. All the lions in the temple grounds always face away from the temple. Beyond the lion was where the original front gate was located, despite its non-existence, the remains of the gate can still be seen on the sides. As we walked further in, what greeted me was a pile of ruins! My guide explained that the ruins that was before us was the original entrance into the temple. He further explained that the temple was in such a state was mainly attributed to the vegetations around. It was not destroyed by mankind, but by mother earth herself! The temple was entirely built with sandstone which source was a nearby sandstone quarry, however who built it still remains a mystery. When the temple was exactly built was unknown, there seemed to be no records for this temple. What could be tell of this temple is the period it was built. As if the current state of the temple is not mysterious enough, the unknown origins add to the mystic of this temple. We started the temple visit by walking the parameters of the temple. I could see how majestic the temple was in its hay days. This often called Jungle temple by people certainly deserve this name. If people had not discovered this temple, the extend of natural destruction would be more severe. We walked round the back of the temple and started to proceed into the temple grounds. What I see around this temple is numerous ruins caused by the growth of trees. As we walked on the wooden walkways within the temple site, the extend of destruction appears much greater then it seem from outside. Once inside the grounds, my guide pointed out the building in the centre with a tree on top was the middle of the temple. We walked through this dark tunnel to the other side of the wooden walkway. Soon a huge tree with its root extended onto the ground from the roof of a corridor became visible to our sight (the wall is about 10m high from the ground). We walked around and then proceeded as the wooden walkway would led us, and we were led to the top of one of the walls (yes this part is about 10 m from the ground), from this side I could see the extend of the damage around this part of the temple. Collapsing corridors, walkways, doors are a common sight in this temple. Walking through this temple involves clambering through small spaces and along roof tops. You gotta come here and experience it yourself to understand the state of ruin, the exoticness and the extend of rage mother nature cast upon this mysterious temple. Within the temple grounds, I saw local children running around, climbing from wall to wall as if this is their playground. I also saw some of these kids showing a couple of asian tourists around the temple site, they really know where to go and what to see here. WoW!

On our way to Bang Melea

Walking towards Bang Melea

At the entrance of Bang Melea

This is the original entrance to Bang Melea, however it is in such a ruins that restoration is not possible

Original entrance to Bang Melea

Ruins of Bang Melea

Forces of nature has taken over Bang Melea

Ruins of Bang Melea

This temple is destroyed by forces of nature

Ruins of Bang Melea

Some carvings are still apparent around the temple ruins

Ruins of Bang Melea

Original carvings on the temple complex

Ruins of Bang Melea

This root is approximately 10m tall

Ruins of Bang Melea

Trees growing on top of the temple complex is a common sight here

Ruins of Bang Melea

Some of the carvings on Bang Melea

Ruins of Bang Melea

Entrance to the interior of the temple

Some of the original carvings

Carvings on Bang Melea

Ruins of Bang Melea

Carvings on Bang Melea

Leaving Bang Melea (the long drive is really worth it!), we headed to this restaurant for lunch. The uniqueness of this restaurant was the place it is built on, the dinning area of the restaurant is built on part of the river. Whenever someone walks around in the dinning area, the whole area will sway slightly. What an experience! I ordered myself the famous local dish Amok fish in young coconut, which is fish steamed with local spices to produce a curry like state. Not too bad.

Bicycle is a common transport in Siem Reap

Driving towards the restaurant for lunch

A Local town in Siem Reap

This is where I had my lunch

Khmer food for lunch

Our next destination was the Roluos Group. This is a group of 3 temples named as it was near to the Roluos village and was part of the city of Hariharalaya, the first Khmer capital. The structures of these temples was later used as a template by later kings in their construction of the temples. This is where one would find the oldest temple in the Khmer history. The first of these 3 temples that we visited was Lolei. This late 9th century temple was originally built on an island in the middle of a baray. The then baray had dried up in present day. This small temple has 4 buildings, which the king had built a tower each for his grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother. The front two towers are for the males while the two towers at the back are for the females. Despite its age, the carving of the hindu god Indra riding on his 3 headed elephant mount can still be see on the lintels. The temple now shares a compound with a modern monastery, having a large building for prayers and living quarters for the monks. At this time of my visit, the young monks are playing soccer with some local kids.

Restoration works being done to Lolei

Lolei up close

Lolei

Carvings on Lolei

The next temple that we visited was not far from Lolei, and is THE oldest temple in Khmer history. Built in 879, this temple of sacred bulls has 6 main towers. However the locals considered this temple to have only 5 towers as 2 of them were constructed very close to each other, often regarded as 1 by the locals. Preah Ko is got its name due to the presence of 3 bulls facing the first 3 towers in the temple. This temple is dedicated to Shiva and the bulls represent the mount of Shiva. Throughout the temple, I can see carvings of the immortal demon on the walls. The carvings of Shiva and Garuda was also visible on some of the lintels. However it seemed that this part of this temple as been restored using cement, especially the lintel that depicts a demon which looks like swallowing an elephant, with some dancers beneath it. This temple must have been grand at the time it was built, but compared to the others that I have visited so far, this is considered an average sized temple (most of the sizes of the temples were dwarfed by the sheer size of Ang Kor Wat).

Ruins of Preah Ko

Carvings on Preah Ko

Ruins of Preah Ko

There are some restoration works being done on Preah Ko

Ruins of Preah Ko

One of the bull statues in Preah Ko

Ruins of Preah Ko

The last temple for this trip was Bakong. This temple was built 2 years later then Preah Ko and this temple was magnificent given its days. As we walked into the temple, 2 statues of Nagas can be seen greeting visitors. Surrounding this temple is a moat, very similar to those I have seen in Ang Kor Wat. As we pass the moat, a 5-tiered pyramid temple caught our sight. This temple was built by the king before he passed his throne to his son. As my guide explained, in ancient days, kings ruled their country from the mountains, signifying that they are above the rest. As this king was about to retire, he wanted to me "down to earth", hence he built this temple. Bakong has a main tower high in the centre with 8 other smaller towers built around it on the ground level. Throughout the 5 levels of the pyramid temple, I can see 4 elephant statues on each level. Thought there are some damage to the lintel on some of the ground level towers, I can still see the carvings on one of these towers showing a demon head above some nagas. As I scaled the pyramid, on the top most level is the main temple building. The age of the building is seen here as the carvings on the lintel was not very visible. On the back side of the temple, I can see the carving on the lintel depicting apsaras dancing, however the carving on top of these apsaras is not visible. Walking around to the front of this tower, the carvings on the lintel is less visible. The carving on the top seem to depict a god which I thought could be Shiva (as this temple was dedicated to Shiva). What was carved beneath it has given way to elements throughout the time. Nothing much can be made out of these carvings. I spent a few moments enjoying the scenario at the top most level of this temple and met a couple from Shanghai. We had a short chat about our trip in Cambodia so far. As I was resting I saw 2 local kids who wanted me to take pictures of them. They are cheerful and carefree, using the temple as their playground. Soon I decided it is time for me to head back to town and do some shopping.