But I definitely wanted to write a post about my brief yet extremely fulfilling first experience in Cambodia. This post may go along well with my Flickr sets of Angkor and Phnom Penh which I just loaded, complete with captions and even helpful descriptions for some of the photos!
Despite the throngs of tourists and the fact that I woke up on Christmas morning feeling green with a stomach bug, the visit to Angkor and all the ancient temples lived up to all the hype and expectations I had.
No matter how many temples I saw, I never ceased to be amazed by the immense detail and craftsmanship that went into each of the structures. The breathtaking beauty of the place is only enhanced when you realize that all of the construction and design was done as early as the 9th century, using elephants to haul in each and every brick from a nearby quarry, a process that – in the case of the famous Angkor Wat – could take up to 30 years.
On Day 1 we ventured out to Angkor Thom, at the center of which rests the Bayon temple, which was definitely one of my favorite spots. Fifty-four towers, now representative of the 54 provinces of Cambodia, are each adorned with four faces of Buddha (or possibly the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara -- historians are still not in agreement). One could spend hours walking around in awe of the carvings that cover nearly every inch of stone. Each brick was placed with no aid of concrete or other modern construction tools, so you can see clearly the divisions of the brick and how it is so susceptible to crumble and ruin now.
From Bayon we visited Baphoun and a few of the other more isolated temples in the area, before finally making our way to the centerpiece of the Cambodian tourist experience, Angkor Wat. After passing through the huge entrance gate with its three towers— one for entrance by the King, the other two for his officers – we made our way down the long main terrace and approached what can only be described as a breathtaking view of what is the largest religious structure in the world.
Trying to walk through and observe everything is nearly impossible, and it's easy to get overwhelmed by the hallways of bas-relief which tell ancient Buddhist stories. It is for this reason that I enjoyed Bayon more -- for its intimacy and the ability to truly be close to the temple without feeling intimidated by its size.
At the end of Day 1 we climbed to the top of Phnom Bakheng for a distant view over Angkor Wat and a great seat for the beautiful the sunset over the countryside.
Day 2 started early, as we rose shortly before 5 am to make our way back out to Angkor Wat to watch the sun rise behind it. It's obvious that at morning, noon, or night, the temple is completely picturesque.
Next we headed out to Ta Prohm, another one of my favorite spots. This site, where Angelina Jolie's "Tomb Raider" was filmed, is one of the temples that was chosen to be left in its natural state, so it's a great example of how many of the Angkor sites looked upon discovery in the 19th century. Much of this site was in complete and utter ruin with mountains of untouched collapsed brick. Ta Prohm is known for its massive trees that have overgrown many of the temple's structures and whose roots weave their way through and around the brick foundation. Walking around I actually felt a bit like it was a movie set because everything was out of a fantasy story, from the moss-covered bricks crumbled perfectly on top of one another, to the animal-like tree roots that have come to life and taken over the man-made structure.
For our next stop, we decided to take a break from the temples and head out to the Angkor Silk Farm to learn about how silk fabric is made. The process was so fascinating to learn about. It begins with silkworms whose cocoons, when boiled, create the raw silk that is spun onto rolls and eventually dyed, then weaved into fabric using these complex machines controlled by skilled workers. I'm still in awe of all the work that goes into making a single silk scarf and have newfound appreciation for the delicate and beautiful fabric.
Our last destination in Siem Reap was a boat ride on the Tonle Sap river, which is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. It connects Siem Reap to Phnom Penh in the south, and eventually flows into the Mekong River. Around the lake, we saw huge families crammed into tiny straw huts, and young children -- babies, even -- running through the unpaved streets seemingly without a care in the world. We were even able to talk with a couple Vietnamese families on small and rickety fish boats who were part of the growing Vietnamese fishing population in the area. It was an eye-opening experience, which on one hand illustrated the poverty so apparent in these tiny villages in extremely remote places, but which also showed the positive attitude of these communities and families living and working closely together.
After a jam-packed Siem Reap visit, we flew to the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, to spend Christmas and take in a little more history.
Our visit to "The Killing Fields" (Choeung Ek Genocidal Center), the name given to the largest site of the genocide conducted by the Khmer Rouge/Pol Pot regime from 1975-1979, was decidedly the most important and moving experience of the Cambodia trip. Situated just outside Phnom Penh, the area is now a huge grassy field with evidence of mass graves, with a huge memorial stupa in the center. Upon entering the memorial, one immediately sees thousands of human skull remains of the Cambodian victims. It was a dark, emotional and chilling experience, one that cannot be described sufficiently in words.
We also visited S21 (Security Office 21), a high school in Phnom Penh that was converted into an interrogation/torture center. Here we saw the photos of the thousands of innocent Cambodians -- men and women, young and old -- who fell victims to the brutal regime.
It's truly a horror to think of what happened and to realize it was only in recent decades. Worse yet, due to the masquerade put on by the Khmer rulers, much of the world was unaware of the situation until it was too late. Perhaps the saddest fact is that the world is currently aware of similar tragedies happening in other places today and that despite whatever history lessons we ever claim to take away, peace never quite seems within reach.
Didn't mean to go Debbie Downer on you at the end of the post, but like I said, the Killing Fields visit was something that you just cannot forget.
Sorry for the lengthy post -- oh hell, no I'm not -- they're rare as it is, aren't they? Hope you enjoyed the travel briefing and the photos! See you in 2007...?
