Camboida: Siem Reap and Angkor Wat Archeological Park

(Finally! Flickr is back! Wahoo! Life begins to return to normal-as-we-know-it).

So, we did not take exactly the most direct route to Cambodia. In fact, short of flying to maybe Europe and then turning around and heading back, I'm not sure we could have managed a longer trip. If you're interested, we took the train to Shanghai, the subway to the Maglev, the Maglev to the airport, then a plane from Shanghai to Seoul, Korea (yes, we flew due east to go to southwest, hey the food on Korean Air was excellent), and then finally changed planes in Seoul for a flight to Siem Reap. It was a long days' travel, but I have to say, my children were beyond fabulous about it all. We had been traveling for a pretty good chunk of the day already when Tom asked how long the flight was from Seoul to Seam Reap. We told him "Five hours," and he said, "Oh, good, a short flight." You have got to love that kind of attitude.

We arrived at our final destination at about 10 o'clock at night in a time zone that was only an hour off our home zone, procured our visas, headed to the hotel and went to sleep. We woke up, I have to say, totally stoked that we were in Cambodia. This feeling did not wear off for me the entire trip; Cambodia is an amazing, amazing place.

It was hot. It seems there are three seasons in Cambodia: Hot, Hotter and Hot and Wet. Late May is on the edge between Hotter and Hot and Wet, so we expected to have a bit of rain while we were there. But the sun! Oh, my! The bright, blue sky and the sun were so, so welcome. Not to mention the considerably fresher air of a non-industrial nation.

Blue sky, fresh air, and monks on bikes. 

The reason most people go to Cambodia, which of course you know if you read my preview posts, is to see Angor Wat and the surrounding temple complexes of the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. And they are everything they are cracked up to be and more.

Here's the Wiki bit as a reminder: "Stretching over some 400 sq. km, including forested area, Angkor contains the magnificent remains of several capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century CE(1). These include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations."

The 9th to the 15th century. Please keep these words front and center as you view the photos.

With 400 square kilometers of park and temples to explore, many people make a week of it. I confess, coming as we were during the Hot and Wet season with two smallish children, not to mention the Call of the Southwestern Beaches, we allocated two full days to the complex. We did hire a tuk-tuk for the day to facilitate ease of exploration. .If you are a Frequent Reader, you know I loves me some tuk-tuk. Relatively low gas consumption, access to fresh air, great views of the surrounding countryside and a reasonably flat place for tired children to snooze makes for a great travel experience.

Yeah, tuk-tuk!

We began our tour at Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is one of the more "famous temples" and is generally described as being "quite crowded." Turns out this is a relative concept. Probably because we were traveling during the off-season, we did not experience "big crowds." But, you can look at the photos yourself and judge based on the number of strangers who appear.

Ta Prohm is dated from 1186 CE and the records that exist suggest that the site was home to more than 12,500 people with another 80,000 people living in the surrounding area. Ta Prohm apparently continued to prosper until the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century, at which point the temple was abandoned and neglected until the 20th century. Think about that. What were your ancestors doing in the 15th century? And can you imagine anything they built hanging around abandoned for 500 years, and then becoming a major tourist attraction? Maybe, of course, if your ancestors built castles or cathedrals in Europe. Mine, FYI, likely did not. 

But part of the fame of Ta Prohm comes from its being a temple that has been left in a state of "apparent ruin." Singled out, according to Angkor scholar Maruice Glaize, "Ta Prohm was one of the most imposing [temples] and the one which had best merged with the jungle, but not yet at the point of becoming part of it." So it was left as the photos will demonstrate, in a state of merging with the jungle.

"Nevertheless, much work has been done to stabilize the ruins, to permit access, and to maintain "this condition of apparent neglect." [Wiki] So, it's a kind of an homage to the jungle. Having done some reading about the area, the idea is not that the trees will be there "forever," but rather that this is a period of time in which people can see the impact of the jungle. At some point, the trees will die, as trees are wont to do, at which point, the temple will possibly be restored. Interesting to think about, that as we "preserve history" for future generations to see, what exactly is it we are preserving? Life as it was when the temple was built, 800 years ago, or some random period during its decline? 

Tidy ruins

I'm going straight to Wiki again for more info on the trees, just because I think it's really interesting:  "The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive feature of Ta Prohm, and "have  prompted more writers to descriptive excess than any other feature of Angkor." Two species predominate, but sources disagree on their identification: the larger is either the silk-cotton tree or thitpok, and the smaller is either the strangler fig or Gold Apple. Indulging in what might be regarded as "descriptive excess," Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize observed, "On every side, in fantastic over-scale, the trunks of the silk-cotton trees soar skywards under a shadowy green canopy, their long spreading skirts trailing the ground and their endless roots coiling more like reptiles than plants. " I love that bit about 'descriptive excess' - guilty! Often!

We have not even made it to lunch, so this could end up being quite the extended post. But there is a lot to talk about. More tomorrow!

 

Obligatory cute children photo

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(1) Please do not laugh at me, but I still have trouble remember what "CE" stands for. Somehow, I missed the memo when things got switched around from the Old Style, so forgive me if I leave a footnote for myself.

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Comments

[Debbie Hanson]

Hurray!!! Flicker hath returned!!! I've been checking everyday....and I must say it's been worth the wait! The visuals are stunning!! I've pulled up my chair, put my feet up on the desk and am awaiting the next two weeks of posts!