Quite unexpected, I was up early despite the previous’ day arduous journey. As I was having breakfast at the guesthouse, the landlady told me the Indian and Danish couple left earlier that morning. Their intention for leaving such a beautiful place, offering warm and friendly service amid the backdrop of a tranquil part of town, was beyond my understanding.
After breakfast I wanted to rent one of the bicycles from the guesthouse. The landlady said she was not the owner of the bicycles but simply volunteering in a project on behalf of a charity called White Bicycles - http://www.thewhitebicycles.org/. The proceeds go towards funding the organisation’s worthy causes as a result giving hope to less fortunate Cambodians living in rural Siem Reap. The bicycle was not the latest of mountain bike models, but the initiative behind it, truly noble. This, coupled with the fact that the bicycle was still going to serve its purpose, was what really mattered.
The entire morning was spent exploring the heart of Siem Reap. The main roads, lined with several restaurants, dish up culinary delights from the world over wedged in between a sufficient supply of top-end hotels for those with money to burn. Leafy boulevards, Buddhist temples, quaint colonial houses, vibrant markets and a river to calm all the action down, Siem Reap endorses the modern whilst retaining that old-fashioned charm. Siem Reap is buzzing as it turned overnight from a quiet little town to being the base from which the majority of travellers visit the magnificent temples of Angkor, with the foremost of all temples, Angkor Wat, a mere 6km north of town.
When I got back to the guesthouse, I bumped into the Indian and Danish couple. I was pleasantly surprised as I thought they had left the guesthouse for good. Apparently they left in search of better accommodation. Since the search proved unfruitful, wisely they returned to the Bou Savy. Personally I was pleased because we could resume our plans to visit the temples together. But equally of note, their company was great and visiting the temples with them would make the experience more enjoyable. We negotiated with one of the tuk-tuk drivers hanging around the guesthouse and it was arranged we all meet up the following morning.
The next day we set off when it was already late morning. Our somewhat relaxed approach meant we will be in with the hordes and get a beating from the sun. At the main entrance we had our photo taken, paid US$40 and waited shortly to be issued with our three-day pass that should be carried at all times once inside the complex. We drove past Angkor Wat and kept on going to the fortified city of Angkor Thom.
The city was built by the greatest of Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII. On the left side of the causeway leading to the main gate of the city are situated the statues of 54 gods while on the right side those of 54 demons are found. This portrayal is in reference to a celebrated episode from the Hindu Puranas namely The Churning of The Ocean of Milk. The gateway is structured and decorated by elephant heads at the base and the face of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara pointing to each cardinal direction at the top. Passing through the gateway of Angkor Thom, we drove towards what struck me as one of the most captivating sites throughout the whole complex of Angkor. Bayon is famed for the 216 gargantuan faces of Avalokiteshvara. Some scholars claim that the face of Avalokiteshvara resembles that of King Jayavarman VII himself. At once, the enigmatic expression of Avalokiteshvara conveys a sense of authority merged with the principle of compassion.
Being within walking distance to Bayon, we strolled up to the ruins of Baphoun. Baphoun was perhaps the centre of the city of Angkor Thom long before the honour was passed on to Bayon. The construction of the main temple of Baphoun in the form of a pyramid is a symbolic reference to Mount Meru as depicted in Hindu mythology. At present, this site is undergoing a restoration project that started in 1995. The original project that started almost 50 years ago incorporating the painstaking method of dismantling every stone, was suspended during the Khmer Rouge frenzy. Records meticulously kept, were forever destroyed, leaving today’s restoration workers with the perplexing task of accurately placing the stones that lie about in the temple’s grounds.
Next to Baphoun lies the impressive Terrace of Elephants which was used as a massive viewing stand during formal ceremonies. In the huge field below the Terrace, the military might of the Khmer empire, displayed its prowess under the eagle-eye of their devaraja (god-king). With hardly any spot of shelter, the sun also reminded us of its might in this early afternoon hour.
Fortunately it did not take too long a time to locate our tuk-tuk driver who was relishing an extended siesta in the shade of the trees, sharing a joke with fellow drivers also waiting on their patrons to return from one of the temples. We then sped away towards one of the most extraordinary of all the temples in Angkor. No more than at this complex does one witness the constant battle between that which man creates and that which nature reclaims. Unlike other temples, the allure of Ta Prohm lies in the fact that it has been left almost as it was discovered over a 100 years ago.
The muscular roots twist, twirl and constrict, have in the course of time dislodged the structures to support trees soaring sky-high. However, the complex is maintained enough so as not to be swallowed up by the jungle thus preventing the structures from completely caving in. On a clear day, particularly in the morning, sunlight pierces in between dense leafy branches enshrouding the place with an ever-increasing eerie and mysterious aura.
Ta Prohm was the last temple visited as the closing times were fast approaching. After all, it’s not so hard to loose track of time in these enthralling surroundings. The sun took it out of us in the end, nevertheless we eagerly looked forward to the following day’s adventure.
