On Overdrive
Siem Reap, Cambodia
April 18, 2009
Get ready for a long blog. We had a jam packed day!
.ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} .ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} Finally! A breakfast buffet done right! It is indoors away from bugs! There is a nice bread and pastry selection, cereals, juices, fruit, cheese, caesar salad station, the usual Western stuff and some Eastern dishes, tea, coffee, a soup station and a omelet station. We both had omelets that were made to order. Bill had juice, croissant and watermelon. I had toasted whole wheat baguette and sampled some of the Eastern dishes.
We borrowed bikes from the hotel; that was our first mistake. The seat on my bike was too low and by the time we were out of town my knees were already killing me. Bill's bike would not change gears and the seat was very uncomfortable. Note to self - better to pay for bikes instead of using the crappy free hotel ones.
Our second mistake was to ride 17 - 20 kms in temperatures over 36, with humidex around 40. It is probably starting to make sense to everyone why we were not feeling very well later that day and the next day!
Bill told me that we were looking for the tourist office and I had seen a sign by the hospital, so we went down a side street. We never did find it, but did find a local street market selling food. We went back to the main road and went to the main ticket office for the parks (did not need the tourist office). The park pass was $40 USD each for 3 days. They took our photo (I look great with hat head) and our pictures were issued on our passes. Before we left the area we had to show our passes. You do not need a pass for every temple. They do monitor along the road in some places and are set up at the major temples such as Angkor Wat.
We continued along our paved (thank God), tree-lined road toward the ancient temples. The first thing you come up to is the moat for Angkor Wat. We passed by the main entrance for Angkor. There are many restaurants and souvenir booths set up. Children are everywhere selling postcards, bracelets, books and trinkets.
We arrived at the South Gate, which is the best-preserved of the 5 gates. The statues leading up to the gate (the balustrades) represent the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. Along one side is the gods and along the other side is the demons (asuras), each carrying a giant seven-headed serpent (Naga); like a tug-of-war. The gates are 23m high, has a triple tower with four faces likened after King Jayavarman VII and could represent Bodhisattva Lokesvara. On the other side of the gate there is a three-headed elephant that represents Airavata (Erawan), the mount of Indra.
When we stopped at the gate Bill purchased a very good guide book from one of the ladies for $10. It is called Ancient Angkor and it has great information and some really good pictures.
As we learned yesterday, Angkor Thom is very sprawling (largest city) and was formerly a city of a population around 1 million. It was constructed in the late 12th century and was the capital until the 17th century. Site such as the South Gate, Bayon, Bapuon, Phimeanakas, Preah Pililay, Tep Pranam, Terrace of the Leper King and Terrace of the Elephants are part of Angkor Thom.
We explored Bayon first which has some incredible face towers. It is believed that there were 49 - 54 original towers, 37 are still standing today. Most of them have 4 faces, but some only have 2 or 3. It also has some incredible bas-reliefs (wall carvings of a story) of daily life and the Khmer history. This temple immediately impressed both of us and after seeing all of the temples, this one is still my favourite.
The faces are gentle and smiling. They represent the Bodhisattva Avalokitsvara and are modeled after Jayavarman VII. If you enter from the East you will be greeted by Naga balustrades and guardian lions. There are many narrow chambers, corridors and stairways to explore here. There are some excellent dancing deities (apsaras) on the columns of the outer gallery and you can explore some of the stories carved in bas-reliefs. As you move inward there are inner galleries and libraries to explore. There are female deities (devatas) on the library wall. You find find some lingas (phallic looking, represents Shiva) in the inner gallery. I really could go on and on (our one book talks about this place for 20 pages), but I will not. (I hear a collective sigh of relief). Honestly, we did not go over this place with a fine tooth comb. We wandered around and just sorta got our feet wet. We took lots of pictures of the faces because they are so intriguing and beautiful. It was neat just to be here and not get too crazy with trying to figure out what everything was and meant.
We walked over to Bapuon (I am so glad these are all close and we can walk, my knees are killing me from that bike) next. Bapuon was built in the middle of the 11th century by King Udayadityavarman II and is described as an enormous temple-mountain (representing Mt Meru). We just walked around the outside because it is currently being restored (the book indicated that it was supposed to be finished in 2002, but it definitely is not). At the back is a large reclining Buddha that had been constructed, but never completed, in the 16th century. It looks like it has been stripped back for reconstruction.
We entered Phimeanakas from the back. It was built in the late 10th century and early 11th century by King Jayavarman V and Udayadityavarman I. Suryavarman I continued building it as his royal palace in the 12th and 13th centuries and were in use continuously until the 16th century. It is known as the Celestial Palace. It is pyramid-shaped with a rectangular base. It has five entrances (gopuras) guarded by lions with elephants at the top The gopuras are aligned with the Elephant Terrace and Victory Gate. There are a few ponds - Large, East and West. It is a pretty good temple, but we like ones that are not pyramid style better.
The Large pond was likely built by Jayavarman VIII and has 13 tiers of steps. The walls are carved with bas-reliefs of crocodiles and fish along the bottom, princes and Naga princesses in the middle and winged figures, male and female guardians along the top.
We did not go to Preah Pililay, but did walk around Tep Pranam. Some boys wanted me to take their picture with one of the guardian lions, but I did not (they ask for money after you take their picture). It was built in the 16th century and houses a giant seated Buddha and a standing Buddha. It mostly consists of a terrace and a modern structure to cover the Buddhas. It is not very interesting.
The Leper King Terrace was built in the 13th century by King Jayavarman VII. The bas-reliefs (inner and outer) are very impressive and have deities, kings, celestial females, nagas, devatas and apsuras. On the top of the terrace there was a statue of Dharma or Yama, god of the Underworld. It became known as the Leper King because of corrosion and lichens on the surface. The original is at the museum in Phnom Penh.
The Elephant Terrace was built in the 12th and 13th centuries by Jayavarman VII. It is over 300m long, has 3 main platforms and 2 smaller ones. It was used for royal reviews of military and other parades. It has large elephants (some three-headed), tigers, lions, nagas, garudas (1/2 bird, 1/2 man), hamsas (sacred geese) and a hidden seven-headed horse (unknown mythical origin).
Bill did not like the terraces very much, he thought they were boring. I enjoyed trying to find all of the bas-relief figures that the book had pointed out.
During our walk there are people selling things, but they are not allowed inside these temples. They stay on the outside and are persistent, but not as aggressive as the people in Bagan.
We took a break for lunch and went to one of the many "restaurants" near Angkor Thom. Bill had rice and chicken and I had a banana pancake. Bill did not like his chicken that was covered in hot sauce and I did not like my pancake made from a mix. The beer, coke and water were lukewarm. We did not enough our meal and did not eat very much. Plus it is so darn hot, that it is difficult to do anything other than sweat. Thus, our third mistake: not eating enough or drinking enough water.
We took the road through Victory Gate and went to Thommanon. This temple was built in the early 12th century and is the same style as Angkor Wat. It was built by King Suryavarman II. It is very small, but has beautiful devatas and some good lintels of Vishnu on Garuda, the death of Valin from the Ramayana and Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa. There is also a carving of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk (Bill's favourite thing).
We rode to Ta Keo which was built in the 10th and 11th centuries. It was built by Kings Jayavarman V and Jayaviravarman. This is described as a temple mountain and is built completely out of sandstone. The work on this temple had never been completed. At this point we are not feeling well and Bill is REALLY not feeling well. He had to go to the nearest toilet which was the bushes behind the temple....
He came back and we toured around for a bit. There is an outer enclosure, an inner enclosure and then 5 large towers. There are also some libraries and galleries. Some of the carving was started - flowers in a repeating diamond pattern. At the foot of a staircase there is a kneeling Nandi.
The next temple, and last for the day, we visited was Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is where the movie Laura Croft - Tomb Raider was filmed. This temple/monastery was built during the 12th and 13th centuries by King Jayavarman VII and enlarged by Indravarman II. It is a complex design with a set of concentric galleries with corner towers and gopuras along with many other buildings and enclosures. The temple has been overtaken by the trees (silk-cotton and strangler fig) which are entwined with the buildings throughout the site. It has been maintained in this condition to show how the temples looked when discovered during the 19th century.
It is said that the principal diety of this temple, Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom), is carved in the likeness of the King's mom. You initially enter through face towers with the 4 faces of Lokesvara, the first one is collapsed. We were able to see a bas-relief of Buddha's life on the outter and inner walls. We made our way around where we could. There are lots of towers, walls and buildings with debris and trees growing. The West face tower is in tact. I really do like those.
Ta Prohm was a busy temple and Bill did not like the reconstruction on the entrance. But, it is fun to explore. I just wish I was not so exhausted and could fully appreciate it.
We now have a long ride back. The sign says 12 kms! We keep switching bikes to take a break and to give parts of our bodies a break. The smaller bike hurts my knees and the larger bike hurts my back and next. Both of them are killing my butt too. We are so hot and exhausted that it is taking us forever. At one point the wind was in our faces, so I got off and walked a bit. We also had to stop early on because Bill thought he was going to be sick. I went and bought 2 waters. We drank 1 and I dumped the other 1 on his head and neck. I carried the backpack for a while until he felt better.At many points along the way I did not think we were going to make it. But, we finally did. We made it to the hotel at 5:30. I asked the bell hop if there was a free massage to go with the free bikes.
Our fourth mistake: trying to do too much in the scorching heat
We went for a dip in the pool and watched "Failure to Launch" in our room. We did not feel like going back outside so we had dinner at the hotel. Bill had the Cambodian BBQ - chicken, pork, beef and sausage. I had a burger (staying away from spicy stuff). It was a pretty good meal. Bill really like my burger. I had an energy fruit shake and water. Bill had a long island iced tea.
We both have heat ra
Back in the room I watched part of last season's "So You Think You Can Dance" and then went to sleep.
Despite everything, it was a great day and we saw some incredible things!