Small Steps for A Big Adventure

Of many dazzling wonders Cambodia has to offer, one of the most obscure but pervasive is the myths surrounding the medieval city of Angkor. This city is situated on the plain of present-day Siem Reap province north of the Great Lake of Tonle Sap. In this city, there stood gracefully the Angkor Wat which serves as the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument since the 12th century. The moment I stepped foot on this site, a different yet unique ambience ran through me and I felt like a member of the royal court as I walked through the middle gate which walked by the royal family of the Khmer Empire. The once seat of Khmer Empire is still well-preserved up to date as though I am living in the middle of an ancient kingdom as I stood there. Integrated with the architecture of the building, Angkor Wat’s extensive and magnificant decoration captivated my heart and it is worth the most photogenic place on Earth. The walls of the temple bear a series of large-scale scences mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Each of the galleries in this majestic complex exhibits workmanship with its own uniqueness and history, mainly attributed to the mythology in Hinduism. I was very impressed by the very detailed structure of the complex as well as the temples surrounding it have to offer. I tried to imagine and put myself into their shoes in building such a marvellous structure with barehands and no modern day’s technology at hand.
Outside the impressive walls of Angkor Wat, not only the destruction of the temples is visible but also how the jungle is taking over the temple complex. It’s no wonder that Angkor Wat succumbed to the enroaching jungle. In the Ta Prohm Temple, one of the many temples in the “City of Angkor”, giant trees literally “eat” up the temple. The trees growing out of the ruins and the trunks soar skywards under a shadowy green canopy, their long spreading skirts trailing the ground and their endless roots ciling more like reptiles than plants. It is as though the temple ” lives” beneath a jungle and the jungle together with the temple are united as one.
With over 1,000 temples scattered over its site, Angkor is truly one of the wonders of the world and should be on everyone’s shor list of places to visit. As one of the many million visitors who stepped foot on this site, I am honored to experience the beauty of Angkor. A glimpse into an ancient life will remain forever in my mind.