Through the looking glass

Portraits of Angkor

CAMBODIA | Tuesday, 12 October 2010 | Views [236]

Getting close with the locals really pays off when you're travelling alone in any foreign country. The night I arrived in Siem Reap, a tuk tuk driver brought me out for dinner at a roadside stall and a Cambodian kick-boxing match after. After a 3 hour wait in the hot, humid and muddy area around the arena, the night began. People cheered, threw bets and cursed as the fighters did what they did best, even as blood dripped into their eyes.

Take a moment, put yourself in my shoes and imagine yourself bumping along in a tuk tuk as you drive past that cyclist in a hat while it drizzles outside. Now imagine yourself wearing a straw hat, cycling though a wet morning while a tuk tuk zooms past. Just another morning in Cambodia.

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The Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world and trying to cover everything within a single day is never justified. I had the luxury of visiting different parts of the complex on multiple visits spread out over an entire week. Visitors should never approach the complex as a tourist attraction but rather as a sacred temple built in honour for their king who was also their god. As you step through the stone arches and ascend upwards, imagine the intricate wooden carvings that used to adorn the gateways, the thick scent of incense swirling through the air, priests in ceremonial robes cleansing washing their hands in the pools of water drawn straight from the river, all of which are distant wishful memories of a once vibrant city only to be filled with bus loads of tourists today.

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Through the looking glass

Portraits of Angkor

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