Heading north out of Phnom Penh we traveled through the heart of Cambodia on our way to Siem Reap. Small homes amongst vast farmlands dotted with a few towns along the way. The poverty of the country is well apparent. But in contrast to the trash ridden Phnom Penh, these peasants were just living a simple life trying to make ends meat anyway they could, as seen at our first pit stop in the town of Skuon. Here we were allowed to stretch our legs, use the “Happy Room”, and partake in a local delicacy should we so choose. Skuon spiders first became a source of nutrition to the many starving Cambodians during the dark days of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. However today, for some they have emerged into a “choice national delicacy” but more importantly as a source of fame and fortune for the residents of this impoverished farming village. The black, hairy tarantulas are deep fried in garlic and salt. One bus driver was quotes as saying “they taste like crickets, only much better.” An eight-legged treat will set you back 300 riel or about 8 US cents. On a good day, Tum Neang sells about 100-200 spiders to support her family.
Siem Reap is a small, charming town most famous for the nearby Angkor temples. The town is actually a cluster of Buddhist villages along the Siem Reap River as it flows towards the great Tonle Sap Lake. The bustle of commerce is centered around the Old Market area where locals have stalls in which they sell t-shirts, locally grown silk creations, purses, and Buddha statues. With the recent tourism boom, new hotels and restaurants are popping up all around town. Tourists can get around easily by the Cambodian taxi called a tuk-tuk, creatively constructed passenger cabins attached to the back of a moped or bicycle.
Tonle Sap is a combination of its estuary river and the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. It is of huge importance to the economy and livelihood of many Cambodians as it is one of the world’s greatest resources of freshwater fish. For most of the year, the lake is small measuring only 1 meter deep and 2,700 square kilometers around. However during the wet season the Mekong River reverses its flow pushing its water into the lake increasing its depth to 9 meters and its area to 16,000 square kilometers. The surrounding fields and forests are flooded making perfect breeding grounds for fish. During the dry season the floodplains are planted with rice. Historians long speculated on how the grand temples of Angkor came to be. It is now believed that it was the river’s reversal of flow during the monsoon season that allowed transportation of the materials to Siem Reap.
Amid forests and farmlands north of the great lake lie the temples of Angkor. Numbering over one thousand in total, they range from piles of brick rubble to the magnificent Angkor Wat. The temples were built as a series of capital cities of the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th century. Built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat has become a national symbol of Cambodia. Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it maintains the traditional Khmer architecture as well as Hindu cosmology; with the central towers representing Mount Meru, home of the gods, the outer walls the mountains enclosing the world, and the moat the oceans beyond. Construction of the last and most enduring capital city Angkor Thom and the Bayon were built under the influence of Mahayana Buddhism, and Angkor Wat briefly became a Buddhist shrine. A subsequent revival of Hinduism led to desecration of these Buddhist images until Theravada Buddhism became established in the 15th century. Today Angkor Wat’s shrines remain Buddhist however the extensive Hindi bas-reliefs and the celestial dancing girls called apsaras or devatas remain. The five towers of Angkor Wat are said to represent the lotus flower. According to Hindu religion, within each person is the spirit of the sacred lotus. It represents eternity, purity and divinity and is widely used as a symbol of life, fertility, ever-renewing youth and to describe feminine beauty, especially the eyes.
Temples were built from the bottom up, but carved or decorated from the top down. The central sanctuary was home to the temple’s primary deity represented by a statue. Small in size as this was not a place of worship for the general public, its importance was conveyed by the height of the tower above, its central location, and the amount of decoration adorning the walls. Central sanctuaries were typically enclosed by a concentric series of walls with open-air galleries running along side them. These were often built in the direction of the cardinal points forming a cross with the central sanctuary and tower at its center. “Libraries” were free standing structures, most often placed in pairs at the entrance of the enclosure. Their purpose is not known, but probably served as places of worship rather than to house manuscripts.
During the 15th century, the temples of Angkor were abandoned and the forest became a force that the temple could not defend itself against, no more apparent than at Ta Prohm, most famous for its use in the film Lara Croft:Tomb Raider. In the late 19th century, French archeologists began restoration of the temples by clearing the forest, repairing their foundations, and installing drains to prevent further water damage. Since the end of the civil war, international tourism has increased which has allowed funding of further restoration, but at the same time posing a problem to conservation as over a million people visit the temples each year.
Ta Prohm was built by King Jayavarman VII as a Mayahana Buddhist monastery and university. Restoration to this temple has been limited in an effort to preserve the beauty and show respect for nature created by the jungle trees growing out of the ruins. Angkor Thom was a complex of temples built by Jayavarman VII. The most famous of the Angkor Thom temples is the Bayon with its 200+ smiling faces, but the complex also included the Baphuon, Terrace of Elephants, Phimeanakas and the Royal Palace, and the Terrace of the Leper King. Built as a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva in the mid 11th century by King Udayadityavarman, the Baphuon was converted to a Buddhist temple in the 15th century. Today, most of the temples have decorative remnants of both their Hindu past and Buddhist present. The Terrace of Elephants was used for public ceremonies and the king's grand audience hall.
Experience the charm of Cambodia in Siem Reap and awe at the magnificent splendor of the temples in Angkor Wat - Sunrise to Sunset, and "Wat" Else?, a journey through the some of the other temples in the Angkor complex.
