Angkor wat- the temple of temples

APSARA DANCE-Meant for the Gods,now enjoyed by mere mortals( that too with a complemetary buffet dinner @usd 15 only)

How can men,born in flesh and destroyed in fire,be immortal like the Gods? What would you do to make yourself immortal if you were born a king!

Pharaoh Khufu built the Great pyramid of Giza, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty built the great Wall of China, Sahajahan of Moghuls built the Taj, but the Khemr kings made themselves immortal in the annals of human history by the Angkor temples,“with the epic proportions of the Great Wall of China, the detail and intricacy of the Taj Mahal and the symbolism and symmetry of the pyramids, all rolled into one"

Before beginning our Tomb Raider Lara Craft experience in the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, let us rush a bit through the boring history books!(I will try to make it interesting)

Kampuchia or Kambojdesh

Jayavarman II declared himself the Rajchakrabarti Debraja of Kambuj in 802AD. That little girl of Kambuj after seeing many winters of oppression by French,bloody civil war of the Khemrs, US bombings of Vietnam matured into today's Cambodia ( Preah Raicheneauk Kampuchia in khemr,or Royale du Kambodge in French).

People may know her for the grand Angkor (and the infamous bars and parlours of Phonm Peh) ,but mark my words- Cambodia has much more to offer!The floating houses of Tonle Sap,the giant birds(storks) of  Prek Toal bird sanctuary ( $250/2pp), Battambang Bat caves of the north,the capital city of Phonm Penh,the white sands of Sihanoukvillie island, the awesome food, night markets,apsara dance and circus, pubs- a week is not enough to truly enjoy this country (and the best part is that it will not break your bank account!)

Tonle Sap lake. (Pic courtesy.Bukmandi)

Prek Toal bird sanctuary-Ramser site(PC asiatouradvisor.com)

Sihanoukvillie(pc.Backpapers travel).Go there before the Chinese ruin them.

Before getting delirious and offtrack,let us get back to the seemingly impossible task of seeing the Angkor Wat complex in a day! Three days would have been excellent,but being a budget conscious Indian(read miser),we settled for 1(3 day ticket $72,whereas a 1day is $37).To tell the truth,we were missing the macher jhol bhat!

The treasure hunt map- a minor circuit in orange and the major circuit in  green…..a bit confusing for the newbie traveller.

And the action begins-

4AM: Snoring…..zzzZZZZZZ!

4:30AM: Crinnnnnnnggggggg!!! 

Ready. Steady. Go 

Got on the Tuktuk with packed breakfast,water, camera,hat,maps and lots of spirit and enthusiasm!

Tuktuk- the Cambodian jugadh (pc.Lonely planet)

5:00AM: Arrive at the APSARA ticket center. The place is sort of a global village- you can find the Brits,Germans,Russians, Chinese…a complete chaos(Tower of Babel ). Stand in the right Q,(there are Q for 1day, 3day and 7day pass), smile at the camera and lo you can get your ticket with your beautiful face printed on it(Lose it if you want to waste your precious dollars paying fine🤗)

5:30AM: Arrived at the parking lot of Angkor Wat,a large ground dotted with trees-- a bit like Palassey'r aambagan.. Feeling a bit lost in this cacophony of chippings of birds and human chatter,we followed the crowd (jhaker koi).

The eastern sky,like a newly wed bride waiting for her shuhagraat, was coyly playing with her ghunghat of the dawn's darkness; her pale blue cheeks blushing crimson pink in the early morning rays;only to be marred occasionally by the passing dark clouds of solitude.. We hurried across a floating bridge across a large moat dotted with lilies,not to miss the famous sunrise (otherwise the extra $10 that we gave to the Tuktuk will be go down the moat of Angkor!).

  

Entering through the Western gates,into a large compound (larger than the Eden Gardens ),we walked down a paved path flanked by Naga balustrade on both sides,with tall Palm trees for company to select a spot among numerous cameraman and women with cameras(don't know if there is any term called camerawomen!) to capture that perfect instagram shot

That perfect instagram shot....captured this on my phone over the head of a short Korean lady,only time my height was an advantage!

6:15 AM: Time to improvise. After the sunrise,most of the folks will be heading for a quick breakfast or to the hotel. We controlled our hunger pangs(pete khil diye), and utilized this golden moments to explore the Angkor Wat on our own, minus the crowds.( About 2.5 million visited Angkor Wat in 2017,and it keeps increasing!).

ANGKOR WAT: The City of Temples

What's common between the pyramid of Giza,the Tajmahal and Angkor Wat. Well,all are glofied graveyards! Suryavarman II( in early 12th century) built it as his mausoleum. The Angkor Wat is an exceptional Hindu temple, in the fact that it faces west (Yamer dokhinduar).

Conceptualized as Mount Sumeru ,the abode of Hindu Gods, the central tower ( aka Paban) used to house the statute of Lord Vishnu, whereas the other four corner towers/gorupas are abode of other Gods. The temple is surrounded by a wide moat( which can make the European castles envy!), signifying the Khir Sagar (of Samudramanthan). The paved path leads to a elevated cruciform staircase, flanked by Nagas (serpents) and lions,the guardians of Angkor.

Nagas and Lions are a reccurent theme of Angkor

Bandoder bandrami(monkey business)- front facade

The outer esplanade of Angkor- Bow before you enter the “The Capital of Temples"The Angkor wat is a three storeyed structure, interconnected by steps and courtyards. Keeping to the tradition of death, you have to go in counterclockwise direction.The first level consists of large alleys with intricately designed pillars, and stone murals depicting various themes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Hindu scriptures and daily life of Khemr kings.

Pc.Lonely planet

Pictures don't do justice to the sculptures,but I will be boring you with some!

The fight between Gods and Demons 

More tortures for the sinners- or is it for those who oppose the king!

Tortures of Hell- such vivid imagination of hell can only be found in Botticelli’s painting of Dante’s Inferno

Daityaraj Bali arrogantly holding the head of Basuki-Samudramanthan panel

Narayan on his Kurma Avatar-the balance between good and evil

The upper 4 pics depict the panel of Samudramanthan- you can imagine the amazing craftsmanship of Angkor artisans, considering that she is standing in the middle of the panel,and an equal length is behind the camera. The ceilings used to be decorated with wooden works and the pillars are decorated with figurines of Apsaras. You can guess who is Indra,Narayana and Bali.
Do you notice the cheerleaders?(they are cheering both the demons and the Gods)

The panel of Battle of Kurukhetra- you need such a long wall to depict a 18 day war!

And the builder himself-SuryavarmanII dispensing justice !

Of particular interest is the intricately designed pillars which has still retained their beauty after being abused by the touch of so many hands!

Pay attention to the Pillar!

The second level is a rectangular cross like mandapa supported on pillars with interconnected galleries.
Can you spot the swimming pool area....they were meant to represent the oceans,whereas the towers/garupas are the continents.

never seen such extensive use of serpents in a temple(Corner architecture of the towers)

Both Buddha and Narayan are kept at the second floor level.

The present

the past

A common thing which I hear when going to shopping for a saree with my wife is "Dada,unique kichu dekhan"! May be the sculptors of Angkor Wat had similar wives at home! So,they designed the Apsaras on the 3rd floor open courtyard in a variety of attire and hairstyles- something which the modern day Zaved Habib and Sabyasachis will envy!

APSARAS-the most beautiful beings on this universe

The killing of Bali....zoom in on the top of the beautiful door(3rd level courtyard)

Dare to climb on this steep Makan or Meru Parbat,the central lotus shaped dome of the Angkor Wat,the abode of Vishnu! But it will eat your time away,as there is long Q of foreigners waiting before you(maybe they came today to Angkor only to do this!)

8:15AM: Frugal breakfast time!

 Finding your Tuktuk driver is a bit tricky(they all look the same,and didn't take the local Sim to cut costs),but in 99.9% cases the Tuktuk driver will find you !( We were the unlucky 0.1% , a fellow Tuktuk driver helped us out). Now was the time not to be a jhaker koi,  dodge the crowd ( who were headed in a clockwise direction to Temple of Bayon), we went in the opposite direction towards Ta Phrom.

The Royal bath@ Sra Sarang just opposite Baentey Kdei

8:30AM:Meaning the citadel of Monks; Baenty Kdei was built as a Buddhist temple(on a much earlier Hindu temple). Much of this temple is engulfed by the forest,with the soft morning light through the leaves making an interesting patterns on the moss layered green stone slabs

The Eastern Gate of Banteay Kdei-Baenteay Kdei was built by Jayavarman VII,who succeeded Suryavaran II . A recurring theme in his construction is the face of Avalokiteswara and scenes from Samudramanthan.

The entrance of Baentey Kdei--the various moods of green!

The thached roof like architecture….can you see the persons with swords besides the gates–the Dwarpalikas!

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Large rectangular pillars supporting roof….Hallmark of Banteay kdei

Temple of Baentley Kdei

The forest engulfing the ruins of Banteay Kdei-western gate

9:30AM:

Ta Phrom( Rajvihara, dedicated to Jayavarman II’s mother……my wife was impressed by this fact) is popularly known as the temple of Tomb Raider Lara Croft.

Nope, this is not the Western gate of Banteay Kdei. It is the Eastern gate of Ta Phrom( no marks for guessing who built it!) You can see the smiling face of Avalokiteswara,and a Gaduda on the Eastern pillar.

Crocodile tree

The Lara Croft tree--- you have to stand in a Q to get this perfect Instagram shot

Nature will have the last laugh. (However, the recent conservation efforts have cleared the jungle and made it less romantic)

Rajvihara- where kings came for a stroll

10:30AM: Now a long detour (refer to the map) to visit Banteay Srei.On the way, took some quick pics of Pre Rup (the Royal Crematorium, pyramid shaped temple ,built by Rajendravarman II-- such confusing names,feeling pity for the young Cambodian students studying history!)

Pre Rup- the perfect spot for sunset

The journey seemed long (later i was told it was only half an hour) ,the country side was uninspiring(like India,only a lot cleaner) and the cool breeze caressing my skin while the winter sun baked my skin.....greater men needed much lesser things to rock them to sleep,who am I to deny the sleep goddess her due(after all I am a bheto bangali!)

So...zzzzzZzzzzZZZZZ!!!!!! 

Note: Sorry everyone for this long boring travelogue, if you want to be super bored again or have nothing else to do please read the "Adventures of The crazy Pathologist" when he woke up at Baentey Sre in the next part!