Christmas in Cambodia - Episode 2

Day 2: The Temple Diaries

I pride myself on being an early starter. So when my tuk tuk driver told me the previous evening that we have to get to the temple complex by 5 a.m. to get a vantage point to see the sun rise behind the West facing temples, I was fairly confident that I would be among the rare lunatics to wake up at that ungodly hour on a holiday. Suffice to say, I was horribly wrong.  

A army of tourists having had the same idea had descended upon the temples and managing to find a place in those teeming throngs reminded me of wrestling with rush hour traffic back home. But, it was worth it.

While distances between temple complexes are not huge, they are not close either and unless you are a bicycle enthusiast, hiring a tuk-tuk for the day is a good idea. 13-20 USD is what it would cost you.

The Angkor Thom complex which is a few minutes ride away from Angkor Wat is a sprawling mass of jungles with the ruins of temples sprinkled all across. The amazing Bayon was my first stop.

Resembling a pile of rubble from the distance, as you get closer, you start noticing the carvings and the FACES. About 216 faces of Jayavarman VII are carved on the 54 towers. It is only when you get to the third level of the temple, that you start experiencing the full impact of those sculptures, as everywhere you look, you find a face smiling at you in that eerie manner.

Baphuon, the Royal Enclosure and the Phimenakeas (Celestial Palace) are nearby. Many of these temples have monks worshipping inside the complexes. While guides could be hired for 3 to 4 USD for a day, the usual books like Lonely Planet do a decent job. Of course, if you want to dig deeper, there are always cheap books to be grabbed from hawkers.  

One point: Many of these temples have guards/urchins loitering around willing to double up as guides and if you plan to hire them, negotiate well in advance. After doing the usual touristy thing such as buying trinkets, I decided to postpone one of the highlights: Ta Phrom, after I saw a few busloads of Chinese and Korean tourists descend upon the temple.  

Watching the menacing roots of the silk cotton trees break through stone and cutting through the temples is quite something. Even though much of that temple has been reduced to rubble, you could see the doorways and sculptures. Of course, Angelina Jolie (Tomb Raider) has also done her bit to promote the popularity of this temple. Met a pair of Indian archaeologists carrying on restoration work inside the temple, we chatted about the difference in attitudes of people in different countries towards their history. An early dinner at Pub Street, (fish Amoy what else), and a few good hours of reading to wind up what had been a very beautiful day.