Cambodia Weekend Part 2: Temples of Wonder not Doom

Angkor Wat was the main reason I had Cambodia on my must visit list.  The pictures and descriptions of the temple were amazing and it's been considered an alternate wonder of the world.  I did a little prior research on the temple and the Khmer empire that built it, but seeing it, touring it and being in Siem Reap was an incredible learning experience.

Angkor Wat

This massive complex is the largest Hindu temple in the world.  It was built in the 12th century at the behest of King Suryavarman II.  Angkor Wat resembles the Hindu Mount Meru (home of the Devas).  The temple is surrounded by a giant moat that is a 190m wide.  The dimensions correspond to Hindu beliefs and the structure is renowned for its harmony of design.  Given that all non-religious Khmer structures were built with perishable items makes this even more impressive.

Here are some pictures we took at sunrise:

There are five major towers with the largest in the center

The jungle scenery around the temple is fantastic as well

The major distinguishing feature is the five towers shaped like lotus buds.  These five represent the five mountains at Mount Meru.  This shape of tower appears frequently throughout Khmer architecture.

Megan staring in awe at one of the towers

The walls of the temple have amazingly intricate bas-relief sculputres that tell Hindu Epics such as the Ramayana.  The scope and detail were astonishing.  Here's some pictures that will woefully not do it justice:

Bas-relief of an epic battle scene

We hired a tour guide which I highly recommend.  He provided alot of the background, explained the bas-reliefs in detail and answered all of our questions ("Why is there a huge staircase there?" "It's a swimming pool" "Oh, cool").  Angkor Wat is very impressive.  A few more of my favorite pics.

Megan and I at the temple entrance

Angkor Wat moat

Vishnu  the Hindu's Preserver of the Universe - our awesome guide is to the right

The "Cool" swimming pool.

Interestingly, even though Cambodia is~95% Therevada Buddhist now, people still pray at this Hindu temple.  They've in a way converted it over and as a consequence it's stayed in very good shape.


The Khmer Empire built a lot of impressive temples besides Angkor Wat; something I learned while in Cambodia.

Angkor Thom and Bayon

Angkor Thom was the capital that was built a bit after Angkor Wat.  The Bayon temple is at the center of the capital exactly 1.5 KM from all four entrances.  The entrance to the capital has a moat and a bridge theme that is seen throughout.  It has the Gods and Demons holding Dragons as part of the churning of the Ocean of Milk story.

Restored Demon heads at the gates to Angkor Thom

Right next to the "Demon with Bad Teeth"

The Bayon temple was one of my favorites.  Like Angkor Wat it has beautiful bas-reliefs.  These sculptures tell not only Hindu epics but also provide details about everyday life in the Khmer Empire.  Something archaeologists surely appreciate.  It is amazing that the everyday life depicted in this 12th century temple was not all that different from the everyday life of Cambodians in the 19th century.

Bayon Temple

The erie faces of Bayon Temple - rumored to be King Jayavarman VII

The sculpture faces of the Bayon Temple are really cool.  Many of the columns have faces on four sides facing the cardinal directions.  This reminded me a bit of Legends of the Hidden Temple for you children of the 80s-90s.  There are an estimated 200 faces total but that number could be higher for the original building.  The construction materials and upkeep of the Bayon temple is inferior to Angkor Wat and consequently there has been decay.

Ta Prohm

King Jayavarman also built Ta Prohm which he dedicated to his mother.  It was originally purposed as a monastery for Buddhist monks.  Ta Prohm housed several thousand people, and it required over 100,000 people from over 5,300 villages to provide rice and supplies for it. 

The way the trees have grown on the temples is very moving and beautiful.  Ta Prohm is so scenic and mystical it has shown up in movies such as Tomb Raider and Troy (granted not the best movies but still).

Other cool photos

Hindu temple built in a pyramid style

Temple ruins of Prea Khan

The temples are set in a jungle-like ecosystem

Conclusions

• The detail and scale of these temple monuments demonstrates how important religion was to the culture and political environment of the Khmer Empire.  In contrast, the most impressive buildings made by modern Western Civilization are testaments to commerce (Sears Tower) and sports (Yankee Stadium).
• It was great to see the temples in person to get an appreciation for the amount of work and skill needed to build these temples.  Simply massive.  
• Another interesting lesson was the non-linearity in human progress.  The Khmer Empire built these great temples in the 12th century and then mediocrity ensued in the region for hundreds of years.  The mediocrity was due to a combination of environmental factors (overpopulation stressing irrigation resources and overusgae of suitable building materials) and political factors (Cambodia was at the fault line between two emerging powers that differed significantly in culture, Thailand and Vietnam).  But I think it is human tendency to want to see growth in a linear manner versus booms and busts, whereas the booms and busts tend to occur more naturally.
• Angkor is a continued source of price to Cambodians.  It is on their national flag and has been a positive to point to despite tough times (Declining empire, Khmer Rouge, economic difficulties, etc.).

Clearly Angkor is still a source of Cambodian pride

My next post will be about the other adventures we had in Cambodia; including Cambodian cooking classes, a Cambodian night club, a somber visit to the Genocide museum, an authentic Cambodian bus ride, and a biking tour through the islands of the Mekong.