Amazing Angkor

by Shona Basak (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

I didn't expect to find Cambodia

Amazing Angkor It was my birthday and I was planning to go somewhere really special. Having done my research for month of December, the place that outshined all others was the famous temple complex of Angkor Wat, Siem Reap province, Cambodia. It is a UNESCO heritage site of spectacular temples built 500-1000 years ago by the Khmer rulers. Angkor Wat simply stands out in 200 hectares with a giant moat filled with water (to maintain the balance of the foundation of this architectural splendour). I never imagined such a massive temple complex. However, the guide was horrible and kept talking about best places to take photos instead of describing the temple, carvings and inscriptions. I observed how the temple sculptures were changed subtly to depict Hindu gods or Buddhist deities, depending on the favoured religion of the reigning kings. Along with a group of tourists, we visited some other temples ruins like Ta Phrom, Bayon, Banteay Srey etc. Some temple ruins resembled the stone pyramid and the climbs were steep. Trees can be gentle creatures but not here. They have grown strongly over the temple blocks, eating rocks away, destroying stone carvings and forcefully submitting the temple to its own will! It was a powerful sight and reminded me of the stories of huge, human eating trees as in fairy tales. The cicadas in the forest were very loud and constantly creating an eerie atmosphere. The movie, Lara Croft: Tomb raider ( 2001) played by the famous movie actress, Angelina Jolie was shot among these ruins. When the sun went down and there was a cool evening breeze, it was time to venture out and try delicious local cuisine. Food is very reasonable . Cambodia is a rice growing state and I was busy eating fried rice and drinking milk shakes (pineapple milk shake with real pineapples). Amok fish is an outstanding dish of Khmer. It is a spiced, white fish steamed in banana leaves and served with thick yellow curry and lovely white rice. the green mango salad was also delicious. The Pub street is local food haven with a lot of barbeques but I did not try even one of them because it was all sorts of creatures and some I had seen only in my school laboratories. Apparently, Chilli fried insects was popular. The Apsara dance at Temple balcony was very graceful. Tuk-tuk which is motor cycle with a rickshaw attached to it with colourful ribbons flying about was the common mode of transport. A lot of travellers borrowed a pair of bicycles and roamed about the city in gay abandon. From the aeroplane, I saw ‘Tonle Sap’ which is a vast stretch of land filled during the wet season with the back flow of river Mekong. It is very strange geographically with patches of greenery and stretches of water. What I love about these journeys is meeting people. I had breakfast with a German man. Later, I talked with a Philippine couple; the husband learnt music in India. They had returned from a trip to Chennai. His wife informed me that she was impressed with the huge library in Chennai. She and I were disillusioned with the idea of building monuments for war and crime. Why don’t we celebrate peace and remember good times? She had an interesting theory that most monuments are built by men as they are aggressive by nature. Visitors can be reminded of the value of peace once they see these monuments. I observed that they were the first Philippino couple who I had ever seen travelling for pleasure. He explained that in Philippines, flights had become cheaper and travel was so much more affordable. He explained that Filipinos are not very literate or educated which is why they can be a bit close minded. I returned to Singapore to embrace the efficiency but missed the idleness. Lying in a hammock with a historical novel in my hand, munching sugar coated sweet potato fries and good company was the essence of life. Adieu, Angkor Wat!