During my sophomore year of college I took a class called 'Continuity and Transition in Non-Western Societies'. I didn't have a clue what the title meant or what the coursework would entail. All I knew was that it was a required course for my program and I was unsure how I would get through the stack of books on the reading list. That stack held some rather dry history books that our professor admitted, " you just need to get through". Others were difficult to get through but for an entirely different reason - they told the stories of Cambodians during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.
During the regime's ruling from 1975-1979 1.5 million of the 7.5 million population were killed through execution, starvation, and forced labor. Having the chance to visit Cambodia now is an eerie opportunity knowing that the horrid leader of the regime, Pol Pot, died only ten years ago and his party was thrown out just a year before I was born. Yet it is unfair to note the Khmer Rouge as Cambodia's prime association. There is so much more there even if the remnants of the regime are still palpable.
On our first day our flight arrived early in the morning. Sal, our tour guide, picked us up at the airport and took us to a local breakfast spot. We were clearly in need of some rejuvenation after waking up at 4:30 am. The first stop was the long awaited (by me) Angkor Wat. I have always dreamed of visiting Angkor Wat and the proximity of the temple from the airport made it seem way to easy! A ten minute drive from the airport landed us at one of wonders of the world. As we approached, Sal pointed it out like one would point out a wheat field in Kansas. I guess that is what happens when you see something every day.
Angkor Wat was built in the in the early 12th century for King Suryavaraman II as his temple. It was first a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. During the reign of Jayavarman VII he adopted the Buddha of Compassion as his patron, and built Buddha structures on his temples, Angkor Wat included. After his death the empire steadily went into a decline and for around a century the state religion went back to Hinduism. This change made its way to the temples, where Buddha figures were defaced and destroyed.
The Khmer empire practically ended when the Thais attacked Angkor in 1351 and again in 1431. Possibly due to the Thai influence, Buddhism returned as the state religion of Cambodia and remains that way today. Sadly, during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, Angkor Wat was utilized as a headquarters for the regime. Although limited damage to the temple was done, thousands of Buddhist monks who lived in Buddhist temples like Angkor lost their lives.
Even with the evident defacing and minimal maintenance the corridors and towers of the temples are fascinating. A continual optical illusion of doorways made me think there were mirrors everywhere! I was amazed by the level of detail in the stone etchings that covered the length of the temple telling the stories of Cambodia's history. Admittedly, Sal tried to explain the the story of 'The Churning of the Milk Ocean' but after several fights, dives into the ocean, and monkeys with magical powers we became very, very confused.
The next stop was Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom was built as a square, the sides of which run exactly north to south and east to west. Standing in the exact center of the walled city, Bayon Temple represents the intersection of heaven and earth. Built around 1190 AD by King Jayavarman VII, Bayon is a Buddhist temple known to be the last temple of the Khmer Empire.
The Bayon Temple is comprised of 54 tours, each with four faces of Avalokiteshvara (Buddha of Compassion) on the square tops for a total of 216 faces. While most of the lower lying faces in Angkor Thom have been defaced or given a third eye to mimic the Hindu god Shiva, the larger ones on top remain.
This temple was my favorite site! While others thought the faces got a little creepy I loved that each face was the same with a slightly different expression - part intentional, part lack of maintenance, and part in my head ;)
The third temple we saw was Ta Prohm Temple, where the movie 'Tomb Raider' was filmed. Ta Prohm was constructed between the 12th or 13th century by Jayavarman VII in honor of his family.This temple has been coined 'Jungle Wat' due to the extreme deterioration caused by massive silk-cotton and strangler fig tree roots.
Each temple was uniquely interesting. However, I was shocked at the amount of disrepair all of the temples were in. Obviously they have been around for quite some time but the conservation efforts until now have been sporadic, short lived, and done by ill-informed but well intentioned foreigners. For instance, limestone was eaten away on Angkor Wat when the Indians used acid to clean the moss and the original stones of Ta Prohm are in a heap of rubble in front of the temple because the French lost the blueprints. These efforts can't be mocked though because Cambodia was (and probably still is) in such political unrest that they could do little to save their own treasures. Most past and current conservation is being done and/or funded by foreign governments and private investors.
Another similarity is the chilling land mine signs seen at the edges of temples. Thankfully they are explaining that the area has been cleared. But the clearings have only happened within the last ten years and some as recent as three ago thanks to the help of foreign governments and the attention given to the issue by Princess Diana.
After a long day in the heat we became templed-out and we headed to a late lunch. Sal took us to a local restaurant and seemed quite pleased that we insisted on 'local'. We had the national dish of Fish Amok which is a delectable blend of coconut milk, lemongrass, and other yumminess mixed up and served in a coconut.
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