Pandoraspace

Bantay Srei is a grand house (not a temple according to our guide) made of red limestone with tiny intricate carvings. On the day we were to leave for Bantay Srei, I felt feverish and decided to skip it. Padma went without me. I was so envious of her Bantay Srei excursion especially when I saw these pictures.

Angkor Thom is a city built in the twelve century by Jayavarman VII. There are five gates that open up to Angkor Thom.  There is a gate on the north, west and south sides and two gates on the east side. Each gate is flanked on one side by fifty-four statues of gods and on the other side by fifty-four statues of demons. The gods and demons are seen pulling the snake-god Vasuki in the scene from the Churning of the Sea of Milk. (See www.sacred-destinations.com.)  I took an elephant ride from the outskirts of Angkor Thom and entered it via one of the gates to get a different perspective of the place. From high up on my elephant, I felt like I was above the gods and demons that lined the entrance to Angkor Thom and that I could reach the sky.  I also felt isolated from those entering Angkor Thom on foot.  Interesting…

Sunset at Angkor Wat

The setting sun colors the grey Angkor Wat pale orange.  Beautiful!  The only draw back is that certain parts of Angkor Wat were being repaired at the time I was there.  Hence, the ugly scaffolding on its facade.

The Churning of the Sea of Milk

A scene from the Hindu myth, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, is carved on one of the walls of Angkor Wat. The scene shows the Hindu snake-god, Vasuki, twined around a tower (Mount Mandara). On one side, the gods are pulling Vasuki’s head, and on the other side, the demons are pulling Vasuki’s tail. To prevent Mount Mandara from sinking in the Sea of Milk, a god (maybe Vishnu) transforms itself into a giant tortoise, which is seen keeping Mount Mandara afloat. (See Michael Buckley, The Churning of the Ocean of Milk, www.veloasia.com.)  As Padma and I were perplexed by what we saw, our guide explained that the amrita (the Hindu elixir of immortality), the apsaras and the three-headed elephants (whose Hindu/Khmer name I can no longer recall) were lost in a fight between the gods and the demons. Upon Vishnu’s advise, the gods and demons later worked together to churn the Sea of Milk to produce those lost items.  After our guide explained the myth to us, I was even more perplexed. The myth is mysterious, strange, funny, fascinating and definitely out of this world.

The Toothy Apsara and Sacred Apsaras

Apsaras are female celestial dancers who appear in various Hindu myths.  As Angkor Wat was built in honor of the Hindu god, Vishnu, many apsara images are carved on the walls of Angkor Wat.  (See www.sacredsites.com.)  All but one apsara wears a serene expression with a half smile that conceals her teeth.  Our guide introduced us to the only apsara in Angkor Wat who smiles with her teeth showing.

Our guide also told us that people have a tendency to touch the walls of Angkor Wat. Padma and I laughed when we noticed these apsaras. We now know where people have a tendency to touch.

A few friends have asked me to post more pictures of Siem Reap.  So, here are pictures taken by Padma.

Prasatkutrung

There is an ordinary looking room in Angkor Wat with a floor area of about nine square meters.  It has two entrances with exactly the same dimensions that face each other. It has no doors.  According to our guide, it is called Prasatkutrung (which literally means Knocking Chest Chamber).

Padma and I entered Prasatkutrung, closed our eyes, made our wishes, and with our fists, beat our chests. As we beat our chests, we could hear the echo of the sound of our chests being beaten. Strangely, no echo is heard when other noises are made in the chamber. The echo is only heard when the chest is beaten. Our guide did not give us any scientific explanation on why this is so and I do not care to know. I would rather that this remains a mystery.

The sound and early morning mist of Angkor Wat

After sunrise, Padma and I entered Angkor Wat and were greeted by the sound of men (perhaps monks) chanting their morning prayers.  Their voices were not loud or aggressive but meditative and peaceful. As their deep low voices resonated throughout the temple, I sensed that the sound was coming from deep within them.  For a time, I listened and lost all sense of time, space and myself. There was only the sound.

What later pulled me away from the sound was the early morning mist at Angkor Wat.

As there is a wealth of available information about Angkor Wat, I thought that visiting it would merely confirm what I read about it.  I was wrong. Angkor Wat astounded me with its grandeur and many mysteries.

Angkor Wat at dawn

We visited Angkor Wat at dawn.  Like most tourists, we saw the façade of Angkor Wat during sunrise. Here is a glimpse of what we saw.