Pandoraspace

Cambodians, like many of us, are a paradox. They are brilliant builders, and at the same time, cruel destroyers.  

At the end of the journey, I again ask myself this question: “If Cambodia is a jar, what would it contain?” My answer:  Right now, Cambodia contains only hope. Hope that the horror of the Khmer Rouge atrocities would never be felt again and hope that the Cambodians would once again achieve the glories of their ancestors, the great builders of Angkor Wat.

Tip No. 9: Avoid the crowds.

You get a better feel of the temples if there are only a few people around. Tourists usually troupe to the temples after breakfast, leave right before lunch, return to the temples at two in the afternoon and leave before sunset. To avoid the crowd, we would visit the temples before breakfast or late in the afternoon. Of course, this rule does not apply to Angkor Wat since tourists visit it at all hours of the day.  To known more about avoiding the crowds, check this out.

Tip No. 6: Stay at the Villa Siem Reap.

In Siem Reap, there are accommodations fit for every kind of traveler. There are hostels and inns for those traveling on a shoestring budget, excellent hotels for those with a little more to spare and opulent resorts and spas for the Conde Nast traveler.  Padma and I decided that, since we were not on a shoestring budget or Conde Nast travelers, we should stay in a mid-ranged hotel. We also decided against booking ourselves in a fancy-smancy place. We were happy to settle for a place where we had our own bathroom and clean sheets on our beds. This way, we would have more money to splurge on food and shopping. (more…)

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.

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.  

While Padma’s friend suggested we experience sunrise at Bayon, she did not tell us what to expect. Being the Pandoras we are, Padma and I headed for Bayon on the first morning of our stay in Siem Reap.

As we passed Angkor Wat, our driver, Tony, asked us if we wanted to go there instead. We said no. It was then that I noticed that the headlight of our Tuk-Tuk provided the only flicker in the darkness. After a few minutes of cruising in the dark, Tony stopped the engine and told us “Here is Bayon. I will see you there later.” The word “where” was just on the tip of my tongue when Tony quickly drove away.

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