Alone in Angkor
- Mar 26, 2020
- 4 min read
A uniquely personal journey through one of the world’s most magnificent places.
Mid-February, just a couple weeks into our trip, we almost left Asia out of fear that the virus would spread in the region, leaving us stranded or worse. We ultimately decided to stick it out (best decision ever) with Siem Reap remaining firm in our itinerary.
Saying goodbye to Luang Prabang was bittersweet. We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia and settled into our stunning hotel, Angkor Aurora ($21/night due to plunging hotel rates).
60-Second History Lesson
I was surprised to learn that Angkor is actually Khmer for ‘capital city’. In fact, Angkor was once the largest preindustrial city in the world; at its peak between 800 and 1400 BC, 1 in every 1,000 humans on earth called this place home.
‘Home’ encompasses much more than temples - how about remains of daily life such as hospitals, homes, farms? The Khmer built their temples in stone, reserving palaces and all other everyday structures to be made with wood, which has long since degraded. Mystery solved!
To add to the architectural greatness of the temples, they were built with stone carried from faraway distances, probably all the way from Laos. Egyptian pyramids, on the other hand, were built with local stone.
When construction of Angkor began, Hindu was the predominant religion, and the Caste System the predominant social hierarchy. This societal attribute of deference translated into a productive, obedient workforce and a successful economy. Centuries later (construction in Angkor spanned several Kings and hundreds of years) Theravada Buddhism grew in popularity, accounting for the construction of later temples as Buddhist shrines. Buddhism is now the country’s official religion. A massive war with the Kingdom of Siam (headquartered in Ayutthaya - see our earlier blog post!) ultimately led to the demise of the Khmer Empire. It was not until 1860 that Angkor was rediscovered.
End of lesson.
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
The next morning, we organized our tuk tuk through the hotel - $24 plus $10 for sunrise. This included extra transport to and from the hotel after Angkor wat sunrise as business is at an unprecedented low. In fact, some of Siem reap’s biggest resorts have closed due dramatic drop in tourism.
Off we went in our tuk tuk (Called a remorque in Cambodia) at 4:30 am, headed to the visitor center to purchase tickets. We were told that normally you can expect to wait hours for tickets - instead, we were first in line to purchase our 3-day pass. In an effort to stimulate demand, the government has issued complimentary day(s) for all 1, 3 and 5-day passes.
After breezing through the ticket line, we zipped over to Angkor's visitor center in the dark, following the speckles of iPhones and flashlights bouncing across the dirt path.
We arrived at the reflection pool (THE SPOT for sunrise, or so the internet consensus deems) and got a front and center spot. Is this real?
TIP: bring a towel or shirt to sit on - as a courtesy, people in the front rows are asked to sit so that everyone can enjoy the view.
Streaks of violet and rose kissed the night sky, revealing the iconic silhouette of the temples, and their symmetric twin found in the water below.
Like clockwork, as soon as the sun came up the birds and insects launched into an orchestral opus of mating and feeding noises over the shallow pool, reminding me of the fragility and interconnectedness of nature.
We headed back to the hotel after this, starry eyed. Around 11am, we hopped in the remorque once again for a full day of temple touring. Our plan was to do a modified “Small Circuit” [Sras Srang - Banteay Kdei - Ta Prohm - Bayon - Phnom Bakheng] ending at sunset.
Banteay Kdei & Sra Srang
We began at Sra Srang before venturing over to the late 12th century temple, Banteay Kdei - wild and sprawling.
Buddhism vs. Hinduism at Angkor
Time for another 60-second history lesson! Jayavarman VII became king of the Khmer Empire in 1181. A devout Buddhist himself, Jayavarman VII’s aim was to alleviate the suffering of his people. He fronted an ambitious construction agenda including public works and monuments. His most significant projects were Ta Prohm, dedicated to his mother, and Angkor Thom, which would become the empire’s new city center. The jewel of Angkor Thom is Bayon Temple, identified by its 216 stone busts of Buddha himself, though Buddha mysteriously looks just like Jayavarmin VII...curiouser and curiouser!
Ta Prohm
We moved on to Ta Prohm, locally known as “tomb raider temple”. Worth the hype. The trees, growing into stones for what seems like centuries, appear gold plated, adding to their regal nature.
We stopped at a cafe in the park for lunch, which was a ghost town. I’ve had a few severe moments of guilt and sorrow seeing so many empty tables, parking lots, airports, shops, and markets. We tip when we can and don’t really haggle out of respect for the locals.
Angkor Thom
Bayon in Angkor Thom was our mutual favorite. 360 degree faces etched in stone keep watch over visitors. As with all the other temples, we virtually had this place to ourselves, taking our time to admire the ornate stone carvings of Apsara dancers, and tessellated archways.
We visited the nearby Elephant Terrace and Baphuon Temple next. By now it was 99 degrees, and we were getting fatigued from the heat. We refueled on dollar waters and set on for our final pitstop, Phnom Bakheng at sunset (the most popular sunset spot). In its heyday, this structure was used as a platform to view victorious armies returning from battle.
Phnom Bakheng
A 300-person limit was put in place due to overcrowding (Chinese tour buses, our hotel concierge said). We hiked a kilometer up to the top of the temple, and as expected, the temple was empty. At peak time, there weren’t more than 70 people. Certainly made for a more enjoyable experience. The sun descended in the sky, and looked to me as if it were taking the stairs down. Stunning.
We would visit a few more temples the following day by bicycle. Because we are sadists.
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