Angkor: Jewel in the Crown of Cambodia

One small conversation will sometimes nudge us toward something big. During a party while chatting with friends about the typical places that we expats tend to visit (Thailand, etc.), I met someone on holiday from Cambodia. Working there for some time and teaching English, she focused mostly on helping with community development. Her description of daily life really captivated me.In comparison to Korea, she said, “This country is easy. Down there is a country where people still understand life, which sometimes involves doing without.” That conversation really stuck with me. This person really is doing something in a place where help is needed, I thought to myself. Some of us come to Korea to enjoy an easy life and take certain things for granted. For example, what would some of us do without our easily acquired electronics and the planet’s fastest internet connection?I kept digging into Cambodia. Further conversations and readings led me to the storied Khmer Empire, which ruled much of Southeast Asia through the15th century. Amid lots of recent speculation and hypothesizing, nobody really knows what happened to the Khmer Empire. The empire’s vast collection of temples were re-discovered by a French archaeologist at the beginning of the20th century and led to a new wave of interest in the Khmer. A temple restoration effort commenced but stopped in the 1960s. The rising turmoil in the region and eventual civil war that tore the country apart forced the work to cease.

Nevertheless, my interest lay in exploring the region’s glory days. Getting to Angkor entails going through Siem Reap, a city in Cambodia’s northwest. After passing through customs, we departed in a tuktuk with “Mr. Jim” and drove through the city on the way to our room. Siem Reap is an interesting place. It is a place full of character and has many things to do for travelers who might be “templed out” from Angkor. Standing in at around 150,000 people, the city heavily depends on tourists from Asia and elsewhere that come to see the Khmer ruins each year.
In order to get around for the duration of our stay, my fiancé and I asked Jim to “take us around Angkor for a few days” and showed him a map of the place. Being an experienced tour guide and having a strong command of English, Jim offered to drive us to the “important” stops of Angkor. The former Khmer capital is huge and requires lots of road travel to get around. We barely scratched the surface, but after 15 hours  and over two days driving around Angkor, we visited 13 temples in all. Here are some highlights:

 Banteay Srei

Banteay Srei is known as the “Temple of Women” and is a beautiful place. Construction here began in 967 A.D. and it is thought to be the only Angkor temple not commissioned by a king. Thanks to the absolutely vibrant colors and structures within this complex, it is commonly known as the “jewel in the crown of Angkor art.”

 Kbal Spean

Reaching Kbal Spean was a long but worthwhile journey. Situated 50 kilometers northeast of Angkor, it is aptly referred to as the “River of 1,000 Lingas”. These stone carvings (Linga) that appear in the water are everywhere at Kbal Spean. Each Linga represents Shiva, whose importance cannot be understated in Hindu traditions. The last photo on the right represents a “Linga-Yoni,” said to combine the forces of Shiva (Linga) and the goddess Shakti (Yoni).

 Preah Khan

This was the last temple we visited on our first day at Angkor. Preah Khan was one of many 12th century temples built for Jayavarman VII. Known for its maze of corridors, this complex’s massive size certainly suggests its importance within the Khmer Empire.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world. First built as a Hindu temple in the 12th century during the reign of Khmer King Suryavarman II, it was eventually converted to Theravada Buddhism. This site is also noted for combining two Khmer architecture plans: The “temple mountain” and the “galleried temple.” If you are visiting Angkor but do not want to travel to the many temples in the area, this is definitely the one you should see. Words cannot fully describe this temple complex, but the words “awe-inspiring” or “breathtaking” come close.

Bayon

Close to Angkor Wat, Bayon is a temple in the center of Angkor Thom (the last and most enduring Khmer capital). It was originally built as a Mahayana Buddhist Temple during the reign of King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th — early 13th century. Over time, Hindu and Theravada Buddhist Khmer Kings modified the temple accordingly. The main attractions here are the many stone faces found on site.

Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm was built in the late 13th century and is located two kilometers east of Angkor Thom. It was founded as Mahayana Buddhist Temple and University during the reign of Khmer King Jayavarman VII. It is famous for the dominance of nature over it and also gained fame for its appearance in the filming of Tomb Raider.

Conclusion 

Ah, if only we could have stayed for more time in Siem Reap and especially Angkor. Even at the time of writing, I am longing for more time to walk around Angkor. It was a sad moment when we left Cambodia. The people have such big smiles that they use often, and everybody I encountered was full of hope and happiness. Though I did not include any people in the photos shared here, this trip was in fact about the people. It is about the greatness that these people once enjoyed and will hopefully see again in the future. Cambodia is on the rise and the increased commercial development that is taking place may change people’s attitudes as more tourists come calling. Regardless, I will always fondly remember Siem Reap and Angkor, and I’m certainly looking forward to going back.