The much awaited trip to Siem Reap - Part I

"People don't take trips.... trips take people" ~ John Steinbeck

Nowhere has this been more true for me than during my visit to Siem Reap.

This was a trip that I had been dreaming of and trying to plan for a long time; and since I have a husband who is least interested in art, architecture or history, and since this was definitely not a trip my 5 yr olds would enjoy, it made sense to leave the 3 boys behind at home and go on this by myself. 

The problem started when I started looking for a friend/ companion who would like to come along on this trip - each time a friend and I tried planning this trip, it fell through either mostly because we couldn't work out dates that suited both of us or in one case, because one had pangs of guilt about taking a holiday minus her husband (which was really ironic and amusing, as here I was, desperate to run off and away from the 3 men in my life on a, what is apparently in more polite terms referred to as a "mom-cation"). So after months of struggling to find a date and a partner, things fell in place when my Maa came to visit. She seemed the perfect partner given her love for travelling to places that are of historical and mythological interest; and after my dad passed away early this year, this trip seemed a good way to cheer her up as well. 

So numerous messages and calls were made to friends who had been to Siem Reap, the hotel and tickets were booked, hours were spent reading up travel sites on what temples to prioritise, an itinerary was chalked out, and finally we were off. 

What followed was 3 and a half days of sheer bliss - days spent looking at old temples, learning about their history, the myths and legends surrounding them, clicking pictures to my heart's content, long leisurely lunches followed by short afternoon siestas; and dinners spent pigging out on delectable Khmer food. 

Without further ado, here are some of the pictures from this memorable trip.
I will be breaking this trip into 2 parts - there are just too many pictures and too much information to accommodate in one post - this part will be about the temples in Angkor Wat and the famous temple of Ta Prohm. 

The first stop on our 3 day itinerary was Angkor Wat; the largest and one of the oldest existing religious monuments in the world.

Built in the 12th century; it was the first temple dedicated to Vishnu as against the temples built for Shiva by the previous kings. Today it is not just a symbol of the richness of Khmer architecture, it is also a symbol of Cambodia; is present on the national flag and is a great source of national pride.

Angkor Wat

The temple is built to represent Mount Meru, the home of the Devas (Gods), and is surrounded by a moat which is supposed to represent the ocean. It is considered an architectural wonder for its scale, grandeur, it's intricate carvings and architectural harmony.

The 7 headed Serpent King guarding the entrance to Angkor -
adly he is one of the few well preserved specimens

A close up of the carvings at the entrance

A corridor filled with carvings from the Mahabharata

Below is a statue of the 8 handed Vishnu that we came upon while trying to seek shelter from a sudden downpour.

The 8 armed Vishnu

Formerly a Hindu temple, it was subsequently converted into a Buddhist shrine when the Hindu king was succeeded by a Buddhist ruler.

A monk entering the inner sanctum

I waited for him to turn around so I could ask him to pose.
And just as I did, he smiled, handed me his iPad and asked if I could take a picture of him too

A recurring theme in the carvings at Angkor is that of Apsaras - beautiful celestial beings of air and water, who spent their time very fruitfully entertaining the Gods and tempting holy men. Apparently there are about 2000 apsaras carved in the temple of Angkor Wat alone. 

When Myth meets Reality: The dressed up Apsara charged me USD 2 to pose for this picture :)

So I decided to stick to clicking the less worldly wise ones :)

Bantaey Srey or the Citadel of Women is unarguably the most visibly stunning temple in Siem Reap. Built from rose pink sandstone, and as a shrine to Lord Shiva, it is called the Citadel of Women because of its intricate carvings; which are so delicate that they could have been made only by women!

A doorway in Bantaey Srey

A guard at the doorway to the inner sanctum of the temple at Bantaey Srey

A stunning carving of a distraught and furious Shiva carrying in his arms
the dead Parvati;while other Gods and mortals cower in fear,
terrified at the destruction his grief will unleash

Another beautiful carving of the Monkey King Sugriva fighting his brother Bali

Bantaey Samrey
A lesser known temple near the more famous and touristy Banteay Srey - I really enjoyed this one as there was hardly any other tourist around in this one.
Legend has it that it was used as a political prison during the reign of Pol Pot.

The picture below is of a Stupa containing the ashes of the King.

Ta Prohm: 
Almost anyone who has heard of Siem Reap, would recognise the sight of this broken down temple almost engulfed by gigantic trees. Thanks to Angelina Jolie and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Ta Prohm is probably the most famous of the Angkor temples today.

The temple is not as well preserved as the temples of Bantaey Srey or Angkor, having been destroyed partly by the constant wars between the Khmers and the neighbouring Chams (what is Vietnam today) and partly by the erosion caused by time and by the forest taking over. The most stunning feature of this temple is the gigantic silk-cotton trees growing out of the ruins, with trunks that seem to reach up to the skies and roots that look strong enough to destroy and overpower anything that comes in their way.

The silk cotton trees that are simultaneously destroying and holding together the structure 

Roots that seem powerful enough to overpower anything that come their way

The pictures in this post are of some of the temples we covered in our first day and a half in Siem Reap.
We also had plans of going to Kbal Spean to see the Thousand Lingas in the river bed but we had to take a raincheck on it; literally, as it involved a hike up a hill and my mother was not very confident of making it. Moreover we were were told the rains would make the path more slippery and render the lingas in the river bed, difficult to see. We decided to err on the side of comfort and left this temple for another trip to Siem Reap.

Stay tuned as part II of this post will be about the equally stunning Buddhist temples of Bayon, Baphoun and The Grand Circuit.