Whilst Angkor Wat gets much of the attention and plaudits from tourists, there is something enigmatic and an other-worldly quality to the Bayon, with its enormous towers ending in the most compassionate expression that you could possibly find carved into stone. After going in through the East approach, we arrive in front of the south gate. There is a huge crowd there already, particularly a group of Japanese tourists, who are quite irksome. Without wanting to be politically correct, I should point out that the Japanese and some Spanish speaking tourists are the most inconsiderate that I’ve personally come across during my travels. The Spanish speakers tend to push their way through and speak far too loudly hogging spaces. The Japanese tend to travel in huge groups, speak not a word of any other language than Japanese, appear to be oblivious to everyone around them and most selfishly keep taking photographs in front of key spots, preventing others from doing so. It’s as though if they are not there, no one will believe that they ever visited those spots. Knowing the lengths that they go to in order to remain socially included perhaps this is an area of social niceness that their sociologists and psychologists can work on. Europeans and Americans are the best, they take their snaps quickly and move on or wait until you’ve done your bit without rushing in. I’ve come across far too few people from south Asia to be really able to offer an opinion on their touring styles, but all those that I’ve come across have been polite and shy, at least outwardly so.
The morning is fresh, and there is a clear sky that displays the eery looking structure in front of me. The colour of the stones is strangely black – I’m told its latterite but this one seems to have a covering of black sandstone. I take out my new 55-300mm Nikkor lens and try and take a long distance shot which does not come out well. On second thoughts it isn’t the camera. There’s nothing attractive about the pile of black stones, dark and imposing, stacked up in front of me, which is exactly how the Bayon looks from about 500m away. As I approach the temple, perhaps as a conjurer’s trick, the temple begins to adopt its identity. Scores of the most compassionate face begin to magically appear out of the black stones until you cannot avoid them. The faces are everywhere, yet you don’t feel as though you’re caught in an intense stare as all of them have their eyes closed in the form of the meditating Buddha. There are 49 towers on the outer circle and 5 in the inner – a total of 54 which Sukun, out guide, says is the magical number of 9 which is considered auspicious in Buddhism. However each of the towers have 4 faces making it a total of 216 faces in all, again a total of 9. Is that all there is to it or do the numbers hide a deeper secret. More shall be revealed in these pages later.
Bayon's original name was Jayagiri - the Victory Peak or Victory Tower. Strangely the French who have the most atrocious pronounciation rules on this planet, could not pronounce it and so called it, the aboslutely hideously unimaginative 'Bayon'. Why? Because the temple was covered in a huge bnayan tree. So much for French creativity. Jayavarman VII had this majestic temple built in late 12th or early 13th century intending it to be a ‘Sarvadharmasthal’ or a place to embrace all the religions of the kingdom including the Islamic beliefs of the newly conquered Cham (modern Vietnam). This was rapidly consecrated as a Buddhist temple as the kings of Angkor had changed their religion from Hinduism. It was not until Jayavarman VII reconverted the state to Hinduism that the Buddha in the central tower was lowered into the well and replaced by Vishnu. This act was reciprocated in Angkor Wat when after the advent of Buddhism, Vishnu was casted out to a non-descript corner while Buddha was instated at the central place.
The best way to enjoy Bayon is to enter through the south gate (see map) and make your way to the south-east corner and the bas-relief on the 3rd enclosing wall. Then follow the corridor to the north-east section to view the scenes on 2nd enclosing wall and finally walk into the central sanctuary and climb up the stairs until you reach the roof-less top. The Bayon temple seemed to me to have three distinct levels to it and I don’t mean the Hindu cosmological levels, described elsewhere. The lowest tier is devoted to bas-reliefs and whilst these are not of the quality of Angkor wat, they are quite imposing in their own right. The second tier consists of the central sanctuary full of images of Buddha that tourists can worship to. This level also allows opportunity to take photographs of the image of Lokesvara in various manners, especially through strategically placed windows. The upper-most tier (bear in mind that the tops of the towers have been destroyed) allows a great view of the surrounding forest and Siem Reap town in a distance, as well as engage in touristy thing such as take snaps with modern day Apsaras.
Monday, 3 January 2011
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Angkor Thom: The Mahanagar
We woke up quite early today. Takshu has been quite unwell right from the beginning of the trip and today he’s feverish again. We’ve been controlling his bouts of temperature with liberal use of Paracetamol as well as Amoxycillin which I picked up just before catching the flight from Heathrow. Today is the last day of Amoxycillin and I’m slightly worried that he may have contracted that dreaded flu before leaving the UK. Anyhow, he’s a tough lad like his dad and is ready after a little tickling that makes him laugh. I’ve realized that he responds far better to laughter than to disciplined instructions. I have a wonderful breakfast which included noodles, fried rice, chopped and deep fried fish, shrimps, spring onions, coriander, fish stock, sweet-chilli sauce and palm sugar sprinkled on top. That’s the Khmer style – light, delicious and hassle-free. Ratha and Sukun were waiting for us. We first had to get photo-tickets worth $40 for a three-day pass. One day pass is $20 and a week-long pass $60. I realised soon that Angkor and its complex requires a week for a proper tour. After passing through the Angkor complex check-point, we were in front of the majestic east gate of Angkor Thom. This gate is one with a four-headed statue said to represent the benevolent Bodhisattva Lokesvara, who looks out to each cardinal direction. This was added after Bayon temple was built.
Angkor (Nakor) Thom (Great) means Megacity or Mahanagar. It was founded by Jayavarman VII in 1181 and was one of the largest cities of Khmer empire. He was a Buddhist who enforced a reversion into devout and assertive Hinduism for himself and his state, becoming destructive towards Buddhism, much as its followers had been to Hindu structures until then. It is square in size enclosed by a moat and a 8 m high wall running 3km on each side covering an area of 900 hectares. The moat is 100m wide and 5m deep. There are 4 gates 23m high on all four sides with an additional gate known as victory gate on the east. Its east gate is flanked by 54 almond-eyed devatas and round-eyed asuras (Gods and Demons respectively) each, 108 in all, churning the ocean represented by the water in the moat. Bayon the state temple of Jayavarman VII is situated in the centre of Angkor Thom. Inside the city are other important temples like Baphoun, Phimean Akas, Preah Pallilay, Preah Pithu, etc. It also has beautiful terraces of Elephants and Leper King.
The entrance is through the rainbow bridge over the moat. Its known as rainbow bridge as it connects the outside world to the inner sanctuary across the cosmic oceans. Much as a rainbow makes an ethereal connection between the viewer and his universe, so does this bridge. This symbolism permeates all Angkor’s temples, which are built on a stereotypical template derived from ancient Hinduism’s belief about how the universe was created. Legend has it that in time immemorial there was one continent only, called Jambudvipa. There were five oceans, each separated from the other by five mountain ranges until at the centre of it lay the continent. There was a divine tussle between the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) who churned the ocean by tugging and twisting a coiled serpent Naga Vasuki, which is looped around a thick protuberance with sheer sides, rounded at the tip, representing Mount Meru, a key landmark in Indian sacred geography. This tug of war is enacted in order to get Amrit, or divine nectar. Whosoever got the nectar and devoured it first was assured of control of earth. In the cosmic tug of war the demons were winning and had been able to infiltrate the team of gods, when Vishnu distracted them by turning himself into a beautiful Apsara called Mohini, allowing the Devas to turn the tables on demons and gain eternal control over Jambudvipa. This sequence, known as Samudra-manthan or churning of the sea is played out as balustrades of the road leading to the south gate. Various permutations of this narrative is depicted in Angkor wat, and other sacred places in south and south-east Asia.
Angkor (Nakor) Thom (Great) means Megacity or Mahanagar. It was founded by Jayavarman VII in 1181 and was one of the largest cities of Khmer empire. He was a Buddhist who enforced a reversion into devout and assertive Hinduism for himself and his state, becoming destructive towards Buddhism, much as its followers had been to Hindu structures until then. It is square in size enclosed by a moat and a 8 m high wall running 3km on each side covering an area of 900 hectares. The moat is 100m wide and 5m deep. There are 4 gates 23m high on all four sides with an additional gate known as victory gate on the east. Its east gate is flanked by 54 almond-eyed devatas and round-eyed asuras (Gods and Demons respectively) each, 108 in all, churning the ocean represented by the water in the moat. Bayon the state temple of Jayavarman VII is situated in the centre of Angkor Thom. Inside the city are other important temples like Baphoun, Phimean Akas, Preah Pallilay, Preah Pithu, etc. It also has beautiful terraces of Elephants and Leper King.
The entrance is through the rainbow bridge over the moat. Its known as rainbow bridge as it connects the outside world to the inner sanctuary across the cosmic oceans. Much as a rainbow makes an ethereal connection between the viewer and his universe, so does this bridge. This symbolism permeates all Angkor’s temples, which are built on a stereotypical template derived from ancient Hinduism’s belief about how the universe was created. Legend has it that in time immemorial there was one continent only, called Jambudvipa. There were five oceans, each separated from the other by five mountain ranges until at the centre of it lay the continent. There was a divine tussle between the devas (gods) and asuras (demons) who churned the ocean by tugging and twisting a coiled serpent Naga Vasuki, which is looped around a thick protuberance with sheer sides, rounded at the tip, representing Mount Meru, a key landmark in Indian sacred geography. This tug of war is enacted in order to get Amrit, or divine nectar. Whosoever got the nectar and devoured it first was assured of control of earth. In the cosmic tug of war the demons were winning and had been able to infiltrate the team of gods, when Vishnu distracted them by turning himself into a beautiful Apsara called Mohini, allowing the Devas to turn the tables on demons and gain eternal control over Jambudvipa. This sequence, known as Samudra-manthan or churning of the sea is played out as balustrades of the road leading to the south gate. Various permutations of this narrative is depicted in Angkor wat, and other sacred places in south and south-east Asia.
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Early Angkor & Rolous Group of Temples
After the earthy ox-cart trip with the smell of ox-poo fresh in my nose, having watched the driver shove the end of a stick in the anus of one to speed it up, and dig into the spine of the other with a sharp nail to slow it down, we got off to make use of more conventional and non-abusive transport. We headed off to the less famous of the temples in Siem Reap; the Rolous group. Off National Route 6, around 12 kms east of the town, this group is now named after a nearby village with the same French name. Its ancestral name was the most imposing Hariharalaya, or abode of Hari (Shive) and Hara (Vishnu), the gods of creation and destruction. These consist of the earliest monuments of the Angkor period.
I took out my guide book ‘Ancient Angkor’ by Freeman & Jacques, which Amita got for an absolute bargain from one of the vendors for $4 when book-shops were selling it for $30!! Legend has it that in the 1st century AD, warring tribes forced traders to seek alternative routes to established overland routes between China and India. These sailors landed, sailing along the coast, at Oc Eo, in the state of Funan, on Vietnam, an area populated by the Khmer, a ‘dark-skinned, curly-haired tribe who had migrated from the north’. They were called the Funan by the Chinese, a distortion of the Khmer word bnam, meaning mountain, and Oc Eo was the first capital. Chinese accounts state that the Funan were affluent, Indian-influenced Hindu society, living in wooden, stilted houses thatched with palm, speaking Khmer but writing in Sanskrit. They were able to dig canals using engineering skills learnt from Indian traders, and developed an inland port, Angkor Borei, the second capital. Accompanying the Indian traders were some Brahmins who converted Funanese to Hinduism. BY 5th century AD shrines had been built on Funan hilltops and the king began to add the suffix – varman – protected by; thus Indravarman would mean ‘protected by Indra god’.
By late 6th century AD, a northern Funan territory gained independence and were called Chenla by the Chinese. They traded with the Indonesians and before long battles erupted between the Chenla and people from Java. At this point the history becomes a little fragmented and the there is infighting for the next 200 years until miraculously Jayavarman II appears on the scene. Very little is known as to who he was and what he did but a stella inscription notes that ‘he spent time at court in Java’. In 795 AD, having brought the warring groups together, he declared himself ruler of a kingdom he called Kambujadesh and in 802 settled his capital at Phnom Kulen, north-east of Siem Reap.
Jayavarman took power northwards and the region later came to be known as Angkor. It derives from the Sanskrit word ‘Nagar’ which the Khmer called ‘Nakor’, meaning City. The French spoiled the original name to Angkor as they could not pronounce the word Nakor. Arguably the most notable aspect of Jayavarman’s rule was that the King was no longer a mortal but a devaraja, God-King. He later moved the capital to Hariharalaya from Phnom Kulen, present day Rolous, where he died in 850AD.
There are three temples in Rolous built by Indravarman I, grandson of Jayavarman II and his son Yashovarman I in late 9th century; Preah Ko and Bakong by the former between 977-899AD and Lolei by the latter (899-910AD). These three temples appear to herald a quest for building temples which afflicted all the rulers of Angkor. Every king built his own temple, some for worshipping, others as funerary temples (Angkor Wat), and yet others as royal palaces from which governance took place. There are over 1000 temples in the Angkor complex.
Preah Ko
Built in 879 by Indravarman I to honour the spirits of his ancestors, especially Jayavarman II. Entrance is through a ruined latterite gopura (from the Sanskrit word Gopuram, meaning archway). These temples were built with bricks (one brick kiln remains), while latterite is wet soil with an admixture of iron, zinc and other metals, which can be set when wet, and hardens when it comes in contact with air. It acted like concrete. The structure was covered with stucco upon which various carving were made, which are now in various states of disrepair. The sacred bull Nandi is now vandalized and after the holocaust of war and genocide of khmer rouge, much of these temples were looted and bricks taken away to build houses by the locals and corrupt wesetern art collectors. The lintels are wonderfully carved, one of the finest of Khmer art, into representations of kala, or time, that eats up everything. Most apt.
Bakong
Regarded as first of the state-temples of the Angkor period, the temple is a shrine to Shiva and is built as a pyramid. It has five sections from the outside and the pyramid is built in five levels, where Shiva sits at the top. There are elephants on terraces of each of the levels, and the top level has 12 small sandstone sanctuary towers, now empty, but home to lingas in the past. A most poignant welcome awaits visitors to this shrine. Outside the shring sit a group of physically challenged men and women who play poignant and melodic music on traditional instruments. All of them are victims of landmines left after the Vietnam war.
Lolei
The most recent is also in the worst state of disrepair. It originally stood on an artificial island in the centre of a reservoir called Indratataka (or Indra’pataka’ or Indra’s gate) baray or barrage.Its worth visiting to see the well-preserved Sanskrit inscriptions in the doorways of the rear towers, detailing the work rotas of temple servants. Lolei reveals the prototype of aspsaras, dancers to the Gods and God kings that are found on all Angkor temples. Two features stand out about these figures beautifually sculpted in stucco here that stand in contrast to later Angkor temples, especially the largest one - Angkor Wat. The physical health depicted of men and women on temple walls are much better during this period (800-900AD) than the other bigger temples (built 1100-1200AD), suggesting that there was probably a shortage of food or indeed the men and women were worked harder, probably due to rampant temple building, during the latter stages. The second aspect relates to foot position - in the Rolous group the feet are found pointing outwards,but later temples show the feet pointing in one direction, an influence of Egyptian style, according to our guide. Why, no one knows.
Finally, some of stucco work reveal scenes from Hindu epics and folklore, e.g. Demon king Ravana stealing Sita, Vishnu the sustainer, Shiva in a Nataraj pose, etc. on the pdiments above the lintens of Bakong.
I took out my guide book ‘Ancient Angkor’ by Freeman & Jacques, which Amita got for an absolute bargain from one of the vendors for $4 when book-shops were selling it for $30!! Legend has it that in the 1st century AD, warring tribes forced traders to seek alternative routes to established overland routes between China and India. These sailors landed, sailing along the coast, at Oc Eo, in the state of Funan, on Vietnam, an area populated by the Khmer, a ‘dark-skinned, curly-haired tribe who had migrated from the north’. They were called the Funan by the Chinese, a distortion of the Khmer word bnam, meaning mountain, and Oc Eo was the first capital. Chinese accounts state that the Funan were affluent, Indian-influenced Hindu society, living in wooden, stilted houses thatched with palm, speaking Khmer but writing in Sanskrit. They were able to dig canals using engineering skills learnt from Indian traders, and developed an inland port, Angkor Borei, the second capital. Accompanying the Indian traders were some Brahmins who converted Funanese to Hinduism. BY 5th century AD shrines had been built on Funan hilltops and the king began to add the suffix – varman – protected by; thus Indravarman would mean ‘protected by Indra god’.
By late 6th century AD, a northern Funan territory gained independence and were called Chenla by the Chinese. They traded with the Indonesians and before long battles erupted between the Chenla and people from Java. At this point the history becomes a little fragmented and the there is infighting for the next 200 years until miraculously Jayavarman II appears on the scene. Very little is known as to who he was and what he did but a stella inscription notes that ‘he spent time at court in Java’. In 795 AD, having brought the warring groups together, he declared himself ruler of a kingdom he called Kambujadesh and in 802 settled his capital at Phnom Kulen, north-east of Siem Reap.
Jayavarman took power northwards and the region later came to be known as Angkor. It derives from the Sanskrit word ‘Nagar’ which the Khmer called ‘Nakor’, meaning City. The French spoiled the original name to Angkor as they could not pronounce the word Nakor. Arguably the most notable aspect of Jayavarman’s rule was that the King was no longer a mortal but a devaraja, God-King. He later moved the capital to Hariharalaya from Phnom Kulen, present day Rolous, where he died in 850AD.
There are three temples in Rolous built by Indravarman I, grandson of Jayavarman II and his son Yashovarman I in late 9th century; Preah Ko and Bakong by the former between 977-899AD and Lolei by the latter (899-910AD). These three temples appear to herald a quest for building temples which afflicted all the rulers of Angkor. Every king built his own temple, some for worshipping, others as funerary temples (Angkor Wat), and yet others as royal palaces from which governance took place. There are over 1000 temples in the Angkor complex.
Preah Ko
Built in 879 by Indravarman I to honour the spirits of his ancestors, especially Jayavarman II. Entrance is through a ruined latterite gopura (from the Sanskrit word Gopuram, meaning archway). These temples were built with bricks (one brick kiln remains), while latterite is wet soil with an admixture of iron, zinc and other metals, which can be set when wet, and hardens when it comes in contact with air. It acted like concrete. The structure was covered with stucco upon which various carving were made, which are now in various states of disrepair. The sacred bull Nandi is now vandalized and after the holocaust of war and genocide of khmer rouge, much of these temples were looted and bricks taken away to build houses by the locals and corrupt wesetern art collectors. The lintels are wonderfully carved, one of the finest of Khmer art, into representations of kala, or time, that eats up everything. Most apt.
Bakong
Regarded as first of the state-temples of the Angkor period, the temple is a shrine to Shiva and is built as a pyramid. It has five sections from the outside and the pyramid is built in five levels, where Shiva sits at the top. There are elephants on terraces of each of the levels, and the top level has 12 small sandstone sanctuary towers, now empty, but home to lingas in the past. A most poignant welcome awaits visitors to this shrine. Outside the shring sit a group of physically challenged men and women who play poignant and melodic music on traditional instruments. All of them are victims of landmines left after the Vietnam war.
Lolei
The most recent is also in the worst state of disrepair. It originally stood on an artificial island in the centre of a reservoir called Indratataka (or Indra’pataka’ or Indra’s gate) baray or barrage.Its worth visiting to see the well-preserved Sanskrit inscriptions in the doorways of the rear towers, detailing the work rotas of temple servants. Lolei reveals the prototype of aspsaras, dancers to the Gods and God kings that are found on all Angkor temples. Two features stand out about these figures beautifually sculpted in stucco here that stand in contrast to later Angkor temples, especially the largest one - Angkor Wat. The physical health depicted of men and women on temple walls are much better during this period (800-900AD) than the other bigger temples (built 1100-1200AD), suggesting that there was probably a shortage of food or indeed the men and women were worked harder, probably due to rampant temple building, during the latter stages. The second aspect relates to foot position - in the Rolous group the feet are found pointing outwards,but later temples show the feet pointing in one direction, an influence of Egyptian style, according to our guide. Why, no one knows.
Finally, some of stucco work reveal scenes from Hindu epics and folklore, e.g. Demon king Ravana stealing Sita, Vishnu the sustainer, Shiva in a Nataraj pose, etc. on the pdiments above the lintens of Bakong.
Siem Reap
We were flying over Siem Reap around 1.30pm in our small Bangkok Airways Fokker plane. It looked like a town with two classes based upon the type of houses on the ground. One set of houses looked big, new with brightly colured roof tiles. The other houses were rickety wooden structures with tin roofs and on stilts. The entire area was full of rivers, streams, and large ponds which are man-made reservoirs created to support the city of Angkor. I then saw the majestic Angkor Wat and what a marvellous sight it was. Rising above the humid mists of mid-afternoon Cambodian sun, hidden until we were right above it, by the forests that had for hundreds of years veiled it from human eyes, and standing resplendent in its latterite structure was the edifice I'd wanted to see since my childhood days when I read it was the largest stone temple in the world.
We later learnt that the large modern structures were hotels catering to a million visitors who descend on Siem Reap annually on their pilgrimage to Angkor, while the others were habited by the local Khmers. Amita had cleverly got e-visas which prevented us from queuing in the stifling humid heat of the afternoon. The place was quite reminiscent of Calcutta as Khmer looked like Bengalis (Amita's observation as an objective non-Bengali) with flat faces, curly hair n swarthy colours. This was our introduction to the Khmer race - smallish, swarthy people with flat faces and much less almond slant to their eyes. It was an admixture of Negrito and Meditarranean and some Mongloid racial stocks.
The airport was tiny, much like Patna airport used to be in the seventies and eighties - where only two flights operated during the day - one to Calcutta and the other to Kathmandu. As soon as we entered it, had we exited it. There was a distinct difference between Bangkok and Siem Reap, or rather between Thai and Khmer people. Thais have been modernised and appear as self-confident people. This is perhaps due to a longish interaction with westerners and the process of acculturation that emerges out of such contact. It is also due to the country and its peoples in modern times (at least since the Burmese ransacked Ayuthaya in early 18th century AD) never been colonised by the western powers in Indo-China. There were the French in Vietnam and Cambodia and the English in Burma with the Chinese treating Laos as an outpost. Thailand acted fortuitously for its people and leaders, the buffer zone that kept two powerful forces separate - the English and the French. Cambodians on the other hand had not only been exploited by the French, who are any day a far worse colonising power than the English were, but they also endured firstly the killings in its northern reaches during the Vietnam war and therafter the Killing Fields of Khmer Rouge and the failed communist experiment of Pol Pot and his Maoist 'great leap' plan. These people were less certain, overly respectful and avoiding eye contact.
Our guide was waiting outside , a portly man who suddenly emerged from a motley crowd of tuk-tuk wallas, cabbies and other sundry people with a placard saying 'Sarkar and family'. 'Hello' he said and a mouthful of uneven teeth emerged in a broad smile. 'I'm your guide Sukun and this is your driver Ratha', pointing to a small man with no smile, who folded his hands in 'Suswasti'. He pronounced Ratha as 'Rota'. I asked if it meant a chariot in Khmer language. It did but had another meaning too - 'government', explained Sukun. We entered an ancient Mercedes people's carrier which must have been built in the 70s and seemed to be a relic of old James Bond movie. A cab drive from the airport into town is about $5 US. The Cambodians drive on the right side and we were soon moving slowly in a car with a poor air-conditioning system. It was quite evident that the car had seen better days. Its then that I noticed how few the number of cars there were on the roads. There was a motley crowd of people on tuk-tuks, the archetypal mode of transportation in south and south-east Asia, on feet and on cycles with a large carrier on the front handles, a relic of the Pol Pot days. The tuk-tuks of Siem Reap were very different from others I've seen elsewhere. These were a two-wheeled structure that was pulled around by mopeds!! These are most comfortable and airy and cost around $1-2 per person – you could squeeze in three to four people into one. A day-long trip to the Angkor temples and back would cost you anywhere around $30.
After checking in to Tara Angkor Hotel a four-star hotel newly constructed (Siem Reap has a new hotel sprining up every corner everyday of the year), we were welcomed by a wonderful drink served a wonderful way. It was palm juice in a glass with a straw made out of stem of lotus with a water lilly for garnishing. The staff were resplendent in chocholate brown dresses and the women wore a wonderful combination of shirt-top, a sarong wrapped around with a sash across their shoulders. We ate at the restaurant and having had a shower to driver away the sweat and tiredness, drove through the town.
Siem Reap is a wonderfully laid-back town, a reminder of how life was in millennia gone by. We met visitors who came and could never leave. The people are really friendly, much more so than the Thais, probably because alongside their niceness they are also quite shy and laugh embarrassingly. In fact we learnt that anger is not an emotion that they recognize and if someone shouts, they laugh, not to mock but in confusion. Strange for a people so abused by Commie lords in the seventies. The Siem Reap river flows through the town and one must definitely try out the local day and night market. Like most SE Asian towns, these are at different places. Then there’s the overpriced National Museum with entry tickets of $9 each and the Foreign Correspondents Club if you are missing European style, which we clearly weren’t. Finally, you could give the local Body massage a try – again a trade, which like in Bangkok, if almost always carried out by women. Funnily, we saw one tuk-tuk on the back of which was a poster saying ‘Body massage for men BY men. Free pick up from your hotels and free drop-offs’. Amita, who had warned me against any kind of massage, giggled and said she wouldn’t have any problems if I used the all-male one!
There are multiple eating places and my word Khmer food is absolutely gorgeous. Very little frying, lots of fermented stuff, and freshly cooked stuff on char-coal fires. The advent of gas stove has been delayed and except for hotels, no one has seen a microwave. In fact when Taksh ordered a lasagna at our 4-star hotel, the embarrassed looking manager came out after quite a while and apologized ‘Sorry sir, no lasagna, our microwave is not working today’. Our Panasonic microwave works many times a day but has not let us down in nearly 12 years of service. Alright, Mr Manager!
Later in the afternoon we took a ride on an ox-cart through the countryside. That's right - ox-cart. Its something I'd never done before despite coming from India, from where this mode of transportation arrived in Cambodia, or Kambuj kingdom as ancient India called it. It was the French who turned this into Cambodge which was distorted to Campuchea and from it Cambodia, a name that arrived only about a couple of decades ago. Due to the Indian influence, unlike other south-eastern countries, there were two oxes (rather than a single beast of burden as is the Chinese way) being yoked to a cart with large wooden wheels. Whilst this stil is visible in parts of rural India, it was surprising to see it in Cambodia. The countryside is very similar to the Bengals with lots of ponds, ducks, fish, palm trees, thatched roofs and people who are washed and clean. The facial features of the poeple could be easily found in India's north-east particularly in the state of Assam. In fact our guide Sukun said that the Khmer believe that they are the original inhabitants of an Indian state called 'Khameru'. Having established that we were Indians albeit travelling from England, he asked us if there was such a state in India. The word 'Kamrup' (ancient name for Assam) immediately sprang to mind and its quite possible that Kamrup has become distorted to Kamr and further into Khmer.
Kamrup lay just north-west of Kausambhi, ancient name for Burma.
We later learnt that the large modern structures were hotels catering to a million visitors who descend on Siem Reap annually on their pilgrimage to Angkor, while the others were habited by the local Khmers. Amita had cleverly got e-visas which prevented us from queuing in the stifling humid heat of the afternoon. The place was quite reminiscent of Calcutta as Khmer looked like Bengalis (Amita's observation as an objective non-Bengali) with flat faces, curly hair n swarthy colours. This was our introduction to the Khmer race - smallish, swarthy people with flat faces and much less almond slant to their eyes. It was an admixture of Negrito and Meditarranean and some Mongloid racial stocks.
The airport was tiny, much like Patna airport used to be in the seventies and eighties - where only two flights operated during the day - one to Calcutta and the other to Kathmandu. As soon as we entered it, had we exited it. There was a distinct difference between Bangkok and Siem Reap, or rather between Thai and Khmer people. Thais have been modernised and appear as self-confident people. This is perhaps due to a longish interaction with westerners and the process of acculturation that emerges out of such contact. It is also due to the country and its peoples in modern times (at least since the Burmese ransacked Ayuthaya in early 18th century AD) never been colonised by the western powers in Indo-China. There were the French in Vietnam and Cambodia and the English in Burma with the Chinese treating Laos as an outpost. Thailand acted fortuitously for its people and leaders, the buffer zone that kept two powerful forces separate - the English and the French. Cambodians on the other hand had not only been exploited by the French, who are any day a far worse colonising power than the English were, but they also endured firstly the killings in its northern reaches during the Vietnam war and therafter the Killing Fields of Khmer Rouge and the failed communist experiment of Pol Pot and his Maoist 'great leap' plan. These people were less certain, overly respectful and avoiding eye contact.
Our guide was waiting outside , a portly man who suddenly emerged from a motley crowd of tuk-tuk wallas, cabbies and other sundry people with a placard saying 'Sarkar and family'. 'Hello' he said and a mouthful of uneven teeth emerged in a broad smile. 'I'm your guide Sukun and this is your driver Ratha', pointing to a small man with no smile, who folded his hands in 'Suswasti'. He pronounced Ratha as 'Rota'. I asked if it meant a chariot in Khmer language. It did but had another meaning too - 'government', explained Sukun. We entered an ancient Mercedes people's carrier which must have been built in the 70s and seemed to be a relic of old James Bond movie. A cab drive from the airport into town is about $5 US. The Cambodians drive on the right side and we were soon moving slowly in a car with a poor air-conditioning system. It was quite evident that the car had seen better days. Its then that I noticed how few the number of cars there were on the roads. There was a motley crowd of people on tuk-tuks, the archetypal mode of transportation in south and south-east Asia, on feet and on cycles with a large carrier on the front handles, a relic of the Pol Pot days. The tuk-tuks of Siem Reap were very different from others I've seen elsewhere. These were a two-wheeled structure that was pulled around by mopeds!! These are most comfortable and airy and cost around $1-2 per person – you could squeeze in three to four people into one. A day-long trip to the Angkor temples and back would cost you anywhere around $30.
After checking in to Tara Angkor Hotel a four-star hotel newly constructed (Siem Reap has a new hotel sprining up every corner everyday of the year), we were welcomed by a wonderful drink served a wonderful way. It was palm juice in a glass with a straw made out of stem of lotus with a water lilly for garnishing. The staff were resplendent in chocholate brown dresses and the women wore a wonderful combination of shirt-top, a sarong wrapped around with a sash across their shoulders. We ate at the restaurant and having had a shower to driver away the sweat and tiredness, drove through the town.
Siem Reap is a wonderfully laid-back town, a reminder of how life was in millennia gone by. We met visitors who came and could never leave. The people are really friendly, much more so than the Thais, probably because alongside their niceness they are also quite shy and laugh embarrassingly. In fact we learnt that anger is not an emotion that they recognize and if someone shouts, they laugh, not to mock but in confusion. Strange for a people so abused by Commie lords in the seventies. The Siem Reap river flows through the town and one must definitely try out the local day and night market. Like most SE Asian towns, these are at different places. Then there’s the overpriced National Museum with entry tickets of $9 each and the Foreign Correspondents Club if you are missing European style, which we clearly weren’t. Finally, you could give the local Body massage a try – again a trade, which like in Bangkok, if almost always carried out by women. Funnily, we saw one tuk-tuk on the back of which was a poster saying ‘Body massage for men BY men. Free pick up from your hotels and free drop-offs’. Amita, who had warned me against any kind of massage, giggled and said she wouldn’t have any problems if I used the all-male one!
There are multiple eating places and my word Khmer food is absolutely gorgeous. Very little frying, lots of fermented stuff, and freshly cooked stuff on char-coal fires. The advent of gas stove has been delayed and except for hotels, no one has seen a microwave. In fact when Taksh ordered a lasagna at our 4-star hotel, the embarrassed looking manager came out after quite a while and apologized ‘Sorry sir, no lasagna, our microwave is not working today’. Our Panasonic microwave works many times a day but has not let us down in nearly 12 years of service. Alright, Mr Manager!
Later in the afternoon we took a ride on an ox-cart through the countryside. That's right - ox-cart. Its something I'd never done before despite coming from India, from where this mode of transportation arrived in Cambodia, or Kambuj kingdom as ancient India called it. It was the French who turned this into Cambodge which was distorted to Campuchea and from it Cambodia, a name that arrived only about a couple of decades ago. Due to the Indian influence, unlike other south-eastern countries, there were two oxes (rather than a single beast of burden as is the Chinese way) being yoked to a cart with large wooden wheels. Whilst this stil is visible in parts of rural India, it was surprising to see it in Cambodia. The countryside is very similar to the Bengals with lots of ponds, ducks, fish, palm trees, thatched roofs and people who are washed and clean. The facial features of the poeple could be easily found in India's north-east particularly in the state of Assam. In fact our guide Sukun said that the Khmer believe that they are the original inhabitants of an Indian state called 'Khameru'. Having established that we were Indians albeit travelling from England, he asked us if there was such a state in India. The word 'Kamrup' (ancient name for Assam) immediately sprang to mind and its quite possible that Kamrup has become distorted to Kamr and further into Khmer.
Kamrup lay just north-west of Kausambhi, ancient name for Burma.
Suvarnabhoomi airport: A structure worth the name
Our day started early. After checking out of the jazzy Majestic Grande (have not been able to figure out the value of an additional ‘e’ ), we headed for Suvarnabhumi airport again. This must rank as one of the engineering art de resistance amongst airports. Now, I’ve had the fortune of seeing many airports but Bangkok’s airport is in a different league altogether. As you approach the airport traveling along wide avenues, you are greeted by gilded Garudas standing on either side of the roads, with folded hands. The airport, particularly at night, is backlighted with a fluorescent shade of blue and grey. The long terminals are covered by interlacing metal clasps on some kind of industrial fabric stretched like tarpaulins. The main concourse is another masterpiece with the whole structure being held up apparently by metal wires. The airport is built like a futuristic tent in short.
As you enter it, you are welcomed by giant characters from the epic Ramayana and as you enter the main area after security check, there is the scene of ‘Samudra-manthan’, or the creation story for Hindus. The story depicted in beautifully sculpted structure is a tug of war between two forces – dark and light – that are churning the ocean floor. Much like potter’s wheel, this churning creates the highest mountain in mythic times, Mount Meru, atop which lies Lord Vishnu, a Primordial god directing the celestial play. The stark contrast created by a backdrop of modern brand names like ‘Gucci’ and Armani make the scene even more attractive.
As you enter it, you are welcomed by giant characters from the epic Ramayana and as you enter the main area after security check, there is the scene of ‘Samudra-manthan’, or the creation story for Hindus. The story depicted in beautifully sculpted structure is a tug of war between two forces – dark and light – that are churning the ocean floor. Much like potter’s wheel, this churning creates the highest mountain in mythic times, Mount Meru, atop which lies Lord Vishnu, a Primordial god directing the celestial play. The stark contrast created by a backdrop of modern brand names like ‘Gucci’ and Armani make the scene even more attractive.
Ode to a Butterfly
Dear Butterfly thank you for existing
For filling my life with hope and joy
Where do you come from undulating?
Gently fluttering with no apparent toil?
Life was grey memories dull future bleak
Drifted in with you a rainbow of colours
On wings of iridiscence and imagination
And took away my grind groans and grunts.
Days are now a stream of joyous escapade
You fill it with movement and luminiscence
But when with wings fluttering you levitate
I fear with you will fly away my happiness.
Does it never cross your mind, Oh butterfly?
Life isn't simply sun nectar and flower hedge
Nature is harsh and always takes its price
Pain infirmity death is just around the edge?
But of course!! Convoluted and contorted
Your body has survived the eternal test
In internal habitats varied beyond compare
Metamorphosed you triumph over the rest.
Vibgyor survivor is an epitome of endurance.
Traversing from inert mass to wondrous worm
You've seen and felt it all in only a single life-span
having escaped the deadly trap of the cocoon.
You've taught me the best lesson of life
Contentment isn't transient sensorial delight
We're travellers upon an eternal path
To learn how to end hunger, pain and strife
Life is to sway in motion, along points on a line
Delight simply in existence and nothing else
To harm no one, utter no sound, make no demands
Then silently depart the earthly jurisprudence.
You're my Monarch, a Jezebel, my Painted Lady
My Viceroy, Admiral, Tiger and so much more
But most of all, you're my treasure trove
of freedom, love, beauty and so much more.
For filling my life with hope and joy
Where do you come from undulating?
Gently fluttering with no apparent toil?
Life was grey memories dull future bleak
Drifted in with you a rainbow of colours
On wings of iridiscence and imagination
And took away my grind groans and grunts.
Days are now a stream of joyous escapade
You fill it with movement and luminiscence
But when with wings fluttering you levitate
I fear with you will fly away my happiness.
Does it never cross your mind, Oh butterfly?
Life isn't simply sun nectar and flower hedge
Nature is harsh and always takes its price
Pain infirmity death is just around the edge?
But of course!! Convoluted and contorted
Your body has survived the eternal test
In internal habitats varied beyond compare
Metamorphosed you triumph over the rest.
Vibgyor survivor is an epitome of endurance.
Traversing from inert mass to wondrous worm
You've seen and felt it all in only a single life-span
having escaped the deadly trap of the cocoon.
You've taught me the best lesson of life
Contentment isn't transient sensorial delight
We're travellers upon an eternal path
To learn how to end hunger, pain and strife
Life is to sway in motion, along points on a line
Delight simply in existence and nothing else
To harm no one, utter no sound, make no demands
Then silently depart the earthly jurisprudence.
You're my Monarch, a Jezebel, my Painted Lady
My Viceroy, Admiral, Tiger and so much more
But most of all, you're my treasure trove
of freedom, love, beauty and so much more.
Friday, 31 December 2010
The Eternal Time Machine: From Year to Another Year
As the Sun sets on a year
And the Moon keeps the score
It arises in another
Bringing hope, light and shadows
Turning stones into marvels
And life upon Gods
Churning the eternal Sea
Rending death upon life
To life overwhelming death.
Till it reaches the silent end
Or is it the beginning?
Happy New Year
And the Moon keeps the score
It arises in another
Bringing hope, light and shadows
Turning stones into marvels
And life upon Gods
Churning the eternal Sea
Rending death upon life
To life overwhelming death.
Till it reaches the silent end
Or is it the beginning?
Happy New Year
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)