Let’s talk temples. Siem Reap, Cambodia is home to the Angkor temples. You have probably heard of Angkor Wat. If you haven’t… how’s that rock you live under? I kid, I kid! Uninformed tourist that I am, I did not realize that Angkor Wat is just one temple. It is the most famous, largest, and most recognizable, but it is only one single temple. Coincidentally it was also the first stop on a full day temple tour.
Carl and I took a tuk-tuk (otherwise known as a rickshaw- a motorbike pulling a covered, two wheeled seating area) from the Siem Reap international airport to our hostel upon arrival. Our driver was a very nice guy with great English who offered to be our tour guide to the temples the following day. The Angkor temples were the only reason I came to Siem Reap, and I wanted to make sure that I got to see them as soon as possible. We agreed to meet our driver the next morning and pay him $15 (!) to be our personal driver for the day. Important side note: Siem Reap basically runs off of US dollars, something I did not know beforehand. Thankfully I brought a bit of US cash with me and didn’t have to borrow from the Bank of Carl.
I really wanted to get up early enough to see the sun rise over the temples, but, after checking the weather forecast, it seemed like the threat of rain was all but certain. We awoke around 8 AM to clear, blue skies. Saddened that I did not have a time turner, I chose to believe that it was raining at sunrise and that it only cleared up after. Our driver (actually a different guy- something that did not surprise us) showed up right on time. There was a Frenchman named Silvan in the lobby area at the time of our departure who was keen on seeing the temples too. He joined us in the tuk-tuk with a bag of baguettes, and we set off. Nah, just joking about the baguettes.
The temples are all located within a UNESCO world heritage site and there is an entrance fee covering the entire area. One, two, and three day passes are available, but we just got the one day. There are over 1,000 ruins and temples within the site, but the most famous and best preserved ones are along two loops- a short loop and a long loop. The long loop is appropriately named The Grand Tour. Both loops begin at Angkor Wat and then proceed clockwise, with the longer loop covering a handful more temples than the short loop. Since Carl and I only planned to visit temples for one day, we wanted to make sure we got the most out of the day and chose to do the long loop. How could we pass on the name The Grand Tour? However, we requested to do the loop in reverse order. The most famous lookout spot for sunset is close to the beginning of the loop, but not the end. By doing the loop in reverse order we would be able to maximize our time at each temple and end our tour at the sunset stop.
Angkor Wat was impressive. The quantity of stone used in the building is staggering! We had a hard time picturing the laborers building such intricate structures out of such heavy rocks. The construction of the temple is a feat in itself, but the interior of the temple featured even more craftsmanship. Every wall and surface on the interior was covered in detailed carvings. Some of the carvings were mere patterns, and some of the carvings depicted scenes from history, like battles. They were all done with exquisite care and it was hard to believe that they had all been done by hand. The downside to Angkor Wat was that, being the most famous temple, it was flooded with tourists. There were people representing every nationality climbing around taking photos with selfie sticks. Carl and I developed a mantra: no selfie sticks. I understand the appeal, but they sure do get in the way of other people. And they make you look silly.
We chose not to hire a guide for Angkor Wat. On the ride over we did some reading about the temple’s history and felt knowledgeable enough to pass on the guide. It also didn’t help that one of the people that approached us offering guide services said something that we knew was factually inaccurate since we had just finished reading the temple’s history. I felt like I was living out that scene in Slumdog Millionaire. A word of business advice: if your business revolves around historical facts, check your facts! After spending over an hour wandering through Angkor Wat’s vast interior we met up with our driver and continued on our tour.
The tour took us past a variety of different temples. Two of the temples were very similar. They were both contained in a relatively small, square area, and built like pyramids. There were steps fit for a giant leading to the top. The main difference between these two was that one had large elephant statues. One of the larger temples was built like a cross. One of the main hallways of this temple stretched north to south, and one stretched east to west. The meeting point of the two hallways was home to an elaborate tomb. Ta Prohm, or the Tomb Raider Temple, was featured in Angelina Jolie’s film Tomb Raider. It was one of the most visually appealing temples because it was so overgrown. The jungle crept into every available crack in the stone, and towering trees sat on top of the temple’s crumbling roof.
By the end of the day we had seen close to a dozen different ruins. Sunset ended up being a bust. While we did make it to the lookout spot, the sun was completely obscured by ominous, dark rainclouds. My Spidey-sense was tingling so we left just before the sun went down completely, and found shelter mere seconds before a downpour. So far on this trip I have been a boss at avoiding rain, which is good because I lost my raincoat in Bangkok. I had it folded up so small in my pocket that I didn’t notice when it fell out.
We had a lot of thoughts about the temples after seeing them. They were all astounding in both size and craftsmanship, especially when considering how long ago they were constructed. Many of them have undergone rebuilding or conservation efforts, which we actually found quite interesting. There were signs at the entrances to various temples that gave an overview of the international collaboration taking place between Cambodia, India, Japan, and other countries to faithfully restore the temples. Some were open to the public but were deliberately being minimally restored in order to show the power of nature when left unchecked.
The restoration was very impressive, but while walking around we could tell that in its current form it will not be enough to preserve the temples forever. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists climbing over ancient stones and rubbing the walls. It did not take much imagination to realize that the current form of mostly unchecked tourism will lead to degradation and destruction. Carl, Silvan, and I discussed this problem, but did not have much of a solution. Short of barring entrance to the temples, we couldn’t figure out a great solution to slowing down the decay. When we got back from the tour I was interested to read that this is a known problem. The tourism industry is growing faster than expected, and the group overseeing the temples does not know how to appropriately limit it.
Our favorite temples were the ones furthest from Angkor Wat. They were quieter and emptier. We could picture the tranquility they must have had when they were newly built. We could imagine families walking through the arching hallways and children running through the expansive courtyards. Silvan went on to do a second day tour of temples that were even more remote, and he reported that they were even more impressive. Carl and I were tired from the extremely full day of walking around (over 12 miles), and by the end of the day the stones seemed to blend together. We opted out of a second day, but felt satisfied with the 10 hours of exploration that we did have.
Our next two days were also quite enjoyable. We made friends with a couple from the Netherlands, two Australians, and an English woman, among others. Shout out to Tim, Ocean, Glenn, Sara, Jess, and, of course, Silvan! Carl won a free pass to a zipline, so one day was spent ziplining through the Cambodian jungle (my first zipline!). But, above all, this trip was for Angkor, so I will leave it at that.