Temple Heaven: Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, Cambodia

One hour's flight from Bangkok, Siem Reap is famous for being the place where Angelina Jolie made the film "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider," fell in love with Cambodia, and adopted a child!

It's also the location of Hindu and Buddhist temples from the 9th to the 12th centuries made mostly of sandstone and in various stages of preservation.  The damp climate, wars, and looting haven't helped but here and there amidst the ruin and erosion, you can see the most delicate carvings of apsaras (heavenly beings - female), devas (gods), and nagas (serpents) as well as scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata (Hindu epics).

Largest Temple Complex

Angkor Wat is the world's largest temple complex.  Built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, it was the capital of the Khmer empire which at its peak controlled large parts of Southeast Asia from modern day Thailand to Vietnam.  

Angkor Wat means temple city.  The word "angkor" is from Sanskrit ("nokor" or "nagar" meaning city) and "wat" is Khmer from Pali meaning temple.  To reach the innermost tower, you need to climb more than 40 steep wooden steps.

After trudging up the 11th or 12th set of steps - some with no railing - I had a bit of temple burnout.   The heat and humidity were killing but at least it didn't rain all the time as in Bangkok.

Influence of India 

From the 8th or 9th century onwards, India had a huge impact throughout Southeast Asia (not only on religion with the export of Hinduism and Mahayana or classical Buddhism) but also on culture, art, government, law, and science.  Angkor's architecture is Dravidian with influences from the Indian Chola period.  There is evidence that the Angkorians of  Khambujadesha traded with India and China. 

But there is little Indian Influence today.  Hinduism has almost completely died out in Cambodia as it has throughout the region (except for Bali, Indonesia) and been replaced by Theravada Buddhism (a more conservative form) from Sri Lanka, as well as ancestor-spirit worship.

The practice of Buddhism in Southeast Asia is very different from India. The rituals are less somber than India but most surprising is the fact that Buddhists in the region are carnivores - whereas in India Buddhism is vegetarianism incarnate!  The religion inculcates the practice of "ahimsa" or non-violence to all life (not just human life).  Ahimsa is considered central to the Buddhist faith in India and is viewed by some as vegetarianism taken to extremes!  Imagine my shock then when I first visited Nepal many years ago and found that both Buddhists and Hindus ate meat!  It was the same in Thailand and Sri Lanka as well as in Vietnam and Cambodia.  In Nepal it was explained to me by a journalist many years ago; he said that buffalo is the cheapest available protein so why would anyone deprive themselves?  

Hinduism as practiced by the Khmers was also unique.  The temple of Angkor was said to be the tomb of the king.  Other temples in Siem Reap have cremation chambers on either side of the main temple.  

Libraries (built to house sacred texts) are an integral part of each temple complex in Siem Reap - also not something you would normally associate with a Hindu temple in India.

Back to Angelina Jolie

Angkor Wat is relatively well preserved because the surrounding moat kept the encroaching forest at bay.  The ever-creeping jungle was the reason that many other temples in the area were less fortunate. 

The temple of Ta Prohm, once a Mahayana monastery and university, is where Lara Croft was filmed.  Huge spreading trees and roots grow out of the ruins of the temple lending it  a romantic other-worldly ambience.  The Archaeological Survey of India is helping restore Ta Prohm but is forbidden to touch the roots.  

Angkor Wat is a World Heritage site and many countries have been involved in the UNESCO-sponsored restoration of temples in the larger  Siem Reap area: besides India and France, the U.S., Japan, Germany, and China are also financing millions of dollars worth of repair.

Interesting factoid: the French visitor Henri Mouhot whose writings made Angkor Wat popular in France and throughout Europe in the mid-19th century, thought the temple dated back to the Roman period!  For the Khmers to have built it was beyond belief!  

Giant Faces

If you remember seeing pictures of smiling giant heads from Cambodia, those are from the temple of Bayon built by Jayavarman VII in the city of Angkor Thom which is close to the Angkor Wat complex and accessed by a massive gopuram (gateway) with naga balustrades - one side decorated with gods and the other with asuras (demons).  The massive stone faces in the temple - about 200 but most are in ruins - represent the king.  They could also be Avalokiteswara, the Bodhisattva who carries a lotus.  (As opposed to the Buddha, Bodhisattvas are beings who haven't yet attained complete enlightenment - they help others to do so.)

Jayavarman VII was Buddhist but like previous Khmer Hindu monarchs (who saw themselves as one with Shiva) he regarded  himself as a "devaraja" or god king and identified with the Buddha or Bodhisattva.  

History

The country is part of the former French Indo-China (Indochine) which included Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  Interesting fact: the French acquired control of Cambodia (Cambodge) because they were "invited" to do so by the Cambodians who were tired of constant invasions by the Siamese in the west and the Vietnamese in the east.  

Cambodia has been independent since 1953 but has experienced much violence since.  The genocidal Khmer Rouge (the communist party) took over the country in the mid-70s and was responsible for the deaths of more than two million people.  Another tragic result of that war was the number of people hurt by exploding land mines.  Today Cambodia has a higher percentage of amputees than any other country.

You see amputees everywhere.  They are often musicians playing traditional Khmer music.  They don't solicit (unlike the pesky children trying to sell you postcards and trinkets).  Instead they play their instruments for passersby and are grateful for a few dollars.

Speaking of dollars I was surprised to see that it is the accepted currency everywhere.  The Cambodian currency (4K riel to $1) is rarely seen.  Even ATMs spew out U.S. dollars! 

The majority of the Khmer people live in villages and work as rice farmers or fishermen.  They speak the Khmer language.  The script is derived from the Pallava script of southern India.

French Culture

As in Vietnam, the French language and culture have almost totally disappeared despite their presence for 80 or so years and their efforts to preserve Angkor Wat - although you do see some vestiges of French colonial architecture.  The main Western influence is American!  

There was more French culture in Pondicherry in India and even that was dwarfed by the more dominant Tamil and Bengali (Aurobindo Ashram) influences.  

There is one thing though. They like eating frogs - maybe they got that from the French!  My guide very proudly told me that unlike the Vietnamese who ate dogs and snakes, the Cambodians were more picky although the poor would eat any form of protein, such as, crickets, locusts, even rats!

Did I say that Hinduism as a religion has nearly vanished?  Well, it is still a large part of Southeast Asian culture - dance-drama, art, puppetry and so forth where stories are sourced directly from the Ramayana.  We saw a Hanuman dance on the cruise in Bangkok.  Classical Cambodian dance themes also come from the Hindu epics as do Balinese (from Indonesia) and Sri Lankan.

Ludi.

Siem Reap, Cambodia
September 29 to October 4, 2012

Pictures and Text from my iPad

Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom