We were ready for the capstone event of the trip! This was the fitting way to end a journey that included the Parthenon, Delphi, Agamemnon’s palace, the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Pyramids of Giza, Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, Petra, the Royal City of Bangkok, and so many points in between.
I need to mention that we became very worried about two weeks ago, when Viking dropped off in our ship’s stateroom the updated itinerary for the Cambodia portion of the trip. It was now entitled the “Siem Reap Extension” instead of the “Angkor Wat Extension,” and all mention of Angkor Wat by name had been removed from the day-by-day activity descriptions. We were prepared to raise holy hell if we didn’t get to Angkor Wat one way or another. Our guide Mr. Muy reassured us that we had a lot of time set aside to explore the temple complex on Wednesday.
Angkor Wat
We set off from the hotel at 8:00. There had been a big monsoon downpour just before dinner the previous evening, but now the sky was brilliant blue. Good news, bad news: no rain, but it was going to be extra hot in the direct sunlight.
The bus dropped us off about 100 yards from the bridges crossing the large moat on the west side of the complex. Some members of our group opted to hire tuk-tuks to drive them up to the temple entrance. The rest of us opted to walk.
Stopping in the shade of a banyan tree at the edge of the moat, Muy explained to us that a classical Khmer Hindu “mountain temple” is built to surround a representation of Mount Meru, the mountain at the “center of the Earth” that is the home of the gods. To get to the center of the Earth, you first had to cross the ocean (the moat). We crossed via a modern floating bridge, constructed of plastic blocks filled with water. Jane said it was like walking on a waterbed.
The moat is more than 600 feet wide, 3 miles in total length, and about 10 feet deep. It was dug entirely by hand. Imagine the number of laborers needed to do that, and then to clear the land, cut and haul stone from 30 miles away, house and feed the laborers, and build the rest of this place, the largest religious complex in the world, over a period of 30 years in the beginning of the 12th century AD.
I’m likely to mess this up, but I’ll try to recall what we heard. Khmer Hindu temples are oriented to the four cardinal directions, with the main entrance almost always facing east. At Angkor Wat, the entrance faces west. No one knows why, except that it may have been intended by the king who had it built to be his funerary temple. The temple is dedicated to Vishnu, the Preserver. Vishnu is associated with the western direction, so perhaps that explains the orientation. Evidence also suggests that the towers and other features of the temple are built based on astronomical alignments.
Once having crossed the ocean, the pilgrim makes a gradual transition from the earthly to the divine. There are square rings of walls enclosing open spaces, each space higher than the previous one as you move toward the center. (This image from ancientcartography.net shows the overall layout in perspective, with west at the top.)
We crossed the first “mountain range” [the fourth enclosure] about 100 feet after crossing the moat.
People were leaving offerings to an image of Vishnu inside the entryway we crossed.
We then walked across a broad courtyard and stopped for a photo in front of one of the two ponds at the entrance to the third enclosure. A couple hundred yards later, we caught up with the rest of our group who had come via tuk-tuk.
We climbed a steep set of stone steps to reach the next level of the temple. The halls in this level contain what has been called the world’s longest linear storyline of carvings.
Floor to ceiling bas relief friezes run the entire perimeter of the inner wall of the hallway–i.e., all the way around the temple complex. They depict royal processions and scenes from Hindu mythology and epics.
Every square foot of this is a work of art. Jaw-droppingly amazing art.
One could obviously spend many lifetimes trying to examine the friezes.
But we had to move on…
The stairways became much steeper now, the closer we got to Mount Meru. (Fortunately for the visitor, wooden stairs have been added over the stone stairways, providing a gentler slope.) Only the king and his priests would have been permitted to enter these central courtyards.
Once inside the next gate, we faced the original stairways leading to the highest levels of the temple.
A group of young Cambodians in traditional costume waited for tourists to have their picture taken with them — the “Street Elmos” of the Angkor Wat area, I suppose.
We weren’t going to come this far without making the final ascent of the temple! Only 100 people are allowed at the top at one time, so guards control access by handing out a set number of cards. We waited in line in the sun for about 20 minutes before it was our turn to go up.
Even though there was a wooden stairway over the very tall stone steps, it was nonetheless a very steep climb. Fortunately, there was a sturdy handrail to help us pull ourselves up.
The view from the top was spectacular. And the breeze and shade were VERY welcome.
There was a maze of hallways and niches. Any original statuary or other items that had once been here are long gone, either looted or taken to Cambodia’s museums. Some niches contained makeshift shrines with modern decoration and offerings.
Between the axial hallways were small courtyards that offered a view of the central lotus-shaped spire representing the pinnacle of Mount Meru.
It was time to come back down…perhaps harder than going up. Look at your feet or look off to the side!
We were proud of ourselves for having made the ascent. We were also nearing dehydration, as our two water bottles were drained, and we still had a mile to walk back to the bus.
But wow, was it ever worth it!
Next entry: Closing out the Cambodia visit.