Wanderings: Cycling the temples of Siem Reap

January 16, 2023

A tuk-tuk came at 4:30 to ensure arrival at Angkor Wat for the sunrise. The temple is oriented in the cardinal directions, so the sun rises directly behind the central tower on the equinoxes, when large crowds of locals come to see. Being January, the sun appeared a few degrees south of the tower.

Construction of the Angkor Wat temples began in 1121 during the reign of Khmer King Suryavarman II, and was completed by 1150. The endeavor required 100,000 people and at least 8,000 elephants to move the stones from the distant quarry, set them in place and complete the temple. The complex measures 1.3 by 1.5 kms, and is surrounded by a wide moat. The central tower rises to 65 meters (more than 200 feet).

The first level of the central temple is surrounded by detailed bas-relief scenes. The east and west sides depict the glories of the Khmer army in battle. On the south are scenes of the fates awaiting both saints and sinners in the Hindu afterlife. On the upper level, those in heaven are depicted reclining at ease. Below are those in hell facing rivers of flame and various other punishments tailored to the sins committed. At about the same time thousands of miles away, Cathedrals in Europe were being built with similar admonishing messages (1).

A guide and I cycled a few miles north to the Bayon Temple, built in the reign of Jayavarman VII, who ascended the throne in 1181 at age 55 (well past life expectancy at the time) and ruled for 39 years. He converted the country to Buddhism, repurposing Angkor Wat from Hinduism to the new religion. While the land and moat surrounding Bayon are bigger, the temple itself is smaller than Angkor Wat.

Due to war, drought and famine, the population of the Angkor region fell from about 1 million people (2) to about 100,000 inhabitants in the late 1400s. The temples surrounding Siem Reap (3) began to molder and crumble with neglect. The French colonial authorities (4) began archeological work on the temples in 1910.

Bayon temple was constructed with smaller stones than Angkor Wat, making the stones more susceptible to toppling, especially by the roots of banyan trees, which grew on the walls of the temple. Restoration work funded by the Japanese government continues here today. Work crews were high up the scaffolding surrounding a Banyan tree in preparation for the tree's removal.

The third stop on the bike tour (I was the only guest today) (5) was Ta Phrom, restoration of which began in 1994, currently funded by the Indian government. Many Banyan trees rooted in temple structures remain here. Their shallow roots reach out horizontally along the ground, and cause havoc to the stone temples.

The guide said something I did not quite undestand; I eventually realized he was saying "Angelina Jolie." Apparently, scenes from the movie Tomb Raider were filmed here. Peddling back to Angkor Wat completed the circuit of about 12 to 15 miles. I had time for a quick swim at the hotel pool before hopping into a tuk-tuk for a ride to the airport and a flight back to Thailand (6).

(1) I could not help but think of Voronets Monastery, one of the painted monasteries of southern Bukovina in Romania. While built later (in 1488), the bas-relief at Angkor Wat were reminiscent of the final judgement fresco at Voronets, with the Saints ascending to heaven, and the sinners cast into hell, with special punishments for different types of sinners.

(2) For comparison, Paris was considered the largest city in Europe in 1400. While difficult to know with certainty, Paris's population is estimated to have been about 275,000 inhabitants in 1400.

(3) The name means "Thailand defeated" in Khmer. Thailand was, until recently, also known as Siam.

(4) The French ruled the colony of Indochine, consisting of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from 1853 to 1954, except during World War II.

(5) Tourism has been slow to recover here, mainly due to strict policies keeping many potential Chinese visitors at home.

(6) Changing planes after clearing immigration at Bangkok DMK, the security guard seemed utterly perplexed by my boarding pass with said my destination was HKT, the airport code for Phuket. There are over a dozen flights a day between the 2 airports.