The Pinay Solo Backpacker

Angkor Wat is believed to be both a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and a temple to honor the Hindu deity Vishnu primarily because  it is oriented to the west  which symbolizes the death and the setting sun.  The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing in an anti-clockwise direction which is practiced in Hindu funerary rites is said to support this purpose.

Angkor Wat is a miniature replica of the universe in stone and represents an earthly model of the cosmic world.

On my 3rd day in Siem Reap, I couldn’t contain my excitement anymore, I know I have to visit  the Angkor temples. While most tourist visit the temple at sunrise with their tuktuk and tour guide, I was still  on a deep sleep.  At 7am,  I went out and rented a blue bike for $1.5  and headed to the road leading to Angkor.  Unfortunately,  I noticed dark clouds  started moving in the sky, and in a few minutes it drizzled.  I went back.  Blame it on the weather, my bed missed me that fast.  So I took a nap and woke up at 12 noon.   At that point, the intense heat of the sun is getting through my skin, but I can’t waste another day, I just wasted one, the day before.   I biked in the heat of the sun and after a few meters reached the ticket booth, I bought a 3 day ticket for $40 but I just wasted half day of it on my bed.

And while it is suggested to tourist to leave Angkor Wat as their final stop I couldn’t hold my fervor!  I planned to do the entire tour of the temples with a bike. Crazy! But it’s the cheapest way to tour the temples and you can do it in your own pace without being bothered by anyone but the kid vendors.

Biking towards Angkor from Siem Reap will just take a few minutes.  After passing by the bustling city of  Siem Reap crowded with accommodations from posh & mid-range hotels to cheap guesthouses I was like suddenly transported to a scenic and nostalgic town. I  was surrounded by huge trees and I mean really  huge trees proudly standing on orange ground!   And as I  slowly reached the dead end, I am to choose, wether I should  turn right to Banteay Srey Temple or left to Angkor Wat on what seemed like a circular road leading to the great Angkor temples with the Angkor river on it’s backdrop.  I chose left and  stopped by the river.  I love rivers, sitting on it’s bank is nostalgic and brings tears to my eyes.

No matter how much I wanna stay at the river though I know I have to use the ticket.  So I took my blue bike and started cycling towards the most famous  and the largest and best preserved monument of the Angkor group, no other than –> Angkor Wat. As I was nearing the temple, I felt what everyone felt the very 1st time they behold this architectural masterpiece. Angkor Wat is sublime. 

I  parked near the river and gazed it from afar together with some locals, I was teary-eyed.  I don’t know if it’s just the river that  has made me weep, or  it’s because I am viewing the temple by the river with some locals and children that if it weren’t for my camera that’s attracting too much attention (which I’m starting to hate!) I would’ve easily blended with them.  Or  maybe it’s the disbelief that after all this years and after all I’ve been through to get to Cambodia,  I am finally standing there.  Perhaps it’s a mixture of it all.  I  tell you oftentimes I get too emotional during my travels, especially when a beautiful place strikes me and it is contradicted by the poverty in it’s surroundings, like the poor little children that has to work at a very young age,  I just feel so useless, and that’s exactly what I felt in Cambodia.

I didn’t research well for my Cambodia tour so I have no idea what to see, except for  the famed Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat, since their photos are all over the world wide web .  I didn’t rely on a book or a map, just following where the road would lead me this time. It is suggested though that you get a Khmer guide, to learn more about the temple’s history and the best position  or spots  to take photos, but if  your a cheapskate then research before you go!  I guess my biggest mistake is not getting a map or researching about the temples first before I get there. But I guess because I am such a curious ass and I really spent time in each and every temple so I didn’t miss that much, not to mention that whenever there are tourists with guides, I listen to them. Poor me!

After my emotional encounter with Angkor Wat by the river banks, I headed to the crowded parking lot and kid vendors running from everywhere offering drinks, books, postcards and foods. I biked through the not-so-crowded part of the ground, one girl offered me Fanta which by the way is my official drink during my entire stay in Siem Reap! lol  “Buy Fanta from me and me, and my sisters will watch your bike, for $1 drink ,” said the vendor kid.  I agreed and she lead me towards the area where there “moving store”  is located.

the Khmer teen vendors

What I like about the friendly vendors in Cambodia is their after sale service. They never fail to say  thank you and convince you to come back. Well, of course, that’s my 1st encounter with Khmer kids vendors, and if you get to meet the same insistent kids in every temple, sooner or later  you will get annoyed.

I crossed the dusty road and walked towards the west gate where a long busy causeway  guarded by 2 lions  in the midst of the moat leading to a sandstone  covering the facade and full view of the centrals towers which then leads the main prang , the guards checked my pass and I heard they are really very strict when it comes to that.  I set aside my emotions and started taking pictures.  It is indeed vast! Before getting to the main temple, a lonely cross-shaped structure on the left side  caught my attention, I learned later on that it’s the so-called library, there’s a same structure on the right side of the causeway.

I went down the stairs and took  vanity photos  inside the library.    From there I saw what seemed like a man-made lake , a basin filled with water.  I have seen impressive photos online taken from that  location. I didn’t even realized until I got home and looked at the photos that from that location on the left basin, one can take a photo or view the 5 central domes as symbolized in the Cambodian flag.

I headed back to the causeway, it’s Cambodian New Year so just imagine the crowd ,the main prang of the temple is under construction, so green nets covered it. Argh!  At that point, I have 3 options, to follow the bas relief to the left, or move forward or proceed to the right.

By their beauty they first attract, by their strangeness they hold attention, Helen Churchill Candee

The bas relief  on the right caught my attention so I viewed it counterclockwise.  For me, the most amazing part of the temple aside from the view on the top of the temple  is the bas relief.   The gallery at the West  gate depicts  the  ” Battle of Kurukshetra ( a province in India)” which is the main subject of  the epic Mahabharata.

On the south gate gallery, the main subject is the Army of King Suryavarman II,where the King himself is seen standing on an elephant surrounded by his servants and Vishnu is standing on a garuda (a supernatural eagle-like being that serves as Vishnu’s mount) and the Judgment by Yama (the supreme Judge) Heaven and Hell.  It is said that this gallery  is an evidence that it was created after the King’s death.

On the East Gallery is a well-known episode in the Puranas –> Samudra manthan or Churning of the Ocean Milk which takes place during the 2nd ascent of Vishnu (when he is incarnated as a turtle Kurma). The sole purpose of this is to give rise to Amrita (the elixir of life). If you’ve been to Suvarnabhumi Airport (Bangkok) you can also see it depicted there with Vishnu in the center.

the Churning of the Ocean Milk

Unfortunately the  “Churning of the Ocean Milk” walkway & the West gate is is under construction, so tourists are instructed to walk down the stairs and proceed to the  North gate which portrays  the victory of  Krsna over Bana, the Demon King and Battle between the Gods and Demons.

I didn’t follow it, and instead walked back to the courtyard and saw a steep stairways leading to the central towers where several tourists and even monks are lined up. At that point, I was prohibited to use a tripod and had to cover my back and sleeves with a bolero.

The echo wall. If you stand at a certain part of the temple, stand with your back against the wall and strike your chest, you can hear the echo through the walls of the temple - make a wish for healing of sickness or illness in your body. Many Khmer believe in this, thus, they flock to this side of the temple to partake in this ritual. But it is said that if a person stands in your way they are breaking the magical line to the healing Buddha and it will break the echo and wont work for you.

What I like about walking on the gallery of the upper dome is the view of it’s impressive surroundings of the countryside as well as the perfect balance and grandeur of Angkor Wat.

I walked back and headed towards the North Gallery and I was struck by a walkway surrounded by trees. It feels like walking in autumn but it’s eerie as I was the only one walking there.

The path leads to another structure that is severely damaged but if you walk inside and exit it on the other side, you’ll be rewarded by a beautiful view of the river with cows relaxing on the river bank.

There’s another path leading towards I don’t really know where, but most likely to the countryside.  At that point I have to stop.  I walked back towards Angkor Wat and I realized how  magnificent it is from that view.

I spent a couple of minutes sitting on the North Side of the temple and decided to grab a drink –> Fanta, my official drink while waiting for the sun to set without realizing that the sunset can’t be viewed there! That’s what you get when you don’t have a compass or map or didn’t research about the location!

Vendors,souvenirs, foods etc are bursting in this area. I ordered food which is a long wait by the way and a sugarcane shake. We use to eat sugarcane in the province when I was a kid, so I was curious how the shake taste.

Mind you once you sit and eat on every food stalls in each and every temple, you’ll be bugged by kids selling postcards, books, bags, etc. I bought a book  about Angkor Wat for $1, it’s full of pictures only, not much to see nor read, I regret not buying the bigger book fr $5.

I  sat  with the children & waited 3 hours till sunset, I was getting bored and it’s getting dark, yet of course, sunset is nowhere.

I whispered to the sky, as I walked back to the basin on the left to take  a last keepsake of Angkor Wat.  I will forever remember that unexplainable sensation I’ve felt when I first saw you…

* The title  was derived from the profound movie “In the Mood for Love” by Kar Wai Wong. If you’ve seen it’s finale which was shot in Angkor Wat,  it features the most beautiful yet saddest ending in a love story.  Nothing, I just wanna quote it. *wink

*I wouldn’t recommend biking the entire temples though,  it is tiring and dangerous especially at night as the street gets really dark and the traffic gets heavy, I almost got into an accident twice because of  biking at night. But if you are adventurous and a cheapskate like me, then rent a tuktuk on your 1st day to visit the far temples like Bantey Srey and you can bike Angkor  Wat and the temples near it on your 2nd day, just don’t wait til it gets dark before you go back to Siem Reap.

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