Angkor Wat & Banteay Srei, Cambodia
To attempt just a few paragraphs on both Banteay Srei and Angkor Wat – the two most extraordinary temples in the Angkor complex – is to give oneself a punishing challenge.
We did get to soak in both temples today, starting with an early morning journey in the dark. We arrived at the Angkor Wat entrance and jostled under feeble torch light to get to a high wall that served as our observatory deck. Alas, the sunrise was obscured by clouds, but as dawn approached, the majestic air of this enormous structure was revealed and magnificent it was. We moved closer to a lotus pond where thousands of other visitors had gathered. While gentle Khmer percussive music echoed from behind massive trees, we all marveled at the temple: the towers in the shape of lotus bud rose into the blue sky. For nearly half an hour, we were all mesmerized.
Then our guides beckoned for us to approach the temples. Before entering the temples, we gathered around the guides for the history of this enormous 12th century structure, built by King Suryavarman II. The story was riveting – until a band of irresistible monkeys darted about and sent us scrambling for our cameras. Many guests forgot the temple and history for those moments, even with the repeated calls from our guides to move inside. There, we were confronted with extraordinary walls of bas-relief carvings, images of soldiers and animals in endless battle scenes. It is a stone pictorial retelling the Hindu story of the Ramayana. It is an epic story and its images took up walls and walls of the outer galleries. As we moved on the images now told the story of the Mahabharata, an even longer Hindu epic. Another gallery had carvings that depicted the story of people involved in various tasks that made up another Hindu tale: the Churning of the Sea of Milk. Mythical, grandiose, it is a telling of when gods and demons collaborated to give people a drink that gave them life.
On the second level of the temple, closer to the central towers, we walked along corridors, not knowing whether to turn to the square windows for the beautiful green scenes outside, framed perfectly by sandstones boxes, or inside, where the inner courtyards offered architectural wonders. Here and there, our paths were interrupted by nuns beckoning us with incense sticks to make offerings to the images of Buddha – although Angkor Wat is primarily a Hindu temple, it is also a reflection of the King’s adoption and devotion to Buddhism. Up and down, around and around, guests wandered around, astounded at the incredible monument, and one spoke for many of us when she said, “This is why I’ve come to Cambodia.”
After lunch, we visited a craft and artisan training school, observing how disadvantaged Cambodians are trained to work with stone, wood, lacquer and silk to come up with pieces of folk arts that carry on the traditions of centuries past.
Later in the afternoon, a long drive out of town, for another absolute surprise: it is impossible to imagine the subdued splendor of the 10th-century temple of Banteay Srei. It is small, much smaller that the rest of the structures in the famous Angkor complex. But instead of dwarfing visitors with monumental scales, Banteay Srei, or the Temple of Ladies, offers a dignified and solid tribute to the skills of the artisans and builders. Square and proportionate, it is built with pink blocks of laterite and sandstone that stand out in superb contrast to the green canopies of leaves surrounding it. “Simple astounding,” someone said. Banteay Srei also allowed us to restore the true meaning of the word “exquisite” as we contemplated the carvings around the doors and on the walls: images of royal dancers, queens and courtiers. Even the sculptures of sacred monkeys guarding temple doors and gates are refined and lovely rendered. Every inch of the walls seem to have been taken up – if not with complicated floral patterns, curving leaves and petals, there are tablets of Sanskrit writing, and dancing postures. Even without the imposing heights, complicated moats and galleries of other Khmer temples, Banteay Srei still is a stately architectural wonder – a gift that Lindblad guests will have a hard time ever forgetting.
