The temple complex is only 8km out of Siem Reap and you can hire a bike fore $1. It seems like a great idea until the 38degree heat starts to pick up and you realise that there's next to no shade. No matter; I'm armed with 5 litres of water and some suncream so thick it's like smearing mayonnaise onto your skin.
The temple I really want to see is Ta Prohm, known informally as the 'Tomb-raider" temple after the movie that was shot there. It's a ruin choked by enourmous mangrove trees, the roots strangling the efforts of man as though the forest got annoyed at the intrusion and decided to eat it.
As I walk up the entranceway I get excited as I see my first mangrove; it's about 25 metres high and stuck in the middle of the flagstone courtyard, feeling it's spindly roots between the gaps in the stones. I get momentarily mobbed by tiny Khmer children trying to sell me magnets and postcards for a dollar. There's some restoration work going on in the centre of the complex, the scaffolding shielded by bright green nets. This work is being partly funded by the Indian government.
As with many places on the Asia tourist trail, my experience at the temples of Angkor is blighted by Chinese tourists. At the daily alms-giving to the monks in Luang Prubang, busloads of them turned up to shamelessly crowd round and photograph the monks from two feet away, reducing this traditional ceremony to a fairground spectacle.
In Ta Prohm temple they crowd around any possible photo-spot, flashing V signs and silly poses in complete ignorance of anyone trying to view the temples, trees, or waiting to grab a photo themselves. Every corner I turn there is a great horde of them crowding a particular spot; I end up having to take a roundabout route to dodge them and escape. There's no reverence in their visit or respect to their actions. It's all just a big hilarious spectacle to be photographed.
I cycle irritably to the next sight on my hitlist- Bayon. This turns out to be my favourite of the Angkor temples, and it's the only one where I am really impressed with my surroundings. Bayon is a nice mix of ruined and complete; enourmous grey faces smile enigmatically from the towers and resident bats chirp from the spires. Climbing the numerous stairs to reach the main part of the complex gives it an air of drama, and I'm happy to see some working Buddhist shrines wafting sandalwood incense from some of the corners.
Angkor Wat is famous for its completeness (despite some very obvious dodgy cement-work), and you can fully appreciate this after seeing the other ruined temples. However in terms of raw beauty, what it is missing is that stamp of nature; the green tinges of moss, the spindly decoration of trees and the pockets of intruding light that truly highlight the beauty of stone. Also the desertedness that can return the sense of reverance and dignity to what is viewed by some as merely a photo-op.
No comments:
Post a Comment