In search of a hidden time

Hundreds of years ago Angkor Wat was the capital of a great kingdom. As if to create a paradise on earth, the kings who led the dynasty built magnificent palaces and temples. However, through the internal struggles for power and frequent foreign invasions, the dynasty suddenly vanished without a trace. Hidden deep within the jungle, the history of that dynasty did not show its face again until the 19th century when Angkor Wat was rediscovered. Unable to conceal their amazement, people have since rushed to see the imposing yet delicate temples that proved the existence of a once flourishing kingdom. At these temples people once worshipped gods, pursued eternal happiness, or even sought to become gods themselves. We go in search of that hidden time.

Response and Acceptance

Powerful people erected buildings in the dense jungle to display their power, but nature has overthrown them all as if laughing at them. Great stones and trees vied with each other to protect their territory, but now they accept each other. They show us the wisdom of living together in harmony.

Warm yet Dignified

Wherever you turn in the Bayon, you cannot escape the gaze of Jayarvarman VII. Facing each other or partly hiding each other, these statues with their serene smiles seem to make the burdens of this complex world lighter. These mysterious constructions catch your eye for the special method by which their large and various-sized stones are attached to each other. The relief carvings that surround the first-floor hall of this temple are especially noteworthy for their detailed depiction of the lives of Cambodian people at the time.

Grandeur and Simplicity

Ton Le Sap means the “great lake,” and it is so huge that anyone would think it was a sea. The largest lake in Asia, it is home to floating villages where the lives of ordinary Cambodians can be seen. Casting their fishing nets on the yellow water and using it for their everyday needs, the people of Ton Le Sap live at one with the lake, moving around it with the migrations of the shoals and the variations of water level.

It’s a common misconception that the temple of Angkor Wat is a city or the whole archaeological site of Cambodia. Siem Reap preserves many remains of the Angkor Dynasty, among which Angkor Wat is simply the largest temple. On leaving the hotel district, you drive for ten minutes along a narrow tree-lined road to where you’d never expect to find a big temple like the one in all the photos. Then, suddenly, just past the tree-tops, there it is. Angkor Wat! All expressions of wonder seem to lose their force, and leave one speechless.

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Spirits in stone

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a man-made moat that is said to separate the world of the gods from that of humans. From the moat to Angkor Wat itself is a 540 meter-long path of worship, and at the entrance of which one is greeted by the figure of the seven-headed snake god, Naga. The spectacular view of Angkor Wat from the north moat half way along the path of worship is not to be missed.

“Angkor” is Sanskrit for “city,” while “Wat” means “temple.” Dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, the temple was built in the golden age of the Khmer Dynasty, during the reign of Suryavarman II in the 12th century, to serve as the tomb of the king himself. 30,000 artisans are said to have worked on it for 30 years. Architecturally, Angkor Wat represents the Hindu cosmology. The central tower of the wat symbolizes both the center of the universe and Mount Meru where the Hindu gods are believed to live. The other five towers represent the surrounding peaks; the outer walls are the mountain ranges that encircle the earth, and the moat is the ocean of the universe. The three floors of the building represent, in ascending order, the microscopic world, the human world, and the heavens. The slope of the stairway to the third floor is as steep as 70 degrees, and just looking at it gives you vertigo. After climbing it while clutching to the balustrade or going on all-fours, you naturally become humble in mind and body.

Another special beauty of Angkor Wat is the relief carvings on the walls of the first-floor hall, depicting the Hindu creation myth in which the good and evil gods row together on a sea of milk, churning it into an elixir of life. You’ll gasp with admiration at the way the faces of the gods and the people of old subtly change their expressions with the amount of daylight coming into the hall.

The smile of Angkor

Not far from Angkor Wat is Angkor Thom, meaning “great city.” Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries under Jayarvaraman VII, Angkor Thom is a square compound with each side measuring 3km. Within the city is Bayon, a temple consisting of 49 towers. On all four sides of all 49 towers is the carved image of who is believed to be Jayarvarman VII. Even from a great distance the Bayon catches the eye with its peculiar appearance. The inscrutable expressions of the over 200 carved faces, made of stones fitted precisely together without gaps, seem to change with the light and the angle from which they are viewed. Because of this resemblance to the Cambodian people, the enigmatic smile of the face in these statues is said to be wearing the “Khmer smile.”

Angkor Thom has four gates, one for each compass direction, as well as the “Gate of Victory” that is said to have led to the outer world. Tourists generally enter by the South Gate, which is closest to the city center. After crossing a bridge whose balustrades are carved with the faces of the good and bad gods of Hindu mythology, and passing through the South Gate with the Avalokiteswara Buddha on its head, you finally stand within the city of the legendary kingdom, Angkor Thom. A strange atmosphere swirls around this oddly-shaped gate, and you leave the stresses of the everyday world behind as a road seems to open up before you to the world of the gods and the land of history.

Man and Nature

Another temple that stands out is Ta Prohm. Before building Angkor Thom, Jayarvarman VII is said to have built this Buddhist temple for his mother. With its curious tangle of stones and trees, it is also known as the Tree Temple.

Centuries ago seeds that fell between the cracks of the temple have now grown into gigantic trees whose roots and vines are slowly overtaking and tearing the temple apart. Dotted around Ta Prohm are piles of stones lying abandoned on the ground as if surrendering themselves to this awesome force. Even with the most advanced technology, there is no way the resist the power of nature.

About 60 more archaeological sites have since been discovered in the Siem Reap area. Some temples have been preserved in nearly their original condition, while at others only the site foundations are left.

Siem Reap has no fewer than 60 sites preserving relics from the Angkor kingdom. What is even more remarkable is that most of thee remains take on a different atmosphere and appeal depending on the time of day at which they are seen. To try to master all the Angkor remains in a few days with a three-day pass in your hand is to invite embarrassment. So extensive are these remains that the Cambodians say you can’t see them all in a lifetime. The stones of Angkor Wat can only be described as miraculous, and in search of the truth that lies within them, an endless stream of people come to put together the pieces in this great jigsaw puzzle of history, mythology, and imagination.

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