Sacked in Angkor Wat
On my first trip to Angkor, I got fired. No, not by my boss; by my Cambodian tour guide. Before I’d left KL, a friend had assured me that a tour guide was, if not necessary, at the very least, helpful.
It appears I wasn't paying close enough attention to my guide's tales of events long past, not displaying the proper reverence he must have felt his words deserved. I tried, but it quickly became clear he wasn't going to tell me much that wasn't in the guide book. Even when he did venture into new territory, it was only to relate some minuscule detail totally out of the realm of interesting. Since we were among the ruins of what is very likely South East Asia's premier historical site, I was in no mood to be bored.
The truth is, I really only wanted him to show me a few of the lesser known temples., But tour guides are creatures of habit. No matter how much you insist you're not like every other tourist, that you truly want to find some of the more secluded and less popular monuments, tour guides will always know better. They’ve been through this a hundred times with a thousand tourists; they know what you really want, even if you don't. And let's face it, they've probably heard those same pleas for seclusion and difference at least once or twice, most likely from people who have never seen the road less travelled.
So he was right to fire me. He had to have sensed my disinterest. Even my wife was giving me those looks that said I was behaving badly. So it was no surprise when he spent a few minutes on his hand phone and then announced he had a job for next three days beginning that afternoon. Would we mind?
I did my best to look disappointed at the prospect of losing his fine expertise, but at the same time happy that he would be guaranteed work for the rest of the week, and sent him off making what I felt were sincere enough expressions of gratitude.
And then it was us and the ruins.
Located just outside the northern city of Siem Reap, there is truly nothing in Cambodia, or maybe anywhere, to compare with Angkor. Constructed during the Angkor period, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, the main area covers about 120 acres and comprises two massive temple complexes, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thorn, along with 208 smaller temples.
To give you some idea of size, in the 9th century Angkor Thorn housed one million people and was larger and more developed than any city in Europe. Even after touring Angkor Wat and Angkor Thorn for a full three hours each, much was left to be discovered. Many of the smaller temples would be large by anyone's, or any era's, standards. One worthy of special note, Ta Prohm, employed about 80,000 people simply for maintenance.
Constructed in the 12th century and left largely untouched by archaeologists, the magic of Ta Prohm comes from the fig, banyan and kapok trees that have encroached upon the long low buildings unhindered, their roots cracking and splitting the walls while at the same time tying them together to prevent further destruction.
A second noteworthy temple is Preah Khan, a 12th century Buddhist monument to which were added several Hindu shrines the following century when that was the prevailing religion. As with Ta Prohm, tremendous banyan trees tower above Preah Khan's magnificent structures, their gargantuan roots dwarfing the walls and stones below. While both Ta Prohm and Preah Khan are smaller than the monstrous Angkor Thorn and Angkor Wat, it’s easy to spend an hour or two at each.
However, if you really want to escape the crowds and experience a piece of life in the Cambodian countryside, the 63 km drive north to Banteay Chhmar Temple is outstanding. The road passes through numerous villages where you can pause for refreshments and meet locals who are not intent upon selling you something. If you're comfortable with the idea, I strongly suggest making the trip by motorbike, thereby allowing yourself the freedom to stop at will. Taxi drivers tend to have a desire to get to their destination and back again as quickly as possible.
Needless to say, even three full, eight-hour days wandering Angkor leaves plenty for another visit. With the exception of Angkor Wat, which was restored as a Buddhist shrine in the 16th century, the temples were only recently reclaimed from the jungle that had buried them. By that time, of course, most statues and jewels had been stolen by peasants who sold them for a fraction of their worth at open markets, or by archaeologists and treasure hunters.
