Hop-skip-jump-temple!

The anticipation of seeing 12th century temples is enough to make you leave your cozy boutique hotel and step out into the 35-degree heat of Siam Reap. A short ride and 20 USD later, you’ve entered the Angkor temple fields. You drive down the perfect boulevard, and alongside on the road are people heading to the temples in tuk-tuks and mopeds. You catch glimpses of the moat and gate of Angkor Wat, but no, you cant be tempted yet. You must wait. The first stop is not the Wat. The first stop is the Angkor Thom complex. You stand outside the Angkor Thom gate and you look at it. And then you look some more. Four faces of Buddha (or maybe Vishnu?) look in all four directions, at the top of the gate. A tuft of green on the face provides a strange mix of old and new, of living and dead. I was mesmerised by these faces even before I had landed in Cambodia. Looking at the first one for real was obviously beautiful! Outside the gate are lined the ‘devs’ and ‘asuras’ on either side, parting of the churning-of-the-ocean story, an oft-repeated one in Angkor. The first temple you see is the Bayon. The temple of 54 towers, each with 4 calm, meditative, almost hynotised faces on them. You walk all around and you are awed by the bas-relief on the walls - everything from Ramayan to Apsaras. Then you step into the courtyard, all climb the steep steps to come face-to-face with Buddha and his many faces. You rest on windows, you photograph the faces, you climb stairs, you kneel at the main sanctum and you light incense. And you wonder why you suddenly feel religious, after years.
But how long can you be in Siam Reap and resist the Angkor Wat? You walk from the entrance, over the moat, to the main gate. It is hot and hotter and the walk isnt short. But the moat is blue and beautiful. You then walk from the gate to the temple. It is hot and hotter and the walk isnt short. But the grass around is green and alive. Finally, you climb to the first level of the Wat, and god, is it a sight to see. Forget the green tarpaulin covering restoration work (infact, be happy for them, ‘cause restoration is much needed here!) and forget the heat. Start walking around the galleries and absorbing the detailed relief on the walls. Dont forget to notice how clean and fresh the galleries are. The walls have Mahabharat, Ramayan, Churning of the Ocean and other reliefs. Next, you climb somewhat steep but wooden steps to the second level. So far, so good. You pant a bit, and then walk the second level. You notice buddhas in saffron at several places, and you notice a whole lot of headless statues - perhaps vishnu beheaded when buddhist took over the temples a few hundred years back? Then, you catch sight of the STEEEEEEEP steps leading up to the third and final level. They require climbing on all fours. There are holes in the stones, created for finger-holds. You bless the rock climbing course you did 6 months back, and climb halfway. You take a breather. And then you climb some more. The Jupiter worries that you might fall, but when you get to the top, you manage to convince her to complete her climb. And then you look down, and realise how far you’ve come. How high you’ve come. You are, very much, at the top of the world. You notice the apsaras on the wall, and then the guard offers to take your and Jupiter’s photo - 2 more apsaras. He goes through a lot of trouble to capture the perfect shot and almost refuses to take the money when you tip him. You make a mental note of how polite and sweet the khmer people are. You had not quite expected it.

You have to let go of Angkor Wat to head to the very famous Ta Phrom temple. Ta Phrom has a unique mix of nature and history - centuries old trees breaking through centuries old temples. It was made even more famous by the previous Lonely Planet guide of Cambodia - which showed the trees of Ta Phrom setting roots around a small temple window, on which sat an old Khmer man. The cover of Lonely Planet guide has now changed, and Ta Phrom is dire need of restoration, but the beauty still remains. The stones from the temple have been arranged on the side - sadly, they are falling faster than they can be put back. Some of the trees have been felled. You wonder how you restore such a place? Do you destroy nature or do you destroy history? Or do you let them intertwine the way to destruction together?

There is a more to do in Siam Reap... but the one thing you will never forget, is that you were standing among structures almost 1000 years old - not something you get to do very often.