The Splendor of Angkor's Empire

A"spong" tree at Ta Prohm

Dawn Rooney has written the definitive guidebook for the Angkor temples, (A Guide to Angkor, Passport Books, 1994, 1997), and in it she advises visitors to Ta Prohm to hire a guide or "bring a compass" to avoid getting lost.

As far as I'm concerned, any ruin that requires a compass is an automatic must-see.

After Angkor was abandoned, the temples were unkempt for over 400 years, and the jungle very nearly consumed them. Now, restoration teams have cleared away the encroaching vegetation at most of the temples, but a few, including Ta Prohm, were deliberately left as they were found.

At Ta Prohm, gigantic Banyon-like trees known as "spongs" grow literally on top of the structures, their heavy roots draped over the walls like the tentacles of an enormous octopus. Strangler fig trees, and lichen of every color, join in the work of dismantling the temple. Heaps of fallen, jumbled stones are evidence of the plants' quiet, persistent success.

But the jungle has not won out entirely, and most of Ta Prohm is still standing. It is a massive temple, and extremely complex, with nearly 600 rooms, 39 towers, and innumerable corridors and covered breezeways.

You can spend hours exploring Ta Prohm, weaving through its dim passages, clambering over collapsed archways, squeezing through half-blocked doors into rooms littered with the remnants of stone Buddhas. The early morning is a great time to visit, when Ta Prohm is empty and eerily quiet. But be sure to return one day in the afternoon, when the colors are more vivid, the trees more alert, and the passageways not quite so dark!

Banteay Srei

At a mere fifty meters square, the central structure of Banteay Srei has nothing of the awesome enormity of Angkor Wat or Ta Prohm. And lying as it does, twenty-five kilometers out of Siem Riep, a lot of Angkor-goers are tempted to pass it by, especially if they're on a tight schedule.

Big mistake. It is quite a sight, making up for any deficiency in size with its deep red hues and exquisite sandstone carvings. Nearly every surface is carved in stunning detail, and you'll find yourself snapping photos at every turn.

Built in the middle of the tenth century, Banteay Srei is among oldest of the Angkor temples, and best illustrates the creative and spiritual influence that India exerted on early Khmer society.

As for the trip out there, it's half the fun. You'll have to pay your driver a bit extra because of the distance and the poor condition of the road, but the ride is beautiful and makes arriving at Banteay Srei all the more anticipated.

It takes an hour and a half, and you pass by rice fields dotted with water buffaloes and men and women up to their thighs in water, and through villages where a friendly wave will be returned with wild enthusiasm by all the children.

Phnom Bakheng

Dawn Rooney's guide book is dotted with descriptions penned by early Angkor explorers, most in that jolly-old-chap style ` la BBC nature films.

One such selection comes from the succinctly titled Cambodian Glory, the Mystery of the Deserted Khmer Cities and their Vanquished Splendour, and a Discription of Life in Cambodia Today (Thorton Butterwort: London, 1936), in which author H.W. Ponder describes sunrise from Phnom Bakeng:

"And then, as the light strengthens, to the southeast, the tremendous towers of Angkor Wat push their black mass above the grey-green monotony of foliage, and there comes a reflected gleam from a corner of the moat not yet overgrown with weeds. But of the huge city whose walls are almost at our feet, and all of the other great piles scattered far and near over the immense plain that surrounds you, not a vestige is seen. There must surely be enchantment in a forest that knows how to keep such enormous secrets from the all-seeing eye of the sun?"

Enchanted or not, Ponder is right: built on the highest hill around, the view from Phnom Bakheng is gorgeous, especially at sunrise and sunset. The temple itself is small, but quite nice, using terraces built into the hillside to give it a very tall appearance. It is a technique used in a number of the temples at Angkor, including Angkor Wat. At Phnom Bakeng, the effect is most visible from the back.

Phnom Bakheng's lofty location also makes it a great place to put an 80 foot radio antenna, which, unfortunately, the Cambodians have done. It's a bit jarring at first, but not overly so.

Phnom Bakeng should be either your day's first or last stop. The colors at sunset are more stunning, and the view of Ankor Wat more illuminated, but then again, sunrise at the Temple on the Hill is considerably less crowded.