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“This one my favourite,” says Bot, my guide in Angkor, pointing to a carving on a wall at Bayon temple.
“I think the soldier getting ready for war. I think maybe he not so happy. He no choice. He poor. King say fight, he fight.
“You see they all have spear. He wear loincloth, you see his hairstyle, so you know which king he fighting for, what year.
“The people carving this in 12th century AD. But you see the detail? Even his toes, five toes, you can see!
“But yes, I think when the army marching out, the village come out to say goodbye. Then as he walking, this woman carry her pet turtle. The turtle has a very long neck. The turtle stick his neck out and bite the soldier backside.
“The soldier feel his backside pain, he turn around. Then I think he see her.
“I think their eyes instantly have electricity! He love her, she love him. You say love at first sight? Even in old Angkor have. Even in history have.
“But he must go to war. So their love only for one second.
“My feeling, I hope he win war. I hope he come back. I know if he live, she wait for him. This is love,” says Bot, with feeling.
“This not just a carving. This not just history. This story of love. Thanks to turtle!”
TEMPLES THICK & FAST
There are maybe, ohhh, a million billion temples in the larger Siem Reap area in Cambodia and I can barely even remember the names of the dozen or so I visited in the week I was there.
There are temples still overrun with vines, temples recently spruced up and ready for visitors. Temples with domes like cobs of corn, other temples with roofs like stepped padi terraces. Temples infested with tourists, temples built too steep for tourists to bother with. Temples with moats. Temples with gardens. Red temples, black temples, white temples.
There are common threads. They mostly feature some mix of the Buddhist and Hindu aesthetic. They usually feature gates facing North, South, West, but most importantly East, and at the entrance to each there is always a landmine victim with some missing limb making you feel very, very guilty that you can’t give more to everyone.
Then there are the carvings.
’Twas the era before books and blogs, so the inhabitants of ancient Angkor (the old capital of the Khmer empire) used every bit of spare wall they could find to tell their story of what life was like a thousand years ago. They chiselled with gusto and surprising flair. Here an apsara (supernatural, saucy nymphs), there a lotus flower, at one point even, very clearly, and bizarrely, one stegosaurus — go figure.
Did I get sick of temples? Honestly, maybe. You see one red clay building, you’ve seen them all. But I could never, never tire of these carvings, these bas reliefs of intricate detail and infinite variety, telling tales of wartime exploits, peacetime hijinks, mythological legend, daily life.
BACK TO REALITY
Of course, history isn’t for everyone, I realise. Most Asian tourists we came across were much more interested in getting photos taken with massive trees that sometimes rent entire walls into pieces, or mapping a path through the bits of temple with roof intact so they don’t get sunburnt.
No problem. Siem Reap, gateway to Angkor, is eminently tourist friendly (as you will be able to tell by the massive crowds).
There are elephant rides to be had, helicopter rides, spa visits. Shopping should entertain you most evenings, thanks to Made in Cambodia branded goods finding their way to the local market shelves. The food downtown is very decent, while some hotels are world class. Raffles has a branch.
If you have a week, there’s no excuse. There aren’t too many destinations where you can revisit history while never sacrificing comfort, all fairly cheaply too.
And I haven’t even mentioned Angkor Wat yet. - TODAY/sh
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