Cambodia: Siem Reap, A Threshold to an Ancient Civilization
What if the space scientists come up with a ground shaking invention of a 'life giving and emotion mapping' device for the nearby planets to Earth !!! 'Eureka'!! I'm pretty sure, one of the strong conclusions established by that wondrous device would be something like in the picture below.
Whether it is Hitler's unspeakable torture on Jews people imprisoned in poisonous gas chamber or atomic bombing by United States on Hiroshima & Nagasaki or ongoing worldwide terrorist attacks now a days. There are thousands of ruthless events have taken place (and of course still taking place) on this beautiful earth, making neighbor planets feel fortunate enough for not being inhabited by Homo sapiens. Mass execution in Cambodian civil war is one of those events when human kind showed a cruel denial to sympathy and innocence. But if you visit this 'smiling country' in recent time, the only lesson you will learn from Khmer people is 'Life should move on'.
Now & Then
No author would exist on this planet who wants to make his own writing insane boring. But dear readers, please allow me to share some basic information about this mysterious land of Cambodia. The impact of past conflicts and social disruptions was huge and was not a easy task to compensate the effects. The mass migration, refugee flow, damaged health services, human suffering, broken social structure, collapsed economy and so many other direct and indirect consequences of civil war promoted a dismantling in already weak infrastructure of Cambodia. But this is a country which turned the proverb 'past is past, let's move on' true, quite miraculously. The current picture of Cambodia is quite different. This 'smiling country' is undergoing an unusual rapid economic progress despite of vast domestic uncertainty. In this particular aspect, the tourism ministry played a big role. Presently this country attracts approximately five million foreign arrival in a year. Amazing Khemer people with friendly smiles on face, rich history, delicious food and sparkling nightlife have made the entire globe fall in love with this land.
Welcome Tourists:
A number of cheap flights are available to fly to Cambodia from India. Like most of the tourists heading to Cambodia, we preferred Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (capital city of Cambodia) for the one and only magnificent Angkor Wat Vishnu temple. You can buy a local sim at airport to stay connected with your friends and family. On this note, the amazing 3G speed and cheap rates of local and international call in Cambodia is mention worthy. On arriving hotel Sokha Angkor, the receptionists welcomed us on this magical land with a radiant smile and refreshing fruit juice. The best part I found here is, may be it's a flawed and corrupted country but the tourism department is too much tourist friendly. Specially the accommodation, transport, food are damn cheap here. If you don't have any special inclination towards multiple star rated hotels, lavish bar, pool side restaurant or luxurious suites then Cambodia is definitely going to satisfy your cost effective globe trekking passion. You can find a number of guest houses in almost every street in the city to accommodate yourself in an air conditioned room for less than 8 US $ per night with complementary breakfast and free Wi-Fi service. Isn't it amazing!! It is indeed. Cambodia is one of the cheapest countries in south east asia. There are no money saving tips to follow. So just relax, sit back and let's set the smiling land on fire.
The Angkor Wat
As I mentioned earlier, transport is quite cheap here. So you can rent a Tuk Tuk for local sightseeing. Magical, breathtaking, mesmerizing, marvelous, amazing and a huge collection of similar adjectives would definitely not be enough to describe this wondrous piece of architecture on this earth. 'Angkor Wat' means the 'temple city'. It was built as a Hindu temple by Hindu monarch Suryavarman for the Khemer empire. At the end of 12th century it was gradually converted to a Buddhist temple. However no need to mention this fact specifically. Even the dumbest creature on this earth can easily realize this after seeing the sculpture, statue, wall engravings.
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| The wondrous architectural piece |
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| Most of the Vishnu statues have been converted to Buddha Statue during conservation project |
At
each and every corner of this Asian pyramid the only and only thing
that is shining with full glory is Hindu mythology in stone carving. The
'Kurukshetra war' of Mahabharata, 'the great war of Lord Rama and his
huge monkey troupe', 'Hale and heaven', 'Vishnu conquers the demon', 'Lord
Shiva & goddess Parvati' and most popular, the mythological event
'churning of the ocean milk' have engulfed the entire stone palace.
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| Stone Carving of SHIVA-PARVATI |
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| Army of King Suryavarman |
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| Stone carving of Lord Rama & Lakhshmana |
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| Lord Rama & Hanuman in warrior posture |
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| The Battle between Sugriv & Bali |
Angkor Wat temple actually represents mount Meru- the home of Hindu Gods. The five towers situated in the center represent five peaks of mount Meru and the surrounding walls stand for the ocean around the mountain.
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| Inner gallery in Angkor Wat |
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| Bird eye view of Angkor Wat complex |
The excellent architectural pillars, gallerias, sculpture, wall engraving will leave you spellbound. The Hindu temples scattered in the entire city, magnificent mythological stone carving and the Southeast Asian Khemar art has represented a warm and stunning fusion of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Ta Prohm is just like a haunted beauty enveloped by gigantic tree routes. This temple is situated 1 Km east to Angkor Wat. Unlike most of the temples in Siem Reap this Ta Prohm has been left unmodified and almost in same condition it was found in. It makes much easier to imagine how the entire complex looked when it was rediscovered in nineteenth century.
Angkor Thom
The Angkor Thom or Bayon is another sacred destination for the foreign tourists. The rich decoration can easily compete any other temple in Siem Reap. However it is far behind Angkor Wat in terms of architectural excellency. This temple is square in shape and represents the intersection of heaven and earth. The huge stone faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara during sunrise and sunset glow in sun kissed golden ray. The mysterious smiling faces are powerful enough to hypnotize you.
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| Golden Angkor Thom temple shining in sunset |
Preah Khan
Preh Khan is situated northeast of Angkor Thom. The temple is flat in shape and beautiful set of successive rectangular galleries are really eye catching.
Preah Ko
The three statues in the front of the temple represents the white bull Nandi, who serves the mount of Shiva. This is placed 15 Km south east of main groups of temple in Angkor.
A Very Happy Khemer New Year
Luckily, I was on this smiling land when Khemer people were pretty much active to greet an welcome to a new year. So apart from temple sightseeing, I got the chance to enjoy new year eve festival. A mouth watering free buffet dinner (teamed with absolutely free drink offer) brought a big smile on every guest's face. A dance drama was performed by local Khemer artists and made every tourists shaking their bodies with music. After having dinner I stepped out the hotel leaving the new year function in the middle. My mission was just to watch local people partying in heart of the city -The Pub street. An overcrowded place, well known for sparkling night life. Police officers were too few in number to control the entire situation. Khemer people threw talcum powder, water, beer all over each other. Friendly Khemer people never show any exclusion to foreign people. We all joined them and and greeted new year with fire works, neon lights, splashing beer, joy and laughter. What an amazing intersection of an ancient and modern civilization.
The Overflowing Superiority Complex
On the very first day of arrival in Hotel Sokha Angkor, all of us noticed the gatekeeper in the lobby constantly smiling at us with his eyes full of appraisal and gratitude. We smiled back to him every time but the exact reason behind this very special smile exchange was unknown to us. We considered it as a part of their etiquette. Next day a small shuttle came to pick us up for sightseeing. A middle sized person in the shuttle introduced himself as our travel guide. The innocent smile reveled his genuine heart. We were accompanied by twelve co traveler. Two of them were from Italy, one young man and a young lady from Korea, a lovely family of five adults and one little boy from Mexico, A solo lady traveler from Singapore and an aged man from Germany. On the way to our destination of Angkor Wat all of us were requested to give a friendly introduction to each other. Our smiling travel guide asked
"Where are you from young lady?"
Me: "India."
Guide: A smiling silence for a moment ( with that very known sense of appraisal and respect in his glittering eyes)
Guide:"Your good Name?"
Me: "Saheli"
Guide: "That means good friend , right?"
Me: "Absolutely, just a little mistake Sir. Not a good friend rather just a friend. But how do you know ??" (I was surprised and utterly confused)
Guide: "We are aware of Sanskrit vocabulary. So, Indian from India or Indian from somewhere else?"
Me: "Indian from India Sir."
Guide: "Delhi or Mumbai?" ( The infectious smile was permanent at his face)
Me: "Kolkata"
Guide: "Oh!! The land of Tagore."
Me: Yes (a big smile was there on my face too). The land of Tagore, the land of Mother Teresa".
Guide: " Thanks for visiting our country Saheli. You Indian people are really nice. Humble, down to earth, friendly. You Indian people never hesitate to show respect and appreciation. We Cambodian just love Indian people."
Me: "Thank you so much for your kind words Sir. Anyway the same description is appropriate to Khemer people too."
Guide: I have a question in my mind about the Indian people. It seems like pure Indian (he meant to say Indian from India) are not that much interested in this great ancient civilization. Is it something like that?? In my 20 years of carrier I have seen very few Indians come to visit Cambodia from India. Whatever we are today, wherever we are today is just because of you Indian people. This is your very own land Saheli. Please do come here. It would be our pleasure to serve you.
Me: You are right Sir. Though our Indian culture and rituals are greatly admired by you but unfortunately, the Indian people are too busy now a days to mould themselve in western shape. My sincere thanks to you for your kind invitation. I will try my best to make Indian people aware of this ancient Indian civilaisation on the land of Cambodia" (I was blushing red. It feels so awkward when you are accompanied by twelve co-passengers with different nationalities and get a constant appreciation for being Indian.)
The above conversation is just a small piece of example how gracefully the Indian people are treated in that smiling country. The Khemer people have huge soft corner for Indian. When we reached in front of the Angkor Wat temple I and my dad became too busy to capture the seventh wonder in camera lens from every possible angle. After a while both of us noticed Mom was not nearby. After a terrifying search we discovered she has turned into a prop for photography.
The foriegn tourists (specially the asian people) were almost about to fight with each other just to click a single picture with the Indian Lady attired in a Kanjivaram saree. Some said "You are so beautiful, Indian right? How do you manage being in saree all time?" Some passed compliments like "You are the only one among the thousands of tourists here, who is looking picture perfect with this beautiful background of Hindu temple."
The funniest thing was, for most of the foreigners we Indian common tourists are much better tourist guides with huge information on Hindu mythology than the professional ones. Just loved those duck face, embarrassed Cambodian tourist guides.
Indian civilization, culture, Hinduism, Hindu mythology have entirely grasped the tourist industry in Cambodia. They adopted numerous aspects of Indian culture and religious elements. Such a vast #INDIANIZATION# is really unbelievable.
Naturally, the Cambodian people have genuine respect for Indians and I think there's nothing wrong with that. When in pagodas the Buddha is sitting on Naga like Vishnu, hundred of Cambodian people are praying in front of Shiva Lingams with their heads down and folding hands, thousand of pictures depicting Ramayana's, Mahabharata's story in stone carved temples, no one can stop you from enjoying the Superiority for being an Indian.
A Very Happy Khemer New Year
Luckily, I was on this smiling land when Khemer people were pretty much active to greet an welcome to a new year. So apart from temple sightseeing, I got the chance to enjoy new year eve festival. A mouth watering free buffet dinner (teamed with absolutely free drink offer) brought a big smile on every guest's face. A dance drama was performed by local Khemer artists and made every tourists shaking their bodies with music. After having dinner I stepped out the hotel leaving the new year function in the middle. My mission was just to watch local people partying in heart of the city -The Pub street. An overcrowded place, well known for sparkling night life. Police officers were too few in number to control the entire situation. Khemer people threw talcum powder, water, beer all over each other. Friendly Khemer people never show any exclusion to foreign people. We all joined them and and greeted new year with fire works, neon lights, splashing beer, joy and laughter. What an amazing intersection of an ancient and modern civilization.
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| Decorated Hotel Lawn on the eve of 31st December |
The Overflowing Superiority Complex
On the very first day of arrival in Hotel Sokha Angkor, all of us noticed the gatekeeper in the lobby constantly smiling at us with his eyes full of appraisal and gratitude. We smiled back to him every time but the exact reason behind this very special smile exchange was unknown to us. We considered it as a part of their etiquette. Next day a small shuttle came to pick us up for sightseeing. A middle sized person in the shuttle introduced himself as our travel guide. The innocent smile reveled his genuine heart. We were accompanied by twelve co traveler. Two of them were from Italy, one young man and a young lady from Korea, a lovely family of five adults and one little boy from Mexico, A solo lady traveler from Singapore and an aged man from Germany. On the way to our destination of Angkor Wat all of us were requested to give a friendly introduction to each other. Our smiling travel guide asked
"Where are you from young lady?"
Me: "India."
Guide: A smiling silence for a moment ( with that very known sense of appraisal and respect in his glittering eyes)
Guide:"Your good Name?"
Me: "Saheli"
Guide: "That means good friend , right?"
Me: "Absolutely, just a little mistake Sir. Not a good friend rather just a friend. But how do you know ??" (I was surprised and utterly confused)
Guide: "We are aware of Sanskrit vocabulary. So, Indian from India or Indian from somewhere else?"
Me: "Indian from India Sir."
Guide: "Delhi or Mumbai?" ( The infectious smile was permanent at his face)
Me: "Kolkata"
Guide: "Oh!! The land of Tagore."
Me: Yes (a big smile was there on my face too). The land of Tagore, the land of Mother Teresa".
Guide: " Thanks for visiting our country Saheli. You Indian people are really nice. Humble, down to earth, friendly. You Indian people never hesitate to show respect and appreciation. We Cambodian just love Indian people."
Me: "Thank you so much for your kind words Sir. Anyway the same description is appropriate to Khemer people too."
Guide: I have a question in my mind about the Indian people. It seems like pure Indian (he meant to say Indian from India) are not that much interested in this great ancient civilization. Is it something like that?? In my 20 years of carrier I have seen very few Indians come to visit Cambodia from India. Whatever we are today, wherever we are today is just because of you Indian people. This is your very own land Saheli. Please do come here. It would be our pleasure to serve you.
Me: You are right Sir. Though our Indian culture and rituals are greatly admired by you but unfortunately, the Indian people are too busy now a days to mould themselve in western shape. My sincere thanks to you for your kind invitation. I will try my best to make Indian people aware of this ancient Indian civilaisation on the land of Cambodia" (I was blushing red. It feels so awkward when you are accompanied by twelve co-passengers with different nationalities and get a constant appreciation for being Indian.)
The above conversation is just a small piece of example how gracefully the Indian people are treated in that smiling country. The Khemer people have huge soft corner for Indian. When we reached in front of the Angkor Wat temple I and my dad became too busy to capture the seventh wonder in camera lens from every possible angle. After a while both of us noticed Mom was not nearby. After a terrifying search we discovered she has turned into a prop for photography.
The foriegn tourists (specially the asian people) were almost about to fight with each other just to click a single picture with the Indian Lady attired in a Kanjivaram saree. Some said "You are so beautiful, Indian right? How do you manage being in saree all time?" Some passed compliments like "You are the only one among the thousands of tourists here, who is looking picture perfect with this beautiful background of Hindu temple."
The funniest thing was, for most of the foreigners we Indian common tourists are much better tourist guides with huge information on Hindu mythology than the professional ones. Just loved those duck face, embarrassed Cambodian tourist guides.
Indian civilization, culture, Hinduism, Hindu mythology have entirely grasped the tourist industry in Cambodia. They adopted numerous aspects of Indian culture and religious elements. Such a vast #INDIANIZATION# is really unbelievable.
 |
| Churning of the ocean milk (Samudra Manthan) |
Naturally, the Cambodian people have genuine respect for Indians and I think there's nothing wrong with that. When in pagodas the Buddha is sitting on Naga like Vishnu, hundred of Cambodian people are praying in front of Shiva Lingams with their heads down and folding hands, thousand of pictures depicting Ramayana's, Mahabharata's story in stone carved temples, no one can stop you from enjoying the Superiority for being an Indian.
& Miles to Go before I sleep-Robert Frost
Valo info !
ReplyDeleteMost of these temples were built in a span of time, the most vigorous period of temple building activity of this area being the tenth to twelfth century , interestingly , this was also the most magnificent period of temple building in India too.. Actually India had a very close cultural and commercial realtionship with Southeast Asia, from long times back. In fact, Buddhism itself assimilated into its fold the Hindu Gods, rituals.
Thank you so much for your appreciation.
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