Angkor Diaries #1

My tour guide, Preah Khan, Angkor

 For my second time at Angkor, I decided to go alone. This turned out to be a good move, since I could explore the temples I wanted to see at my own pace and take the time to wander the outer grounds and even do some hilariously awful sketches. I tried to revisit some of my favorite spots and check out some others I'd missed before. Of the latter, my favorite is Preah Khan. From wikipedia:

[Preah Khan] was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. [During the Khmer empire, in addition to Buddha] 430 other deities also had shrines on the site, each of which received an allotment of food, clothing, perfume and even mosquito nets;[3] the temple's wealth included gold, silver, gems, 112,300 pearls and a cow with gilded horns.[4] The institution combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university: there were 97,840 attendants and servants, including 1000 dancers[5] and 1000 teachers.

Wall, from Preah Khan interior, Angkor

Despite its proximity to Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat, and its alluring 'lost in time' atmosphere, I was nearly alone for much of my time within the grounds (anyone planning to visit Angkor should explore at least one of the less popular sites, which can require a bit of wrangling with your driver or guide, since most people only want to do the traditional 'big' or 'small' loops.)

As much as I've accepted the flocks of tourists at Angkor (after all, I'm one of them) as part of the experience, when you're alone in the forest near the temple's outer walls looking in, it really does look like all those cheesy paintings you can buy in Phnom Penh: jade green canopy, perfectly still reflection pools, smiling stone faces peaking out of temple windows and piles of monumental bricks with the faintest traces of carvings still visible. And of course the odd cow or two.

Wall, from Preah Khan interior, Angkor

Unfortunately, my first reaction upon seeing the immense silk-cotton trees and lush surroundings was to think how most of Cambodia used to look this way, and what a pity... But I fought back that knee-jerk negativity. Being an expat in Cambodia means confronting the legacy of the many horrors this country and its people have endured, especially if you work in development. Constantly bemoaning the state of this and that is not helpful or particularly healthy.

Instead, I tried to remind myself what a miracle it is that Angkor complex and its forest has survived a nearly 1000 years of tumultuous history, and how lucky I am to have the opportunity to see such a spectacularly beautiful place. In my eyes, the temples are monuments to both human achievement and the beauty of nature, and I hope they never cease to awe and inspire me.