Nowhere to hide : The Faces of the Bayon ...

At the height of its power, the Khmer megacity of Angkor Thom (now in modern day Cambodia) had a population of close to 1 million people. At the very heart of this once sprawling city, lies probably the most enigmatic temple in the Angkor region - people call it the Bayon and its the legacy of the greatest Khmer God Kings - Jayavarnam VII. Atop the temple are 54 stone towers with faces on four sides and is the most famous of all the monuments after the Angkor Wat. Its fame makes it very popular amongst the tourists and by mid-morning, it is invaded by an almost uncountable number of tourists. To get a shot with the more popular and intact faces, you might have to wait in queues!
I had great expectations from Bayon but all the hope and awe vanished as soon as we reached the entrance. This was what I saw ...

This is just a fraction of the crowd. The bas reliefs at the ground floor probably has less soldiers than the number of tourists trying to take a picture with them. But the real circus is on the top floor which houses the towers with the faces. With almost a continuous flow of people into the photo frame, it is almost impossible to take a decent picture of the faces. There are all kinds of tourists ...
Some in red shorts walking busily past a group of locals ...

... with stupid faces! ...
... and green shirts and sandals ...
However, sometimes the presence of people opens up interesting photo opportunities like the one below - the old couple trying to escape the scorching heat by taking shelter in one of the chambers.

But however popular the temple maybe, there are always corners which are free of people and provides interesting shots.After the first visit to the Bayon, I realised that we were there in the wrong time. So the next day, we decided to go to there right after sunrise, when most of the people head back to the restaurants and hotel for breakfast. It turned out to be a good decision and we were rewarded by the view below.


The previous day, this place was crawling with tourists and now it stands bereft of human presence. Things looked auspicious and encouraging. Once on the top level, I was amazed to see the place totally empty - not even a single soul other than me. I walked clicking away with great enthusiasm and with each step I noticed details that I had missed in the crowd and confusion of the previous day. But the light hearted cheerfulness soon disappeared ...
I realised that I'm not the only person around. The only sound was that of leaves rustling in the wind and an occasional bird chirping. Though there was no footsteps around, I could feel the presence of a large number of people around me. I turned around but there was no body. I looked through the corner of my eyes - the only shadows were that of my own and the temple walls. Suddenly my eyes fell on a smile - a gentle, charming and blissful smile, yet hauntingly enigmatic and unnerving. His eyes were closed and yet I felt as if he could see everything and read my thoughts. All around me the lifeless stone towers came alive ...
They were everywhere ... in the front looming large and ominous ...
... behind me with one face lit up by the sun and the other faces in shadow ...
I stood motionless, transfixed by the benevolent smile and yet the hairs on my arms stood up and I felt a chill down my spine. The world fell silent and yet all the faces were communicating with each other and with me. It must have been just a couple of seconds, at most a minute maybe, but standing in between the faces on the towers, I felt totally naked - there was nowhere to hide, nothing to conceal.
My spell was broken by the sound of footsteps - real ones this time. A tourist in a faded blue T-shirt, walked into the compound through the door. He also had that lost and confused look on his face. Maybe he was also hypnotised by the all-seeing faces!
We smiled at each other - probably realising that we were in very similar situation a few moments earlier and started clicking again. It is widely believed that the faces on the tower are that of Jayavarman VII in form the Buddha. Its a look of serenity, spirituality and peace and yet so powerful that it can exert complete control on you without uttering a word or making a sound.
That few moments of hypnotised solitude atop the Bayon is probably one of the most dramatic experiences of my life - the view of Angkor Wat at the first light of dawn, though impressive, doesn't come close to this one. I think the one that comes closest is the scorching afternoon in the mazes and corridors of Preah Khan.
That was our last day in Siem Reap and I left the place contented. I realised that sometimes the most rewarding experiences come not with victory but with surrender. That day, I surrendered myself to faces of the Bayon and felt remarkably peaceful and happy. It was as relaxing as immersing yourself in a cold spring on a scorching day, as soothing as the smell of the first rain and as relaxing as falling into a deep sleep after many days of hard work.
A few minutes later, I came out of the Bayon and joined Ivan and Dima on our journey to Ta Phrom. That was the last we saw the Bayon. We went out of Angkor Thom through the Eastern gate. The gate like all other of its gates was a four headed one. As we moved away, I looked back at the faces ... they were still smiling with their eyes closed. They were no longer intimidating - I didn't feel sad for leaving such an amazing place behind but happy at the fact that I came back for a one-on-one encounter with the faces. It was an amazing and graceful farewell ... I smiled back at them - a subtle and faint smile but a true smile and gently closed my eyes as the faces faded away from view.

Sand, Surf and the Sun ...

Sitting by the waterfront on cane chairs, looking at the sun as it gradually goes down behind the sea, the gentle waves on the white sand and beer for $0.50! As the light fades, a cool breeze begins to blow and soothes our scorched bodies and aching muscles. After the intense temple-hopping in Siem Reap, waking up everyday when the stars are still bright and the weather cool, we are now in the Southern coast of Cambodia in the town of Sihanoukville. In a few hours we'll leave this place for a 5hr bus ride to Phnom Penh and then a flight of same duration to Seoul. There will be a lot of work to do when we go back but these 2 days have recharged our batteries and I look forward to beginning of a new semester.

More coming up on our Cambodia trip ... stay tuned :)

Rediscovering myself!

The last few days had been just amazing. The intense tropical heat, the dust, waking up at 4am every day and exploring the ruins of Angkor region till sunset, firing a machine gun in full auto mode, shopping till every inch of the space in my bag is filled and sipping Cognac by the Mekong while watching a live Apsara dance. That is Cambodia for you. A country that has been made famous by the spectacular Khmer architecture reaching its apogee at the Angkor Wat (the largest religious monument in the world) and the grisly genocide of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.
I'm writing this from an internet cafe in Phnom Penh. So far we have covered the temples of Angkor, the floating village on the Tonle Sap lake, the killing fields just outside Phnom Penh and the shooting range. Tomorrow we are going to Sihanoukville - a beach on the south.
A more detailed account of the trip with pictures and possibly a movie (me firing a machine gun) will be uploaded later but I can't just wait to write about what come to pass in the last few days.
Though Angkor Wat is the largest and the most famous of temples in this region, the crowd of tourist seems to take away the charm of this awe-inspiring structure. So we decided to explore the more remote temples and go there during noon, when the scorching sun forces all except for the most intrepid and the insane to stay out. And we enjoyed this privacy in some of the temples which made the experience a memorable one. We were the first tourist for the day at Banteay Srei - the temple with the best and the most detailed carvings. The first ones to reach the waterfall at the river of the thousand lingams. We also explored the wild ruins of Beng Melea - often described as the Indiana Jones temples for the ''extreme nature'' of the ruins. Adding of wooden scaffolding have made exploring it somewhat easier but has robbed it of a lot of fun and adventure. But still it was one of the most memorable experiences. And then there was Angkor Wat - the holiest of holies ... and the sunrise over the louts bud shaped towers was truly magical. But of all the temples, nothing captured my attention as the faces at Bayon in the early morning light and the monumental confusion of Preah Khan.
We also watched the sun go down over the Tonle Sap lake, the prison of the Khmer Rouge and Killing fields of Pol Pot, where it is estimated over 2 million people were slaughtered between 1975 and 1979.
Today afternoon, we went to the shooting range. First I tried a German sub-machine gun MP5. But the 9mm bullets and the rather mellow sound was not great fun. So I decided to go 'all-out' with a high-calibre machine gun in an enclosed space (for safety reasons). Ivan captured the incident on camera. It is great fun looking back at the video but it doesn't even come close to the thrill and the adrenaline rush of the 'moment'. It was a truly memorable experience!
I hope I can stay alive for a few more days, to go back to Seoul and write a complete account of this amazing trip!

Love of my life :)

No its not a girl. Its wanderlust!
The prospect of travel always cheers me up and unlocks an almost infinite amount of energy and enthusiasm. An important part of travel is the planning phase and I do it with great relish.
With a few days left for the Cambodia trip and no more language classes to attend, the planning is reaching a crescendo. Its like making a sculpture - a rough stone and an idea at first. With time the general shape begins to emerge as small bits are chipped off. And finally the complete work - ending in either a masterpiece or a dull one. The idea of Cambodia had its origin in a boring ANN class back in the colorful days of fall. As the winter comes to an end, we get ready to embark on a new trip. This time its a new team - Dima, Ivan and I. In Ivan, I found the classical backpacker and we enjoyed a fabulous, almost unbelievable trip to the remote mountain monastery of Guinsa and the limestone caves of Danyang. Dima had been to Thailand but his limit is yet to be tested. I hope this trip will have plenty of opportunities for that! :) This is my first major trip since Berlin and with a country as exotic and fascinating as Cambodia, my hopes are quite high.
But after half a year in trouble free Korea, this one promises to be an high octane adventure. The magnificent temples of Angkor, the 'Pearl of Asia' Phnom Penh, and the white sand beaches of Sihanoukville. Interestingly, this is also a country that had witnessed one of the worst genocides of the 20th century. And after the Holocaust monuments of Germany, it is another opportunity to witness the remnants of disastrous consequences of misguided ideas.
Till a few months back, my only knowledge of Cambodia was confined to the Angkor Wat and Pol Pot. However, in the last few weeks, I have had a chance to read and learn a lot about it. The social condition of Cambodia, the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam war,the landmines, the rise of Pol Pot, the reign of terror, the genocide, the history of the Khmer empire, the Indian connection, the bas relief on the temples, the influence of religion on architecture and its culmination into the crown jewels of Khmer art on stone - the Angkor Wat and the Bayon.
Right now, I'm engaged in an optimisation problem. The constraints are the age old ones of time and money, and the cost function is maximizing the enjoyable experience!
These include checking for suitable accommodation, transportation and drawing up the itinerary. My resources include a large number of forums on the net, Lonely Planet and a brilliantly illustrated book on Khmer Architecture.
With 4 days to take off, I delve deeper into the labyrinth of information, trying to pick out the ones relevant for us. Expectations are very high and on a windy Sunday afternoon, I'm sitting in front of my computer with Mountain Dew (which has replaces Whiskey as my drink of choice!), scanning the available resources and listening to Hariharan :)

A glimpse of what we might expect: A few pics from the sites that I used for my research.
The classic view of Angkor Wat followed by an ariel view

D Day: A Ridge too far ...

In the confusion and the transition of the previous year, I had somehow forgotten to write about the climax of the Goecha La trek. It has been more than a year since I had written about the 3rd day of the trek. After that so many things happened at rapid progression and I got entangled into the web of life at crossroads. I have been fairly active with travel in Korea and a few weeks back had my first taste of winter sports. But somehow amidst all the organised tourist attractions, I miss the wild adventure and the remoteness of the Himalayas.
On the 3rd night, we camped in the meadows of Thangsing. The rain had subsided but the clouds still persisted. But somehow in my heart I knew that the clouds will part the next day. I reminded Tsering how important next day was and inspite of the potential problems that we were likely to face, I convinced him to go ahead with the initial plans (start at 3am in the morning and reach Goecha La by 8am). However the problems were really serious and might even put our safety into jeopardy. Firstly, not enough headlamps. Without it we'd have to rely on Tsering to lead us through the easiest route. Secondly, the terrain. After Thangsing, we'd head into the terminal moraine of the glacier. It had rained in the lower altitudes which means that at 4500m, it had snowed. So the route, which mostly consists of boulder field would be snowbound. Without adequate lights, we'd have to be really carefully. Thirdly, fatigue and injury. Billa's ankle was not a good condition. I had barely slept for almost a week now. The lack of proper diet and our desperate push to Dzongri had left us very tired. Our bodies were performing beyond the normal biological limits and were in the risk of snapping.
Tsering came over to our tent at around 2am. There was a thick cloud cover with very poor visibility and I was feeling quite sick (maybe due to the fatigue), so we decided to wait for the clouds to clear before we venture out into the unknown terrain. And that was the biggest tactical mistake. It might have been very risky but that was the only possibility that we had of reaching Goecha La. As soon as I agreed to Tsering's idea of waiting for things to get better, my 'mountain instincts' told me that the mission was over. But still for the safety of all and just to grab a couple of hours of sleep, I decided to wait. At around 5am, the clouds began to part and we got ready to go. I came out of the tent to look out at the sunrise over Pandim. It was golden and resplendent - all shining in the glory of the morning with the bright blue sky. The look on my face was very different - dark circle around the eyes, disheveled hair and a defeated look. But it didn't stay for long. After days of cloud, rain, darkness and uncertainty, I saw the sun after what seemed an eternity. With the possibility of Goecha La almost gone, we decided to go as far as we could at a relaxed pace. It was very different from the past 3 days - gone was the almost fanatical push and the sense of purpose. It was a relaxed stroll 3 miles above sea level to as far as we could go.
It was too late to attempt Goecha La and even if we could make to that point, the pass would be covered in clouds by the time we reach it in the early afternoon - hardly affording the view that we wanted at sunrise.
We set out at 6:30 carrying just water and our lunch with us. We enjoyed the sun after a really long time and walked without after our backpacks, hopping boulders and small side-streams. There were wildflowers all aorund us and the mighty K massif ahead of us at the end valley. On our left was the Prek Chu river and on our right were the peaks of Tenzing Khang and Pandim. At Lamuney, we saw the expedition tents of the group trying to summit Tenzing Khang. We heard from the porter that it was supposed to be there summit day and we tried to figure out the climbers on the upper ice-fields with our binoculars. After Lamuney, we entered the terminal moraine of the glacier. We reached Samiti Lake at around 9 in the morning, as clouds over took us and raced towards the pass, blocking our view of K. However, the full view of Tenzing Khang and its almost magical shape lifted our spirits to some extent. We had a quite lunch on the banks of the Samiti Lake and observed some wild blue sheep (Bharal) on the ridge on the eastern bank.
The rest of the trek was downhill journey - literally and figuratively. For the first time in my life, I had been defeated by the mountain - not by a mistake in the strategic decision on my part but by my own laziness and the lack of faith in myself. I'll always regret not waking up at 2am on that cloudy night and not having enough faith in my own instincts. As I realised later that we could have made it to Goecha La on that morning under perfect weather conditions, if we had started at the right time. The clear weather window opened for 2 days but we didn't have that extra day to spare and hence had to return without achieving our objectives. I was very very disappointed but it taught me the importance of respecting the limits of human endurance. Goecha La is still an unconquered frontier in my life.
Some pictures from the 'summit day'