Cambodia –Bayon Temple

By Meera

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Travelling across the world, I have come across many structures and monuments, however, the most impressive of these structures have been from the Khmer civilization which traces its roots to India. There are no words to describe the Wat culture – I mean a temple in the Khmer language. Hundreds of temples have been found and dug in the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia over a period of 100 years. These temples had remained buried for many centuries with Cambodians not even aware of their own rich and glorious past.

 

Outside face of Bayon temple 

In fact, going to Cambodia is pretty easy and cheap from India. There are direct flights from New Delhi to Siem Reap – the province which houses one of the world’s oldest and biggest temple complexes. You also have many connecting flights from Bangalore (and other Indian cities) to Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital) and also Siem Reap. Otherwise, one can hop on from Singapore or Kuala Lumpur.

 

Once you fly down to Siem Reap, there are hotels, resorts, homestays and also homes available for every budget and sometimes, as low as five dollars per day. The place caters to every person and one should be adventurous enough to look for and search for it in this province which is a tourist paradise.

 

Entry gate 

Exquisite carvings 

I relaxed for a few hours after reaching as even in the best season, it is very hot and humid. Better to carry water on your person wherever you go out, be it in the local Tuk Tuk or in a cab. Most of the temples are located amid verdant forests and surrounded by lakes and rivers. The weather saps your energy and one has to drink a lot to avoid dehydration. Cambodia is just above the equator and so, all the year-round, it is warm to hot and a bit tolerable between October-December.

 

Bayon outer view 

All the temples and historical sites are housed in Angkor Thom which was once the capital city of the Khmer empire from the 11-16th century. This nine-square-kilometre area was declared as a World Heritage Site in the early nineties. The most high-profile temples attracting millions of footfalls are Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm, Banteay Srei, Preah Khan and a host of other temples.

 

Although I had the good fortune to visit most of the temples, one monument that has remained locked in my memory even after so many years, is the innumerable faces of the Bayon temple. These huge and massive faces etched and carved in the Bayon Temple are such that one cannot easily forget them.

 

A close up of Bayon Face 

There are faces, faces everywhere and one can't escape from them as we traverse a huge area that has no walls - only gigantic trees. The Bayon temple is straddled with giant stone faces and from every nook and cranny, we can see them. They literally tower over even the giant trees that dot this ancient land.

 

The Huge face of Bayon 

Our guide from the Cambodian tourism agency informed us that these massive faces may be of King Jayavarman VII himself or Bodhisattva of compassion or it may be a combination of both. But since these faces bear a strong resemblance to the King, our guide said and most scholars support this theory. But to me, it was immaterial as I was wonderstruck at the uniformity and sculptural elegance of the giant faces that smiled at me from every angle and corner wherever I went.

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