Timeless Temples

Angkor Wat was still waiting for us when we returned this morning. This time the grounds were filled with tourists walking through the ruins; a completely different experience from the night before, yet the ruins and the fascination remained. Built in the early 12th century over a period of 40 years, it is the world's largest religious building. The temple has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat is completely surrounded by a moat and covers over 200 sq. acres. The outer wall is 2.2 miles long. Uncle Joe had mentioned that a picture of a stegosaurus was reportedly carved on one of the walls. We walked thought what seemed like endless passageways and corridors and just about every square inch was carved with images. We never found the dinosaur but did notice that there were thousands of identically carved images from one end to the other. The meticulous uniformity of so many carvings in such a massive complex was astounding considering the many different people that were necessary to create them.

Our next temple was Bayon, the temple of four faces, named so because the center spire has a face on each side facing the four directions. This temple is much less intact than Angkor, and piles of stones sometimes 15 ft high encase the perimeter. These stone blocks are from collapsed areas that have yet to be reconstructed - if that is even possible. The part of the temple that remains erect resembles a giant ant hill made of stone. Passageways wind in and around multiple levels; every turn revealing yet more tunnels and stairways. Add a little suspenseful music and Angelina Jolie and you have a scene from the movie Tomb Raider. We learned later that part of the movie was in fact filmed there, although what part of which temple we aren't sure.

Our third and final temple for the day was Thomamnomm. While the previous temple looked like a scene from Tomb Raider, this one was straight out of The Jungle Book. Giant gnarled trees wound their way through and around the crumbling structures. This temple is a true testimony of the power the jungle has to reclaim its own. Massive tree trunks could be seen perched on top of roofs, their large roots like tentacles enveloping entire walls. Fallen archways and leaning spires show decades of neglect, and narrow tunnels snake in and out between tree roots that matured when only wild animals were left to tend the once majestic structures.

Our evening consisted of a meal in a local restaurant and packing for the return trip to Thailand. Our entry to this country was marked with stress and trepidation, but our exit was with a new awareness of our insignificance. We consider ourselves advanced because of our modern conveniences and technology; but here was an ancient race of people that with nothing but their own hands, ingenuity and willpower, were able to accomplish unspeakable feats that still astound the world today.