At sunset we visited Phnom Krom temple near the Tonle Sap lake in Siem Reap.  As we started to climb the stairs, Vir told me that Phnom Krom translates to the hill below.  ”But we’re climbing up so shouldn’t it be called the hill above?”  Vir explained that the sacred temple symbolizes heaven and everything else is considered below it, including the mountain top that it sits on.

Greetings from Phnom Krom

Phnom Krom, built in the ninth century, is dedicated to Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu.

This is one of my most cherished books ever. Vir noticed that I was fond of books because I was always checking out the used book stores. This was a gift from Vir who lives in Siem Reap. I asked him to sign it. What shall I write? Anything you want. On the inside over he wrote, “To remember your trip to the region of Angkor.”

I never expected to explore Angkor Wat or any of the glorious temples with such authorities on Angkor architecture and history.  Vir, Sam, Cham and I walked down the corridors and studied countless bas-relief carvings, statues and ancient inscriptions along the walls of this inspiring sanctuary.

Vir walked on my right while Sam on my left. In my right ear, Vir talked about the carving of Yama, the god of death. In my left ear Sam talked about trivial facts, “Did you know that out of all the temples in Angkor this is the only temple that contains the the carving of a smiling Apsara dancer?”  or “Did you know that this temple holds the carving of a dog?”  I immediately wanted to know where the dog was located and he said it would be difficult to reach it since it was on the third level of the world’s largest temple.  Supposedly the steps would be too steep to climb.  If I made it all the way to Cambodia from California, then I could climb the stairs at Angkor.  Right? Of course!  And it was well worth the journey.  Found:  Khmer puppy, the most valuable treasure of Angkor.  In my eyes anyway.  Awkun to Cham for helping me find it.  To view this puppy look above in the last image of the mosaic.  It’s located to the left of the apsara dancer’s foot.

Cham would also like everyone to know that aside from the unique carvings of the smiling apsara and dog, Angkor Wat also holds the only nude apsaras in the region. Nude in the sense that they’re using their hands to cover themselves (see the last image below).  Thanks, Cham, for this valuable information.

Finding that Cambodian puppy was truly a treasure but there was much more sophisticated history that both enlightened and overwhelmed me.  Vir, Sam and Cham had so much information I wanted to absorb so I listened as they talked.  There would be no way for me to remember everything but that’s okay. I was in Angkor Wat heaven.

Angkor Wat

After visiting Wat Ta Prohm with Sam and Cham in the morning, we planned to meet at about 3 pm to see Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world. This time Vir would be meeting us. So at about 3 pm Vir knocked at my door and to my surprise he didn’t really look that old as everyone had described him. No evident wrinkles upon first impression.

I got a little nervous as we approached Angkor Wat. What was waiting for us there? What had called me to make my pilgrimage to this holy temple in the first place?

Angkor Wat was built by King Suryavarman II during the period 1113-1150 AD.

I visited Ta Prohm today with Sam and Cham. This temple is definitely one of my favorites. It was not as crowded as some of the earlier temples we visited such as Bayon. It could have been the time of day. Perhaps everyone went into town for lunch. While the birds sang above, we sat for a while under the shade of the massive trees and their tumor-like roots metastasizing every which way possible throughout this abandoned magical temple.

At Wat Ta Prohm, Cham explained that following King Jayavarman VII’s death in the 13th century, a lot of the temples were made to become Hindu and so a lot of the Buddhist images were destroyed. Later in the 14th century, Theravada Buddhism was established and remains until today.

Bakong is one of three temples in the Ruluos group.  A mountain temple built in 881 AD, remnants of the naga, or serpents, on both sides of the moat greet you upon arrival.  My mouth dropped at first sight of its grand architecture.  You probably can’t see that from this perspective. This is taken with a cheapy Vivtar ultra wide and slim 35mm film camera.  I love how the film gave this a timeless look.