Banteay Srei

Devata

There are many special places in this world, some are much more well known than others.

Angkor Wat is a very well known wonder that is known as well as popular throughout the world.  Angkor Wat is much more than the just the temple whose name now is identified with the entire region. Besides the temple of Angkor Wat, the Siem Reap region also has the archaeological sites and ruins of the walled city of Angkor Thom with its temples of Bayon, Baupuon, Preah Palilay, Preah Pithu Group, Tep Prahnam, and unique features such as the Terrace of the Leper King, Terrace of the Elephants, Khleangs & Prasat Suor Prat. Nearby there are the temples of Ta Prohm, Baksei Chamkrong, Phnom Bakheng, Prasat Kravan, Banteay Kdei, Ta Keo, Ta Nei, Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, Preah Khan, Preah Neak Pean, Ta Som, Pre Rup, and Banteay Samre to name some but not all.  In my opinion, a minimum of three days is necessary to tour the sights with five days recommended to also visit the outlying sites.  In is easy to be overcome with "ruins overload".  Just as with the Grand Canyon National Park or other wonders of this world, several visits are needed to fully appreciate and to better start to understand the wonders before you.

My wife and I returned for a third visit last December.  The site is not as crowded as Angkor Wat and the surrounding area is not as "crazy" as the "Angkor" complex.  We have noticed changes from our first visit 10 years ago and even from our last visit 2 years ago.

Access is more restricted now with areas roped and barricaded off to tourists. The reception area is now more developed with a large paved parking lot for the ubiquitous tour buses, a commercial area, restaurants and covered as well as paved walkways to the vicinity of the site.  On our last trip the walkways of the reception area were the sight of a large photography exhibit of photos from the Huangshan Region of China. Some of the photos were incredibly beautiful.  There is some kind of sponsorship or association between Banteay Srei and the Huangshan Region. Banteay Srei as well as the other sights n the region are changing - evolving quickly  to the pressures of tie and the assistance of other nations to become the multicultural globalization vision of a proper and fitting heritage sight.

However the temple is still well worth a visit.  The sandstone carvings are magnificent and in general, well preserved.  Take advantage of the opportunities on your drive along Highway 67 to stop and experience some the sights, tastes, sounds and smells of contemporary Cambodia away from the madness of Siem Reap city.

Banteay Srei is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva constructed in 967 CE.  Banteay Srei, "Citadel of the Women" is constructed out of pink colored sandstone and has some of the finest carvings in the world.

Many of the carvings are from the Hindu epic "Ramayana"

"Ravana ShakingMount Kailasa" - East Pediment of the South Library

"Narasimba Clawing Hiranyakasipu" - North "long gallery"

"Fire In the Khandava Forest" - East pediment of North Library

"Krishna Killing Kamsa" - West pediment of North Library

The opportunity to experience the beauty and exquisite details of the carvings at Banteay Srei along with the experience of viewing some of the Cambodian countryside is well with the 45 minute drive out to the site from Angkor Wat.

Highway 6 Revisited

Monk Walking Along Highway 6 In the Morning

Fifty years ago, I graduated from high school back in Groton, Connecticut.  My last year of high school I spent much of my time sick.  Back in the Fall of 1966 and the Winter of 1967, I was sick with a diagnosed combination of Whooping Cough and severe Bronchitis. From Thanksgiving until Valentine's Day, my physical activity was limited to going to school only.

I spent much of my free time at home listening to Bob Dylan albums on the family stereo in the living room.  Bob Dylan had recently undergone a transformation from folk singer to rock star and I was entering into my transformation period ... a period that all teenagers experience.  As great as my transformation ended up becoming, it did not compare to the world shattering Bob Dylan transformation.

In his sixth studio album, "Highway 61 Revisited" released on 30 August 1965, Bob Dylan's music had become electrified and electrifying.  His lyrics, always strong and poignant, were now showcased by, as well as competed with, rock beats and more complicated rhythms. My favorite song of the album, although not the title song of the album, was "Like A Rolling Stone".  The title song of the album, "Highway 61 Revisited", made an impression on me back then.  Today the lyrics seem non-nonsensical and Bob Dylan's intentions as well as motivations for writing them is suspect to me.  However the title does form a nice foil and segue to this blog entry "Highway 6 Revisited"

In December we returned to Cambodia, Siem Reap specifically, for the third time in nine years.  Why a third time?  I was once asked why I had returned to Machu Pichuu for a second time.  Being polite, I did not reply that I had because I could. I gave the honest answer that I had returned because I had a new camera.  I had purchased A Nikon D2H digital camera and there were some photos that I had not taken on the previous trip that I want to take.

The same was true for our second trip to Angkor Wat  in November 2014 - we could and I had another new camera - a Nikon D700.  However I also wanted to experience and document life on Tonle Sap that we had only gotten a small introduction to back in August 2007.

Our trip in 2014 was great and we wanted to return the following year only later in the year to better experience the fish harvest on Tonle Sap.  However in 2015, a drought had severely impacted the flood levels of the great lake.

Last November, I contacted some people in Siem Reap and was informed that the water levels had returned to their height back in 2014.  I then determined when the full moons would e in December and in January 2017 since I wanted some photos of Tonle Sap as well as Angkor Wat with a rising Full Moon.  I ended up choosing December for our trip.

One of my objectives, in addition to Full Moon photographs, was to take photographs of the vendors that prepare and sell food along  National Highway 6.  I had wanted to take photographs of them during the last visit to Cambodia but one thing always seemed to lead to another with the end result is that I never took those photographs.  It takes discipline and resolve to take the necessary time to stop and take those photographs as the opportunity presents itself rather than believing or convincing yourself that a better opportunity or even more opportunities lay ahead.  The promise of the future is often broken or does not exist.

National Highway 6 is one of the main roads in Cambodia.  Used in conjunction with National Highway 5, it will either take you to the border with Thailand or to the capital city of Phnom Penh.  On our trips to Angkor Wat, Highway 6 was on our route to Koh Ker, Tonle Sap, and the market town of Damdek so we have become quite familiar with it.

About one-half the way from the city of Siem Reap and Tonle Sap there is a section of the road in Sot Nikum district of Siem Reap Province where many local people have set up stands where they prepare and sell a local specialty food - "sticky rice cooked in coconut milk with black beans inside bamboo over a wood fire".  Of course there is a much more simple name in Cambodia but I don't know it.  Actually we have the same tasty treat here in Isaan that is called "ban khao lam".

As you drive down Highway 2 here in Udon Thani Province towards the intersection that leads you to Kumphawapi, both sides of the highway are lined with little stands where "ban khao lam" is sold - some where it is actually cooked, too.  It is common here in Isaan to discover sections of highways where the local specialty products, such as salt, produce, sausages, carved walking canes, or ban khao lam are sold by the local people.

The specialty food, "sticky rice cooked in coconut milk with black beans inside bamboo over a wood fire", is also available in Malaysia - good food especially sweet treats knows no borders.

We set off on a rainy morning to visit Tonle Sap.  We left Siem Reap around 7:00 AM and we were quickly surrounded in the morning traffic of students on motorbikes and bicycles, as well as workers being transported on all manner of mechanisms on their daily commute to fields, factories, and work places.

Fortunately the rain was only very light showers so it did not impact our journey.

Breakfast is being cooked for a villager

We stopped at on of the first concentrations of vendors that we encountered southeast of Siem Reap.  Fresh batches of the specialty food were being cooked on primitive grills made from bricks placed on crude tables.

A roadside vendor preparing food

The rice-coconut milk-black bean mixture is packed into bamboo tubes.  The ends of the tube are plugged tightly with rice straw.  To create a more consumer friendly and efficient cooking container, the vendors whittle down the bamboo tubes to create a thin skinned container that can easily be peeled apart by the consumer to access the cooked delicious rice mixture inside.

The bamboo tubes are cooked in a horizontal position over wood coals supplemented with bamboo scraps.  At the other end of the grill, finished tubes are placed in two slanted vertical rows, tepee style, over the coals awaiting to be purchased by people.

Many of the vendors along Highway 6 utilize a marketing technique that I had previously seen in Vietnam on the way back to Halong City from Hanoi.  In Vietnam, the vendors were selling either fruit or coconuts along side of the road.  These were small family run stands.  To encourage people to stop and buy their products, the family had their young daughters run the stand.  The young women were beautiful and were fully made-up to further enhance and emphasize their natural beauty. Unfortunately in Vietnam, I was only a passenger in the van speeding along the highway.  However in Cambodia, it was only my wife with our hired drier and guide.  We stopped where ever I wanted and for as long as I wanted.  It is a very effective marketing technique and I suspect that it was one of the first techniques.

We had revisited National Highway 6 and it had satiated our appetite literally and figuratively.  We had been fortunate to be able to return and experience what we had only glimpsed on previous visits.  Our trip was great with many places revisited and more stories as well as photographs to share.

I have yet another new camera but although we intend to return to Cambodia once again this year, we will first be going to Bhutan ... off to Bhutan for the first time with a new camera to experience another corner of Allen's World.

Hopefully I will apply lessons that I have learned elsewhere to stop and take those photographs the first time.  I must remember to take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves rather than expecting it to be better a little further up ahead. 

So it is in life - we need to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves rather than expecting or waiting for things to be better later, for often later never comes.  Unlike Highway 61 or National Highway 6, we are unable to revisit life.

It's that time of year, once again - Tonle Sap

Late Afternoon on Tonle Sap - Kampong Khleang, Cambodia

November has arrived here in Isaan.  The Monsoon Season appears to be over - we are getting more and more days without rain and more days with bright Sun and blue sky.  Our temperatures are also much more comfortable - highs in the mid 80s to low 90s with lows in the mid to low 70s.

The rice harvest will commence in a couple weeks.  It is time to travel or at least to think about travel.

Two years ago, Duang and I made a 6 day trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  It was our second trip to the ruins of Angkor Wat.

Our trip in November 2014 also included a return tour of Tonle Sap "The Great Lake".

Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia - not that this fact justifies a visit.  Tonle Sap is referred to by the Lonely Planet guide book as the "Heartbeat of Cambodia".  Personally to me, Tonle Sap is the lungs of Cambodia.  The lake provides food and irrigation water for one-half of the people in Cambodia.  Tonle Sap is connected to the mighty Mekong River - one of the greatest rivers of the world.  Tonle Sap's water level fluctuates greatly in accordance to the seasons.  In the rainy season from May to October when the Mekong is at its fullest, water flows from the Mekong into the lake.  In the dry season as the Mekong's flow diminishes, water flows from the lake into the Mekong.  Water levels in Tonle Sap range from a maximum of 2 meters (6 feet) in the dry season and to a maximum of 10 meters (32 feet) in the rainy season.  The flooding of surrounding land during the rainy season provides a great deal of food and shelter for aquatic life thereby making Tonle Sap one of the richest sources of freshwater protein in the world.  Tonle Sap is a nursery for many of the fish of the Mekong River. During the dry season fisherman average a take of 220 to 440 pounds of fish a day.

Tonle Sap grows from approximately 965 square miles in the dry season to just over 5,020 square miles in the rainy season.  The increase in area as well as increased depth presents challenges in terms of housing for the inhabitants in the area.  Man has met the challenges of Tonle Sap by building floating homes or building home atop stilts roughly 20 to 30 feet high.  It was the opportunity to witness this unique lifestyle that first attracted me to visit Tonle Sap.  Both Duang and I are interested in seeing how people live in environments and situations different from what we are accustomed to.

Our Homestay Accommodation - the house on the right

Based upon our experience during our first trip to Tonle Sap in 2007, we incorporated a home stay in the village of Kampong Khleang to better learn and understand Cambodian life on Tonle Sap.

Preparing Our Lunch In Kampong Khleang

 I had planned our last trip to Tonle Sap to coincide with the full moon and Bon Om Touk (Cambodian Water Festival).  Bon Om Touk is an annual festival held in November to celebrate the reversal of Tonle Sap water flow.  With the start of the dry season water commences to flow out of Tonle Sap into the Mekong River making up to 50% of the Mekong River flow.  During the rain season water flows from the Mekong into Tonle Sap.  The reversal of flow into the Mekong River also marks the start of commercial fishing season on Tonle Sap - the fish hatched during the rainy season, and nourished on the nutrient rich waters of the floodplains of Tonle Sap migrate into the shrinking lake and out into the Mekong River.

Tonle Sap Harvest - Selling fish to a Middleman

We spent the night with a family in Kampong Khleang.  The mother and father were teachers at a local elementary school and have three children, to girls and one boy.  Their home is built on stilts over the lake but fronts a raised dirt road about 2 feet below the house.

Kampong Khleang Neighborhood

It was quite interesting to spend a day and night with the family.  Although they did not speak English, we could see that they were nice people and concerned that we enjoyed our stay.  We appreciated their efforts to ensure that we were comfortable and found their children to be quite entertaining.

Our host's family

We slept in the large front room of the house, the room closest to the street.  Our bed was one of the hardest beds that I have ever slept on.  A mosquito net protected us throughout the night and we were not bothered by buzzing in our ears.  We were not even bothered or awoken by the three children sharing the room with us - sleeping on mats placed on the floor and protected by their own mosquito net.  The two motorbikes kept inside the large room did not make any noise but the odor of fuel permeated the air.  What kept me awake were the sounds - the sounds of dogs foraging beneath the house and along the street, the sound of cats foraging beneath the house and along the streets, the sounds of dogs and cats encountering each other, the sounds of new born babies in the houses next to our room - 15 feet away and separated from us by two layers of woven bamboo.  There was also the occasional sound of a motorbike tearing up the dirt road. Who said that rooster crow at dawn?  Sure they crow at dawn but they also crow much earlier, too!

Sunrise Over Tonle Sap From Kitchen Area of Our Home-stay

Yes, it was not a very good night of sleep but oh what an experience it was!  As the Sun rose over the floodplain the ever increasing sound of awakening life built up.  Insects, birds, motorboats, and the sounds of people awakening to encounter a new day of life on the lake created a unique symphony not available to tourists in the city.  The symphony of sound was supplemented by the smells of a the new day - charcoal fires to cook the first meal of the day, the odors of pork, chicken, garlic, onions, fish, and the smell of motorboats setting out to check the fish traps at dawn.  The new day was announcing its arrival along with the acknowledgement of the potential that each reawakening brings.

The view outside the front door of our home-stay

Yes, it was not a good night of sleep but oh what an experience it was!  I have always embraced the value and prestige of my life not in the comfort that I have enjoyed or the material wealth that I have been able to acquire but rather in the experiences that I have encountered.

Tonle Sap Boatchild

For Plains Indian warriors, prestige and honor were acquired by "counting coup" - For the Cheyenne counting coupe involved touching an enemy with a stick, bow, whip, or open hand.  For me it is counting experiences - counting experiences involves the act of touching lives or being touched by the lives of others as well personal interactions with the world about me.  I am fortunate to have a wife who is willing and able to participate in my quests to count experiences.

One of the main streets of Kampong Khleang

Last year I considered returning to Tonle Sap including experiencing another home-stay.  After doing soe preliminary research for a return trip, I discovered that the water levels in the lake were very low.  Since one of my goals was to document more of the life on the flood plain, I decided not to return to Tonle Sap.

Kampong Khleang Intersection

On our last trip, we were taken by our home-stay hosts in the early morning to check the family's fish traps set out on the floodplains outside of Kampong Khleang.

Tonle Sap Backwater Early Morning Encounter

Checking fish trap early morning on floodplain

This year I am considering returning to Siem Reap and especially Tonle Sap with either a one or two night home-stay.  Based upon our last trip, I am considering going in December or January - for the full moon.  I believe that going a month or two later will improve the opportunities for documenting the commercial fishing activities on the lake as the flow out of the lake into the Mekong Rier will be more established.

I also want and know that I can take better photographs of moonlight over the floodplain - partially submerged trees, flat water, and a full moon low on the horizon and climbing high in the sky.

Sunset Over Tonle Sap

Research indicates that December 13 is a full moon and January 12 is another full moon.  On December 13, the moon will rise at 4:09 PM and set the following morning at 4:12 AM.  On January 12 the moon will rise 4:51  PM and set at 4:58 AM the next morning.  These times are convenient for the photographs that I intend to take.

I have not checked to determine if the stars are aligned for a trip but the moon certainly is.  Yesterday I sent an email to my contact in Siem Reap to determine the current water levels.  This year, in Udon Thani we have have had much more rainfall than last year so I am optimistic that Siem Reap and the Mekong River have received much more rain too so that a return trip is warranted.

If the water levels are sufficient, I will have to discuss with Duang before making detailed plans and arrangements.

A New Gallery - "Back In Time - Angkor Wat"

A new photo gallery is now available on my photography website.

http://www.hale-worldphotography.com/Back-In-Time-Angkor-Wat

This gallery of 35 photographs from our trip to Angkor Wat a year ago is a departure from my normal practice for my photographic work.  I typically post and populate my galleries with color photographs.  I prefer color because, for me, it better represents the reality of the moment that was captured.

For a photographer, or any artist, it is important to maintain an open mind and, more importantly, to continually refine one's style and improve one's skills.  I have started to venture a little more into black and white for some of my photographs.  For this series of photographs, in particular, the use of black and white is appropriate and, now in my opinion, preferable to color.

The ruins of Angkor Wat and its environs are a profusion of vegetation and weathered stone.  I find that in most cases the focus on the muted tones of the ruins are distracted by the vegetation in color photographs.

On Facebook, I recently seen and enjoyed many photographs from the 1880s and early 1900s of Southeast Asia.  I also noted how popular the postings were.

For this gallery I decided to try to capture more of the mood of the ruins than can be conveyed in an "as shot" reality of today.  To capture my interpretation of the mood for the ruins, I post processed my shots to convert them into a more 1880s and early 1900s photographs.

My goal is to provide a more unique opportunity to clients to purchase different type and style photographs of the Angkor Wat and its environs than is so commonly available from others.

Cambodian Soybean Harvest

Workers Secure Truck Load of Soybeans

When my wife and I travelled to Cambodia the first week of last November, our visit was timed to coincide with the full moon which signified the start of the fishing season on Tonle Sap Lake.

Our timing was about a week too early for the rice harvest.  We saw many rice fields where heavy golden panicles of rice were bowed almost as if in homage to the Earth or deities of the land.  We did see a couple of fields that had been harvested but nothing that would warrant stopping to photograph.  I did notice that the rice in the region was growing in very wet soil but not in paddies as is the standard in Isaan.  At harvest time in Isaan the rice paddies are parched and not muddy as in Cambodia.  Our rain stops in September and by November the ground is dusty and cracked until the rains return in April or May.

All was not lost in our quest to witness and photograph people going about their daily lives and activities.  On our way in the afternoon from the ruins of Koh Ker to the ruins of Beng Mealea along the paved two lane Cambodian National Highway 105, we came upon a hectic sight.

The area through which Highway 105 traverses about 20 kilometers south of Koh Ker is a hilly agricultural area.  The area is speckled with solitary huge trees - a reminder and testament to the rain forest that covered the land not all that long ago.  The forests have been logged out and the land converted into farm land in response to the economic realities of today in Southeast Asia.  Just as in Lao, vast expanses of Cambodia have been cleared to grow crops for markets in China and Thailand.

Soybeans and bananas now are grown along Cambodian National Highway where forests once stood.



Typical Cambodian Farm Home Along National Highway 105



Soybeans Drying Along the Roadside

It turned out they had missed the soybean harvest by just a day or two.  We did not see any machinery or people harvesting the soybean crop.  What we did see were many large tarps spread out along both sides of the highway and around the various farm houses.  The tarps were covered with a thin layer of soybeans.  The soybeans were exposed to dry out in the strong sun and breezes.  The same process is utilized in Thailand, Lao, and People's Republic of China for the rice harvest.  Dried, dehydrated product can be stored however moist, or improperly dried product will be ruined by mold and also become spoiled through fermentation.



Soybeans Drying In the Sun In Front of a Home



Sacks of Soybeans Being Loaded for Markets in Thailand or PRC (China)

We stopped along the road where there were several tandem trucks and large single trailer trucks were being filled by hand with large sacks of soybeans.  The location was a marshaling station for the nearby farms. The trucks were from a middleman in Phnom Penh with the final destination for the crop being either Thailand or PRC (China).

I rushed out from our car as soon as it stopped and started taking photographs.  A man, a man who was clearly in charge, walked over to me and asked politely in fairly good English what I was doing.  I explained to him how I liked (was obsessed?) in taking photographs of people and then writing stories about the people and related photographs on the Internet.  I showed him some of the photos that I had taken.  That was it - we were then "buddies".

I have never had a problem photographing here in Southeast Asia.  The people have been very receptive to being photographed.  I do not expect them to pose and let them know to just carry on with what they are doing. I share some of the shots that I have taken and they quickly relax.  Inevitably they end up joking and laughing over my enthusiasm and efforts to get that "perfect" shot.  There have been many times, that the people have pointed out someone or something that they though that I would be interested in shooting - I always make it a point to take that shot and share with them.

It turned out that the "man in charge" was an ethnic Chinese business man from the capital.  I bring up the fact that he was ethnic Chinese not in any judgmental or prejudicial sense but for the readers to better understand the conditions; the realities of today.  Throughout Southeast Asia, many of the business people, bankers, and merchants are ethnic Chinese - a fact that the local indigenous people are very aware of.  In some cases there is an underlying resentment of the ethnic Chinese prosperity.  In 1969, there were serious race riots in Malaysia against the ethnic Chinese.  Ethnic Chinese were also victimized in Vietnam earlier last year over the actions of China regarding oil exploration in disputed waters.  Things do not happen out of a vacuum - there are always underlying conditions that serve as catalysts.

Anyhow - the business man and his wife serve as middlemen for buyers in either Thailand or the People's Republic of China (PRC).  I asked the man how much money did he pay for a bag of soybeans.  I always try to learn and understand the value of the various crops that I witness being harvested.  He said that he did not know - he was responsible for arranging for the loading along with transportation of the product to final market, and it was his wife who handled the money.  I confirmed that his wife handled the family finances.  I told him that I handled our family finances and not to tell my wife that his wife handled his.  I joked with him about not telling my wife because then she would want to be the "Big Boss"  Just then Duang showed up to check and make sure that I was alright.  The man knew that I had been joking so I told Duang that I wanted to know how much was a bag of soybeans but he didn't know.  Apparently believing that the man would better understand her English better than mine, Duang asked him in English.  He told her that he didn't know because his wife handled the money and that she was the "Big Boss".  Duang caught on quickly and said to me "Me too, I want to be Big Boss - you give money to me to take care! See just like this man!"  The three of us enjoyed a good laugh.

We had come upon a frantic situation along the road.  Besides loading up the trucks with bags of soybeans, people were hurriedly folding up the tarps to completely encase the soybeans.  The sky had taken on the look which is typical for late afternoon monsoon rain.  Soybeans getting wet would be a disaster for everyone involved in the ongoing transaction.

Rolling Up A Tarp to Protect Soybeans from Rain

The weather forecast for the day had been for rain showers with a 57% chance of rain and 12.5mm (1/2") accumulation.  How did I know?  How do I still remember?  Prior to leaving our home, as I typically do prior to our big trips, I printed the weather forecast from the Internet and pasted it in the journal that I carry.

Well the adage about not believing everything that you read on the Internet proved true on the trip.  Without exaggerating - we had approximately 15 drops of rain hit the car's windshield during our entire trip - including the forecast of 79% probability of 20.9mm of rain the next day - which happened to be our best weather day!

After 30 minutes at the marshaling area, we recommenced our journey to what we were confident were the mysteries and sights that awaited us at Beng Mealea.  It was several kilometers down the highway before our nostrils were cleared of the earthy, perhaps even musty, odor of soybeans drying in the air.  However that scent remains a strong memory today of a great stop along a road in Cambodia.

The Bayon

 

 

 

The Bayon

Our full day of touring the ruins of Siem Reap included an afternoon visit to The Bayon.

Bayon is a ruined Buddhist temple.  Most of the ruins in the Siem Reap area started as Hindu temples however Bayon, Ta Prohm, and Preah Khan were constructed under auspices of the Mahayana Buddhist King, Jayavarman  VII.  Jayavarman VII was only the second Buddhist Khmer King up to the late 12th century, Jayavarman VII.

King Jayavarman VII was a Mahayana Buddhist.  The Mahayana Buddhist tradition involves the concept of Bodhisavatta - a person who has enlightenment as their goal.  Avalokitesvara is a highly revered Bodhisavatta in Mahayana Buddhism and is embodiment of the compassion of all Buddhas.  Avalokitsvara (Lokesvara) had the goal of becoming enlightened (liberated) BUT had vowed to help all others to attain their enlightenment before achieving his enlightenment. Yesterday's blog, "Stone Face", gave some information regarding the linkage of King Jayavarman VII and Lokesvara.

There are six qualities attributable to Avalokitsvara (Lokesvara) are:

Great compassion
Great loving-kindness
Lion courage
Universal light
Leader of devas and people
The great omnipresent Brahman

Historical accounts, records and monuments demonstrate that King Jayavarman VII was very compassionate and went to great lengths, 107 hospital built, along with many public works projects to care for his people.

Jayavarman VII also lead the Khmer army to rid their lands of Cham occupiers as well as to extend the Khmer empire. Without a doubt this serves as manifestation of lion courage - after all, who forcibly removes invaders and conquers enemy territory by being branded a coward?

He was also perceived as a great king.  Today is considered the greatest of the Khmer kings.  No doubt he was aware of his greatness during his lifetime.

But to get back to Bayon ... Bayon was constructed during the reign of Jayavarman VII and his son, Indravarman II, also a devout Buddhist as the state temple.  Besides being the only Angkor state shrine built from the start to be a Mahayana Buddhist shrine dedicated to Buddha, Bayon was the last state temple built in Angkor.

Bayon Temple

The most imposing features of Bayon are the temple towers with great stone faces on their sides.  There are 216 stone faces at Bayon. Some people theorize that the faces are of  Avalokitsvara (Lokesvara) and others believe that the faces of Jayavarman VII. I believe the theory that both are correct.  Being a devout Mahayana Buddhist, what better way for King Jayavarman VII and his son, who continued construction of the temple, to honor the Bodhisvatta Lokesvara and the king himself  than to use the king's visage for the Bodhisvatta on the towers?  In Thailand there is a common saying of "Good for me, good for you"  Using the king's face honors the king, memorializes his greatness and links him to religious "immortality".

Face Tower of Bayon

The temple of Bayon has gone through several modification over the past 900 years.  Jayavarman VII's successor, his son, continued the construction of the Buddhist temple.  However the next king, Jayavaram VIII, was a Hindu and he had many of the Buddhist symbols removed or defaced.  Jayavaram VIII was succeeded by his son-in-law - a Buddhist.  Over time, modifications, and additions were made by various kings in accordance with their religious beliefs and architecture norms of their times.  With the end of the Khmer empire the temple was abandoned and left to the forces of time and Nature.

Multiple Face Towers of Bayon

In the early 1900's, the French start conserving and reconstruction of the ruins utilizing the anastylosis process.  Anastylosis is a process of reconstruction where the original elements of the structure are used to the maximum extent possible. Pieces of the building are put into their original location.  Where pieces are missing new pieces are created out of plaster, cement and resins can be used.  In the case of structures that are in danger of collapse, components of the structure are numbered, and the structure is dismantled.  After modifying and strengthening the foundation to provide stability, the structure is reassembled in a stable configuration.

Bayon in the 1930's was the first ruin to be reconstructed at the Angkor complex using the anastylosis process.

It sounds great.  What could go wrong?  Well a great deal can and does go wrong.  Reconstruction involves a great deal of interpretation in assembling or envisioning a final structure from a pile of rubble.  Reconstruction and restoration involves handling original components that are subjected to damage. There is no guaranty that all the architectural elements used are from the original structure.  Over the hundreds of years that the structures were abandoned, pieces were inevitably  moved from one site to another for all kinds of reasons.

In addition, prior to an accord in 1964, reconstructors did not have protocols for the utilization of new materials particularly ensuring that the new materials are readily recognizable.  There are also criteria now that substantial components can only be added to ensure the stability of the structure.

Much of the reconstruction work on Angkor Wat that we saw in August 2007 was to repair damage caused and eliminate the defects created by the use of modern materials and techniques in the gallery roofs during previous reconstruction efforts.  Modern construction unlike the original configuration of the roof allowed water to enter the galleries and flow over the murals.  In addition, the infiltrating water leached salts and chemicals of the modern bonding materials which also attacked the murals.  Once again - "no good deed goes unpunished"  Perhaps reconstructors should have an oath similar to doctors - "First, do no harm ..."

The result of all the good intentions and best interpretations of outsiders, the restored ruins of the Khmer temples have a great deal of confusion as well as discontinuity in them today.  Close scrutiny of the ruins or photographs of the ruins reveals many details that do not fit in with their surroundings - in some places the result is confusion and chaos.  Although not consistent and most likely not historically authentic, the ruins are still spectacular.  There are the ways that things are supposed to be and then there is the way that they are.  A visit to Angkor Wat affirms that often the ways that things are more than adequate to appreciate and enjoy their grandeur.

We spent a very quick one hour fifteen minute visit at Bayon, exploring the ground level structures.  We did not have the opportunity to explore the upper terraces or even the ground level galleries.  It was by our own choice not our guides.  Long days and many sites toured lead to exhaustion - physical as well as mental. However I view this as yet another reason to return soon.