July 21, 2010
Posted by Aron Flasher
Star Tribune Staff Blog
Siem Reap is the stagging ground for most forays into Angkor Wat. It used to be a sleepy little river town that in the last five years or so has received the brunt of foreign investment. On my way in, I passed at least a good mile of 5 star hotels and was shocked to find a bustling city center. Still, the wooden bridges running over the lazy river give the casual observer some impression of what life must have been like when Siem Reap was still an isolated village.
After collapsing for a night in town, I set out for Angkor Wat early the next morning (but not early enough. I would recommend trying to get in at dawn as there are less tourists and you kind of have the run of the place.). Angkor Wat is more than just a city, but rather the heart of the former Khmer empire. About a thousand years ago, Angkor Wat boasted over a million inhabitants while London possessed a mere 50,000. The empire stretched from parts of Vietnam to Myanmar to Northern Indonesia and actively traded with China and the Middle East. Today, Angkor is the symbol of Khmer identity (Cambodians refer to themselves as Khmer and it is also the name of their language.) and appears on the Cambodian Flag as well as the national beer. To truly see everything would take more than a week, but honestly after a day you kind of get it. Massive stone structures covered with hand-carved etchings and statues showcase what was an extremely advanced culture. Unfortunately, since I am ignorant of most history of this time period as well as a bit behind in my studies of Buddhist and Hindu Mythology, the names of the kings and battles meant little to me. What was fascinating was the level of access; I was able to walk right into the temples and structures and stand on the ramparts (on delineated paths).
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