Angkor Wat symbolizes the ancient Angkor empire and has been in my mind since I first read about it in geography textbooks at high school.
The final scenes in director Wong Kar Wai's romantic film, In the Mood for Love, touched my heart several years ago - with Angkor's dense forests, grand but dilapidated buildings and delicate sculptures.
World Heritage site Angkor Wat is a must-see tourist destination in Siem Reap, Cambodia. [China Daily Liu Weitao] |
It had been a dream of mine to visit the place and it came true when I got an opportunity this autumn to travel to Siem Reap, the ancient capital of Cambodia.
My first impression after the plane touched down at the airport was of the warm weather. I was wearing a thick jacket on boarding the plane in Beijing, but in Cambodia the average temperature is 25-35 C and people usually wear shorts.
Siem Reap airport has a French architectural style and was decorated with tropical plants. It was small and neat, had white walls and a red tile roof. Cambodia used to be a French colony, so the buildings have Gallic influences; while Buddhism is the main religion and there are statues of Buddha and temples everywhere.
Along the streets visitors can see grandiose hotels, well-designed gardens, exotic restaurants, noisy bars and Internet cafes. Nearby there are potted roads, shabby alleys, makeshift grocery stores and motor tricycle taxis.
Angkor Wat is located just 4 km from Siem Reap. Visitors can take a motor tricycle taxi there for less than $10 and it is a pleasant way to travel, better than being locked up in a stuffy taxi.
"Angkor" means "capital city" or "holy city". It was built by King Suryavarman II in the mid-12th century at the apex of the Khmer empire (from the 9th-12th century). It is the most famous and grandest Hindu temple in the Angkor archaeological park, which includes many other temples, dispersed throughout the thick forests.
As we headed down the ancient royal road in the forest, my heart began to beat faster. Suddenly, the outline of Angkor Wat came into view - the long paths, protruding towers and arched doors.
Angkor Wat is breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid, crowned by five lotus-like towers, rising 65 m from the ground. Surrounded by a moat and exterior wall measuring 1,300 m by 1,500 m, the temple covers an area of 1 sq km.
The eroded stones are black, just as I remembered from Wong's movie. The passage leading to the temple, paved with thick, square-cut stones, is 12 m wide and 540 m long, with stone balustrades on both sides in the shape of the snake deity, or naga. The walls of the temple are covered with apsara carvings and Angkorian era art, depicting stories and characters from Hindu mythology and the historical wars of Suryavarman II.
The stairway leading up to the third and innermost tier is so steep, it's treacherous. Even so, I did not hesitate and started climbing so that I could explore the inner heart of my dreamland.
There are towers on each of the four corners of the innermost third level, and the central sanctuary - the peak of Mount Meru - represents the center of the world. It was here, in this sacred space, that the secret ceremony uniting the king and god was conducted.
The square at the innermost level is divided into four smaller squares, each of which has a bathing pool, where devotees purified themselves before worshiping.
For a moment I stood still in the sanctuary, taking it all in. The sunlight cast long shadows behind the towers and gilded the pinnacles, making a sharp contrast with the black stones. The water in the moat was like a mirror, reflecting the green of the forest.
I imagined ancient Angkor and a young king wearing gold clothes, holding the hand of his beautiful wife, dressed in a white gown, coming out of the sanctuary. They crossed the gates, walked down the stairs and then, gradually, disappeared into the forest.
