Angkor Wat and Lesser Temples

 

Angkor Wat - East Entrance
photo by author

Angkor Wat and Lesser Temples

travel memoir

by Gregory E. Larson

I had no preconceptions of Cambodia upon arrival in the spring of 2023 for a five-day stay. The airport in Siem Reap was modest by international standards, and as we rode in a van to a small resort, my first impression was that Cambodia must be a poor country. The buildings and the jungle climate reminded me of Jamaica. I thought maybe it was dangerous to be out among the public in such a poor place. But first impressions are not always correct.

Traveling with my daughter, her husband, and two granddaughters, we found the Cambodian people to be happy, friendly, trustworthy and kind. I can’t say enough good things about the people there, who are mostly of Buddhist faith.

Angkor Wat - perimeter railing and steps
photo by author

For the first two days, we traveled to the Angkor Wat Temple with a guide, who led us through the temples and gave us the historical background as to what we were viewing.

Cambodian Tour Guide explaining the Bas Relief carvings
photo by author

The Angkor Wat temple (12th century) was built in the middle of a thriving civilization that spanned over six hundred years from approximately 800 A.D. to 1400 A.D. It is the largest of the temples, which are made from quarried sandstone from the nearby mountains. Angkor Wat was constructed on better foundations and with larger stones which weigh approximately one ton each. During construction, which spanned over thirty years, the stones were quarried and then floated on barges in a man-made canal that was over twenty miles in length. There are hundreds of smaller temples throughout the nearby jungle. The smaller temples used smaller stones and less adequate foundations. Many are now crumbling in the jungle overgrowth. Angkor Thom is the second largest temple in the area, and has impressive stone carvings that still remain.

Gate to Angkor Thom
photo by author

The temples were built to honor the kings of the region and to be used as temples for the Hindu faith. At some point in the Cambodian area, the faith switched to Buddhism, so now the temples are considered Buddhist temples.

Angkor Wat is impressive in size and design. It was originally built within a huge moat that was to separate the day-to-day world from the spiritual world. The base of the temple has carved railings and steps around the perimeter. Inside the cloister areas of the entrance, the bas relief carvings, which are protected from the sun and rain, show the forces of good and evil and a struggle to create a harmonious world of people and nature.

The stone steps are steep, and show the wear of multitudes of feet that have trod upon them. The steepness causes one to pause on the spiritual journey upward, giving focus to the ascent to the holiest spot on the top terrace, where five massive towers, built with 2 million tons of stone reach above the jungle landscape.

Angkor Wat - steps to upper towers
photo by author

The sandstone that is exposed to the elements has begun to degrade over the centuries, with lichen and moss, along with the humid climate, causing the stones to wear and crumble at the edges of the structures.

During the tour which took us to many different temples, we would see small Buddhist ceremonies occurring in different spots, and we would quietly pass around them as we continued through the stone mazes.

Stone faces at Angkor Thom
photo by author

One of my goals was to find some interesting views for watercolor paintings. I definitely found them in the smaller temples degrading in the jungle. The shadows and sunlight played upon the carved stone as well as piles of rock. When walking through the doorways and along the paths, there was a feeling of “ancient-ness” to the space, and one could sense the passing of centuries, visualizing ceremonies with bright costumes and entourages of kings on elephants.

Banyan tree growing on a lesser temple
photo by author

All is quiet now. The stones speak with carvings and nature’s wear and tear. The ages continue to pass while the jungle trees and vines attempt to overtake the crumbling stones.

 Here are my first two watercolors of the lesser temples:

Angkor Temple Remnant (#2)
2023 watercolor by
Gregory E. Larson

Angkor Temple Remnant (#1)
2023 watercolor by
Gregory E. Larson

You can also view the paintings on my online gallery: www.larsoncreativellc.com