See Angkor and Die (in the footsteps of Angelina)
July 7th, 2006
ANGKOR WAT FROM ABOVE
The French naturalist Henri Mouhot visited ruins of Angkor Wat in 1860, wrote a book about it, and died the following year. Historian Arnold Toynbee later wrote a book about Mouhot titled, “See Angkor and Die.” It summed up not only Mouhot’s life but the way that many people feel upon seeing these ruins: Once you’ve seen Angkor, you’ve seen it all.
ANGKOR WAT
The ruins of Angkor are located just outside the modern city of Siem Reap. Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer empire from about 800 A.D. until the empire mysteriously expired six hundred years later. It is home to nearly 300 temples and palaces. All of these structures are ruins, though many have been restored so that people can enjoy the temples without putting themselves in danger. Most of these temples were built as Hindu shrines and then converted into Buddhist shines. (Buddhism became the dominant religion in Cambodia late in the Angkor empire.)
ANGKOR WAT
The largest temple, Angkor Wat, is surrounded by a large moat. It has four conical towers surrounding a central tower. The ground floor features four massive bas-relief sculptures, each of which illustrates an epic story or some aspect of Angkor history.
THE STAIRS TO THE CENTRAL TOWER
A steep flight of stairs, open to elements, leads you to the interior of the central tower. (There are actually four stairways, one facing each direction, but only one has a guardrail. Unless you’re a rock climber with equipment, I wouldn’t recommend using the stairs without the guardrail.) Once you’ve made it to the top, you can enjoy the interior spaces and a fabulous view of the temple grounds — the same view that King Suryavarman II enjoyed when he completed the temple in 1137 A.D.
SCULPTOR FINISHED THIS ONE…
BUT HE DIDN’T QUITE FINISH THIS ONE!
The ruins of Angkor first became widely known in the West in the 1860s after the publication of a book by French explorer Henri Mouhot. .At that time, many of the temples at Angkor had been overrun by the jungle. Archeologists have since pushed the jungle back. Ta Prohm temple stands as a reminder of what Angkor looked like before archeologists began their work. (You may remember Angelina Jolie running through the temple in the 2001 film “Lara Craft: Tomb Raider.”) Huge fig and silk-cotton trees grip the temple walls with big, bony fingers.
Ta Prohm is a romantic, mysterious place. We had just finished our tour of the temple when it began to rain, the weather only adding to Ta Prohm’s charms.
Archeologists continue working at Angkor. Many of the major industrialized countries — including the United States — have sponsored archeological teams at Angkor. A French team is currently working at the temple of Baphuon. Archeologists have laid numbered stones on the ground. Eventually, they’ll match the stones so that they fit together. They will then put the stones back in their original places. The French have found evidence that an enormous, reclining Buddha once called Baphuon home, thought it’s not clear if the piece was ever completed.
BAPHUON
Angkor is a giant jigsaw puzzle. There are large stones strewn about the ground — even at temples which have been restored.
PREA KHAN RESTORATION… AND RUINS
The director of the Khmer Studies Center, Phillipe Peycam, says people in the West have always been a bit obsessed about Angkor. The French believed that they had discovered a “lost Rome.” They used Angkor as a pretext to justify their colonization: You had a great culture once, you’ve allowed it to decline, you need us to protect it. The French did a great job researching and restoring Angkor. They did a poorer job helping the Cambodian people. They weren’t interested.
Even today, it’s easier to get people to contribute money to restore Angkor than to address Cambodia’s other problems. (Then again, Angkor is probably a safer investment. Corruption here is rampant. Many people who have contributed money to rehabilitate Cambodia have gotten burned. Their money has been squandered.)
Peycam says Cambodians are also a bit obsessed about Angkor. In fact, he says they are “enslaved” by it. The monument is emblazoned on the national flag. It drives the nation’s second largest industry: tourism. In January 2003, Cambodians rioted in Phnom Penh after Reaksmei Angkor, a Cambodian paper, misquoted a Thai actress as saying that Angkor belonged to Thailand. (The Thais once colonized this part of Cambodia.) Rioters trashed the Thai embassy. The Thai government sent military aircraft to evacuate Thai nationals and closed its border with Cambodia — a disaster for Cambodia. The Cambodians paid $6 million to repair the Thai embassy and the Thais reopened the border.
It’s hard to say how much the local people benefit from Angkor tourism. A well-place local told me “not very much.” The Cambodian government operated the site for some years, failed to generate much revenue, and turned the concession over to a prominent Cambodian-Vietnamese businessman, who is reportedly a major campaign contributor to the prime minister.
MAKING A BUCK AT ANGKOR
More than a million people a year now visit Angkor. It costs $20 for a day pass and $40 for a three-day pass. Dozens of people work at the various sites as guards, checking to see that visitors have valid passes. Even more people work as independent contractors guiding tours, selling souvenirs, or performing for visitors.
PARK ENTRANCE
I bought a guidebook from a young man. He wanted six dollars. I said three. He said five. I said that I would buy four books for $16 (serving as the buying agent for my colleagues). He said that he needed five dollars to make a profit. I said that I would buy one book for $5 or four books for $16. To my surprise, he said that he would sell one book for $5. The final result: I bought two books for $10. The little bugger got his way, but he was friendly and we really didn’t mind overpaying.
HE SOLD ME
The entire dispute took place under the watchful eyes of the gods, watching from their perch on the high towers of The Bayon, in the city of Angkor Thom.
Entry Filed under: Freeman Fellowship
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