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Off the Beaten Path in Central Cambodia

"The journey, which involved an unexpected encounter with the infamous Khmer Rouge, turned out to be far more than I had bargained for."

by Mark Long

Copyright 2002, 2003, 2004 borobudur.tv. All Rights Reserved.

In December of 1998, I journeyed to central Cambodia to visit one of the surviving wonders of the ancient world: the temple of Angkor Wat. Although I had previously taught English in the monasteries of Laos at the request of the local Buddhist monks, I had not come to Cambodia with the intention of spending my time doing the same thing. Nevertheless it seemed like the right thing to do when some Khmer students stopped me on the road one day to ask if I would be willing to given them lessons.

Our ad hoc classroom consisted of a park bench on the river next to the town's high school. On many evenings a dozen students or more would drop by to practice their English. I suspect, however, that their primary reason for coming was to learn more about what life was like in the outside world. Their intense interest took the form of a myriad questions on subjects ranging from politics and good government to TV, movies and music.

THE LAST CIVILIZED OUTPOST

The last civilized outpost on the way to Mount Kulen is a beautiful Hindu temple called Banteay Sri, which was constructed over one thousand years ago. Even when measured against the grandeur of Angkor Wat, Banteay Sri holds its own, mesmerizing visitors with its fragile beauty and the impression that it was designed to be a playground for children. This is the result of the monument’s dramatically reduced scale, which is about one-half the size proportionally of any other temple in the area.

One of the other reasons why Banteay Sri so easily captures the imagination is due to the fact that it has been constructed almost entirely out of pink sandstone. The temple's many sculptures and bas-reliefs exhibit a sensual beauty that simply begs for human adoration. Of particular interest are the smiling youthful figures that serve as the guardians of the temple's central sanctuary. To anyone open to receiving their message, they seem to radiate love and compassion in all directions.

At the gates to Banteay Sri, we met two local policemen who agreed to escort us across no man's land to the base of the sacred mountain. In the company of our armed escort, we went zipping across the jungle paths on motorcycles. We occasionally passed by local villagers who were heading in the same direction. They looked at me as if they had just seen an alien step out of his flying saucer. As far as Caucasians were concerned, the path to Mount Kulen is the road less traveled by.

AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE KHMER ROUGE

Except for the items that we brought with us, there was no way to tell which century we were now living in. We saw men out farming with their water buffalo as naked kids frolicked in the rice paddies. Nearby were small huts built out of palm fronds. Inside the women of the household were busy cooking food at the family hearth. No electricity, no telephones, and no cars. Just people living in exactly the same way as their ancestors had lived hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years ago.

Almost every Khmer student that I met during my visit had lost one or more family members to the horrors of Cambodia's "Killing Fields." Several of these kids have no family left at all. And yet despite the great losses that they had all suffered, these young people were not afraid of the Khmer Rouge nor did they blindly hate the communist rebels. Their capacity to forgive the horrors of the past was both amazing and heart rending at the same time.

SCALING THE SACRED MOUNTAIN

If I ever run into Tom Cruise I shall certainly advise him that if he really wants to live dangerously then he should try climbing Mount Kulen during the opening scene of Mission Impossible III. 

THE RIVER OF A THOUSAND LINGAS

Our arrival at the top of the mountain was merely the first stage of the journey. Over a thousand years ago, the natives of Angkor had diverted a stream that flows out of the mountaintop so that they could carve religious images into its river bed. The purpose of their ambitious endeavour was to have the river flow over hundreds of holy images before it tumbled to the plateau below, where it served as the city of Angkor's water supply. In addition to carved images of Vishnu and Brahma, the river bed is lined with hundreds of stone lingas that represent the Hindu god Shiva, which is why this raging stream is known locally as the "River of a Thousand Lingas."

At the eastern end of the mountain's summit is a roaring waterfall where visitors can wash off the sweat and grime that they accumulated during their ascent. In addition, there is a Buddhist temple nearby that has been built on the top of a huge boulder. To enter the temple one has to climb up a rickety wooden staircase of uncertain age and questionable stability. We paused for a moment at the top of this staircase to admire the view. Inside the small temple was a large reclining Buddha image that was adorned with an abundance of flower offerings.

Our descent from the mountain heights proceeded without a hitch. The Khmer Rouge soldiers offered us an armed escort back to government territory. Given the desolation of the surrounding countryside together with recent reports of bandits in the area, we decided that this was not a bad idea. So we hopped back on our motorbikes and went roaring back towards civilization just as the sun was setting in the west.

STRANDED IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE

The Khmer believe that the human spirit is most vulnerable at the time of twilight, when it is neither day nor night. Along that stretch of no man's land which lies between the mountain and Siemreap, the feeling of potential danger was so strong that it was almost tangible.

Then as if by magic a dozen natives appeared without warning on the jungle path behind us. Despite the almost total absence of light, they were all fiercely pedaling bicycles as if guided by some unseen power. As they rode on by, I sought a glimpse of their faces as they passed through the beams of our motorcycle headlights. Although our presence on the path must have been entirely unexpected, the mysterious riders never even glanced in our direction. Their faces remained hidden by the shadows cast from the pointed straw hats that they were wearing. 

As for the Khmer Rouge, the leaders who were in power during the Cambodian holocaust have been put on trial for crimes against humanity. The inevitable news coverage of these trials tries to be sensational by painting a scary picture of Cambodia, replete with images of skulls and photos of the victims of the Killing Fields.  This article is intended in some small part act as a counterpoint to the reports of western journalists with an agenda that attempts to bscure the fact that Cambodia is a wonderful dynamic place to visit that seems to be changing right before your eyes, or at least that is how it appeared to me during my latest visit in May of 2003. Perhaps one day you too will have the opportunity to see its magnificent temples, climb the sacred mountain and befriend some of the wonderful people who live in the neighborhood.

THE BIRTH OF THE COSMOS AT ANGKOR WAT

At the pivot point of this magnificent relief is the figure of the Hindu solar deity Vishnu (right), who occupies the one position in the panel that is directly illuminated by the rising sun on the day of the vernal equinox each March. In addition to the relief, the temple of Angkor Wat features solar alignments in which the Sun appears to rise out of its central tower on the day of the vernal equinox each March from at observation point located at the western end of the long causeway that leads up to the temple gates.

Set at the beginning of the Golden Age, the Churning of the Sea of Milk explains how the forces of light (devas) and darkness (asuras) once worked together to generate the elixir of immortality that the Hindu scriptures call the amrita. At the beginning of the world, the devas fought bitterly with the asuras for a thousand years. 

Each side was separately attempting to generate the elixer called the amrita, which would render immortal anyone who drank it. Unable to generate the amrita, both sides asked Lord Vishnu for assistance. After explaining to the celestials that they would have to work together in order to generate the amrita, Vishnu organized the forces of light and darkness into two groups. At Angkor Wat, the asuras are arrayed on the left. They are led by their captain Bali, who holds the head of the serpent king that served as the churning rope.

To the right are arrayed the forces of light, led by the monkey king Sugriva who can be seen holding onto the serpent king's tail. At the center of the entire operation is Vishnu, who guides the churning operation from his commanding position on the pivotal mountain of Mandara, around which the serpent king has wrapped his body. To keep the Mandara from sinking into the Sea of Milk, the king of the tortoises acts as the mountain's support. After two thousand more years come to pass, the churning operation finally succeeds, generating not only the much coveted elixir of immortality, but also the sun, the moon, and the celestial nymphs called the apsaras. They rise like stars and hover over the Milk Ocean, which symbolizes the Milky Way galaxy.

Like the revolution of the sun, moon, planets, and stars that eternally revolve about the dome of the firmament, the visitor to Angkor is part of a cycle that must periodically return to the beginning. Having assimilated Angkor's cosmic perspective, the visitor walks back through the temple proper, down the long western causeway and steps back into the world of the present.

TIPS FOR VISITORS TO THE ANGKOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

Transport must be booked locally in order to visit the ancient city of Angkor. For day trips to Angkor Wat and the nearby monuments it is possible to go by motorbike. Motorcycle drivers can be hired in the vicinity of the King’s Palace, which is located a couple of blocks to the west of Mom’s Guesthouse.

As the reader has already no doubt surmised, for safety reasons foreign tourists should only travel to Banteay Sri by van or bus. Licensed tour service operator Soeum Sarin is extremely knowledgeable about the customs, art, and history of the Angkor period. He can arrange transportation and guide services for trips to Banteay Sri as well as to any of the other outlying monuments of the Angkor Archaeological Park. For the adventurous at heart, he can also arrange day trips to Mount Kulen. For further information, contact: Soeum Sarin, Manager/Tour Guide, Tours Service & Siem Reap Real Estate Company, #0371 Group 8, Phum Chong Kao Suo, Khum Slor Kram, Srok, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Tel: (055) (0)15-638458 Fax: (855) (0)63-964064.