Toerke

On the national flag, on the beermats, on the banknotes: Angkor, everywhere Angkor. A visit to the mother of all temples is quite unavoidable, a must-do so to speak. After a 9-hour boat ride from hell on a much too shallow river among a bunch of white-socked German prepensioners, each carrying a suitcase of over a ton thus taking up more than half of the available seats, we arrive in Siem Reap – at last! The vicinity of the temples is played out to the limit: Angkor Hotel, Angkor Lodge, Temple Lodge, Angkor Spa, Angkor Massage, Angkor Bar II. You are here for one reason only, Angkor Wat, let there be no doubt about that.

We pick the smallest one first, the pink temple of Banteay Srei. It is the temple with the best preserved and most refined stone carvings, beautiful scenes from the Reamkar, Cambodia’s version of the Hindu epic Ramayana. Here we celebrate man’s artful victory over nature, at Ta Phrom the tables are turned. The temple is surrounded and taken over by the jungle. Giant roots work their way through the stone puzzle. At Ta Keo’s temple I am taken over by an acute case of vertigo. Without a second thought I climb the steep stairs to yet another level, paying no notice to the height and steepness of the narrow steps. When we start the descend, I suddenly become very aware of these facts. My knees start trembling and I break into a sweat. I sit down, frozen solid and refuse to move an inch in either direction. I try to focus on the matter at hand, take a few deep breaths and start to climb down, step by trembling step, fingertips anchored like fish-hooks around the stones. With both feet back on solid ground, I can smile again. Two hundred peacuful Bayon faces smile back. We keep Angkor Wat itself until last, a beautiful ending to a very special collection of stone art. Definitely worth a beermat!