The western baray lies out past Siem Reap airport and we needed to get to the farthest western point to access the water, where locals set up hammocks and congregate to relax. Having cycled the 'grand circuit' of Angkor, I felt confident that this wouldn't present a problem. But suddenly, the night before, I became concerned over the route, the distance we had to cover and the heat. I sought some advice from the internet to confirm that this was a workable plan, and we vowed to leave early to avoid the worst of the sun.
The western baray is larger still than the, now dry, eastern baray we visited last week. It dimensions measure 8km by over 2km and, when we went, it was full of water. If the temples are an astonishing feat of engineering and construction, the magnitude of this body of water (thought to have been used for irrigation) is no less impressive. The man-made lake was not dug out; rather, dikes were raised around the periphery to contain the water.
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| Western Baray |
We took the so-called 'airport road' towards our destination. This was far less busy than I had expected, especially once we had left the centre of town. The road was better surfaced and less chaotic than its counterpart on the opposite side of town (Highway 6), and we enjoyed a segregated lane for much of the journey. Pulling off after passing the airport, we had a pleasant cycle ride along the river to arrive at the southern sluice gate of the baray. This is the disembarkation point for a trip out to the West Mebon island temple, which, unlike its eastern counterpart in the dry baray, can only be accessed by boat. We took a ride along the southern and western sides to get the measure of the lake and find a good spot to stop.
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| Southern sluice gate |
The baray is a popular spot for locals, with few tourists taking the time to venture out here. However, it was still early when we arrived, the hammocks were largely empty and there was little in the way of food save for grilled fish. We had planned to pack some food for breakfast by the lake, but a combination of forgetfulness and ineptitude meant that we arrived empty-handed. We settled into a hammock having bought some krolan (sticky rice in a bamboo tube), mango with a chilli-salt dip, and an enormous coconut, which must have contained a litre of coconut water.
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| Hammock huts at Western Baray |
Descending from the top of the dikes, there are low huts built out over the water, their bamboo floors only inches from the lapping surface of the lake. In the hammocks strung out between poles, there was a very pleasant breeze over the water's surface and we were sheltered from the fierce sun.
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| Lunchtime at the Western Baray |
After a snooze, I was woken to cries and the sound of children. As morning drifted into afternoon, the empty huts had filled up with local families with lunchtime picnics. They produced tiffins full of rice and other foods, and supplemented this with fish, fruit or fried grubs brought round by hawkers.
We decided to take our leave and press on to Angkor Wat for the afternoon. In theory, it is less than a 10km cycle ride to the entry gate, but it was a more arduous journey than anticipated. The most obvious and direct route is to take the path east along the southern side of the baray, and skirt around the airport. Anecdotal evidence from other travellers indicated that this was a valid route, but the initial path proved to be much sandier and stonier than I had expected. Our shopper bicycles struggled and we would have benefited greatly from the all-terrain tyres and suspension of a mountain bike. Even then, the banks had subsided in parts, which made the going tough.
After much cursing, we reached the eastern end of the lake and skirted round the northern tip of the airport runway on a much smoother surface. It was a surreal experience to have the jungle on one side and jumbo jets firing up their engines on the other. The road from the airport runs directly in a straight line to the western gate of Angkor Wat.
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| Western entrance to Angkor Wat |
The iconic Angkor Wat, best known of all the Angkor temples, whose image adorns the Cambodian national flag, is an impressive structure indeed. Entered by a long bridge flanked by naga (five-headed snakes), which crosses the wide moat surrounding the temple, the island measures just over 1km on its longest side. This is in contrast to Angkor Thom's 3km wide enclosure, but what it lacks in area, it makes up for with its imposing presence. The central tower rises to 65m tall (contrast Bayon's 43m) and dominates all other structures.
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| Central tower of Angkor Wat |
The architecture has a beautiful symmetry and is a combination of the earlier 'temple-mountain' style and the later fashion for concentric galleries. As a result, we spiralled our way through the outer galleries, containing bas-reliefs, and into the central sanctuary and the five towers. Entering the temple was a humbling experience and originally the laity were only permitted in the lower galleries.
The bas-reliefs stretch along the sides of the lower galleries and mostly depict epic duels. I was particularly taken with the battle between the monkeys and demons, led by Hanuman, the monkey god. This is taken from the Ramayana and tells the story of how Rama was able to recapture his love Sita from Ravana.
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| Battle of Lanka (Ceylon) |
Other reliefs not depicting battles include a description of heaven and hell and the torture that awaits those deemed by the judge Yama to warrant punishment. While much of the relief is damaged, the Sanskrit inscription detailing the nature of heaven and hell remains surprisingly legible. The judgement that is meted out is severe: "the glutton is cleaved in two", and "rice thieves are afflicted with enormous bellies of hot iron". Another illustration shows the Hindu myth of gods and demons working together to churning the sea of milk, using a giant snake (of course) in order to create an elixir of immortality. As the sea is churned, apsaras (dancing female spirits) appear, whose image can be found throughout the temples and on which the traditional dance and costume is based.
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| Apsaras |
By the time we came to leave, the sun was low in the sky, throwing glorious orange light onto the western face of the ridiculously photogenic Angkor Wat.
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| Angkor Wat at sunset |
Finally at home, after a 34 km round trip, we pulled out a richly deserved beer, which even had an 'old school' ringpull, the likes of which I haven't seen since being a child.
I chose a Phnom Penh stout, as the label promised to "replenish your energy", which I much desired. The brewery logo is the three-headed elephant Airavata, the mount of Indra, the King of the Gods, both of whom we saw in many friezes and bas-reliefs at the temples. The sweet stout was good, but not quite as full-bodied as the stout from the Singaporean Archipelago Brewing Company (ABC), brewed under licence in Cambodia.
Dinner was carb-rich noodles topped with a fried egg, from under which some aubergine, pumpkin and green beans peeped. I left the yolk runny, so that it made a sauce with which to coat the noodles. Delicious.
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