Le Cambodge

Visual diary of my trip to Cambodia

   

Comment exprimer la splendeur, la puissance  et la beauté de ces temples perdus au beau milieu de la jungle?
Impossible.

Il vous faudra fermer les yeux et vous imaginer fouler ce sol terreux couleur de safran, couleur même de ces pierres qui ont servis à construire ces incroyables monuments qui forment la cité de Angkor.

Devant vos yeux, des gravures, des bas reliefs qui s'étendent sur des kilomètres, des apsaras au sourire énigmatique aux quatres coins des temples (ces fameuses danseuses qui guident les soldats au retour de la bataille). et la nature, des arbres gigantesques qui semblent vouloir engloutir ce qui reste encore des structures qui formaient ces temples hindous.

Des ruines qui transforment alors les temples en terrrain de jeu réveillant l'Indiana Jones qui est en vous ( ou Junior Jones pour ceux qui connaissent bien  le film).
Vous montez aux arbres, grimpez des escaliers de la mort improbables, vous traversez la jungle cambodgienne pour arriver dans une fontaine sacré aux milles lingas. (symbole phallique de fertilité)

Bref, vous vous éclatez à mort.

I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful this trip was. What we saw there will stay in our memories forever.

Our main interest while coming to Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat or  the biggest Hindu temples in the world.

But actually we ended being amazed by other not so famous temples that were just breath taking ( Like the Preah Khan or Pre Rup)

It all started last year when I studied some bas-relief of Angkor while I was taking  an oriental art class at Ristumeikan University.

I remember thinking to add Angkor and Cambodia to the list of  things I want to see before I die.

I loved  its architecture and the many faces of Angkor Thom and especially the fact that most of the temples at Angkor are still the way Henri Mouhot first discovered them in the 19th century:

Burried in the jungle.

We were climbing on stairs, yes climbing 'cause those stairs were not the normal stairs that take you up without (almost) any effort, they're the ones that are so stiff that you need to really be careful or otherwise you might fall, deep, deep into Mount doom

We made our way through the Cambodian jungle and climbed a mountain on an Elephant ride (that was just amazing and I think it started a whole new interest in Elephants, they're so smart!).

The food was also really good,  close to Thai cuisine, so you get lots of good exotic fruits and cheap milk shakes ( 1dollar!); and good vegetables with a sweet and sour sauce miam miam

The people were really nice and always smiling, even the people who were following you and trying to sell you junk for 1 dollar were not annoying but  just nice and ok really stubborn !

Yep I really loved Cambodia, to the point where I can say that it was my favorite trip in Asia ( for now, and except Japan 'cause I live here now hehe)