Buddha and Civilisation alongside Skulls and Land Mines on the Thai - Cambodian border.

 Between minefields and dense forests lies Prasat Vihear (PV), 100 years older than Angkor Wat, in a country slowly returning back to the      21^st Century

          Here are two maps for you to see - here the PV temple is on border.

    This map shows actual areas of disputed territory between the two countries.

       This is what reality is - landmines everywhere and you watch every step!

There are a few countries in the world where you cannot walk around freely, because if you did, a landmine will blow you up. Where when the Europeans were covered with wattle [a type of dye] and leather skins, these people already had a 1,000 year civilisation with one of the world’s incredibly beautiful thriving temple cities. Where in recent times, due to a regime of unspeakable barbarity, and every single individual in the whole country was forced to leave home and compulsorily work in a village far away from home. If you asked a question, you were shot dead! It makes you appreciate the freedom we enjoy here in India.

Welcome to Cambodia: the land of Angkor Wat and Pol Pot’s inhuman regime which led to the death of over 2 million Cambodians. But that’s in the past now these many decades though the horror is still very visible. 

A signboard which clearly spells out the status

You are cautioned not to travel in the countryside. The various guidebooks clearly spell-out the dangers of travel: you are restricted to main towns and preferably by air, due to dangers like pirates, guerrillas, wildlife, kidnappings, and of course, landmines. One dreams of going to such places if only to see the civilizations of our ancestors.

At the beginning, with the check post at rear.

                                    Having already seen Angkor Wat, now another much older temple beckoned. I arrived at Bangkok and then took a flight to the eastern part of Thailand to Ubon Ratchathani, which frankly has nothing much to offer, except being a jumping off place for Pakse and Laos (for another trip) or in this case, the temple. 
My destination was on the eastern border with Cambodia - this fabulous temple built 100 years before Angkor, south of Ubon Ratchathani, on route 2178 and 221, a distance of 108 kms and it takes more than the stated time of two hours. I did not want to hire a car as I wanted to experience local travel; there is no fun sitting in an AC taxi in splendid isolation. I had checked out that there are a few Thai border posts which are authorized to issue Indian visas. I had earlier had a big problem on the Malay border near Betong as I could not get a re-entry visa.  Now, I got both a Cambodian visa and a Thai re-entry visa. It was a bit like home, where the visa policeman checked the passport and asked for Thai Baht 50 as a fee for giving me my own passport back after the tiresome job of stamping a visa in it! The trip in the small minibus was unexciting – full of locals, chickens and bundles, but informative of local culture.

View from the top of the temple.

Preah Vihear is perched on a hilltop with a commanding view of its surroundings. Predating Angkor Wat by 100 years, the history of the temple/fortress is somewhat unclear, but it is dedicated to Shiva. Its estimated construction was during the reign of Suryavarman I (1002-50) with additions by Suryavarman II (1113-50). Unlike most Khmer temples, the temple is constructed on a long north-south axis, instead of the usual rectangular plan facing east. Preah Vihear clings (and it’s the right word) dramatically to an escarpment right on the Thai border.  It is legally in Cambodia yet accessible only from Thailand for everybody else for years. For unknown reasons the Franco-Siamese treaty of 1907 left the temple on the Cambodian side of the border. The ongoing dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership was settled at the International Court of Justice in 1962. The temple remained open to the public from Thailand (although unreachable from Cambodia) until 1975, when it was occupied by the Khmer Rouge. It re-opened from the Thai side in 1998. In 2003, Cambodia completed the construction of a long-awaited access road, on their side, allowing only Cambodians to visit the temple. In 2008, after a contentious nomination process, the temple was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The verdict favoured Cambodia, and many Thais still feel that this decision is unjust. In fact, a few months after my visit, a full scale conflict involving troops and shelling on both sides resulted for many days.  My wife was shocked to find that i had been in such a potential conflict zone!

Cambodian kids playing on temple grounds

 
As of November 2014, both sides continue to maintain heavily armed military facing each other near the temple. For reasons of security, some travel specialists have recommended against tourist visits to Preah Vihear. However, the site has been peaceful and many thousands of visitors have gone without trouble. If you go, it is advisable to confirm that the situation is travel worthy.

I am sure that in the very near future, if the area stays peaceful and serene, Preah Vihear is going to be one of Cambodia's major tourist destinations. Today, it remains one of Cambodia's most sparsely populated provinces, full of jungles and scrub forest and a small, dusty provincial capital that is like a village. Preah Vihear happens to have three  major temple sites. Until recent years, the three main sites of Preah Vihear, Koh Ker, and Preah Khan aka Bakan were accessible only to the most hardy and determined of travelers. But roads have been built, mines removed, and jungle cleared.   From one of the guide books – “Preah Vihear is bordered by Stung Treng to the east, Kompong Thom to the south, Siem Reap to the southwest, Oddar Meanchey to the northwest, and Thailand to the north. Access to the province is by road only and at present there are only two decent roads into the province, from the west via Oddar Meanchey province and from the south from Kompong Thom. There is a road to Stung Treng, which in the dry season is rather easy on a motorbike, but is otherwise not a viable route to take”.

Frankly, excluding Preah Vihear, Koh Ker, and the town of Tbeng Meanchey, this whole region is not suitable for Cambodian first timers unless one has guides or one is in a group. Very few facilities exist anywhere and most of the roads are wretched ox cart dirt tracks through the jungle. More seriously, the province is one of the most heavily mined in the country. These unseen killers are saturated along the border and you can also assume that any temple that hasn't been properly cleared by one of the mine clearance agencies will have mines around it. I did not believe this until I personally saw the numerous signs.                                                             

The Thai and Cambodian paths join together at the bottom of the slope, and from here the only way is up. 

You have no option but to walk  – ensure you have sturdy walking shoes / boots. One pays a fee at both the Thai and Cambodian sides to enter the temple premises. The 500 m elevation and the resulting breeze provide relief to some extent, but it's still a hot and sticky 120 m (vertical) up the hill.

It looks a simple climb but the first thing you realize is that the step risers are uneven, the wood planks are uneven, the sandbags are uneven and your balance thus becomes the critical factor. There are no banister to hold onto. Its all a make shift arrangement. 

The actual path made of bags

The fun starts with over 160 stone steps, a fairly steep climb that will get you feeling really warmed up. Here, as you see, the steps are lined with sand bags to give you a firmer footing as many were damaged during the war.  Then, puffing away, there follow a short set of stairs decorated with nagas and a Gopura 1, a solitary pavilion with a fluttering Cambodian flag.  In all the climbing and walking you will do, there are always reminders of the mines on either side – the signage is very clear. You walk only on the sandbags in clearly demarcated zones.

There is a small pavilion now where you see a model of the temple premises and there are brief explanations given in three languages. 

View from Level 1 downwards

A 500-metre gently climbing avenue leads up to Gopura 2, another smallish pavilion, and a large boray or water cistern to the left. Yet another avenue, somewhat shorter this time, leads to Gopura 3, but also the first courtyard of the temple and the first point where visitors who have seen Angkor Wat will start feeling a sense of déjà vu. Make a detour to the left side of the Gopura to see relics of a more modern era, in the form of a rusting artillery gun and a few bunkers. My guide is shown by the artillery. It faces the whole plateau below.

These are large holes made for holding and steadying the catapult in olden days, said the guide

View from Level 1

Carving on arch Level 3

A short causeway decorated with nagas leads to the inevitable Gopura 4 and behind it the second courtyard. On the other side of the courtyard is Gopura 5  or the Galleries, and beyond it the Main Sanctuary, the centre piece of the site which now houses a miniature Buddhist temple. When you are at the top, as the temple is a ruin, you do not see the standard temple architecture. But do notice the clear beautiful figure work carvings on the doors and various windows and elsewhere 

But what makes the effort really worthwhile lies just outside. So carefully, always walking on the marked paths to avoid landmines, go to the left side to find yourself at Pei Ta Da Cliff. I made my guide lead the way first as she being a local would be better acquainted with the terrain. It will blow your mind - a sheer 500 metre drop and a jaw-dropping view of the Cambodian jungles below. What is really awesome is that at some time, someone has carved and drawn a series of figurines on the cliff and there is a narrow walkway just clinging itself built along the wall. If you are adventurous enough, walk on it – note there is nothing below the walkway, just a sheer drop right down. I have to admit that it was either taking photos from a distance or coming up close enough to see the walkway / wall murals / figurines and no photos. I did not venture onto the walkway - I had that much presence of mind as who knows the state of preservation? So, no photo but the memory still remains.  The cliffs are steep and no provisions are made to protect you from your own carelessness.   Land mines remain a real danger in the area, although the temple itself and the access paths have been painstakingly cleared by the HALO Trust. Stay on the beaten path, don't venture into any vegetation which has not been cleared recently, and heed the red warning signs, painted rocks and strings marking the limits of the de-mined area.

Its strategic position has given it military importance in recent history and has intermittently been used as a Cambodian military post. Its difficult access made it the last place in the country to fall to the Khmer Rouge in 1975. Lon Noi troops and the families held on here for days after the fall of Phnom Penh in 1975. Ironically its brief recapture in 1998 was the last victory by the residual Khmer Rouge.

See the bullet and shell marks on the buildings

As another writer says,"Preah Vihear has no equal in its natural site. Its builders were able to take full advantage of this when recreating the microcosm of the Hindu universe; to enter the temple is to experience the decent from mount Meru. A trip the Khmer temples in the Northeast allow visitor to see the remains of the great empire without having to cross the border into Cambodia".





The trip itself was fascinating. On the way down, I descended walking across huge slabs of rocks down on the Cambodian side before crossing across to the police check post at point of origin. The usual vendor stalls selling local souvenirs were there

Porcupine stomachs and animal teeth on sale !

. It had been an exciting trip as I had never realized the danger, and at such close range, of land mines. The temple itself per se was interesting due to its location but then I love Angkor and find that nothing can really beat Ta Phrom.  I then made my way back again by local transport to Ubon and then decided I might as well proceed to Pakse in Laos …. But then that’s another story - see the blog site, its there......

My guide clearing the path for me before reaching the cliff face!

    

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