Phnom Bakheng: Crazy about the sunset

First, some the interesting facts:

• Phnom Bakheng literally means “a temple on top of a mountain”.
• Built in the late 9th or early 10th century by Jacawarman I.
• Consists of 5 successive rows with 12 sanctuaries each.
• Known for the Royal Linga which is a phallic symbol of the King in his divine state.
• State temple of the first capital of Angkor after moving it from Roulous.
• The temple is made of all natural stone.
• The temple was used as an observation post by the Cambodian armed forces.

After the Angkor Wat, I believe that the next best temple to feature is the Phnom Bakheng. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite temple out of the many we’ve visited for three days but I have to say, it’s the most memorable one. We climbed it twice! :-)

The temple is known for its sunset that it has become an official part of every tourist's itinerary. Before the day ends, automatically, the tuk-tuk driver would bring you to its entrance, which is the start of the long trail all the way up to that little hill where the temple was built on.

View of the Angkor Wat from the top of the Phnom Bakheng.

We climbed the temple on the first day, which was part of the original itinerary, but the sky poured some showers on us so we lost hope of getting a view of the sunset. Due to my ill-fated frustration of not having to see the sunrise in Angkor Wat, I insisted that we go there again on the second day. Missing the sunrise is enough, I wouldn’t let this chance pass without having to see the sunset.

Climb up the hill by riding the elephant for $15. Looks fun isn't?

I spotted this monk who seems to be enjoying his moment of solitude.

From the top, the temple offers a spectacular view of the jungle and the Angkor Wat. It’s easy to imagine what the place was like during its early times when you are on top of the tower enjoying the view and the sucking into the silence. You can feel the touch of the cold wind just as you reached the top. When we climbed it on the first day, we were the only tourists there so we were able to enjoy both the view and the silence that this place has to offer. Our second climb was totally a different story all together.

A group of kids making themselves busy by drawing and talking to the tourists. I am assuming, they are waiting for the sunset too. I approached them after I took this shot. The girl with the colorful sweater (2nd from right) gave me a piece of what she was drawing. A souvenir of some sort. She drew me a queen.

Phnom Bakheng becomes sort of a pit stop for every tourist, a chance to meet people while resting and waiting for the sundown. So obviously, the crowd starts to get heavy during the late afternoon. Did I say crowded? Hmm, just wanted to make sure I emphasize the word.

A group of monks gather at the back of the brick towers of Phnom Bakheng. They easily stand in the crowd because of the orange robes that they wear. Tourists started to take photos of them that it has become a little pictorial after the sunset.

Phnom Bakheng is built on a hillock but even so, climbing to the top is one heck of job. It was exhausting! One can actually save oneself from the exhaustion by riding the elephant all the way to the top of the hill for $15, which some of the tourists did. There are two pathways actually, one for the elephant riders on the right and one for those who will climb by foot on the left side.

Just to give you an idea of how big the crowd is. I was in front of the line, I took a moment to look back and found these sunset enthusiasts capturing their own moment.

Aside from waiting and taking photos of the sunset, people-watching has also become part of the attraction. Compared to Angkor Wat, it is easy meeting people here since everyone is confined in one elevated spot only. Getting a good spot for photography is unbelievably difficult. ;-(

Knowing us, we chose the latter. Well, except for Lyn (who whined the whole time we were climbing and just opted to talk to the Koreans to pass the time), Oki and I were pretty much used to climbing mountain and traversing rough road with high elevation. Climbing Phnom Bakheng and climbing Mount Ampacao of Sagada is not even near to a close call. But I guess it becomes exhausting because going up the mountain is usually the last part of the itinerary and people are already tired after visiting all the other temples.

A closer look at the quality of the dying sun.

Sunset using one of the towers as frame.

I copied this shot from a girl who is in front of me. She's also using Nikon dSLR with a much better telephoto lens. I took a peek at every shot she makes and left me with an envious look.

Sunset, almost saying its goodbye to us. Being a sunset maniac like me, I have to see it in its culminating stage. Picture it every step of the way.

Yak yak yaka yak Tibet. Love this kiddo's shirt. He was not pointing at the sunset. He was just pointing at the sky. Maybe he is seeing something that is way beyond my eyesight.

The hike would take 10-15 minutes, depending on one’s capacity. We saw really old people climbing up to the temple by foot so there was no reason not to go there and beat the odds. We came to the temple (almost) the same time that the elephants arrived. Heya! After the trek, we saw the temple and readied ourselves for another hike at the top. The risk comes with the actual climbing those steep, dangerous staircase leading to the top tower.

Going up to the temple is easier, going down is much tougher. Aside from the fact that it was getting darker and there were a horde of people wanting to go down all at the same time, the steep staircase was becoming more difficult to step on. It could not even accommodate half of my foot!

A horde of people going down from the temple. By the time we started going down the hill, it was dark already. Here's a funny story, just as we were going down, some dropped a smelly bomb. Oh boy, I almost fell down on my butt from laughing. I was speaking in Tagalog asking Oki who did that! (Alangya, dun pa umutot, nyahaha!)

So what can I say about the sunset at Phom Bakheng?

I have four words for you: It is an overstatement. I mean, don’t get me wrong. A sunset is still a sunset and people who are crazy about it (including me) wouldn't make a mumble when they see the orangey ball popping out from the clouds.

People just wanted to see it, take a picture of it, maybe display it on their freindster account or use it as desktop wallpaper, or whatever. But like I always say, sunsets are different. The quality speaks for itself. The difference lies on the person who views it.

Enjoying the sunset is not the same as enjoying a movie or watching two people come together and talk. It comes with that special moment of seeing the wonders of nature unfold before your very eyes. It comes with that little pinch of happiness that you get after you've seen the sun coming to its culminating stage and that feeling of fulfillment when its warm streaks start to touch your face. When that particular moment comes, you yourself could say, "Ah it' s beautiful!"

I could be fooling myself here. I tend to romanticize things. But that is what I really look forward to when I watch the sundown. The feeling that comes out of it. Let us just say, there are better sunset somewhere else. But I guess, I got what I came there for. Sunset all the way!

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