News 6. Translated by Michel Aronssohn.
You certainly remember the last episode.
I promised to Equinox to set her afloat again and to sail as soon as possible together with her? I held my promise, at last I tried not to be perjury too long. She recovered her element quickly and we sailed.
But! We don't have " cleared off the country", after all it was just implied just to people willing to hear of it. We often left the Marina (period).
But! We were not only the two of us, let’s say, at least, from time to time. Someone was always willing to embark, either because, this someone had never sailed or would like to know Ko Phi Phi or Phan Nga Bay and the James Bond island or for a lot of other reasons that I forgot but that were sufficiently essential to let me accept to navigate this someone. And the Captain not liking the farewells, don't like either the “no”. As a matter of facts Equinox’ Captain cannot resist the compliments.
"Your sailboat has a remarkable design, the choice of the colors proves the peculiar attention that you give her (this didn't prevent a " fool" to make the following deep reflection: " Bull sh… where the hell you got this mauve cloth for the lazy-bag, at a transvestite! ", you find jealous people everywhere), could permit me to take a picture on the prow"
And sometimes, " I never had the opportunity to visit the inside of a yacht. "
Yacht!
Equinox is fed up and the Captain fumes.
" _ Pardon the mess but I am preparing a solitaire navigation.
Magnificent and comfortable, nothing is missing, video, television, hi-fi, air-conditioning, the big forward cabin, is it yours?
_ Yes, I now reached an age where the comfort helps to quickly recover, it is sometimes very important for the night navigation in exhausting conditions.
_ This big mirror at the cabin bottom is intended to create space, it is a kind of “trompe l’śil” In the south of France people says a “trompe couillon” (fool cheater)!
_ I beg your pardon, but why don’t you fix it to the ceiling? !!!"
The stroke is as strong as unexpected, Equinox waterline sinks several centimeters down and the Captain is not wet anymore, he exudes.
I think it is time to take the French leave, however I am afraid that, elsewhere, in Indonesia or Philippines we’ll get the same compliments.
Equinox I am going to make you ugly!
We sailed on a return trip to Langkawi in Malaysia to reinitialize the 6 months allowance to satisfy the Thai customs before my operation and especially to recover the desalinizer which, when installed, will allow an autonomy limited only by the reserve of diesel oil that is to say of 3 to 4 months.
Before sailing again I indulge some days of vacations.
TRIP IN CAMBODIA
Saturday february 2nd 2002 I take the night bus to Bangkok where I arrive at 5am. I immediately head toward Siam-Center in search of a hotel. The Backpacker indicates several of them, interesting by their price and cleanliness, they are all full, a room only will be freed at 10am at the White Lodge.
No problem, I take the time to have a meal in a street restaurant and I am under the shower. I am again with pleasure in this capital discovered ten years ago. I spend the day shopping and also several hours waiting for my visa to Cambodia. A girl in the waiting line suggest me that with two folded banknotes in the passport it is possible to get the visa the same day. In the evening I find back Pat Pong, here everything is available, counterfeit goods of course, girls evidently. I finally reach a friendly bar with orchestra that offers a simple and correct ambiance.
The following day direction Surin and Sangkhar by night train and bus. Here I have appointment with my guide Jammy. Friends in Phuket introduced me this girl (academic) that speaks Cambodian, possesses a passport and lived her youth in Sangkhar, a village located about 50 km to the border of Cambodia.
The manager of the small hotel where I checked in lend me a motorcycle, we are here in a remote country, and money has less importance than in the city.
I speed along on the small roads, the rice fields are following each others and people are surprised to see a " falang", it is the white people denomination, smile and address me a welcome hello. In a pond several men attempt to fish shrimps and fishes with flying nets, they cast it with precision in front of my camera lens. It is bizarre, I feel at home, it seems to me that I already saw this place, may be this is due to my guide's presence, very pretty who invited me (after having asked for the authorization to Dad and Mom) to spend one evening at home. Or, I already lived here in one previous life. Of course! We are in Orient under The Buddha's protection.
What do you say Equinox? In spite of the distance between us, I hear you mumbling. The captain didn’t got mad, " I am joking", with other words I am not serious. Decidedly this Marina is not good for you, you are rusting. Ok, I understood, you are jealous about the guide you don't know. If I am successful in convincing her, I take her on your board while returning, and we’ll propose her a cruise to Ko Phi Phi and Phan Na Bay, provided that you’ll not be too exhibitionist with your brand new sails listing us 30° to scare her.
Here we are in front of the immigration office at PoiPet, the only authorized way to cross the border with Thailand. Its name evoked miseries, refugees and atrocities. Today the civil war is finished and life is resuming, the children are present and come to speak with us, I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of their English speaking and some even try some words in French. The biggest surprise is the available bread , French style, good, crusty “baguettes” (the stick) with a flexible crumb, a true delight, the new chain-bakers in France... Should come here to retrain!
Cambodia is located in the heart of the former Indochina, edging with Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It has succeeded to keep its identity. Its cultural traditions are older than those of its Thai neighbors and contrarily to Vietnam that has undergone the Chinese influence, it was strongly inspired by the Indian subcontinent. Modern Cambodia is the successor of the powerful Khmer empire (nothing to see with the Red Khmers) that during the Angkor period from the 9th to the 14th century constituted the biggest cultural center of South-East Asia.
The double Thai and Vietnamese suzerainty exercised upon Cambodia, ended in 1864 with the arrival of the French war vessels that obliged king Norodom to sign a protectorate treaty. The French kept influence on this country, let's omit the details, until the proclamation of the independence by King Sianouk. In disagreement with the democratic dominating party, he decided to dissolve the parliament, declared the martial law and started what was called " the royal crusade", a campaign to rally international supports toward the independence of his country that was proclaimed on November 09th, 1953 and acknowledged by the Geneva conference in May 1954 putting a final term to the French control on Indochina.
Following general Lon Noi rule in 1970. Assisted by prince Sisowath Matak, Sianouk cousin he overthrew the government with American support.
It is well known that a régime are succeeding. The Red Khmers took possession of the country and imposed their régime committing the worse atrocities.
Then the putsches followed each others ending by the 1998 elections. In December the same year nearly all Khmer fighters had surrendered in exchange for an amnesty.
Presently on the political and economic ground Cambodia remains fragile.
The war years had stroke out this country from the tourist maps. Howevercurrently peace and security permit to travel and for me to discover today the prestigious Angkor
THE PRESTIGIOUS ANGKOR
My sources are coming out from several books.
" It is necessary that, from time to time, syntheses be made and that the writers remix for the laymen specialists’ work."
A.Maurois
Should the legend be trusted, the former dynasties of the Khmer kingdom are connected to the union of a Hindu prince, Preah Tong, banned from Delhi by his father, alongwith a snake woman, daughter of the Nâgarâja, sovereign of the country. She was of a radiant beauty, she appeared to him while frolicking on a sandbank, where he came to camp for nightrest, and had accepted her as spouse
The Nâgarâja, dried up the country by drinking its water, called Kambujâ the new empire and constructed a capital for him.
The temples of Angkor were built between the IXe and the XIVe centuries, at a time where the Khmers creativeness reached its apogee. For his unrivaled beauty in the whole southeast Asia . Angkor ranks among the architectural marvels of the earth.
This period begins with the reign of Jayavarman II that presided to the destinies of the kingdom from 802 to 850. He defined himself as a divine king whose power testified his divine nature, like Shiva. Shiva’s place being the mythical mount Méru, he built a mountain temple in Phnom Kulen to symbolize this sacred mountain, center of the universe.
To a certain extent, the evolution of the khmer’ architecture organized itself around the development of the temple mountain. More ancient is a temple, more its conception comes closer to this fundamental idea. The mountain is represented by a tower with a leveled summit, built on a structure composed of a various number of tiers following a constant proportional reduction law that would have a pyramidal function. This is a replica of the ancient mesopotamian " ziqqurrat or ziggourat", Babel tower or " Sky Door" conception that is found also in the Aztec pyramid. The summit is sometimes crowned by a unique and central sanctuary, with generally an opening to the East and three dummy doors at the other cardinal points. elsewher of a towers quincunx evoking Meru’s five summits. This predominance of East, a kind of rising sun glorification, or of light victory on darkness, can be considered as the survival of the solar cult in honor in all former civilizations, that, following its rising to its azimuth corresponding to the summer solstice, follows it during all its light path.
In every Angkor monument are found the preoccupations of a symbolic kind aiming to make a reduced representation of the universe. The astrology being the basis of all implantation that should answer to magic ends. The architect helped by the priest or priest himself, carried out, at the time of the site choice a real " space interpretation."
The discovery of Angkor by the French in the years 1860 was a world event. In spite of the romanticism contained in the word " discovery", it is not the proper term. It seems that Portuguese travelers had already arrived there during their numerous expeditions, and named it as the " Fortified city." In the XVIIth century a Japanese pilgrim drawn a detailed plan of Angkor Vat he situated in India and not in Cambodia.
It was necessary to wait for the publication in 1968 of Mouhot’ work of with its detailed descriptions, illustrated with extraordinary pen and and ink sketches, to bring Angkor’s existence to the attention of a large public. Although Mouhot never claimed to be the first to discover the site, he was awarded in the years 70th the posthumous title of first explorer of the Cambodian lost city . A French missionary, Charles-Emile Mouillevaux, who visited Angkor 10 years before Mouhot, had published a report of his own discoveries, that remained largely unknown.
For the anecdote and also to understand the thirst of the men for medals and honors (Napoleon said: " men are directed with rattles ") There is a temple, the Ta Prohm that is among the more visited with Angkor Vat that has been abandoned to the jungle (anyhow restored and controlled) It gives an idea of the aspect of Angkor when the explorers visited the site for the first time. This choice draw a lot of big controversies. In 1942 a French M Gaize fustigated Mouhot in a violent diatribe: " the tourists thirsty of picturesque [.] in our present XXth century and in the best comfort conditions, are trying in the middle of the ruins to feel Mouhot rejoicing discovering Angkor in 1860 full of an out of date flashing individualism, nothing was more important for him than the romanticism symbolized by the fascinating embrace of a ruined wall collapsing under the tentacles of ravenous trees. "
Glaize with his prestigious title of Government architect among others, doesn't accept not to have been the first and not to have a medal!
On the other hand I adhere to his views when he deplore the visit with the best conditions of comfort.
In my opinion, what alters the site more than the temple abandoned to the jungle is the network of roads 8 to 10-m width that permits to go other the site from one temple to another with fifty seats air-conditioned buses occupied sometimes by individuals watching without seeing. Angkor became the more visited site of Asia and maybe of the world. I don't regret it but people is going to see Angkor as we visit a shopping center or watch the Eiffel tower.
Good, you know the Captain, he wrote what he was feeling. If now, I proposed you a nice description of two of the most beautiful temples and Vat Angkor, I am sure that you would prefer.
So I am going to try to give you the desire to go to Cambodia and to admire, contemplate and applaud.
Your Prhom Budhist monastery belongs to the last type of Khmer temple, where the whole is on the same level an doesn't obey to the tiers principle anymore, the notion of elevation being given only by the spur of the towers and a central sanctuary predominant to a whole concentric galleries system. It is a vision unique in the world.
Built around 1186, it is one of the few temples with an inscription giving some information about the inhabitants and the servants, 80 000 people maintained the temple among them more than 2700 administrative and 615 dancers.
Out of the four gopuras, surrounding the outside the west one only is in good state, a tower with the four faces of the Lokeçvara on a crown of devatâs in prayer. The view on the outside courtyard that follows plunges the visitor in the unreal. Everywhere, in a fantastic out of scale, the clear trunks of the fromagers trees are gushing skywards in a green darkness, their long train skirts sweep the soil where huge roots are snaking looking as much as beasts than as trees. A cruciform pavement floor serves as a pedestal to some of them. Only one dvârapalâ, armed with a bludgeon, protects the axial gopura’s entrance. The gallery with a double rank of pillars possesses a solid partition decorated with big pictures of Buddhist trinities sheltered in small recesses, systematically destroyed by the Brahmans at the time of the religious reactions in the XIIIth century. Under these arches, admirably maintained, that are showing the technical Khmer process, with successive tiers by horizontal layers, reign a subtle green light giving a relaxing sweetness.
Bayon. It occupies without discussion the second rank behind Angkor Vat. The structure forms a set of arched passageways, of steep stairs and includes 54 Gothic towers, decorated with more than 200 monumental faces of Avalokiteshvara icy smiling. After long years of uncertainties, it is now ascertined that the Bayon was constructed under the reign of Jayavarman VII. It occupies the exact center of the Thom Angkor city. A lot of mysteries have not been yet clarified; the function and the monument symbolism stay nowadays uncertain. This halo of mystery well suits the enigmatic smiling faces. Some Cambodians are stressing the fact that the Khmer empire was divided into 54 provinces at the time of the building of this monument, the multiple eyes of Avalokiteshvara watched over the kingdom’s subjects in the most faraway provinces. Its orientation, let the rising sun illuminate every face one after the other.
From afar, the Bayon looks only like a chaotic mass of rocks. The basic building structure is simple and includes 3 levels that are corresponding roughly to the stages of its construction. The two first with a square shape are decorated with sculptures, they lead to the third floor, with a circular shape, from where it is possible to look at the 54 towers with their faces. The central sanctuary on this last floor looks like a cave dug into a massive rock with the multiple ornaments.
It is necessary to walk into the monument and climb to the 3rd floor so that the magic operates. On this terrace peace is coming back. Startled by the impassiveness of the these stone faces you think only about the global vision, and you are caught by these plastic pictures where the attention is concentrating. Gradually the chaos orders by itself and it is possible to perceive that this abundance of towers is made of coordinated elements grouped at the center looking like a sheaf. The building doesn't count anymore solely its symbol.
Angkor Vat The city that is a temple.
The biggest, best preserved, the most striking Angkor monument..
People is startled by the imposing stature of the monument and by the wealth of its adornments and sculptures. It is surrounded by a moat 190 m width, it forms a huge rectangle 1,5 km by1,3 km. On the west side a paved way is stepping over it. The oblong surrounding wall measures 1,025 km by 800 m. On every side a door has been opened, the main entrance being located in the West wall. It is a large porch 235 m width richly decorated with sculptures. In the door tower a statue of Vishnu 3,25 m height stands it is sculpted out of a single block of sandstone. The eight arms of the divinity are holding a bludgeon, a spear, a disk, a conch and of various other objects.
Its exceptional characteristic it is oriented westward, symbolizing the death. Many specialists concluded some that Vat Angkor was originally a tomb. This theory is confirmed by the splendid sculptures designed to be examined counterclockwise, a current practice in the Hindu funeral rituals. It seems proved that this temple is a funeral temple furthermore the only one constructed while king. Sűryavarman II was alive.
Symbolically, Angkor Vat finds its equivalent in the four ages (yuga) duration of the Hindu classic thought. So when walking on the pavement toward the main entrance, several courtyards are crossed to reach the central tower that once sheltered a statue of Vishnou, a symbolic journey in the time is accomplished bringing back to the genesis. Angkor Vat represents a replica of a miniature universe, the central tower symbolizes the Méru mount with five smaller turrets, surrounded themselves by five lower courtyards (the five continents) and by the moats (the oceans) surrounding the whole.
In the central tower the king feels himself an impression of the paradise that is waiting for him after his death, the most elevated placd where the Asparases (nymphs in the paradise) are romping animated by an ardent desire of love.
While discovering Angkor Vat while the sun is shooting forth its first rays I could not stop myself whispering " You are beautiful."
" Beauty is an inexhaustible source of joy for who knows how to discover it." Alexis Carrel.
Henceforth, there are two places that I wish to see again: Tikal in Guatemala and Angkor in Cambodia.
Emilien.
GLOSSARY :
Avalokiteshvara: compassionate bodhisattva respondent to the idea of providence which inspired Jayavarman VII for Angkor Thom building.
Devatâ: Feminine divinity.
Dvârapala: guard of temple.
Garuda: mythical creature half man-half-bird.
Lokeçvara: Idem Avlokiteshvara.
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