The temples of Khajuraho

In a small village in the heart of India lies one of the true gems of Indian history. The temples at Khajuraho are completely covered in intricate carvings. Layer upon layer entice the eye as you stand there looking. Each new angle revealing some new detail. A mix of Hindu and Jain temples, it is a bit shocking in conservative India, to find temples proudly displaying their erotic carvings. Providing a glimpse of different positions and even partners in the stone work. As you wander the grounds each new temple provides some other tidbit that is special - the carved boar under the Varaha Pavillion, camels being pulled along, an elephant tearing apart a person right next to a couple in flagrante delicto, elephants next to Ganesh statues, cow headed people and half male half female individuals, kisses and couplings...and that is almost all on the exterior of the temples. Inside you have tightly enclosed spaces, still filled with carvings, a Hindu or Jain representations taking the center stage, geometric patterns on the ceilings and columns. When you stop to think it is almost too much to take in. What a treasure that has been preserved from the 10th century.

Cambodian snapshot: Angkor temples

It seems silly that I haven't written about the main reason that I went to Cambodia- the temples of Angkor. I think I've been avoiding it because I don't know where to start. Exploring the temples in person is a bit like escaping to a different time. A time when buildings spoke to the soul. When they were the heart and soul of a community. When nothing could be grander then these temples. And yet at the same time the draw is seeing just how something this old is surviving until the modern time. This is what you can call some solid construction. True there may be areas where the forest is taking over, where the trees have staked their claim as the fingers of their roots creep over walls, through cracks and sandwich walls. And yet with all the crumbling stones to accompany them there is still a magnificence to accompany these ruins.

I have to admit that Angkor Watt was not my favourite of the temples I explored during my three days there. Some of that may be because they were in the process of doing renovations so green tarp restricted my view of the towers and entrance. Perhaps it was the sheer size of the structure which made it difficult to grasp the full scale. Or maybe it was just that I preferred sites where there were fewer people and I could feel like I was actually discovering a new location.

So what did I prefer? The more than a hundred faces carved into the spires of Bayon held a special fascination for me. So much that I ended up wandering through that temple more than once. Of course who can resist the root entangled temple Ta Prohm, of tomb raider glory? Surely not me. My favourites though were those that were a bit farther off the beaten track. Ta Nei which required us to walk up a sand track and clamber over fallen stones provided a real sense of discovery, solitude and fallen glory. Further afield Banteay Srey stood proudly in a field with extraordinary carvings and details along every surface. Preah Khan had a few trees taking over giving a sense of just what nature can envelop given enough time. I could go on and on, but perhaps a slideshow of pictures will give you the best idea of this fascinating region of Cambodia.

Thailand Snapshot: Reclining Buddha

At the end of my winter break (yes, I am still posting about winter break, but I'm convinced I'm going to finish with this before I leave for the summer in a week) I spent a couple of days visiting with a friend in Bangkok. He took me out to see some of the sights one of the days and I have to say going with someone who knows a place is great! Partly because I didn't have to worry about how to get to anywhere or where I was going, but also because I had no idea of what we were going to go see so everything was a surprise. My favorite surprise was when he took me to Wat Pho. Wat Pho is known as the origin of Thai massage, but that is not what caught my attention. Under a pavillion there is an enormous reclining Buddha. And I do mean enormous. It measures 43 meters long (about 129 ft) with  feet that are 4 1/2 meters (13.5 ft) alone. Once your eyes land on the graceful gold Buddha it is hard to take in anything else at the temple. As we walked around I couldn't draw my eyes away. Definitely different from what there is to see at most other temples!

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib

Earlier this week a friend and I hired a driver to take us downtown. We knew we wanted to do a bit more shopping as we will be leaving for the summer soon and it is always fun to be able to share a bit of what India has to offer when you are going home. We also had the idea of seeing something else in Delhi, only we couldn't decide what that should be. Luckily for us, we didn't have a plan and were open to unexpected ideas. As we were driving to Old Delhi we passed the walls of a massive Sikh temple. Our driver was very proud to point it out to us as a part of his faith and proposed the idea of taking us through it once we were  done with our shopping. Doreen and I latched onto the idea and couldn't believe our luck. What could be better than going through a religious site with someone of that faith?

So, on our way home we stopped for a visit. Our driver was so excited about the idea of being able to share this with us and stated that we were no longer his customers but his sisters, the smile never dying from his face. So we stripped of our footwear, and waited for him to deposit our shoes in the shoe check, making sure to keep our feet in the shade so that they wouldn't get burned on the hot marble flooring. Peering around the corner to look up the stairs at the white marble building topped with enough gold to make it glitter in the sun. Through a basin of water to clean our feet, a quick wash of our hands at the faucet, up the stairs, drape the scarves we'd just bought over our hair, down the green carpeted walkway and across the door sill into the temple itself. Directly in front of the door was the focal point of the temple; a man sat reading from the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, under a gold pavilion while off to one side three musicians played music in the background. There was plenty of open space around this area where people were sitting and praying (reminding me of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul in some ways). We did a quick tour around the inside of the temple then excited out the back. As we walked out our driver instructed us to cup our hands to receive the food offering of karah prasad which everyone receives as they leave. We were a bit skeptical, but didn't feel we could turn down any part of the experience that he wanted to share with us. So we received our share, took a small bite and then got rid of the rest.

 

There were two more things to see. The sarovar, the holy lake, which was used to help treat the ill during a choloera and smallpox outbreak in 1664 when the location was just a bungalow of a raj that the eighth Sikh Guru stayed in during a visit to Delhi. The temple itself was built in 1783. The lake is considered holy and many people bathe in the water for a special blessing, a single bath house existing for the use of the women who wish to enter the water, while men and children just enter from any side of the main basin. The lake is surrounded by white marble on three sides, the last side opening to the stairs that lead up to the temple itself. On the opposite side of the temple was the langar hall, where anyone is welcome to eat. A simple meal is served to anyone who walks in regardless of their belief.

While I still may not understand much about the Sikh religion, I feel like I got a special look into the largest Sikh temple in Delhi, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib.