On the Way to Angkor Wat

On the Way to Angkor Wat

Siem Reap, the home of Angkor Wat, is a six-hour bus journey from Phnom Penh, including three stopovers. As we left Phnom Penh, we could see apartment buildings coming up on the outskirts of the city. The scenery was not spectacular. On the way, temples, monasteries and pagodas whizzed past. A humble, red, single-storey building bore the inscription, CPP Office; that is Cambodian People’s Party, the main political party in Cambodia. Vast, green fields on either side of the road were abundant proof that agriculture was the main occupation of Cambodia and employed 80% of the workforce. Small towns and hamlets sprang up at regular intervals. A notable feature in isolated locations  near rice fields were elevated wooden houses called stilt houses .These rural Khmer houses  are raised on stilts or wooden pilings to prevent the main room in the house of rice farmers from floods and to maximize air circulation. The simplest of these traditional dwellings consist of only one main room on the upper floor, which is partitioned into separate units used to provide a storage place for rice, a bedroom for the parents, and a further space for  unmarried daughters.  

Rural Khmer Stilt House

Rural Khmer Stilt House

We first stopped at Spider Village (also Spiderville) at Skuon. It is a busy market town about 75 kilometers north of Phnom Penh. It is the district capital of Cheung Prey district. Vendors sold fried spiders, fried cockroaches and fried grasshoppers. The shopkeepers, mostly women, gave careless glances at the tourists because they knew that the foreigners would never buy those eatables but only click pictures of them. Some vendors also sold figs, dates and jaggery. The jaggery tasted wonderful, somewhat like the jaggery available in the winter months in West Bengal.

Spider Village

The next stop was for lunch in Kampong Thom at a restaurant called Prey Pros River Rest Area . The setting was picturesque with seating arrangements under thatched huts, overlooking a scenic waterfront.

The last stop was Kampong Kdei Bridge, locally known as Spean Praptos or Spean Preah Toeus which means ‘Direction Bridge’ in local Khmer language. It is also called the ‘Dragon Bridge.’ It is located on highway number 6, the main road leading to Siem Reap city. Till 2006, all kinds of transportation, including heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses passed over it. Nowadays, heavy traffic is diverted to a 1.3 kilometers-long bypass where a new bridge has been constructed .This was done to preserve Kampong Kdei Bridge. Now only pedestrians and villagers who travel in bicycles or motorbikes are allowed to travel over it.

                                                           Kampong Kdei : Bridge on the Stream of Time

Dragon Bridge

This bridge was built by King Jayavarman VII in the 12^th century, during the Angkorian period. It was restored by Bernard Philippe Groslier in 1965. The bridge, which is made of stone, spans the Chickreng River. “It is 86 meters long, 16 meters wide and 10 meters high above the river bed.” It is recognized as the longest, corbelled-arched, stone bridge in the world and the oldest laterite bridge in Southeast Asia. It has about "21 corbelled, narrow arches, spanning 285 feet (87 meters) and sustained by 20 laterite pillars".  

The entry points of both the sides of Kampong Kdei Bridge are marked by balustrades with huge snake heads, exquisitely carved with detailed engravings of seven-headed (nine heads according to some sources) nagas. The parapet on either side is shaped like a scaly, snake’s body. Nagas or serpents play an important part in Cambodian mythology .It is said that an Indian Brahman, Kaundinya invaded Cambodia which was under the dominion of a naga king. The naga princess, Nagi Soma fought valiantly but was defeated. Another source records that she fell in love with Kaundinya. She married the victorious Kaundinya and the first Cambodian royal family was established. The Khmers are the descendants of that union.

Naga Heads on the Balustrade

There are few souvenir shops in that area selling cane artefacts and other things. The bridge is a great photo stop. Mobile studios give you instant, framed photos with the bridge providing a perfect backdrop.

The bridge is open for public visit throughout the day. Its beauty is enhanced during the rainy season (May to October), when the increased water level bordered by dense greenery is a feast to the eye.  This longest rock bridge in the world, surviving the ravages of time, harsh weather, battles, bombardment is still standing strong for more than a thousand years. It is truly a bridge on the stream of time uniting the ancient, Angkorian period to the modern world.    It is a national heritage and is printed on the bank note of 5,000 Cambodian riel. It is one of the few Angkor empire era bridge standing tough and picturesque in the 21^st century.

Photographs: Bulbul Sur

Tags: Dragon Bridge, Rural Khmer Stilt House, Spider Village