Angkor Wat

6 May 06 cont.

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Exploring Angkor Wat

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The Temples of Angkor were designated a UNESCO World Heritate Site in 1992. They are scattered over some 300 sq km of countryside between Tonle Sap (the Great Lake in Cambodia) and the Kulen Mountains. Angkor Wat is the one that is known and most recognizable world round. It was built under the guidance of King Suryavarman II from between 1080-1175 and is considered the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It's steeped in mystery and is unmistakable with its five magnificent towers and numerous galleries filled with gorgeous bas-reliefs that have been meticulously carved into the walls. It's enormous!

To reach Angkor Wat from the road you must first cross a giant moat which measures 8km x 2km--square around the temple grounds! Here's a shot of rnrB crossing one of the bridges over the moat to Angkor Wat's entrance. Crossing this moat just gives you a sense of the enormity of Angkor Wat. Once you cross this outer moat, you reach an initial temple complex--that seems to serve as an entry to the vast Angkor Wat complex. It takes us about 20 minutes to walk from the outer road, across the moat, past the first 'layer' of temples, across the inner grass field to the first stairs leading up to the main area of Angkor Wat--it's that large! Once beyond this initial temple, we cross a giant grass field in the 'inner-square' of the complex and eventually reach the steps up to the first platform of Angkor Wat proper. It's blazing hot now, my ski-thermometer on my compass reads 36*C. It's about 1pm and humid, humid, humid! We share the entire complex with about 30 other tourists. Amazing! We break down and purchase straw hats for $1/each--just to help beat the heat.

trkr stands at the top of the initial set of stairs leading up to the first 'platform' level of Angkor Wat. You can just make out the towers of Angkor Wat in the background. We continue to climb up more stairs and eventually reach one of the inner galleries. There are four massive bas-reliefs that cover the immense walls around the towers. Most of these bas-reliefs depict Hindu epic stories that glorify Vishnu. Many appear to describe battles between princes and dieties. One that sticks out involves two sides stretching out opposing serpents as if in a tug-of-war battle. The resulting tension between the opposing sides results in the Churning of the Sea of Milk--a story that bears great significance to both the Hindu & Buddhist faiths. We've seen smaller represenations of this image in other temples around Siem Reap today.

One of the 'sides' stretching out the serpent in the 'tug-of-war' contest. We continue exploring the nooks and crannies of the massive courtyard and discover numerous pools, smaller rooms for Buddha statues, several 'headless' statues that appear to be Buddha but we're not quite sure--all were wrapped in a swath of saffron-colored fabric which makes us think they're Buddhas--or at least representation of monks.

The steps up to the spires are insanely steep but somehow Trekkie & trkr are able to negotiate them and make it to the top.

You can just make out Trekkie & trkr at the top of the steps beneath one of the five towers at Angkor Wat. rnrB & I wore dresses (as recommended in many of the guidebooks) so we were unable to 'safely' climb the steps--otherwise we'd be up there, too. :(

I snapped this shot of the steps looking directly up towards one of the towers. They're over 10m high and each step is about 1-1/2 feet tall with uneven treads--which only adds to the adrenaline rush when you climb them. ;) We spend a few hours exploring the environs and then eventually meander back to the outer loop of the complex. As we depart the area, we see hundreds and hundreds of tourists from tour buses pouring onto the bridges crossing the moat leading into Angkor Wat. We just beat the crowds! And I wouldn't want it any other way!!!

Here's a photo of Angkor Wat from the inner grass field. It's enormous & this photo barely does it justice!

Along one of the paths out of the inner grass field is a row of street vendors hawking all sorts of things from cold drinks, food to silk clothes, trinkets, books & souvenirs. This pile of coconuts was something that we usually don't see in the states so trkr got a big kick out of it.

I liked the various textures of the thatching they used to build their roofs and shade 'lean-tos' around here. Once we make it out to the road from Angkor Wat, we can sense a thunderstorm is heading into the area. Our plans to watch the sun set over Angkor Wat are postponed and we decide to hunt out a GC on the grounds instead. We follow the guide of our trusty GPSr and learn that the GC is supposed to be 6km away from where we are. We ask the taxi driver to 'follow the magic box' and help us find our 'spot'. We eventually find the Neah Peak temple complex where the GC is supposed to be hidden and we walk the 1.5km to reach the exact spot. Once there, a handful of 'minders' dressed in clothing that reminds us of the bad guys in Star Wars descend on us and take a keen interest in the kids (& what we're doing that most tourists don't do when visiting this particular complex). So, we make valiant efforts to hunt out the GC but eventually call off the hunt because the minders just won't leave us alone. :(

While hunting around the area, we find fresh almonds that have fallen to the ground--the minders show us the almonds and eventually find some for us that are edible. I also find some beautiful purple butterfly wings on the ground. Spectacular! Eventually, we give up on our quest and head back to the hotel.

We hop in our tuk-tuk again and spend another great evening on the town. We've found the same Tuk-Tuk driver again and he LOVES the kids! He takes us to a restaurant that offers an Apsara Show--featuring the Apsara dances that are depicted on many of the temples' walls. One of the highlights of the meals here is a thin egg-omelet pancake filled with pork, glass noodles, herbs and vegetables with a sweet spicy peanut sesame sauce! Scrumptious!!!

After the show, trkr & I snap a photo with one of the beautiful Apsara dancers. I was impressed--she spoke English impeccably! Their fingers really do bend backwards nearly touching their wrists. It's incredible!

After the show, we returned to the stadium that the Tuk-Tuk driver pointed out the night before. The kids really wanted to ride the train and the airplane amusement rides. So, we put our faith in Cambodian engineers the country over and let the kids ride on the rickety rides. The man in the white t-shirt is our Tuk-Tuk driver. He was having as much fun as the kids were!!! I'd guess he's about 16 or 17 himself.

Here are rnrB & trkr flying some WWII era Cambodian fighter jet. ;)

After the rides, we head over to the balloon-dart game kiosks and leave with 2 large shopping bags full of snack food and drinks that we've won over the evening. Eventually, we head to an internet cafe and check hundreds of emails at the rate of $0.75/hour. The internet cafe is full of what appear to be world-traveling backpackers all catching up with their homelives. We eventually turn in for the evening--in anticipation of another day of temple touring set for tomorrow.