Angkor Wat is but one temple in a vast temple graveyard north of the city. Every patch of blue on this map is a moat surrounding an old temple save the large rectangled "Barays", ancient reservoirs that feed the rice paddies. Angkor Wat is the small blue square closest to the city. Angkor Thom and Prasat Bayon are inside the larger blue square between the Barays. Ta Prohm is at the SW corner of the East Baray. Song took me to all of these via tuk tuk.
The Cambodian government wisely charges to visit the temples and uses the money for restoration. At the edge of the city you apply for a license which includes your photo. The temple region is another ecosystem entirely, it's within thick, cool jungle. One hundred feet from the licensing booth the city noise disappears along with the dust.
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Angkor Thom was the 11th century capital of the Khmer empire. Its 4 square miles of buildings sit behind 20 foot high walls. Prasat Bayon (Temple Bayon) is the main temple.
It is known for its 49 towers with faces staring out from all sides.
There was no cement or adhesive used - the rocks fit together like lego blocks.
The Chinese are the new Americans. I cannot say I wasn't annoyed by them. They spit, yell, take up a lot of space, jabber away on their cellphones and detract from the setting.
The restoration of nearby Temple Baphuon took 51 years. The Khmer Rouge interrupted the work, which was just completed in 2011. Luckily the Khmer Rouge were in power for just a few years or they might have bulldozed all the ruins. Baphuon is dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.
Ta Prohm was built as a monastery in the 12th and 13th centuries. It's been left somewhat as is, with the jungle grabbing at the rocks.
By the time we reached the moat at Angkor Wat it was noon. The temperature was approaching 105 and I was feeling dizzy.
I quickly made the walk across the large yard that surrounds the temple to get some shade. There were only a handful of people crazy enough to be out in the mid-day heat.
2 comments:
Tell the truth: did you get "templed out" after awhile? I wonder if I could tell one ruin from another, except for the nifty one with a tree growing over its corner.
I was only there for half a day and it was way too awe inspiring to get tired of so quickly.
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