ANGKOR WAT
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2008
1
68
319
Trip End
Sep 02, 2009
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Thursday, December 4, 2008
They tell us about one down a way that is nice so we check it out. It is good and clean with no bars beside it. Back to the pool hotel and try to negotiate a deal for $20 with the pool and breakfast. They won't budge, so back to the other place to confirm. We go back to our hotel and there is a tuk-tuk waiting for us. His last 2 numbers on his shirt is 99 and we think this is our guy. We put our bags in and go to the new hotel and check in and get ready to leave to Ankor Wat. Oops, this tuk-tuk is not the one we made the agreement with. He showed up with the paper I wrote for him last night. His last numbers on his shirt is 66. I was close just a bit upside down. We pay the chap off for moving the bags, but we know he is disappointed that he is not taking us out for the day. Len smooths things out and we are off.
Our first stop is Angkor Wat. It was built in 1112 to 1152 by Suryavarman II in honour of Vishnu his patron and for his funerary temple. We walk across a very long bridge to get over the moat, it used to have crocodiles in it. We go into the grounds and then up to the main temple area. Each side is 800 m long and has extraordinary exquisite bas-reliefs carved along each side. Each side is different and depicts life as it was then, wars, heaven and hell and their beliefs. It is unbelieveable how the structure is built. It is the only Wat to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation-first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls. We walked, and climbed in and out of the halls and walkways. The steps and walks are uneven so we had to watch where we were going all of the time. There is a restoration and preservation project in progress from now until 2010, the budget is $956,800. We thought it would have been much more.
We stopped for lunch and then found our tuk-tuk and off we were to another Wat.
We passed several ruins of smaller wats on our way. We soon arrive at Ta Prohm. Now all of you who have seen Indiana Jones Tomb Raiders have been here too. This place was amazing. There has not been much restoration work in the past. While most of the main temples in the immediate Angkor area have been cleared of vegetation leaving only cold lifeless stone, it was decided to leave Ta Prohm untouched as a testament of the forces of nature. The silent conflict between the massive tree roots prying their way between the stone blocks in the dappled sunlight while bird calls ring out has left many a visitor in silent reverie. Unfortunately, a few years ago, a massive tree came down after a lightning strike destroying part of a gallery.
Massive trees grow on top of walls with their huge roots curl down to the ground and some even run along and have worked their way in between the blocks making up the wall. We really enjoyed our walk here in and out of all the small walkways. We came to one room, following a group with an English guide, where there were holes in the walls, he explained the holes once held diamonds and precious stones all since stolen. We then moved on to another room where he spoke and clapped his hands, we heard no echo, but he then pounded his chest and we could hear an echo. Of course we all got to try it, unbelievable and unexplainable how it was happening, but it did. It was very easy to get mixed around in here as it is a maze and we did go in and out the same entrance. I think we spent a lot of time here and would have spent more if we had arrived here early in the morning. By afternoon it was quite hot and in the buildings not much of a breeze.
Oops, lost some text. Will finish tomorrow!
