Our first day at Angkor, we skipped Angkor Wat itself and headed for Angkor Thom, a huge complex encompassing the royal palace and buildings. First up was Bayon Temple, a hugely intricate structure with at least three distinct levels, and it's signature faces. 
Walking clockwise, we arrived next at Baphuon, a "temple mountain" which was actually so heavy that it had partially collapsed the hill which served as it's foundation. Restoration records were lost during the decades of fighting, and it is still being reconstructed. The causeway leading up to it is intact though, and you can still get a sense of how impressive it must have been. 
As we wandered further along the edge of Angkor Thom, we scrambled around a few smaller, unmarked temples and monuments before having to take a break to wait out a heavy rain. Luckily for us, the rain cleared after a few hours, and we checked out the Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King before moving out through the Victory Gate. 
From Angkor Thom we went to Ta Keo which had not been decorated in the intricate style of some of the other temples, but featured some long sets of steep steep steps. Here are Pierce and Hannah making their way -- caaaarefully -- down. 
We also went to Ta Prohm, a beautiful temple left much as it had been found, tangled up in the trees that have grown up in and around it. 
When Pierce wondered out loud why no one had ever made a movie in the Angkor ruins, Ben noted that they had: Tomb Raider. This is the temple where some of the famous scenes were shot. 
At the end of a long day, we stopped off at Banteay Kdei, a big temple complex whose length is what made it's biggest impact on my tired legs. A long central corridor stretched back with courtyards and rooms opening off of it. I guess it would have been more of a monastic nature than a temple proper.
It was also a notable stop for us because it's where Ben's right sandal lost it's sole:
We ended the day with a stroll across the way to overlook a huge reservoir/ceremonial water basin (archaeologists still aren't sure which) by Srah Srang -- remnants of a hugely developed urban area which once surrounded the Angkor temples and supported tens of thousands of people as well as served as a ruling and religious center.
Walking clockwise, we arrived next at Baphuon, a "temple mountain" which was actually so heavy that it had partially collapsed the hill which served as it's foundation. Restoration records were lost during the decades of fighting, and it is still being reconstructed. The causeway leading up to it is intact though, and you can still get a sense of how impressive it must have been. As we wandered further along the edge of Angkor Thom, we scrambled around a few smaller, unmarked temples and monuments before having to take a break to wait out a heavy rain. Luckily for us, the rain cleared after a few hours, and we checked out the Elephant Terrace and Terrace of the Leper King before moving out through the Victory Gate. From Angkor Thom we went to Ta Keo which had not been decorated in the intricate style of some of the other temples, but featured some long sets of steep steep steps. Here are Pierce and Hannah making their way -- caaaarefully -- down. We also went to Ta Prohm, a beautiful temple left much as it had been found, tangled up in the trees that have grown up in and around it. When Pierce wondered out loud why no one had ever made a movie in the Angkor ruins, Ben noted that they had: Tomb Raider. This is the temple where some of the famous scenes were shot. At the end of a long day, we stopped off at Banteay Kdei, a big temple complex whose length is what made it's biggest impact on my tired legs. A long central corridor stretched back with courtyards and rooms opening off of it. I guess it would have been more of a monastic nature than a temple proper. It was also a notable stop for us because it's where Ben's right sandal lost it's sole:We ended the day with a stroll across the way to overlook a huge reservoir/ceremonial water basin (archaeologists still aren't sure which) by Srah Srang -- remnants of a hugely developed urban area which once surrounded the Angkor temples and supported tens of thousands of people as well as served as a ruling and religious center.
No comments:
Post a Comment