September 20, 2018

Cambodia – Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat Archaeological Park

Angkor Wat temple was nominated for the New 7 Wonders of the World. Now that motivated us to go and see this place. It’s a huge and so many temples to see. Angkor in sanskrit means nagara, city. Angkor complex stretches around 400 sq. kms.

Best way to reach here is from Siem Reap. We took a flight to Siem Reap. There are so many tour companies offering different tours one day, 2 day s or more. Also you can hire a local Tuk Tuk driver and he will take you around or even better Elephant ride around Angkor. There is short and grand circuit itineraries. Short circuit can be done in one day and Grand circuit needs at least 2 or 3 days.

We decided to do the one day short circuit trip. This tour started at 7:30AM. We went to city center first to buy the 1 day pass for all of us. You need to be in person to get the tickets as they will take a picture to issue the pass.

Our trip covered

Angkor Thom
Bayon temple
Ba Phuon temple
Phimeanakas
Terrace of the Elephants
Ta Prohm
Angkor Wat

Angkor Thom

Literally means “Great City”. Angkor Thom is the last capital city of the Khmer Empire, and was constructed under the reign of Jayavarman VII. The city was built nearly a perfect square, it’s surrounded by 8m walls facing East, North, South, and West respectively, with a gate in the center of each. To further protect Jayavarman’s sacred city, it was said that there was a 100m moat filled with crocodiles.

Seems like very important event for Cambodian people is “Ksheera sagara mathanam (Churing the Ocean of milk)” with Devas taking the tail side and Asuras (Daemons) taking the Vasuki (Snake) head side.

The ones with the clean face are the restored ones…

Deva and Asura expression says it all..

Angkor Thom South gate…front and back side. Iravatham is Lord Indra’s Elephant. You will see this in many places in Cambodia.

Bayon Temple

At the exact center of Angkor Thom city Bayon Temple, representing the intersection of heaven and Earth. A temple with full of faces. Funny thing is when we were taking pictures with iPhone, so many faces are There is a Shiva temple and has Shiva lingam still in this temple. This is converted to Buddha temple and currently people are worshiping Buddha inside.

“Ba Yon Temple features approximately 50 stone towers with four faces of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara carved on most of them. Set in the middle of Angkor Thom, it was built in the late 12th century to serve as the official state temple of Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. Featuring a serene expression, the stone carvings are easily the most recognizable structures of the ancient Khmer Kingdom, with each of the four faces measuring at four metres in height and oriented toward the four points of the compass. Ba Yon Temple is also flanked by two long walls with intricate bas-relief scenes of battlefields, markets, religious rituals, and cockfighting.”

Entrance with Vasuki and Lion

Lord Shiva and Buddha

Apsara Dancing

Civilization in those days…

Beautiful spot for taking the picture of the full temple…

Ba Phuon Temple

A three-tiered Shiva Temple. In the late 15th century, the Baphuon was converted to Buddhist temple. It is very steep and kids under 10 (I think it is 10) are not allowed.

Steep and small stairs

Views at different levels…

View from the top…

Phimeanakas

It is in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple. Phimeanakas is located inside the walled enclosure of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom.

Next to Elephant Terrace… Why is it called Elephant Terrace?

Elephant Terrace

“The terrace was used by Angkor’s king Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army. Most of the original structure was made of organic material and has long since disappeared. Most of what remains are the foundation platforms of the complex. The terrace is named for the carvings of elephants on its eastern face.
The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant reviewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience hall. It has five outworks extending towards the Central Square-three in the center and one at each end. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life size garuda and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of elephants complete with their Khmer mahouts.”

TA PROHM temple

First thing you remember is “Lara Croft Tomb Raider” Movie scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb7ezWhWK1s). There is one scene which is shot in this temple. Lara runs around and fights with bad guys before falling under ground.

Now coming to the history of the temple – ” This tranquil monastery was built during the mid-12th century by King Jayavarman VII in commemoration of his mother. Fitted with 600 rooms, courtyards and galleries, it was believed to have housed a population of over 70,000 people, most of them being high priests, monks, assistants, dancers, and laborers. The ruins of Ta Prohm Temple are now enveloped by huge trees and hanging vines, giving visitors the feeling of discovering a temple lost in the jungle”

Learning new technique on taking pictures of the tall trees. You want to know the secret?

Angkor Wat

After a nice lunch we went to Angkor wat temple . We entered through different entrance and started our trip in reverse direction. According to our guide, visitors will be at lunch at this time and if we do reverse route, we can avoid the crowd.

Some facts about Angkor Wat :

Angkor Wat is located about four miles north of Siem Reap and south of Angkor Thom. Entry and exit to Angkor Wat can only be access through west gate. Angkor Wat (Wat means temple) was built between A.D. 1113 and 1150. It is spread across 500 acres. Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means “temple city.” Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century.

The city where the Angkor Wat was built, Angkor, is located in modern-day Cambodia and was once the capital of the Khmer Empire. This city contains hundreds of temples. Angkor Wat has 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower surrounded by four smaller towers and a series of enclosure walls, a layout that recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home of the gods.

There is 5 million tons of sandstone used to build Angkor Wat. These are transported from quarries from 50 kms away from this place.

Our first look of the Angkor Wat.