This was going to be a busy day. We visited the Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat in two installments. Angkor Thom in the morning and Angkor Wat in the afternoon.
While heading out of the city towards Angkor Thom, here are a few pictures with some sights of Siem Reap. It could pass for a city in south India, like rural Bangalore, if the signs were not in Cambodian. Notice how few people there are on the streets. Also note--no helmets!
Angkor Thom was a walled city designed to protect a city with around a million people. Thom means great or big, Angkor stands for city. In the center of the city there stands a temple devoted to Bayon. The walls form a square around the city. It is also surrounded by a moat which was dry, it being the dry season. The path to the center is flanked by stone figures on either side. On the left you have gods, on the right you have demons.
Angkor Thom
The tour guide was knowledgeable and explained a whole lot of stuff relating the ruins to hindu kings, buddhism, hinduism and whole host of things. After a while the whole thing starts getting mixed up and you soon don't know the beginning from the end.
We visited Angkor Wat--the main attraction in the afternoon, after taking a break. The sun was beating down. The tour guide's suggestion was that we do take a break. I guess he took a look at pathetic state, panting from the excursion, the heat and the humidity. He decided that we were in no condition to go to Angkor Wat immediately after because that involves climbing lots and lots of steps. We went for lunch at a nearby restaurant to have a set-meal, cambodian style. As usual the food was delicious. Of course a couple of cold beers (Angkor Beer it was called) provided great relief from the relentless heat.
While Angkor Thom is in ruins, much of Angkor Wat has been restored. UNESCO has played a large part in the restoration effort. The French and the Japanese have put in a lot of effort to reclaim the monument from the ravages of the jungle. The trees in the jungle are quite aggressive in invading the construction. See the image below for nature gone wild.
Tree crushing the Temple construction at Angkor Thom
Angkor Wat is awe inspiring in its grandeur and scale. As engineers, we think we know scale. But then we have all the advantages of modern technology to use as building blocks. But the ancients built this massive structure without any advantages that we have today. Granted it took them 10 to 20 years construct many of these monuments. Even then it is astounding that construction on such a grand scale was accomplished.
Angkor Wat was originally a temple dedicated to Vishnu built in the 12th century. It has gone through many changes in its usage and has been at one time a Buddhist monastery.
The temple is wider than taller. From a distance it doesn't look like it rises very high. But the height is almost 700 ft from ground level. There are three levels each accessible by stairs. The last level has 37 steps indicating the number of steps needed to get to heaven. The number of steps needed to go to hell is much lower, around 35. I know I am starting to sound like an authority on how to ascend to heaven, but rest assured, this is second hand knowledge gleaned from the tour guide. The big adventure is the last set of steps to get to the tower at the center. The steps are steep and tall. We did go up and walked around at the top terrace. There is simply so much area that is built up at that level, it is mind boggling.
While heading out of the city towards Angkor Thom, here are a few pictures with some sights of Siem Reap. It could pass for a city in south India, like rural Bangalore, if the signs were not in Cambodian. Notice how few people there are on the streets. Also note--no helmets!
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Street Scenes of Siem Reap
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The tour guide was knowledgeable and explained a whole lot of stuff relating the ruins to hindu kings, buddhism, hinduism and whole host of things. After a while the whole thing starts getting mixed up and you soon don't know the beginning from the end.
We visited Angkor Wat--the main attraction in the afternoon, after taking a break. The sun was beating down. The tour guide's suggestion was that we do take a break. I guess he took a look at pathetic state, panting from the excursion, the heat and the humidity. He decided that we were in no condition to go to Angkor Wat immediately after because that involves climbing lots and lots of steps. We went for lunch at a nearby restaurant to have a set-meal, cambodian style. As usual the food was delicious. Of course a couple of cold beers (Angkor Beer it was called) provided great relief from the relentless heat.
While Angkor Thom is in ruins, much of Angkor Wat has been restored. UNESCO has played a large part in the restoration effort. The French and the Japanese have put in a lot of effort to reclaim the monument from the ravages of the jungle. The trees in the jungle are quite aggressive in invading the construction. See the image below for nature gone wild.
Tree crushing the Temple construction at Angkor Thom
Angkor Wat is awe inspiring in its grandeur and scale. As engineers, we think we know scale. But then we have all the advantages of modern technology to use as building blocks. But the ancients built this massive structure without any advantages that we have today. Granted it took them 10 to 20 years construct many of these monuments. Even then it is astounding that construction on such a grand scale was accomplished.
Angkor Wat was originally a temple dedicated to Vishnu built in the 12th century. It has gone through many changes in its usage and has been at one time a Buddhist monastery.
The temple is wider than taller. From a distance it doesn't look like it rises very high. But the height is almost 700 ft from ground level. There are three levels each accessible by stairs. The last level has 37 steps indicating the number of steps needed to get to heaven. The number of steps needed to go to hell is much lower, around 35. I know I am starting to sound like an authority on how to ascend to heaven, but rest assured, this is second hand knowledge gleaned from the tour guide. The big adventure is the last set of steps to get to the tower at the center. The steps are steep and tall. We did go up and walked around at the top terrace. There is simply so much area that is built up at that level, it is mind boggling.
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Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat at Sunset
We stayed around till the evening. The guide said there were some good shots to be had around sunset. It was a good thing we stayed because the sunset was spectacular.
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