Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was a walled city, the last capital of the Khmer Empire. It was founded in twelfth century. The best known building in the city is the Bayon temple which used to be the official state temple.

Bayon is famous in particular for the numerous stone faces curved on the top of the walls and towers. In total, there are over two hundred of them!

Here you can see closer one of them.

The inner courtyard is large and surrounded with yet some more faces.

They look into all the directions.

Let's walk inside.

The walls are decorated with many sculptures. I liked a lot these dancing ladies. Or gentlemen. I am not really sure here.

And for all those asking themselves - where is Buddha in all that? Well, he is here. And do not be fooled by the child sitting next to me. Compare the size of the statue with the adult next to it.

Since Angkor Thom was a capital city (it is estimated that it had around a hundred thousand inhabitants!) it had of course more than one temple. I will show you as well Baphuon, first dedicated to Shiva and then again to Buddha.

Believe it or not but it is starting to rain! 

Let's better get inside.

Unfortunately "inside" is somehow still outside since the ceilings have collapsed in most rooms and corridors.

Anyway, the rain is warm (the temperature here never falls below 20-25 degrees) so let's just ignore it. I propose we go up this tower to get a better overview of the place.

It must have been an impressive temple in the old days.

Today not so much is left from its past glory.

Alright, we get down - mind your steps, everything is so high in here.

You will probably tell me it is not possible that a capital city consists only of temples. Of course you are right. The king of a mighty empire must have been an outstanding warrior. To receive tributes from his victorious army he needed a platform. A big platform. 350 meters long to be more precise.

It is called the Terrace of the Elephants because of the very many elephants presented there.

Elephants serve also as pillars.

Of course nowadays the Cambodian army does not recruit elephants just like it does not recruit horses. But you can see some on the walls.

Look, the sun is shining again. This was a short rain only. So let's take a last look into the stone faces.

Let's have now a little nap under a tree. You are not sure if we will find one big enough? Just compare this one to the size of a bus. Or more buses. Should be enough for a horse and a few friends.

Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm

As promised, today we will start our visit to the national jewel of Cambodia - Angkor.

You will surely not be surprised that Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The entire Angkor complex is really huge (40,100 ha) and all parts of it are fascinating. Therefore, I have decided to split my story into a couple of posts. Today I will take you to Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm.

In my opinion, the best view of Angkor Wat can be seen from a hill near by, called Phnom Bakheng.

Phnom Bakheng is actually a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, built in 9th century. But do not be fooled - this crowd is not here to worship the Cosmic Dancer.

They all came here to admire the sunset over Angkor Wat. And the mist as well (at least today).

Angkor Wat also used to be a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. Nowadays it is a Buddhist temple. It was built in the 12th century at, what was at that time, the capital of the Khmer (i.e., Cambodian) Empire.

Here you can see it in a larger perspective.

As in all popular touristic spots you need to be careful, otherwise people will literally walk on you! Queues are everywhere.

Even on the stairs!

But it is really worth to climb on this tower to see the buildings from the top.

Now let's walk a bit along the corridors.

They are decorated with many sculptures that are really well preserved.

Here you can get an idea of the length of these corridors.  And the incredible amount of work necessary to decorate them.

Look! A married couple! It seems that the site is popular not only amoung tourists. Though I have a feeling this dress is not really a traditional Khmer wedding outfit.

Just next to Angkor Wat lies Ta Prohm. It used to be a monastery and a university. Nowadays it is best known for being the place where the movie Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was shot.

Today it has unfortunately surrender to the powers of the Mother Earth. Or more particularly to the power of Tetrameles nudiflora. 

Even though some part of the buildings seem to still stand strong ...

... others have fallen down.

No surprise when you realise the walls need to bear some extra weight.

Here you can assess the height of the tree - compare it to the heigth of a human!

The green colour is onmipresent, even on the reliefs.

Let's leave Ta Prohm to its silent guards and move now to the old city of Angkor Thom. We're going to see more of these faces there.

 

Siem Reap

All those of you who read my blog for a longer time know that I hate this specific weather that Poland is cursed with in November and December. It is dark, cold and depressive. Typically there is no snow, the days are short and gloomy. This is why I always try to spend this part of the year in a warmer place. Therefore, today we are starting a new fascinating adventure in the Kingdom of Cambodia!

Our main goal is of course Angkor, the national wonder of Cambodia. You can see it everywhere, even on the national flag. We will first stop in Siem Reap, a nice town that calls itself "gateway to Angkor". Siem Reap is not really a touristic spot but I wanted to show you a bit of modern Cambodia before we dive into the historical monuments. So first we need to get a bit of the local currency. Though in practice US dollars are commonly used. 

Obviously the most impressive buildings are temples, called Wats, just like the ones in Thailand. This one is called Wat Preah Prom Rath.

A golden boat is quite unlikely to float.

Unless they planned to have it pulled by these cows?

The area includes many long corridors.

The walls are decorated with religious paintings.

I like this one best. A flying horse! What a brilliant idea. And the bright colours are great as well. As you see, the picture is dated "2007" so it is really modern.

Unfortunately I have not met any flying horses in Cambodia. Nowadays, the most popular means of transport in Siem Reap is a "tuk-tuk" so a motorbike with a place for passengers.

The streets and the shops there are colourful, just like the ones that I have shown you in Bangkok. Everything is meant of course to catch the eye of the tourists.

But what I liked best was this huge market. You can find there any type of fresh food available in this part of the world.

And yes, seafood is probably the best represented.

Coming back to the city we will pass by the palace of the king (who does not live there of course, he has a nicer and bigger one in the capital city of Phnom Penh).

And yet another temple - smaller but a bit more crowded.

If you want to meditate for a moment, feel free to enter.

Finally, we arrive at our hotel. The people on the pictures are of course the royal family - the current king Norodom Sihamoni and his parents.

Time to take some rest, tomorrow we start our journey through the fantastic world of Angkor!