There are many other temples in the area, but they are spaced out. Angkor Wat is a few kilometres from Siem Reap, and the other temples are also several km apart. Not a walking tour. I hired a tuk-tuk and a guide. You can do it on your own, just hiring a tuk-tuk, but a guide is essential to understand what to see. Everyone visits the same sites, so the road is a continuos snake of tuktuks, cars and buses.
When you first see Angkor Wat it is an impressive sight. You view it across a huge moat, and the reflection is beautiful. Not a great photo, because of the haziness.
A rectangular moat surrounds the temple. The moat is 1300 by 1500 meters, 190 meters across, and 4 meters deep. All dug manually. The stones were quarried 50 km upstream. It took 600 000 men, and 40 000 elephants to build it over a period of 37 years. All the earth dug up to create the moat was used to build up the area within the moat.
Aside from the Great Wall of China I can't think of a bigger construction project during this time period.
All around the outside of the moat is a stone wall, which was, at one time, decorated with rows of carved stone heads, or other symbols. At one time there were thousands. Sadly nature, wars and vandalism have only a few left.
A Hindu temple is not like a church. It is meant to be the residence of a god, and not a place for communal gatherings. The inside of the temples are made up of small chambers, each dedicated to a god. The temples at Angkor Wat are dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu.
Let me tell you, there are steps, steps, and more steps. To enter each room you have to climb over a high sills, 3 up and 3 down; doesn't sound like much, but it adds up after several dozen rooms. Then of course, are the steps to the various levels of the temples. In addition it was a bit muggy today. Quite a workout.
The intricate carvings, and the immensity are fantastic.
Much of the details have eroded over time, and restoration is a slow and expensive job.
By 2 in the afternoon I was ready to pack it in. My body isn't what it used to be.
My hotel has a great little pamphlet that is full of information, including restaurant suggestions. I decided to go to a BBQ place near my hotel. It is a huge space, reminded me of an airport hangar. No decor to speak of. The front third interior of the restaurant is a parking lot for motorcycles and cars; no barrier between the cars and the tables. The staff was interesting. The waitresses that served the food wore jeans and a yellow tee shirt. Then there was a group of ladies, in very tight red mini dresses, who seemed to serve the drinks. At one point three gorgeous women in very tight blue mini dresses appeared. I have no idea what they did, except improve the scenery.
This was not a fancy nightclub. I definitely was the only Westerner, everyone else was local, lots of families, with small kids.
Nobody spoke English, but the menu was bilingual. Quite the choices; BBQ'd everything from eels to squid to frogs to the usual. My favourite was "cow gender with red ant sauce". Cow gender means uterus. I passed on that one, although I was tempted. There was a bit of a misunderstanding, I thought I ordered a glass of beer, but I was given a small jug. There was no hope of finishing it, but I drank more beer than I usually do in a year.
Luckily it was only a five minute walk home. I had no trouble falling asleep.
The photos are
Angkor Wat across the moat
A row of heads on a wall lining the road. This would continue for miles
Going up and down to the central temple, and
The back of a wedding party. Wouldn't I look good in one of those?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment