Phnom Bakheng, Angkor Thom, and Angkor Wat...
Day 1...

October 29 and 30, 2003

Phnom Bakheng - 'phnom' means hill

The temple at Phnom Bakheng was built in the late 9th to early 10th century by King Yasovarman I.  Lots of tourists hike up there for sunrise or sunset, in our case.  You can see much of the surrounding Angkor area from the top.

        
Here is the hike up, with Kath standing amongst all the people, and at the top all the people gathered to watch the sunset. There are plenty of crowds to be had here, but we were able to find ourselves separated from the pack at times. The Yashodharesh Vara is at the top of Phnom Bakheng.

Kath and Dana have a picture...

        
The sunset: colors, West Baray, Sunset with temple in front, and sunset with the sunset balloon. The hot air balloon goes straight up and straight down for 200 meters, and stays up for 10 minutes. The cost is free to go up, but $11 to come back down.

These musicians played at the base of the climb on our way up and down. It really added a special touch of magic to the experience.

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom was built at the end of the 12th and beginning of the 13th century by King Jayavarman VII.  At that time, it served as the Capitol of the Khmer empire and administered  a population of about one million people in the area.  Angkor Thom itself is 360 acres and surrounded by moat.

The causeway leading to Angkor Thom has 108 statues (54 gods and 54 demons) which guard the entrance.

At Angkor Thom, just next to the Bayon Temple, you can get an elephant ride.

           
Coming into Bayon from the east gate. 

               
Various faces in Bayon Temple and leaving through the north gate.

     
Carving details showing Apsara and a Monkey warrior.

  
The statues in the area prove an irresistible temptation to treasure seekers. Apparently the face of one Apsara can make a person rich in Thailand. Not only foreigners and the Khmer Rouge have vandalized the sites; the locals also engage in the activity to this day. Not 4 months ago a statue was defaced at Kbal Spean.

The faces of Bayon temple are thought to be King Jayarvarman VII's face, or possibly a combination of the King's face and the Buddha's face.

This is the temple known as Phimeanakas, or the temple where the king worshipped daily. 'Phimean' means palace and 'akas' means sky, so this is the Palace in the Sky. A serpent with 9 heads resided there, but disguised as a woman, showed herself to the king every evening.  The king had to sleep with her every night; if he missed a night it was thought he would die.

  
Preah Palilay: the roof was fallen in, and there were really cool trees there....

     
Terrace of the Elephants. 300 meters long, solid carvings of elephants.

     
Preah Pithu: a relatively untouched group of temples across the way from the Leper King.

  
The Leper King, thus called because he built many hospitals for lepers, and was rumored to be a leper himself. The statue of the Leper King is unique in Khmer art in that it is naked. Though I guess the half naked Apsaras on the wall supporting the statue, and everywhere else, don't count. And I wonder about the naked-ity of the statue of the Leper king: is it anatomically in-correct, or was he truly the unfortunate victim of leprosy?

Prasats Suor Prat, The Towers of the Court Dancers. There are actually 12 of these towers. Cambodian legend says ropes were strung between them for acrobats to perform on while the king watched. A visiting Chinese official in the 13th century wrote that the towers were used for settling disputes: the two men having a dispute were separated into two towers for a number of days. One man would get sores and illnesses and the other would remain unscathed, thus allowing the gods to determine guilt and punishment. Our driver, Borin, told us that this was the area where they would have elephant fights and horse races.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II.  When Angkor Wat was built, the predominant religion was Hinduism, and the architecture and carvings reflect the designs and stories accordingly.  It was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were imported from the Indian traders that were resident in the area while waiting for the trade winds to shift and carry them home.

The design of Angkor Wat is meant to represent the the universe. In the center is Mount Meru, and the five towers are the five peaks of Meru. The outer wall represents the mountains at the edge of the world, and the huge moat stands for the oceans beyond.

Angkor Wat is the largest monument of the group at Angkor (the wall surrounding it is 3.5 miles long) and was surrounded by a 660 foot wide moat.  As you may have noted, this is the image which is pictured on the Cambodian flag.

It is 213 feet to the top of the central tower- which was said to be only for kings or high priests. 

        
The outside walk up to Angkor Wat and the front wall once you get there.

        
The center tower and a couple of shrines inside it.

     
Climbing around inside on the second and third levels.

        
Some monks on stairs and outer walls.

The hallway around the outer wall. Just inside are the Bas Reliefs.

There are 1200 square meters of ornate bas-reliefs.

        
Gods vs Demons: Skanda (God of War), Surya (God of the Sun), Varuna (God of Water), Vishnu riding a Garuda)

  
Judgement by Yama: Heaven or hell...
1. Yama sits on his cow and points the way to righteousness and sentences people to hell
2. You can see that the levels of Heaven and Hell are clearly marked
3. Those that are sentenced are thrown through the trap door to hell
4. If your are thrown into Hell, one of the many tortures you may enjoy is being eaten by tigers.
5. If you are the King, you are in heaven (next to godliness) and can enjoy all the benefits of
6. your own personal bevy of Apsara, of course....

     
Here are some scenes from the Indian epic known as the Ramayana, depicting monkey warriors.

          
The sign says: "The reliefs sculpted on the southern section of this eastern gallery represent the "Churning of the Sea of Milk", a popular episode from Vishnu lore.  The Gods (northern part) [right side] and the Demons (southern part) [left side] use the serpent Vasuki as a cord wound around Mount Mandara, emerging from the Sea, pulling alternately on either end of the serpent, together they churn the Sea of Milk in order to extract the nectar of immortality. Seizing the nectar as it is formed, the Gods are victorious, and thus thereafter immortal."

The churning of the sea cuts all the fishes to bits, and Apsara fly out of the froth. Vishnu stands at Mount Mandara to help, and in a separate reincarnation of himself as a turtle under the mountain. Everywhere we see this story retold in Bas relief, carvings, statues and entryways. It is where Apsara come from, so it is very important.

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