Angkor Thom- The Terrace of Elephants

The Terrace of the Elephants Khmer is part of the walled city of Angkor Thom, a ruined temple complex. The terrace was used by Angkor's king Jayavarman VII as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army.

It was on the way to Bayon from Angkor Wat.  We only got few minutes to snapped few pictures.

Angkor Thom - Bayon

Bayon is lesser known then Angkor Wat, thus, my surprised, excitement with joy when I had first glimpse of it from far away.

The whole complex were consists of towers with huge faces.  One tower has four faces facing north, south, east and west.  The faces were seamed all looked identical. 

Once you entered the temple compound, you are up close  with these gigantic faces.  Aside from the usual photography, our local guide is an experienced photographer who had instructed us how to be photographed so that our nose will be face to face with the nose of the face on the tower.  Some of the photos also showing two giant faces who have their nose to nose with each other.  I was impressed.

At the base of the temple, you will see stone carvings again on the walls that tell stories.  Lions and cobras were again set in front of the entrances.

Angkor Wat - Inside of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat was built symmetrically like a fortress. Out most liner of walls was far away from the temple, it kept the temple within with a lake in front of it at one side. You can enter the temple from east or west. We entered from the west side which has no lake in front but a campus like lawn area where it was huge piece of land you can see locals and tourists walking around; bloom over the sky… Once you enter the temple, you can see carvings up close everywhere on the outside of the wall that built the temple. Notice those carvings on top of each door are especially complicated. Once you enter the temple, the tour guy will take you to those huge walls down in the Corridors that was filled with carvings which gives detailed records of stories after stories and stories…. Walk around the corridors, some corridors are filled with Buddha sculptures, some of them without heads since they were built long long time ago. Some where there, you can see a monk giving blessing to people who pay him a small fee. If you want to go farther into the temple (center of the temple and get close to the towers), you are required to wait in line to a single entrance which is a door above a set of stair approximately 30 – 40 feet high. You will wait in a long line under blazing sun and heart with humidity till you reach the bottom of that stairs where you will receive a badge from tourist from other half side of the stair who just came down. Once it was your turn, you will then claim up on the right side of the stairs to reach the entrance door. Once you got on top, you get to enter the corridors that connects to all towers and it goes all around. From there, you can have the opportunity to see the towers up close and then walking around and look outside through the window and get a glimpse of the temple (section of it) below you from above. In the body of each tower lays a Buddha. A gate separates the Buddha from outside people. You can knee outside the gate to face the Buddha and have your prayer. Interestingly, there are many statues of lions set in front of each door of the temple and each of them has perfectly shaped butt that is more beautiful than Kim Kardashian’s butt. However, they do not have tail. I forgot the story why they lost their tail. Also noticeably as popular as those lions at the front the door, there are also sculptures of cobras, which are just exotic and beautiful.

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Angkor Wat -Seen from outside

Angkor Wat, Siem Reap

When I learned Angkor Wat was once listed as one of Seven Wonders in the World, I wanted to visit it.  I got my wish as the result a trip to Southeast Asia this fall. 

Angkor Wat is a temple complex located in Siem Reap, Cambodia and is considered to be the largest religious monument in the world. 

Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century (113-5BC). Estimated construction time of the temple is 30 years by King Suryavarman II, dedicated to Vishnu (Hindu),

This website gives very detailed information on Angkor Wat:  http://www.tourismcambodia.com/attractions/angkor/angkor-wat.htm

Angkor Wat, the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved, is an architectural masterpiece. Its perfection in composition, balance, proportions, relief's and sculpture make it one of the finest monuments in the world.

Wat is the Khmer name for temple (the French spelling is "vat "), which was probably added to "Angkor "when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most likely in the sixteenth century. After 1432 when the capital moved to Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat was cared for by Buddhist monks.

It is generally accepted that Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun and death. The bas-reliefs, designed for viewing from left to right in the order of Hindu funeral ritual, support this function.