Angkor Thom

Mr. Teng met us in the hotel lobby early, and took us to his car where his brother (the driver) was waiting. First stop – Angkor Thom temples. One of many temples in the area, Angkor Thom was built in the late 12th century in the reign of Jayavarman VII and was one of the largest Khmer cities. We parked on the south side of the temple, and approached the south gate on a bridge over a large moat. On either side of the bridge were stone figures carrying the body of a large serpent – a seven-headed naga. The stone figures on the left are gods, on the right demons (asuras). The south gate is magnificent in and of itself – 23 meters high, with a triple tower carved with four faces.

We got back in the car and drove to the east of the main Bayon temple, where we got an elephants for a jaunt around the Bayon temple itself. Now, I’m never been on an elephant, and it was a bit unusual to step on the elephant’s head to get to the seating platform. And the swaying as the elephant walked is enough to wish for a mule. Off we went Baja’ing around the temple.

Mr. Teng then took us to the Bayan temple itself – it’s billed as “one of the most enigmatic and powerful religious constructions in the world”, with maze-like passages leading to many small chapels inside, and I have no reason to doubt that. Truly magnificent! Lot of ‘face-towers’ – 37 in all, rising to a central tower. Mr. Teng took us to a gallery toward the bottom with bas-relief of ancient battles the Khmers fought with the Chams. Commanders riding elephants with parasols above them – not that they were too dainty, the umbrellas were a sign of rank. Khmer warriors with ropes tattooed on their bodies, Cham soldiers with pronged shields and strange helmets. One battle shows bodies falling into the water, chum for the lake’s crocodiles.

As we climbed up into the temple itself, we saw a most strange site – amid a small plaza filled with (noisy) Korean tourists, a women sat on a stone in a meditation posture with iPods buds in her ear. As if!

Gran got his photo taken with a group of Cambodians clothed in traditional Khmer costumes – see his blog for the excitement.