Angkor Thom

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At 9am, I walked out of the air conditioned hotel into the heat of the Cambodian morning, temps already edging to the 30s and climbing as I walked to the car where my guide and driver were waiting. First stop : Angkor Thom.

We drove right past Angkor Wat on the way, just seeing the wide, wide moat for the first time was spine tingling then the famous skyline of Angkor Wat came into view briefly before we swept past and through the South Gate of Angkor Thom. Along a tree lined avenue, I could see elephants carrying tourists, dogs running round, lots of Xe Xoms and other types of transport. My first sight of Angkor Thom was Bayon, an impressive monument situated exactly in the very centre of Angkor Thom.

The driver stopped at the north side, just beyond the Terrace of the Leper King. With my guide, we walked over to the terrace, admiring the intricate carvings of Apsaras and figures of kings wearing pointed diadems. The terrace is around 7 metres high with walkways on the top. No-one is quite sure exactly what it was used for or where the name comes from. One theory is that it was used as a cremation platform for the dead king, atop the terrace is an enigmatic, sexless figure, who could represent Yama, the god of death.

Immediately south of the Terrace of the Leper King is the impressive, 350 metre long Terrace of Elephants, covered in elephantine carvings, which would have served as a base for the King's audience hall. Standing at the top, a huge, open space in front, I try to imagine the Royal Family standing there, overlooking all the pomp and ceremony of the great Khmer Empire, marching right past in procession in their colours. Would have been an impressive sight indeed.

Back to reality and climbing down from the terrace, we moved on to the Royal Enclosure and Phimeanakas. Unfortunately, the royal palace was built using wood, and so not much of it survives, as the norm was to use stones for religious buildings and temples but wood for other buildings. A translation of Phimeanakas is"Celestial Palace" and at the top of the dome was a gold spire. Just outside are two pools, used for bathing by the royal family.

Nearby is Baphuon, a gigantic jigsaw puzzle! The French had been trying to piece the Temple back together from 1901 until the Khmer Rouge took power in 1970 and all archaelogical work was suspended here for a good 20 years. During the rule of Pol Pot, every bit of paper relating to the reconstruction of Baphuon were destroyed and the temple was left in disarray until the UN arrived. French archaelogists arrived back at the site in 1995 to re-start reconstruction. Surrounding the temple are over 300,000 stone blocks of various sizes and some have intricate carving. Built in the 11th Century, it would have been the most specatular of Angkor's temple in its' heydey under the Khmer Empire.

Next was impressive Bayon with it's 54 towers, all with 4 faces and the all-seeing eyes of the King keeping watch over his subjects. In Bayon, one is never far from a carved face. One fact about Bayon - there are 1.2km of carvings, incredibly impressive! Some are very unusual for the time in that they depict everyday life and ordinary peopole around Angkor. One Bas Relief "A Naval Battle" depict a naval battle between the Khmers and the Chams, amongst this are scenes of childbirth, people picking lice out of hair(!), hunters etc. On another bas relief "The Chams Vanquished" are scenes from the fish-market, two people playing chess and so on. All really impressive and in very good condition for the age. Bayon really is a fascinating place to walk round.

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