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Passage through time
the bridge leading to the South Gate, Angkor Thom, late 12th centuryDay 12 Saturday, January 24, 2009
We left our hostel at 8am to begin our three day temple tour. Our incomparable guide Rak took us first to buy our temple passes. It was a quick and efficient process of picture taking (and money taking). Our first stop was the ancient city of Angkor Thom. Though not much older than all the medieval buildings I saw in the U.K., approaching the south gate to Angkor Thom felt like walking into a world much more ancient and otherworldly. The crowds of tourists, the cars and tuk-tuks whizzing by, the hoards of souvenir selling children, none of these detracted from the wonderment I felt as we began to explore. Inside the gate we first went into the State Temple of Bayon. Bayon was used by several rulers and thus was remodeled several times. Because of this, it was difficult to know where to look first. There were a myriad of rooms and corridors inside and numerous terraces and towers outside. It seemed every surface was elaborately carved. And there are, of course, the faces. Nearly every tower was adorned by four giant smiling faces, each pointing in a cardinal direction. Even though tourists
The South Gate
South Gate to Angkor Thom, late 12th century abounded, it did not feel crowded. There was space enough for everyone to climb, pose for pictures, and investigate all the nooks and crannies of this magnificent place.
We then walked over to the State Temple of Bapuon. Bapuon is a giant five-tiered pyramid. It is not fully restored and much of it was closed due to renovation. But there was an interesting elevated bridge and a few galleries and pavilions to look at. From there we went to the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. They are, as the names suggest, terraces, so there wasn’t much to ‘explore’ per se, but there was a plethora of beautiful carvings. The sun was boring into our skulls so we retreated to a shaded area where we had a brief sit down and water break. A young girl brought out a selection of magnets to choose from. We all bought some.
We reunited with our guide and he took us over to Thommanon, a small temple to the east of Angkor Thom. Though small in comparison to the huge complex we just left, Thommanon’s carvings were exquisite. On our way to Ta Prohm we made a brief
The Bayon 1
a mountain of stone, late 12th to late 13th centuries stop at Ta Keo. Ta Keo is similar in size and shape to Bayon, but it had never been completed so it was missing all the extravagant carvings and character of the former. We decided to conserve our energy so I just leaned out of the tuk-tuk to snap a picture. Ta Prohm is the famous ‘jungle temple’ and was used in the Tomb Raider movie ‘Cradle of Life’. It has not been restored like the others. Instead, it has been left in the condition it was discovered in over a century ago. The jungle is now kept at bay, but the trees have been left to grow into the old buildings. The trees that grow there, chiefly The Silk-Cotton Tree and the Strangler Fig, embrace nearly every corner of this complex. I can’t help but think how remarkable it is that all the temples were once in this state of disrepair when the French ‘discovered’ them so long ago and wonder at the work that was involved to restore them. We traipsed around for quite a while before returning to find our guide, Rak, patiently waiting for us (he was asleep). He had some other temples on our itinerary
but we were completely knackered and Kim’s illness was rearing its ugly head again.
We went back to our lovely hostel where Kim went directly to bed, Cara made a b-line for the computer room and I jumped into the swimming pool. After we were all sufficiently rested we ventured back out for dinner then over to the Riverfront Park where they were holding a craft and trade fair. I was in heaven! I am a fair junkie. Only my limited funds prevented me from buying a little of everything. All in all, it was a great day.
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