Angkor Wat

---

Up at 4.00am to get my Angkor pass and to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat but rather than just blather on as usual I thought I'd give you all a bit of a history lesson. Angkor is an ancient city of the Khmer empire that once ruled a large part of South East Asia. Over several centuries the Khmer built a number of temples in and around Angkor. The largest of these is Angkor Wat built in the first half of the 12th century by Suryavarman ll. The early Angkor temples were built as Hindu temples and we're later converted to Buddhist temples. It is believed that Lord Vishnu was worshipped there but it was also built as a mausoleum for the king after his death. Next up the Bayon built in the latter part of the 12th century by Jayavarman Vll. Bayon is most easily recognised by the stone faces that adorn the towers of Bayon. Baphoun, to the northwest of Bayon, supposedly represents Mt Meru which is sacred to Hinduism. Built in to the western face of Baphoun is a giant reclining Buddha added in the 16th century. Also part of the city of Angkor Thom is the Elephant terrace and the terrace of the Leper king. Probably the best known, at least if you saw Tomb raider, is Ta Prom. It has not been restored and has amazing strangler fig trees growing in and around some of the walls and buildings. There were a few others that I saw over the course of the day like Banteay Kdei but I'm not sure of details on that one. And while I'm on a cultural binge I'm off to watch Apsara dances (traditional Khmer dancing) tonight. I hope they don't go on too long or I'm likely to fall asleep. What a culture vulture.

---