Angkor Essentials - Exploring the temples ....
Day Two - Siem Reap, Cambodia
Sunrise Over Angkor Wat
The photograph above shows the sun rising behind the Angkor Wat temples. That's why if you want to visit Angkor Wat, better to go in the afternoon so that you won't get the direct sunlight when taking your shots. But going in the afternoon meant bearing with the heat and humidity. I guess I had romantic ideas about how the sun rise would be like and expected to see something like the photograph below (as seen in the zillion guidebooks and postcards that I came across). 
But no such luck people. Was rather cloudy day so what we go instead was the sight below, which was still awesome by my standard. The photograph above was tweaked some on my macbook *grins* Mr Chenla was also sharing that at certain times of the year, the sun would rise directly above the middle of the three towers ... now that would be a truly magnificient sight!!
We were advised that the best shot of the temple at sunrise was infront of the pond (see photograph below) because you get the reflection as well. So being good tourists, we followed our guide and took photographs by the pond!
Proof that we were actually there (see photograph below). My apologies that the photograph turned out a little dark as the sun was shining directly into the camera.
It was difficult but we actually had to walk AWAY from Angkor Wat when it's so close by but we had other plans for the morning. But as we walked away, we had a glimpse of what we would be seeing that afternoon. Although Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat in 1113 to 1150 in dedication to Vishnu, it was later transformed from a Vishnuite sanctuary into a Buddhist wat or monastry by Jayavarman VIII in the 13th Century,thus explaining the many statues we saw (see photograph below).
Although the temple is no longer a 'living' temple, there were still local Khmers who frequented Angkor Wat to pay respect (see photograph below of one of the spot still visited by the locals). 
Below is a photograph of the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat taken on the western causeway that led into Angkor Wat.
The causeway is about 250 metres long and 12 metres wide, built from sandstone. There were also 'guardians' (as seen below) that in the past used to protect and keep a look out for the enemies. 
Temple Visits started at Angkor Thom
I was rather eager to have a close inspection of the south gate but dear Mr Chenla insisted that we listened to him before we went off on our good. As a teacher, that's a good strategy that I used too when I used to teach ... give all the instructions you want before you set your kids free because there's no way that anyone is going to listen when they are excited about exploring. So it was a real test of my patience. But we managed to listen to him patiently as he shared his knowledge about Angkor Thom complex with us. And I am glad we bought a guide book because I can't remember the bulk of what was shared though I swear I was very attentive. So my advise is - get a copy of the guidebook on your first day. A copy of the Lonely Planet can be bought for USD2 (hint: bargain bargain bargain). We got a copy of the National Geographic's Treasures of Angkor for USD5 (hint: aim for less than this. We were in a hurry so caved in and just paid without very much bargaining). If you're wondering why the books are so cheap ... think hard. For the former version, the print is not that great and if you love wordy guidebooks, go for it. I am thrilled with my NG version because lots of colour photographs (help me remember places I visited) and useful information about the places visited.
The photograph below belongs to one of the Gods found infront of the South Gate. But do expect some of their heads missing and also if you look closely, you will notice some recent additions to fix the statues.
Flanked on both sides you have two rows of 'giants'. Photograph below shows the 54 asuras or demons on the right side of the road.
And on the left, there were 54 devas or deities (see photograph below). The figures are pretty awesome and can be seen holding on to nagas or multi-headed serpents.
Here's a photograph of the four faces of bodhisattva Lokeshvara. At the sides of the gate, there's Airavata, the three-headed elephant (see below of me posing with one of the elephants).
Mr Chenla brought us up where we came real close to the four faces and thanks to Mag's camera on tripod, we managed to get the shot below.
At the base were these three-headed elephants and the one below was in the best condition (others were missing trunks or head or something). Now, if you're going to visit temples and ruins, be brightly dressed. If you're in black like me, you will most likely blend in with the background and you can play 'Guess Where Is Liz' in the photo. If you compare the photograph with my clever friend dressed in red, the contrast is awesome *grins*.
The Many Faces of Bayon
And once again, we patiently listened to Mr Chenla who shared with us the history of Bayon before we could go off to take shots of anything and everything. Now let me share some information from my fantastic guide book. Bayon has been long considered to be a Hindu sanctuary, only in 1925 was it recognised as Buddhist.
When we entered the temple, we turned to the left and went through the south wing of the east gallery. Here we saw ranks of troops (see photograph below) that marched among the scenes of everyday life.
If you take a closer look below, those are Chinese soldiers marching along side and you recognise them from the goatee that they have. These carvings are amazing because they are still so clear and you can make out the 'stories' that the carvers were trying to tell.
More scenes of men going to battle and below you can see that the wheel from the cart probably broke and the men were fixing it.
As we admired the carvings along the gallery, we also saw on the columns these graceful apsaras (see below) dancing on the lotuses.
In between the battle scenes, we found scenes that depicted the bustling daily life and some still in existence in the rural areas of the Khmer region today. And although Mr Chenla was telling us the various 'stories' to go with the carvings, go ahead and let your imagination go wild and create your own stories.
The photograph above shows husband and wife under the house. Wife watching on with worried look on her face, worried because her husband is taking drugs and she's worried that he might not be able to go to work afters. Now, what's your version of the story? As to the carvings below, in the centre, there's a woman giving birth with a mid-wife so this is your probably a 'hospital' that specialises in childbirth.
Below is a scene at the market place where the men were drinking brandy and watching cock fights. It's amazing how vivid the carvings are huh?
Now this one is rather interesting (see below). It's at a market place and to the right, you can see some women buying some groceries from the seller. And to the left, one man tapping on another who is standing over the seller. The man is whispering to the other to not be fooled by the seller who is a cheat, and only the women would fall for such tricks.
Feast time below as you see pigs being cooked in large cauldrons and on skewers over the fire. Look like a pretty grand cookout session taking place huh? Local BBQ, my kind of party *grins*
According to Mr Chenla, the carving below shows of men doing hard manual labour. And I am pretty sure the guy to the right is putting koyok on the guy's back *laughs* Don't you think so too?
Bayon was pretty crowded with people and somehow we noticed that certain groups of people tend to be SO LOUD even though there's just a small group of them. Totally oblivious to the people around them .... I reckon it's more like they just don't care? *sighs* So to get total peace and quiet (see photograph below) was a real treat. I just cannot imagine how it's like during the peak season!
The faces of Bayon are truly amazing. If you stare hard enough without blinking, am sure you can see them faces winking, smiling or blinking *grins* They look so darn real!
Am thinking I should get one of those I HEART BAYON shirt with one (see below) of these faces on it. What do you think? *grins*
To give you an idea of how big or how high them statues are, I am about 1.7m so just do the Math, if possible, go ahead and figure out how huge those faces are! Did I mention before that I LOVE BAYON? *grins*
Another frontal shot of the face of Lokeshvara. Although Lokeshvara is a bodhisattva, it is the symbolism of the Buddharaja or Buddha-king, that is evoked in Bayon.
Yes, yes, gotta warn you, you'll see alot of me from this trip! Was actually on tippy-toe while posing for the photograph below!
We saw these guardian lions (see below) around the Bayon temples as well as other temples that we visited.
Last look of the Bayon temples before we headed to another temple. It was interesting to see how many faces were carved out from the blocks of rocks that were arranged one above the other. I read that the faces would have lasted longer if they had arranged the rocks in a staggered manner rather than one directly on top of the other as it left gaps in many of the faces. But on the whole, I enjoyed the visit there and going in the morning when it's not so hot and I was still fresh ... was a great experience and I would definitely want to go back again!
Look out for the next post for where we went next. Stay tuned ....
Sunrise Over Angkor Wat
We were up pretty early so that we could witness the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Usually I would be struggling to get up but that morning, no problem at all. Motivated by the thought of seeing the sunrise, we were jumping out of bed that morning *laughs* Very different from my mornings these days!
We had boxed breakfast packed for us and we were off with Mr Chenla, our guide for the next two days. And as expected, there were throngs of other tourists up and about with their breakfast in hand to enjoy while watching the sun rise. And for those who needed piping hot coffee with their breakfast, there were local vendors at hand to serve you coffee with a chair. The rest of us were scattered at different points, each guide insisting that their spot was THE spot to see the sun rise.
The photograph above shows the sun rising behind the Angkor Wat temples. That's why if you want to visit Angkor Wat, better to go in the afternoon so that you won't get the direct sunlight when taking your shots. But going in the afternoon meant bearing with the heat and humidity. I guess I had romantic ideas about how the sun rise would be like and expected to see something like the photograph below (as seen in the zillion guidebooks and postcards that I came across). 
But no such luck people. Was rather cloudy day so what we go instead was the sight below, which was still awesome by my standard. The photograph above was tweaked some on my macbook *grins* Mr Chenla was also sharing that at certain times of the year, the sun would rise directly above the middle of the three towers ... now that would be a truly magnificient sight!!
We were advised that the best shot of the temple at sunrise was infront of the pond (see photograph below) because you get the reflection as well. So being good tourists, we followed our guide and took photographs by the pond! 
Proof that we were actually there (see photograph below). My apologies that the photograph turned out a little dark as the sun was shining directly into the camera. 
It was difficult but we actually had to walk AWAY from Angkor Wat when it's so close by but we had other plans for the morning. But as we walked away, we had a glimpse of what we would be seeing that afternoon. Although Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat in 1113 to 1150 in dedication to Vishnu, it was later transformed from a Vishnuite sanctuary into a Buddhist wat or monastry by Jayavarman VIII in the 13th Century,thus explaining the many statues we saw (see photograph below).
Although the temple is no longer a 'living' temple, there were still local Khmers who frequented Angkor Wat to pay respect (see photograph below of one of the spot still visited by the locals). 
Below is a photograph of the moat that surrounds Angkor Wat taken on the western causeway that led into Angkor Wat. 
The causeway is about 250 metres long and 12 metres wide, built from sandstone. There were also 'guardians' (as seen below) that in the past used to protect and keep a look out for the enemies. 
Temple Visits started at Angkor ThomAfter we bid a temporary farewell to Angkor Wat, we headed to our next destination - Angkor Thom or 'The Great Capital'. We entered through the South Gate (see photograph below) which was the most preserved of the four gates so as expected, there were many others with us.
I was rather eager to have a close inspection of the south gate but dear Mr Chenla insisted that we listened to him before we went off on our good. As a teacher, that's a good strategy that I used too when I used to teach ... give all the instructions you want before you set your kids free because there's no way that anyone is going to listen when they are excited about exploring. So it was a real test of my patience. But we managed to listen to him patiently as he shared his knowledge about Angkor Thom complex with us. And I am glad we bought a guide book because I can't remember the bulk of what was shared though I swear I was very attentive. So my advise is - get a copy of the guidebook on your first day. A copy of the Lonely Planet can be bought for USD2 (hint: bargain bargain bargain). We got a copy of the National Geographic's Treasures of Angkor for USD5 (hint: aim for less than this. We were in a hurry so caved in and just paid without very much bargaining). If you're wondering why the books are so cheap ... think hard. For the former version, the print is not that great and if you love wordy guidebooks, go for it. I am thrilled with my NG version because lots of colour photographs (help me remember places I visited) and useful information about the places visited.
The photograph below belongs to one of the Gods found infront of the South Gate. But do expect some of their heads missing and also if you look closely, you will notice some recent additions to fix the statues.
Flanked on both sides you have two rows of 'giants'. Photograph below shows the 54 asuras or demons on the right side of the road.
And on the left, there were 54 devas or deities (see photograph below). The figures are pretty awesome and can be seen holding on to nagas or multi-headed serpents. 
Here's a photograph of the four faces of bodhisattva Lokeshvara. At the sides of the gate, there's Airavata, the three-headed elephant (see below of me posing with one of the elephants).
Mr Chenla brought us up where we came real close to the four faces and thanks to Mag's camera on tripod, we managed to get the shot below.
At the base were these three-headed elephants and the one below was in the best condition (others were missing trunks or head or something). Now, if you're going to visit temples and ruins, be brightly dressed. If you're in black like me, you will most likely blend in with the background and you can play 'Guess Where Is Liz' in the photo. If you compare the photograph with my clever friend dressed in red, the contrast is awesome *grins*.
The Many Faces of BayonJust a few minutes car ride away, we reached the famous Bayon (see photograph below) and were greeted by the many faces there. Was pretty cool. Have to say that Bayon and Angkor Wat are my two favourite places that we visited over the weekend.
And once again, we patiently listened to Mr Chenla who shared with us the history of Bayon before we could go off to take shots of anything and everything. Now let me share some information from my fantastic guide book. Bayon has been long considered to be a Hindu sanctuary, only in 1925 was it recognised as Buddhist. 
When we entered the temple, we turned to the left and went through the south wing of the east gallery. Here we saw ranks of troops (see photograph below) that marched among the scenes of everyday life. 
If you take a closer look below, those are Chinese soldiers marching along side and you recognise them from the goatee that they have. These carvings are amazing because they are still so clear and you can make out the 'stories' that the carvers were trying to tell.
More scenes of men going to battle and below you can see that the wheel from the cart probably broke and the men were fixing it. 
As we admired the carvings along the gallery, we also saw on the columns these graceful apsaras (see below) dancing on the lotuses.
In between the battle scenes, we found scenes that depicted the bustling daily life and some still in existence in the rural areas of the Khmer region today. And although Mr Chenla was telling us the various 'stories' to go with the carvings, go ahead and let your imagination go wild and create your own stories.
The photograph above shows husband and wife under the house. Wife watching on with worried look on her face, worried because her husband is taking drugs and she's worried that he might not be able to go to work afters. Now, what's your version of the story? As to the carvings below, in the centre, there's a woman giving birth with a mid-wife so this is your probably a 'hospital' that specialises in childbirth.
Below is a scene at the market place where the men were drinking brandy and watching cock fights. It's amazing how vivid the carvings are huh?
Now this one is rather interesting (see below). It's at a market place and to the right, you can see some women buying some groceries from the seller. And to the left, one man tapping on another who is standing over the seller. The man is whispering to the other to not be fooled by the seller who is a cheat, and only the women would fall for such tricks.
Feast time below as you see pigs being cooked in large cauldrons and on skewers over the fire. Look like a pretty grand cookout session taking place huh? Local BBQ, my kind of party *grins*
According to Mr Chenla, the carving below shows of men doing hard manual labour. And I am pretty sure the guy to the right is putting koyok on the guy's back *laughs* Don't you think so too?
Bayon was pretty crowded with people and somehow we noticed that certain groups of people tend to be SO LOUD even though there's just a small group of them. Totally oblivious to the people around them .... I reckon it's more like they just don't care? *sighs* So to get total peace and quiet (see photograph below) was a real treat. I just cannot imagine how it's like during the peak season!
The faces of Bayon are truly amazing. If you stare hard enough without blinking, am sure you can see them faces winking, smiling or blinking *grins* They look so darn real!
Am thinking I should get one of those I HEART BAYON shirt with one (see below) of these faces on it. What do you think? *grins*
To give you an idea of how big or how high them statues are, I am about 1.7m so just do the Math, if possible, go ahead and figure out how huge those faces are! Did I mention before that I LOVE BAYON? *grins*
Another frontal shot of the face of Lokeshvara. Although Lokeshvara is a bodhisattva, it is the symbolism of the Buddharaja or Buddha-king, that is evoked in Bayon.
Yes, yes, gotta warn you, you'll see alot of me from this trip! Was actually on tippy-toe while posing for the photograph below!
We saw these guardian lions (see below) around the Bayon temples as well as other temples that we visited.
Last look of the Bayon temples before we headed to another temple. It was interesting to see how many faces were carved out from the blocks of rocks that were arranged one above the other. I read that the faces would have lasted longer if they had arranged the rocks in a staggered manner rather than one directly on top of the other as it left gaps in many of the faces. But on the whole, I enjoyed the visit there and going in the morning when it's not so hot and I was still fresh ... was a great experience and I would definitely want to go back again!
Look out for the next post for where we went next. Stay tuned ....Labels: Bayon South Gate Angkor Thom, Cambodia July Angkor Wat Bayon South Gate Angkor Thom, Siem Reap
posted by Me, Myself n I at 9:23 pm
3 Comments:
Bravo! Can't wait to see day 3 & the photos you took with your camera!!
Quick upload the photos lah!!
Still on Day 2 *laughs* Still have tombs to raid!!! Like I said, painfully slow.
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