Day 162 – Angkor Wat Temples

 Today started out nice, but got hot fast.  The humidity is really high and when you aren’t used to it, but can make the temperature seem more than it is.  We were sweating shortly after we got off the bus. 

When we arrived at Angkor Wat Preserve, we had to have our pictures taken because we were buying a three-day pass so that we could go back for the next day and see more of the site.  It is a very large UNESCO preserve that they are trying to restore.  It was forgotten for many years and the jungle tried to reclaim it.  They are clearing out the trees that had started to cover it and restore the temples and the artwork.  It is a massive project because the area it covers is so large and there were a lot of buildings in the area.

 

South gate of the Angkor Wat temple area.  We had to get off the bus and then fight the traffic to get through the gate.

Angkor Thom temple.

A hallway in the Angkor Thom temple.

A lower level of the Angkor Thom temple.

Looking out from the Elephant Terrace.

We first went to the South Gate, took pictures, walked through (because the opening is only big enough to let small buses through) and then to Angkor Thom.  This part of the park was built in the 12^th Century.  Some of the temples were built for the Hindu religion and some were built by the Buddhists.  It went back and for depending on who was the ruling party and what was their religion.  If the ruler was Hindu, all the people “converted” to Hindu.  If the ruler was Buddhist, all the people “converted” to Buddhist.  Whether they really converted of their own free will or they were coerced into it by threat of death we don’t know (and that is my opinion on it, not the guide's words).  We wandered around the ruins of these two temples and a place called the Elephant Terrace, where they had an arena for entertainments, until 11:30 and then we headed back into town for a buffet lunch.

 

Yum!  For lunch we could choose boiled snail and beef entrails!!!

I was going to eat the snail, until I pulled it out.  Lost my appetite...

We were given almost three hours for an afternoon rest, so we took advantage of it by taking a nap, and going for a swim in the pool.  It was rather nice to have the down time.  At 3:30, we met the guide in the lobby and we were driven back to Angkor Wat Preserve, and we were taken to the Angkor Wat Temple.  This place is huge!  There is a moat around it and you have to walk quite a way just to get into the place across the moat.  We saw a library and then we were allowed into the temple itself.  There were lots and lots and lots of stairs to climb and then if you wanted to go to the third floor, you had to climb an extremely steep set of about 50 steps and be wearing the appropriate clothing (no bare shoulders, knees covered and no hats).  Not all of us made the climb, but those of us that did thought it was worth it. 

 

The moat around the outside of the temple area.

The long walk to the Angkor Wat temple.

An example of how they would put a piece in the sandstone to keep the blocks together.

This was a symbol of protection for the temples.

There were two libraries near the Angkor Wat temple.

A cool picture of the hallway. 

The pointy hat was a good guy and the flat top hat was a bad guy.  The classic good versus bad story in relief.

Climbing the steep stairs to the top.

A view of three of the towers seen through the pillars of the library building.

The five towers of the Angkor Wat temple.  This was on the Cambodia flag for many years. 

One of the five inside towers.

A view to the west from the top tower in the Angkor Wat temple.

These people came out and you could pay $5 to have your picture taken with them.  I'm not sure there were many that wanted to do that.

An unusual flower we found growing there at the Angkor Wat temple.

This tuk-tuk driver was napping in his hammock while waiting for the people that he had taken to the temple area.

We made our way back to the hotel and had a few minutes to freshen up before we went to the restaurant for the dinner.  This was a huge buffet meal with entertainment afterward of the Apsara dancers.   It was an okay show, but we were so tired from the whole day that it was hard to stay awake for the whole show.

These musicians played a few songs for us.

One of the Apsasa dancers.  The movement of the hands and feet are what you look at.

The dance about the golden fish.

This dance was about the fishermen and the young maids that they were trying to get to marry them.