However, on to the exciting stuff. We went straight out to see the sunset from Phnom Bakheng. Stopped for a bite to eat first on Pub Street at the Khmer Family Reastaurant which was not bad at all. Bought our three day passes (as I'm definitely staying for the weekend) and tuk-tuk'd past ANGKOR WAT!! You know, that place you see in magazines and think, oh pity that's the other side of the world...? That place. Lonely Planet describes the moment you first see it as spine tingling. Accurate. I also will always remember that I saw it over my left shoulder on approach in tuk-tuk.
We drove past the first causeway of Angkor Wat and onwards. The road is lamplit and very good. Could almost have been on the Riviera. There are people everywhere. And monks, as ever noticeable in their orange robes.
We got out at the base of a non descript pathway in good repair. Almost Canadian standard. We began our walk up the mountain to this small, early (10th century) temple with the great view. This is one of the disused ancient staircases. No detail is too small for the ancients.
Day of the Dancing Dinosaurs.
I won't be describing the layout, history or many dates as I will sound like a guide book. Best to look that up. Key points however are that Angkor Wat is the prime example of many. Angkor Thom is the walled city of golden age Angkor (12th century) and Ta Prohm is the tree-claimed one. Angkor Thom was built by Jayavarman VII and contains Bayon, the most mysterious temple, filled with giant faces; as well as countless others. Oh, and the Hindu influence is huge. 'twas Jaymavarman who was Buddist in a big way.
Phnom Bakheng (pronounced "Bakai"), between Angkor Wat and the South entrance of Angkor Thom.
The view westwards from the top. You can just see the Western Baray gleaming in the middle of the pic. The Eastern Baray is completely dry.
The view to the north, including Mount Kulen, the sacred mountain where the springs of various rivers come from and the substitute for Mt Mera, the Hindu sacred mountain, home of the Gods.
View westwards again. Towards the Western Baray. The Barays were the huge (really huge) reservoirs that served the temples. Angkor Wat and Thom had the two, western and eastern. Some of the other temples had smaller ones of their own. Water was a very huge factor. If the water dried up, the universe would end and with the temples representing the various parts or levels of the universe, as well as the stages of enlightenment, they must obviously never dry up. (When they did, the world did end-they were invaded and left Angkor for good). At Angkor Wat evidence of huge water wheels has been found, that scooped water from the moat into the inner enclosures. Water features feature hugely throughout, at Neak Pean I saw fountains, Bantrey Srei had it own gorgeous little moat, Bantrey Samre had an inner moat and Srei Srang was the 'Pool of Ablutions'.
Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakheng. The temples were surprisingly difficult to pick out of the surrounding jungle.
Descending the east side of Phnom Bakheng, the capital of the first Angkor of Yashovarman I. It is a 'temple mountain'.
The west side after sunset.
Me on top, communing with the gods. There was a small breeze and it was momentarily peaceful. No real sunset as it was too cloudy, though I saw many swallows or swifts.
We had supper at the Temple Club on Pub Street. This included performances of traditional dance, including an Apsara Dance. Apsara dancing is still huge in Cambodia. It is an extremely important iconographic motif in Cambodian history. There are 37 different hairstyles on the Angkor temples alone, allowing for a dating scheme - dating by hairstyle! Some of their eternal popularity may also be due to the topless nature of the dancing, though modern dances are not performed thus.
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