Siem Reap 2

This was the day dedicated to the temples of Angkor. The must-do-places for the day were,

Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom
Preah Khan
Banteay Srei and
Floating Village

We got much more than that! :D

Angkor Wat
Angkor Thom
Elephant Terrace
Terrace of the Leper King
Preah Khan
Ta Prohm
Banteay Srei
Akira Mine Museum
Chung Kneas Floating Village

First up,

Angkor Wat

The magnificient architecture wonder lies to the north of Siem Reap, was built in the 12th century by the Suryavarman II who was the Khmer king at that time. Angkor Wat is located within the Angkor 'area' which also includes the famous Angkor Thom & Bayon Temple. All of them have been made UNESCO Heritage Site in 1992.

This shall be a picture galore post as I went snappy-happy once again :).

Building to left of entrance

Building to right of entrance

Tall, narrow steps

According to our local guide, eventhough Angkor Wat may be the symbol of Cambodia, it is not the 'National' temple as of such, as it is a Hindu Temple, where as most Cambodians are Buddhist. But regardless, everyone pays the same level of respect, as Angkor Wat is well... Angkor Wat - the pride of Cambodia :).

Devatas

Devatas are the 'smaller' version of deva, which is deity in Hindu (I wonder if it's the same as dewa in malay). Devatas are more like, guardian angels or spirits. Like spirit of the forest, the guardian angel of a person.

Part of the ruins

Look at how huge the structures are!!

A Devata on close-up

More cravings on the walls

:)

The 37 Heavens and 32 Hells

Reliefs sculpted above represents the 37 Heaven and 32 Hells derived from Indian tradition. The Hells, on the lower register were pictured with greater details and the Heavens above. The doings or the paybacks are well-depicted. There are also animals in Hell, some of them eating or involved in 'torturing' the people there. I spent a fair amount of time looking at this wall as it was really interesting. The cravings look similiar looking from a hands length, but if you look at the closely, none of them actually look the same. Really interesting.

Angkor Wat from the outside

Angkor Wat moat

There was a couple of wedding processions as we were leaving the temple, which was pretty nice. I suppose Angkor would be a place of choice for such an event given it's beauty and fame. Managed to get s snapshot of a happy couple :).

Next stop - Angkor Thom

The two Angkors aren't exactly right next to each other, it was a few minutes drive. The sun was scorching hot, the humidity was high.. needless to say, I was fairly annoyed at the weather. It was only about 10 a.m when we got to Angkor, but it felt like we've been out for ages.

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom isn't a temple as of such, it was the city during the Khmer empire. Built by King Jayavarnam II, it is also known as the Grand Angkor.

More wall carvings

The Bayon

Bayon was the King's state temple during the Khmer time. It is famous for the 216 faces on virtually every place in the temple. Most of them ruined, but there is one well preserved face somewhere on the first level.

One of the faces - gorgeous isn't it?

Within the same walls is also the Bayon Library. And man! They're hard work to get into! The steps towards the library are one of the steepest I've seen (the library is kind of on a first level). I think it went under restoration work recently.

Look at how steep the steps are!

Well, one thing we concluded was - the steep steps were made to deter book thieves! It is impossible to run away with books on these steps. Heck - it's even hard work if you borrow them legally, and then walk down the steps! The steeps are twice as scary to come down as it is to go up. But fun :D.

Coffee house! :D
*It was just one of the many carvings depicting lifestyles - LOL*

Terrace of Elephants

Just further off from the Bayon, was the Terrace of Elephants and right next to it is the Terrace of the Leper King. Lazy us - we took the car there.

It is located east to the palace and the elephants on the picture above are also actually located on the 'first' level. On the walls below, were more carvings.

Terrace of the Leper King - Just next to the Terrace of Elephants. There is a statue right above on the terrace which is said to be that of King Yasovarnam I, and apparently he suffered from leprosy, hence the name of the terrace.

Possibly King Yasovarnam I

The whole terrace was carved with faces, and there's actually an alley/walkway within the walls below that was quite impressive.

Terrace of the Leper King

The alley walls of Terrace of the Leper King

Our next stop was Preah Khan. Preah Khan means Temple of the Sacred Sword and was built by King Jayavarnam in dedication to his father, Dharanindravarnam. This temple is not exactly a tourist highlight as of such yet, so we managed to get a little time to ourselves exploring the temple.

Preah Khan

Originally a Buddhist complex housing more than 1000 Buddhist teachers, the complex exude an ancient feel, and although not as grand as Angkor Wat or Bayon Temple, it is not to be missed.

Long corridor of Preah Khan

The corridor stretches from one end to the other end of Preah Khan, like an entry and exit. We had our guide picked us up at the other end :).

One of the highlights at the temples are the big gigantic trees that wrap their roots on the temple walls. There was one of such in Preah Khan, but obviously the highlight of all would be the one in Ta Prohm, where Tomb Raider was made.

At Preah Khan - see how small we are!

It was only expected that we visit Ta Prohm as it is one of the major tourist highlights, made famous by Lara Croft. But frankly, in my humble opinion, I felt Preah Khan was more 'traditional' as Ta Prohm was too crowded with tourist. But nevertheless, a picture of the famous tree at Ta Prohm is only compulsory.

The famous tree where Lara made her 'jump'

We had a quick lunch at a place recommended by our guide - who's girlfriend's parents owns the restaurant. It wasn't a bad lunch -Traditional Cambodian place and food - though quite a few tourist are there.

It was Banteay Srei next - right after the afternoon nap in the car on our journey there. I was pretty tired by then, after all the walks in the temples earlier.

Banteay Srei

Located about 40 minutes drive from the main Angkor site, Banteay Srei is also known as Citadel of Women. The buildings and statues are smaller, the architecture a miniature size compared to the great Angkor Wat, but the details are definitely more refined. It is a pretty well-preserved place.

Unfortunately for us, it was raining when we were there, hence the lack of photos and the lack of time to explore the place in greater detail. Plus most of the building areas were roped off to visitors in order to preserve the place.

We debated for a while after Banteay Srei about visiting the Landmine Museum, but as it was still early, and after all, we have hired the guide for the day, we might as well head that way.

The Landmine Museum was founded by an ex-soldier who was involved in planting landmines during the war. He was also a child soldier during the Khmer Rouge time. Aki Ra now devotes his time locating and defusing landmines, and worked for the UN previously.

The museum also works a little like an orphanage, providing food and shelter. And in one of the rooms in the museum, were the stories from the children of how they ended up at the museum to be looked after. Some of them were victims of landmines, but some of them were victims of poverty. And I suppose, this museum has provided them with not only food and shelter, but also of hope of a better future.

*OUCH*

Next up - final destination of the day - Chung Kneas Floating Village

First glimpse

It started raining pretty heavily as we left the 'dock' on a small boat. The skies were dark gray and it wasn't exactly the deepest lake at the moment which made the ride a little..... scary. Plus the waters were ... quite unappealing :S.

The village is located on the famous Tonle Sap Lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. According to LP, it is also the world's biggest flood barrier due to it's unique dual flow. During the dry season, the lake drains into Mekong River at Phnom Penh, where as during the wet season, the lake swells up from a depth of 2m to 10m and 2500 sqkm to 13000 sqkm. Impressive isn't it? The work of mother nature :).

We stopped by at a floating shop/restaurant in Chung Kneas where they also had a mini crocodile farm. The thing about it was - the barriers/cage weren't exactly the sturdiest things ever, plus I saw kids swimming in the lake earlier just made me cringe. All the what-ifs were sprinting in my head!!

I did ask our 'guide' who was a local high school boy about the occupants and the Tonle Sap Lake, who mentioned that at the time we were there, the depth of the lake was roughly about 1m deep and when the lake starts to swell up during the wet season, the occupants would move their ENTIRE floating house to another place. He tried explaining to me how they move - but I just can't picture it in my head. *How does one exactly move their whole house??* It wasn't just a simple matter of floating away.. the houses are 'anchored' to the seabed as far as I understood it.. and how to you actually... paddle your house in the direction that you want it to? Hhhmm.. I'm so not built for living there :P.

View from the top of the shop

We pretty much called it a day after the floating village, heading out only to have dinner that night. The ride back to the 'dock' was definitely an experience I would never forget. The small boat was shaky, the rain was heavy, and we were drenched by the end of it. That is one time that I was thinking, Thank God I have medical insurance should anything happens!. Fortunately, I didn't need to use it :).