More on Day 1: After seeing the amazing sunrise at Angkor Wat we rushed back to guesthouse for coffee and breakfast. It was time to head out into the humidity to check out the sights. First we returned to Angkor Wat itself, with its looming lotus bud towers. This site is surrounded by a 190m wide moat. The blocks were quarried 50km away! On the way in there are two libraries at the western entrance. Here is Kristi in one of the windows with Angkor Wat in the background.
Surrounding the lower terrace are a series of incredible Bas-Reliefs. The one Charles is looking at is the Battle of Kurukshetra from the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. There are infantry portrayed fighting in the lower part with officers in chariots and on elephants above them and chiefs displayed at the top. The detail is amazing! and the sheer size of the relief. The entire wat is surrounded by these reliefs. Most of them were made in the 12th century.
These asparas known as devadas, or heavenly nymphs or goddesses, were typical reliefs found near the corners of buildings.
From the southwestern side of the second level, we were afforded a nice view of the entire third/upper level. It was a good day to find the shady sides. Whew! We're still acclimating to the tropical heat and humidity.
After mounting a VERY steep set of stairs we made our way up with the crowds into the third, uppermost, level.
We hopped back in the tuk tuk (locally known as remorks) and our driver, Ngon, took us to the huge site of Angkor Thom. It's 10 sq km! built by Angkor's greatest king, Jayavarman VII. It's enclosed by an 8m high, 12km long wall and surrounded by a 100m wide moat. At it's height it may have supported up to one million people. We walked through across the southern bridge passing an elephant along the way before entering the southern gate. Ngon picked us up on the other side of the gate and we proceeded to Bayon.
Bayon is a collection of 54 Gothic-style towers bearing 216 smiling faces of Avalokiteshvara (a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas), but apparently closely resembles the king himself. No ego there, right?
Sometimes, we'd turn a corner and get a glimpse of something special.
Here is Kristi looking out of a window in the upper tier. The outer terrace was surrounded by Bas-Reliefs, much like those found at Angkor Wat. However, these had been exposed to the elements and has faded and dissolved with time.
All over were raucous Red-breasted Parakeets (Psittacula alexandri). This pair were working on a nest cavity in the canopy above.
After passing through Baphoun (the 300,000 stone jigsaw puzzle), we made our to Ta Prohm. This site is currently being restored and many of the trees can still be found with buttresses draping over the crumbling sides of terraces and buildings.
Built in 1186, Ta Prohm was a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII. It is chalked full of temples, courtyards and corridors, many of which are blocked by the rubble of collapsed ceilings and walls.
They say this is a tomb-raider type temple - being reclaimed by the forest
We finished the day with a climb up the hill to reach the temple of Phnom Bakheng. With hundreds of other tourists, we made our way to a favorable corner of the temple top to catch a glimpse of Angkor Wat at sunset. We were rewarded for our efforts with a few shots of egrets passing in front of Angkor Wat on their way to their night roost.
Egrets over Angkor Wat
And this was only Day 1...
