Angkor - Day 1: PM - Angkor Wat

So after lunch, we went to explore the showcase Khmer temple, Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century by Suryavarman II. Agkor wat is surrounded by a giant moat 1.5km on one side and 1.3km on another, and measuring 190m across. The outer wall surrounding the temple is about 1000m by 800m. The temple itself consists of two concentric galleries surrounding the central temple complex. This central complex was a temple-mountain topped off by five towers arranged in a quincunx, again representing Mt. Meru, the centre of the Hindu Universe. The five towers, one for each cardinal point, plus the larger central one, are perhaps the most iconic image of Angkor Wat itself, and each vaguely resembles a beehive hairdoo.

We wandered inside the compound of the inner wall, exploring some libraries and admiring the reflecting pools on either side of the main causeway that led to the temple.

I've been fortunate enough to see some of the world's great monuments, from European cathedrals and palaces to India's Taj Mahal, and no matter how impressive the architecture itself is, it the finishing and the details of these monuments that truly stagger the imagination, and Angkor Wat is no exception. The inner walls of the outer gallery consist of huge bas-relief carvings, depicting various scenes from the Hindu Mythology (primarily the epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata).

Each of the four gallery walls (North, East, South, and West) has a doorway in the middle, dividing the wall in two. Thus there are eight bas-relief carvings, each a different scene, and each scene over 100m long.... thus there are almost a kilometer of intricate wall carvings to walk past. And the scenes are dense, consisting of battles of armies with a plethora of historical and mythical figures in them. Anyone with an understanding of history and Hindu Mythology would probably be able to pick out a lot of meaning from these bas-reliefs. Thany did as best he could to explain what was going on in the various scenes without going into too much detail, but after a while, our eyes glazed over.

Following that we explored the inner courtyard, but alas, the central pyramid and its five towers were closed for reconstruction, so were were not allowed to see them. However, at this point we were quite happy to call it a day.

We thus headed back, returning to our hotel at 5PM, then found the old market area and found an appealing restaurant to dine at. We were mentally exhausted, so we had a pretty early night tonight, just hanging out and reading about the temples to fill in some gaps of knowledge that came to mind, and reflecting on all that we saw....