Cambodia - Day 2 (19.12.2014) Part 1

Second Day - 19.12.2014 (Part 1)

We requested packed breakfast from the hotel one day before due to we have to depart at 0430 for Angkor Wat to catch the sunrise.

We bought the three-day entry pass from the large official entrance booth on the road to Angkor Wat. There are choice of one-day pass (US$20), three-day pass (US$40) or a one-week pass (US$60). The passes include a digital photo snapped at the entrance booth, so queues can be slow at peak times.

It's only 430am and it is so crowded.Everyone is waiting for the sunrise.

Unfortunately we are unable to see the sunrise due to cloudy weather.

There are around 1,800 dancing goddesses carvings in Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the 12th century. Angkor Wat is the largest monument of the Angkor group and the best preserved,is an architectural masterpiece.

Angkor Wat was a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and oriented to the west to conform to the symbolism between the setting sun and death but he was never buried there as he died in the battle during a failed expedition to subdue the Dai Viet (Vietnamese). The bas-reliefs designed for viewing from left to right in order of Hindu funeral ritual, support this function.

The seven-headed naga becomes a symbolic rainbow bridge for man to reach the abode of the gods.

        South Gate of Angkor Throm

Bayon

Bayon looks like a glorified pile of rubble from a distance.It's only when you enter the temple and make your way up to the third level that it's magic becomes apparent.

                          Apsara 

Baphuon

Baphuon was the centre of EFEO restoration efforts when the civil was erupted and work paused for a quarter of a century. The temple was taken apart piece by piece, in keeping with the anastylosis method of renovation, but all the records were destroyed during the Khmer Rouge years,leaving experts with 300,000 stones to put back into place. The EFEO resumed restoration work in 1995 and continues its efforts today. 

     The Reclining Buddha of Baphuon

On the western side of Baphuon, the retaining wall of the second level was fashioned - apparently in the 15th or 16th century - into a reclining Buddha about 60m in length. The unfurnished figure is difficult to make out, but the head is on the northern side of the wall and the gate is where the hips should be; to the left of the gate protrudes an arm. When it comes to the legs and feet - the latter are entirely gone - imagination must suffice.

Royal Palace & Phimeanakas Temple

Pheanakas means 'Celestial Palace'. Most of the decorative features are broken or have disappeared. 

Terrace of Elephants

The 350m-long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant viewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king's grand audience hall.

It has five piers extending towards the Central Sq - three in the centre and one at each end. The middle section of the retaining wall is decorated with life-size garudas and lions; towards either end are the two parts of the famous parade of elephants, complete with their Khmer mahouts.

Terrace of the Leper King

The Terrace of the Leper King is just north of the Terrace of Elephants. On the southern side of the Terrace of the Leper King, there is access to the front wall of a hidden terrace that was covered up when the outer structure was built - a terrace within a terrace. 

The 4 tiers of apsaras and other figures, including nagas, look as fresh as if they had been carved yesterday. As you follow the inner wall of the Terrace of the Leper King, notice the increasingly rough chisel marks on the figures, an indication that this wall was never completed, like many of the temples at Angkor.

Tep Pranam

Preah Palilay

Our Lunch 

To be continue...