Siem Reap

After our five days in Phnom Penh, it was off to Siem Reap, we had our Tuk-Tuk driver pick us up 10:30am to take us across the river to the where we would catch the 11:30am bus to Siem Reap where we would be spending another 5 days.

Tom our Tuk-Tuk driver.

We arrived late afternoon, settled into our hotel then wandered the area that is tourist central for restaurants and bars, there is also shopping close by. We all had dinner and a couple of refreshments.
Next day, we rented a scooter, sourced a ‘three-day pass’ for Angkor Watt and the associated ruins, then checked out the lay of the land.
The following are a sample of photos from our visit to some of these ruins. First up Angkor Wat.
We entered Angkor Wat through the rear of the property as there was parking for our scooters and not many tourists at this location. This will be predominantly Photo heavy which hopefully will be self-explanatory.

Front Entrance to Angkor Wat.

Road to the Rear Entrance to Angkor Wat.
Original Rear Guarded Entrance.

The above is a Pool, there were four of these in a quadrant.


We left Angkor Wat for our next stop, this being Bayon Temple which is within a walled area that has a moat around the outside.

Entrance to walled area, bridge across the moat.

Angkor Wat (“Khmer language”: អង្គរវត្ត, “City/Capital of Temples”) is a temple complex in Cambodia, located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres). The Guinness Book of World Records considers it as the largest religious structure in the world. Originally constructed as a Hinduism temple dedicated to the god for the Khmer Empire by King Suryavarman II during the 12th century, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhism temple towards the end of the century; as such, it is also described as a “Hindu-Buddhist” temple.
Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer King Suryavamen II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura, Khmer Language: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the Temple Mountain and the later Gallery. It is designed to represent “Mount Meru”, home of the Deva (Hinduism) in Hindu Mythology: within a Moat more than 5 kilometres (3 mi) long and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a Quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive Relief, and for the numerous Devata adorning its walls. The modern name Angkor Wat, alternatively Nokor Wat, means “Temple City” or “City of Temples” in Khmer language. Angkor (អង្គរ ângkôr) meaning “city” or “capital city”, is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ nôkôr), which comes from the Sanskrit Pali word nagara Devanagari: नगर). Wat (វត្ត vôtt) is the word for “temple grounds”, also derived from Sanskrit/Pali vāṭa Devanagari: वाट), meaning “enclosure”
The original name of the temple was Vrah Viṣṇuloka or Parama Viṣṇuloka meaning “the sacred dwelling of Vishnu. (Wikipedia)

Where we parked our scooters to enter the Bayon Temple there was an American couple who married here in Cambodia wearing traditional garb.

Leaving the Walled Area.

The Bayon Khmer language: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន, Prasat Bayoăn ) is a richly decorated Khmer Empire temple related to Buddhism at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the King Jayavarman VII, Khmer language: ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman’s capital, Angkor Thom, Khmer language: អង្គរធំ.
The Bayon’s most distinctive feature is the multitude (4 on each tower pointing to 4 sides) of serene and smiling stone faces of Brahma on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. The main conservatory body, the Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor (the JSA) has described the temple as “the most striking expression of the baroque style” of Khmer architecture, as contrasted with the classical style of Angkor Wat, Khmer language: ប្រាសាទអង្គរវត្ត).


Next: Siem Reap Pt.2

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