,This was to be my first and only day of viewing the temples at Angkor (the area around Siem Reap). I had organised a tuk tuk driver the day before, negotiating what seemed to me to be a fair price ($20 US). The photos below are a chronological tour of the day so I hope the pics will fill in the detail of the story.
We started off a the very respectable hour of 9am. It was an overcast day promising rain at some time. It was also very hot (about 34 degrees) so I was not concerned about getting wet. The first site I wanted to see was Auk Yum. It is the oldest site at Angkor being about 8th/9th century CE. The actual builder is unknown because evidence shows that the original temple was built over at a later time. There is a lintel stone in the site that was dated by the inscription to a particular date (Saturday 10 June 674). This part was reused from somewhere else so the temple must be younger than this time. When looked at it is just a pile of stones emerging from the bank of the Western Baray, but putting it in the context of its history even the pile of stones becomes very interesting. We drove tothe siteon the main road past the airport, our return was along the top of the wall/ bank of the Western Baray (this has a Khmer name which I can't remember and am too lazy to go and look up). The first 7 photos are of Auk Yum and the next 3 are of the Wesren Baray - 2 of the water and one of the road on top of the bank. The Baray is huge, I mean very huge, apparently at least the size of Sydney Harbour! It is hard to comprehend unless you actually look at it through your own eyes. It is quite breathtaking. There is an Island in the middle with a temple in it. I could have hired a boat to go and have a look but the asking price was too high (more than the cost of my tuk tuk man for all day!).
We then drove back past the airport and into Angkor Thom, through the city and out the Eastern ( Victory) gate to Spean Thma ( Stone Bridge in modern Khmer ) The next 4 photos are of the bridge. It is dated to the 16th century and is interesting from several points. The construction of the arches isby a method called corbeling which produces narrow arches as the walls are made with over lapping layers. It is not thestrongest wayof building an arch which was exacerbated by it being built on sand. The river moved leaving it luckily high and dry. Of aesthetic interest is the trees growing over the rocks Tomb Raider style.
The next temple and set of photos (4) is called Ta Nei it was built in the late 12th century bu Jayavarman VII and is in the Bayon style. It was enlarged by Indravarman II. It is a smaller scale temple hidden away from the main drag and surrounded by jungle. The outer walls seem mainly intact but the inner area is festooned with piles of rock around the central sanctuary. I chose to look at this place because of the name, it sounds like the name of one of my neighbours grandchildren. It turned out to be a good choice as it was quite small, out of the way and there were no other tourists there.
We went for a lazy lunch in a reateraunt in front of the Ta Keo temple (In the temple mountain style). The meal was very nice and I had a chance to relax and rest up ready for the next and final temple for the day, The Bakheng.
Prasat Bakheng (Bakheng temple) is built on Phenom Bakheng a large hill not far from Angkor Wat. It was built in the 9th/10th century by king Yasovarman I. It was the stae temple of the first city at Angkor called Yasodharapura. The city was 4km square with Bakheng being in the centre. To get to thetemple you have to walk up a hill for about 2 km. It was about 2pm when I attempted the climb and I arrived a soaking sweaty mess after about 1 hour and many stops to catch breath and re charge. The temple up the top is undergoing extensive restoration necessary to prevent it collapsing and raining down the hill. From the upper platform youget absolutely stunning views 360 degree around. You can see the tops of Angkor Wat peering through the trees and you can see almost the full extent of the Western Baray. The views are stunning and well worth the climb. On the right day sunset or sunrise would be truely spectacular.ji
On the walk down the hill I bumpedinto a woman from Sydney who was an archeologist. We hada long chat about things archeological. It isquite uncanny how these coincidences occur. This was my last templefor the day. My driver took me back to my hotel where Ihad a relaxing shower and snooze before a night out on Pub Street Stay tuned for the next blog from the Kulen Plateau.
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