Day 492 – “We’re seeing Wat today?”

Our hotel includes breakfast so we have that and are picked up at 9 am and taken to a local hostel where our tour today starts

From here, we’re taken on a bus to the eastern entrance of Angkor Wat where we cross the Rainbow Bridge and meander through the Southern Library building

We enjoy various views of the prominent Angkor Wat, are shown the Reflecting Pond which is featured in the Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider film and pop to get some refreshments before getting on the Terrace of Honour

This has the five entries to the temple where our guide explains these are for different groupings of people: the general public, officers, the King, religious figures and then elephants

We go through the religious figures or typically monk entrance and find ourselves in the most central point of the complex followed by reaching the five geometrically organised, or quincunx, towers

Dating back to the 12th century, it was built by order of the Khmer King Suryavarman II as his state temple and eventual mausoleum – it’s one of the best examples for Khmer architecture and stands as an important symbol for Cambodia, having pride of place on their flag

The design of it is to represent and mimic Mount Meru which is the home of the devas in Hindu mythology, as it originally stood as a Hindu temple

The temple complex fell into disuse before being restored in the 20th century with various international agencies involved in the project – this is our first example of international investment of restoration projects as this is the case with most of Cambodian temples

We exit via the western gate and are taken to Samroh Srah Srang Restaurant for some lunch before carrying onto Ta Prohm Temple

This temple uses style similar to the Bayon temple – richly decorated – and was built in the 12th and 13th centuries being originally called Rajavihara meaning “Royal Monastery”

It was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and center of learning

The temple was built without mortar and, after it was abandoned, trees took root in the loosened stones; the trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of the most popular temples

It is also renowned as another site where Tomb Raider was filmed – it was incredibly busy to wander around!

Next up is Prasat Ta Keo which is possibly the first to be built entirely of sandstone by the Khmer Empire, from the 10th century

It was the state temple of Jayavarman V, and was unfinished for many years until the reign of Suryavarman

There are a variety of stories as to why it was left undone but two are that the building was struck by lightning signifying a bad omen or work stopped simply because of the death of Jayavarman V, as there was a struggle for succession

We are then taken to the Angkor Thom complex and first to admire the Terrace of the Elephants and then the Baphuon temple – this is very much in the style of the Temple Run game which has a long walkway (see the featured image)

In the middle of this complex is Bayon Temple which is known for its distinctive multitude of serene and smiling stone faces

These faces are thought to be of Brahma but were probably modeled on the face of King Jayavarman VII

As it starts to get dark, we’re taken through Tonle Om Gate (Southern Gate) of Angkor Thom which is famous for it’s bridge with one side presenting hell and the other heaven

This leads us to a hill with Phnom Bakheng on top – the sunset isn’t the best but it’s pretty to admire