Yes, the Raiders of the Lost Khmer Empire are back in Angkor and its magical surroundings. The above picture features Chel in front of the east gate of Angkor Wat. Less crowded equals better pictures. Did you know that it is in fact the largest religious building in the world?
Sois is walking along the boardwalk from the outer causeway to Angkor Wat's inner confines. A more symbolic interpretation would read something like this: here you see Sois venturing back into the first age of the creation of the universe. Now we can also cross time-traveling off our "to-do" list.
Once inside, we have Chel climbing up the highest tower (which represents Hinduism's mythical Mt. Meru) which rises 33 mtr above the third level from which the picture was taken (55 mtrs above ground level). Now it was a very steep ascent, especially the final 10 steps or so, so steep that we had to come down on the other side of the building. And before you start boo-ing: a couple of people have already plummeted to their death from these killer steps.
And from killer steps we move on to a killer view (please note: this does not imply Sois). From the highest tower you could look at the entire courtyard and the main entrance. A very impressive sight, even more so when you imagine that the entire courtyard was once filled with activity and wooden houses. At its prime, Angkor as a city was home to more than one million people(!)
On top of the impressive view on the outside, things were pretty interesting on the inside as well. There were smaller baths for the king, some leftover-leftovers of Hindu and Buddhist statues, and of course some "live" worshipping (see pic above).
After all of this, we said goodbye to Angkor to explore some other temples and sights in the area. We visited too many interesting things to post here, so we'll stick to these three for now. The pic features one of the 216 huge stone faces of Avalokiteshvara (scrabble points: 753) found at the Bayon temple behind the five gates of Angkor Thom, which lies north of Angkor What. ALL faces have a different expression. We have no idea how to call the expression above, but if you have an idea, you're more than welcome to post a comment.
Honestly, we don't know anymore how this one is called. After some research, we're guessing this temple is called Baphuon, also known as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle after countless years of restorative work (against war-related setbacks) to put into its current state. Like Angkor Wat, Baphuon is a representation of Mt. Meru, but a pyramidal one in that. We were again allowed to climb to the top. But after trudging along all these great architectural achievements (and the countless stampeding Korean tourgroups breathing down our necks) you start to wonder if they should allow any tourists on the structures at all. We're probably causing more wear and tear than time itself by now. On the other hand, Angkor now provides so many (in)direct jobs for the people of Siem Reap and around that it would a shame if tourist kept away because they could not experience Angkor up, close, and sometimes way to personal.
Ok, enough with the rants and this post. We're closing down the shop for today. And while we do, we leave you with a true Hollywood ending: the final picture is taken at Ta Prohm, a 12th century Mahayana Buddhist temple which featured in movies like "Tomb Raider" and "Two Brothers". If you look closely, you can even see Angelina Chelie behind the big black celebrity sunglasses in the right corner. However, the main attractions next to the numerous mazes of narrow corridors and instable stonework are the big trees that grow like alien tentacles through almost all of the remaining structures. In conclusion, our visit to Angkor was one of the greatest (cultural) experiences so far on our journey (minus the anxious herd of K-tourists). Beautiful, different, and continously surprising from every angle, this is a must-see for all of (wo)man. And with that bombshell, we close those post and bid you adieu!
Yes, the Raiders of the Lost Khmer Empire are back in Angkor and its magical surroundings. The above picture features Chel in front of the east gate of Angkor Wat. Less crowded equals better pictures. Did you know that it is in fact the largest religious building in the world?
Sois is walking along the boardwalk from the outer causeway to Angkor Wat's inner confines. A more symbolic interpretation would read something like this: here you see Sois venturing back into the first age of the creation of the universe. Now we can also cross time-traveling off our "to-do" list.
Once inside, we have Chel climbing up the highest tower (which represents Hinduism's mythical Mt. Meru) which rises 33 mtr above the third level from which the picture was taken (55 mtrs above ground level). Now it was a very steep ascent, especially the final 10 steps or so, so steep that we had to come down on the other side of the building. And before you start boo-ing: a couple of people have already plummeted to their death from these killer steps.
And from killer steps we move on to a killer view (please note: this does not imply Sois). From the highest tower you could look at the entire courtyard and the main entrance. A very impressive sight, even more so when you imagine that the entire courtyard was once filled with activity and wooden houses. At its prime, Angkor as a city was home to more than one million people(!)
On top of the impressive view on the outside, things were pretty interesting on the inside as well. There were smaller baths for the king, some leftover-leftovers of Hindu and Buddhist statues, and of course some "live" worshipping (see pic above). 
After all of this, we said goodbye to Angkor to explore some other temples and sights in the area. We visited too many interesting things to post here, so we'll stick to these three for now. The pic features one of the 216 huge stone faces of Avalokiteshvara (scrabble points: 753) found at the Bayon temple behind the five gates of Angkor Thom, which lies north of Angkor What. ALL faces have a different expression. We have no idea how to call the expression above, but if you have an idea, you're more than welcome to post a comment. 
Honestly, we don't know anymore how this one is called. After some research, we're guessing this temple is called Baphuon, also known as the world's largest jigsaw puzzle after countless years of restorative work (against war-related setbacks) to put into its current state. Like Angkor Wat, Baphuon is a representation of Mt. Meru, but a pyramidal one in that. We were again allowed to climb to the top. But after trudging along all these great architectural achievements (and the countless stampeding Korean tourgroups breathing down our necks) you start to wonder if they should allow any tourists on the structures at all. We're probably causing more wear and tear than time itself by now. On the other hand, Angkor now provides so many (in)direct jobs for the people of Siem Reap and around that it would a shame if tourist kept away because they could not experience Angkor up, close, and sometimes way to personal. 
Ok, enough with the rants and this post. We're closing down the shop for today. And while we do, we leave you with a true Hollywood ending: the final picture is taken at Ta Prohm, a 12th century Mahayana Buddhist temple which featured in movies like "Tomb Raider" and "Two Brothers". If you look closely, you can even see Angelina Chelie behind the big black celebrity sunglasses in the right corner. However, the main attractions next to the numerous mazes of narrow corridors and instable stonework are the big trees that grow like alien tentacles through almost all of the remaining structures. In conclusion, our visit to Angkor was one of the greatest (cultural) experiences so far on our journey (minus the anxious herd of K-tourists). Beautiful, different, and continously surprising from every angle, this is a must-see for all of (wo)man. And with that bombshell, we close those post and bid you adieu!
2 comments:
Mooi meisje die Angelina Chelie de tempel valt in het niet ga zo door amuseer me geweldig big kis from MA MAMS
Wow....how do you find Cambodia? She is my homeland. I am one of the Phnom Penh citizen. I just stop by your web and found a lot of images from Cambodia. You did a very nice visiting to our beloved country..
Thanks for visiting us!!!
Post a Comment