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Arial
view of Angkor Wat |
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looking toward the west |
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Going
on a vacation may be a temporal experience... |
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but
the memories you make on the trip will last you a
lifetime
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The
pictures have been resampled to save space. There are lots
of them, so please be patient while they load. And please
let me know of any quirks and wayward links. |
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Thank
you for taking the time to vist ! |
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February,
2002
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The
Kingdom of Cambodia (also referred to as Khmer or Kampuchea)
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Our 4½
day journey over the Chinese New Year holidays started with
a direct flight to from Taipei to Phnom Pehn's Pochentong Airport. Upon
reclaiming our luggage, we strolled beneath the blazing sun over
to the domestic airport nearby. After an hour's wait, we
boarded a propeller aircraft for a 40-minute flight to Siem
Reap (about 190 km. from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Pehn.)
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And so our adventure began... |
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Angkor |
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Angkor was
the capital of the Khmer empire during 802-1431 AD. A
succession of 27-40 kings were said to have ruled what is now
Cambodia, parts of Thailand, Burma and Loas. Between the
9th and 13th centuries, five of these Khmer rulers are credited
for building over 50 important monuments that are spread over 40
kilometers within the town of Siem Reap. In total, the 100
or so temples are the sacred remains of what was once a much
larger administrative and religious center, bearing grand
witness to a glorious past... Angkor, the largest religious
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Most of
Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century, and the temples became
cloaked with forest. This ancient site became the source
of scholarly interest in the late 19th century, after the
publication of "Voyage à Siam et dans le Cambodge"
by French naturalist Henri Mouhot. Efforts were
undertaken to clear away the jungle vegetation that threatened
to completely destroy the monuments, and restoration continues
today.
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As
prearranged, we were greeted at the Siem Reap airport by a driver holding up
a sign with our names. The cold towels and air-conditioned
car were a soothing dose of comfort. In less than 20
minutes, we were in central Siem Reap, and we checked into the
beautiful old Grand
Hotel D'Angkor, which had worked its way back
towards its former glory. |
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Those of
you who read my "Ruin Sorbees" forward, will
understand why communicating with room service proved to be
totally confounding and hilarious (we had a
similar experience). Their service was
nevertheless impeccable, the food very yummy, and we enjoyed
every minute of our stay. Here's a picture of the hotel. |
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If
you're ready to roll on the floor laughing, read the "Ruin
Sorbees" funny by clicking on the
underlined link. |
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(Hit the BACK
button on your browser to return here.)
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PLEASE CLICK
ON IMAGE IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE AN
EXPANDED VIEW |
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Hit the BACK
button on your browser to return to this
page |
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After a
leisurely stroll in the town's old market, followed by a relaxing swim
in the hotel pool, we stuffed ourselves silly with a
scrumptious dinner at the Khmer-style restaurant in the hotel.
The next
morning at 8:30am, our personal guide, Ly-Heng promptly met
us at the lobby. He was friendly, spoke fluent English and
knowledgeable as well as accommodating. He also doubled as
our personal photographer. We rode along the dusty roads
in a private car, and within minutes, were at the gateway to the
archeological site, where we stopped at the roadside ticket
office to purchase our "THREE DAY PASS" for US$40
each.
The
following shots are just some of many we took (a few of the
*good* ones were scanned from postcards). |
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Angkor
Thom
Our first stop was the
Gate
of Angkor Thom,
built by Jayavarman VII from
the late 12th century to the early 13th century, shortly
after Angkor had been conquered and burnt down by the
Chams. This inner royal city was built as a
quadrangle and bordered by a 100-meter-wide moat and an
8-meter-high wall. Angkor Thom is geometrically
oriented... it covers an area which is an exact
quandrangle. The sides of this quandrangle run
exactly in North-South and East-West directions. A
gate opens exactly in the middle of each wall,
connecting the royal city with the outside through a
bridge over the moat. We
entered from the
South Gate
to be greeted by
a row of demons one one side, gods on the other, and a huge,
magnificent face directly in front of us.
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South
Gate of Angkor Thom |
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Bayon
Temple
Once inside the gate, we drove to
the Bayon, one of the largest and most famous temples in Angkor
Thom. Bayon Temple is considered to be an architectural
masterpiece. The apparent chaos of its dark rooms and
interconnected galleries is dominated by gigantic stone
faces. Its design (with 54 towers, each carved with 4
faces... one for each of the cardinal directions... you do
the math for an estimate of how many!) contains 3 levels, narrow
pasageways, and incredible bas-reliefs. The Bayon is not
to be missed! There is something mystical and welcoming
about this place... faces almost everywhere you look, smiling
gently and serenely. It is well worth spending hours (if
you have the time) wandering throughout, soaking up both details
and the immense whole.
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The
Bayon Temple
The
stone-jigsaw countenance of the Bodhisattva Likesvara looks down
with a benevolant smile on tourists, pilgrims and archeologists
alike. |
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His lens fell
off! |
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Entrance |
Sanctuary
window |
One-eyed smile |
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Terrace
of the Elephants
Our
next stop was the Terrace of the Elephants (end 12th
century - Buddhist), over 300 meters long. The facade of
this huge terrace is carved with elephants, horses, lions,
garudas, sacred geese and naga balustrades.
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Three-headed
elephants flank the stairs |
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Beautiful
carvings all along the terrace |
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Terrace
of the Leper King
Right
around the corner is the Terrace of the Leper King (also end
12th century - Buddhist), so called because a few of the Angkor
kings had been known to have contracted the disease. It
has dramatic bas-reliefs on both its interior and exterior walls
as shown on the right.
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Angkor
Wat
Built
in the first half of the 12th century by Suryavarman II, the
Angkor Wat Temple was originally dedicated to the Hindu god Visnu, and
later came to be used as a Buddhist temple. We arrived
ready to explore this Wonder of the World, but weren't prepared
for the size of it all! Before we could even see the
famous towers of Angkor Wat, we had to walk a long causeway
across the moat (where children bathe and play) to the entrance
tower. |
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Halfway
through the main causeway towards the
entrance tower
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From
the entrance tower, another long causeway led us, raised above
the buildings and ponds at ground level, to the temple itself. |
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Once
inside, we walked the
passageways trying to take in
the many aspects of the
structure. All around we
saw carvings of seductive
maidens, apsaras (celestial
nymps), dancing bare-breasted
and in diaphanous skirts. |
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Corridor |
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-- This design |
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Click
on shot to see what |
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this dirty old man is up
to! |
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Then
up steep, steep stone staircases we went until we reached the
top level, where the bats have also found a quiet home.
Much to my horror, one pooped on my head... oh YUK!... I keep telling myself
that it's a sign of *good luck*
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Going back down was
intimidating, but luckily we found one staircase with a
handrail... what a relief ! |
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A
treacherous climb! |
Almost
there! |
At
the foot of the tower |
A
scary descent! |
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We
went back again in the afternoon to stop at the moat for a picture
of the entrance tower reflected on the water (great light as the
Wat faces west). |
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Ok,
are you still with us? This is just the beginning of the
tour... Here, we've covered only parts of the first day
and a half.
Check out the next 2 pages to see more
interesting highlights of our Cambodian adventure...
it only gets better !
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