Angkor Wat

It was already afternoon when we left Ta Prohm. As we exited the main Ta Prohm complex, we were greeted by vendors selling “cold drink” and kids asking for “one dalah”. This will soon be a famliar scene since every major temple has a strip of vendors right outside it, ready to quench the thirst of the weary tourist.

Crossing the Moat

Our driver asked us where to go next since it seemed like he doesn’t have any more on his itinerary. So we decided to go to Angkor Wat to see the sunset. Angkor Wat isn’t really that far from Ta Prohm, after a few minutes we reached the moat surrounding the temple mountain.

I had no idea how vast the area of Angkor Wat was until we started going around the perimeter of the moat. It took us some time to cover one side of the moat. No wonder, it was a full kilometer long. In fact the entire Angkor Wat complex occupies two square kilometers. The moat itself is very impressive since it is wide enough to be a small river. Fortunately, this moat has water since it is fed by the Siem Reap River.

Wide Moat of Angkor Wat

To cross the moat, visitors needs to go to the main entrance. Our driver dropped us off at the entrance and we quickly made our way to the bridge crossing the moat. As expected, there were a lot of people here. Busloads of tourists all trying to get in the temple. Fortunately, Angkor Wat is huge enough to accomodate all those tourists.

Bas Relief at the Entrance

The name Angkor Wat means “royal city that is a monastery”. It was built by Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. This is the most famous monument of Cambodia and is featured in their national flag. It originally was for the Hindu religion but was later turned into a Buddhist monastery.

Tourists Everywhere

As expected Angkor Wat is really a sight to behold. It is impressive both in size and style. Bas-relief seem to adorn every nook and cranny of the temple. Elegant carvings can be seen in the most insignificant pillar. It is worth to spend a whole day exploring every inch of this majestic temple.

Angkor Wat by the Pool

After crossing the moat, and in the first enclosure. A field of opens up to greet the visitor. It would have been a really fascinating expierence if it weren’t for the hordes of tourists that are there. In the far distance it the main temple itself. Looks like it will really take a while for us to get there. Halfway to the main temple, are two sets of pools one on each side of the walkway to the temple.

Inside the Temple

The temple reflected upon the pools makes for a really picturesque scene. I’m sure the tourists on the shores of the pool would agree with me. It seemed to be great time to go since the sun is already behind us. The sky will not be overblown.

Monks Minding their Own Business

After a lot of photos, we continued our way to the main temple. Here on could explore the long hallways of the temple. There were actually monks there and their bright clothing really shows against the drab grey of the the temple walls.

Impressive Bas-Relief

At the innermost enclosure, visitors can climb up the very steep stairs to explore the temple itself. However, the builders of the temple seemed to be quite a small people since each step was not even as big as my foot. This led to an interesting predicament. You will see people crawling up or down the temple using their hands and feet, since it really is quite scary going up the temple. If you want to climb up the temple, use extreme caution, I don’t think the authorities would take care of you if something happens.

No Tourists Here

Behind the temple is an awesome bas-relief of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk. The second half of the bas-relief is one depicting Vishnu fighting against demons. This part of the temple is relatively quiet, receiving only a handful of visitors. It is here where one can actually absorb the atmosphere of Angkor Wat. In fact, I could just sit down and stare out into space with no one bothering me. It is a good thing the tour groups do not reach this far. That had me wondering, with the way tourist come and explore the temple, there might become a time when most of the temple has already been replaced because of wear and tear.

Some Peace and Quiet

At the other exit, visitors can get a great view of Angkor Wat without the crowds. It was also at this time when the sun started to set down behind the temple. While probably not as amazing as a sunrise, it is nonetheless an beautiful sight.

Sunset at Angkor Wat

We walked the whole lenght of the temple complex back to where our driver would meet us. With the hordes of tourist also going back, I feared we might not be able to find our driver. Fortunately, he was smart enough to position himself at a visible place so we found him immediately.

Angkor Wat, despite the huge number of tourists flocking to see it, is truly a sight to behold. Yes, the tourists will get in your way a lot of times but it one small price to pay to see one of man greatest architectural marvels of all time.

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South Gate at Angkor Thom

For any visitor to Siem Reap, watching the sun rise at Angkor Wat is a must. That was what we intended to do. Wake up by five in the morning and rush out to Angkor Wat and watch the sun rise before your very eyes. This was not to be. By the time we got up, it was already almost six in the morning and the sun had already rose. Too late for the sunrise.

Asura at Angkor Thom

Well, we still have a couple of days to try catch the sunrise so we proceeded to start our exploration of the temples. We started with the sprawling ancient city of Angkor Thom. We took our tuk-tuk to the archeological park entrance and paid our fees and even had our mug shots. It turns out to be very handy souvenir.

More Asuras

The sun hasn’t fully risen yet so it was still a little dark. The road we took was well paved and the the air was quite crisp. It seems that Siem Reap is a little elevated which will explain the cool air. There were hardly any tourists on the road right now, probably because everyone else is at Angkor Wat watching the sun rise.

Empty Road

We got to the South Gate of Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom was established by Jayavarman VII and was the last capital of the Khmer Empire. It is huge with a territory spanning several square kilometers. Very impressive considering that this was built several centuries ago.

Locals on Bicycles

The South Gate in front of us is the main entry point into Angkor Thom. There are four gates bordering Angkor Thom. However, the South Gate is the most well preserved with the others fallen into disrepair. The gate itself is quite imposing. With a huge face carved on it. There are debates as to how the face actually is. The bridge crossing the moat has impressive statues called asuras guarding both sides of the bridge. Some of the statues have unfortunately been decapitated by treasure hunters or maybe even locals seeking to earn a quick buck.

Moat Full of Water

The moat itself is not really full of water all around, presumably because it wasn’t the rainy season. I could just imagine how much better it will look like with the moat full of water. It was interesting to see how the ancient Khmers made use of water in their engineering work. It provides an insight into the level of knowlege they have already aquired.

South Gate

Upon passing through the South Gate is was only a small distance more into Angkor Thom and all the temple complexes it holds. However, our stomachs were already growling from not having breakfast. Fortunately, there is a small market with an eating place and we grabbed ourselves a simple breakfast of pork and rice while we soak in the views of the surrounding temples.

Breakfast at Angkor Thom

I’m not a big fan of history but seeing this really impresses me. I could not fathom how centuries ago without the help of modern technology, people have been able to build marvels like these. I think I’m going to enjoy this trip.

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The Citadel

We stepped outside the Ngoc Mai Hotel wondering how to get to the Hue’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. Our guides still haven’t arrived yet. Fortunately, there were some locals with motorcycles asking us whether we wanted to go there. Of course we agreed. The ride took around 15 minutes from the hotel to the main square where the temple complex is. There is a lot of activity in the area and a lot of tourists too. But most of the tourists were Vietnamese. There were a handful of Caucasians too but not a lot.

Inside the Royal Palace

We are currently at the Imperial Citadel Đại Nội, one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Hue. This is a palace/temple complex built by the Nguyen Dynasty as recently as two hundred years ago. Actually that was quite surprising, as I wasn’t expecting these temples to be built so recently. Unlike the temples of maybe China whose temples, have existed for a millennia or two. Regardless, the temples of Hue have that unmistakable Chinese feel, signs that China had such a huge influence in the history and culture of Vietnam. If one were to transport the temple to somewhere in China, it would look totally at home.

Fixing up the Lanterns

After paying the entrance fee, we entered the palace grounds. This place used to be the seat of power when Hue was the capital of Vietnam at that time. The Nguyen emperors had these temples built for their use. It was also during this time that Hue because the academic and cultural capital of Vietnam. The palace is surrounded by a moat, still with water, and with a carpet of water lilies covering it. The water lilies made the otherwise boring moat come to life with color.

Citadel at Dusk

The Ngọ Môn gate at the entrance was a beautiful sight. It has all the markings of Chinese design complete with Chinese characters. One could actually climb up and walk to it and get a good view of the surrounding area. There are huge drums on top presumably for defense. The central door of the gate and the bridge crossing the moat is reserved exclusively for the emperor.

Lights On for the Festival

Further in the complex is the royal palace Thái Hòa itself. As expected it is truly magnificent in its design. Even the columns are exquisitely carved with dragons. Little wonder why Hue became the cultural capital of Vietnam for a while. I found it amazing to see that the palace was so well preserved considering that Vietnam was in civil war just a couple of decades ago. The people have done a great job preserving such as precious treasure. The palace is where the emperors would hold court and receive foreign dignitaries.

Behind the palace is an area full of red lanterns. I was curious as to what the purpose of those lanterns were, when we were informed that these were a actually fireworks for the night’s festival. Actually, there are a couple of buildings in a state disrepair. It seems they were destroyed in the civil war.

There were more and more people coming in the Citadel and were gathering in the open area. In another part of the complex were some performances showing traditional dances. I wasn’t really interested in them we hung around for a while to see if something will happen.

Huge Bell

By this time, the sun had already set and the palace was all lit up. The temple now looked even more impressive with the lights turned on. Combine that with the slowly darkening sky and the water of the moat, it really makes for a beautiful scene.

Outside the Citadel, was also another performance area, this is more like a concert more than anything else. Not wanting to lose myself in the huge crowd gathered at the performance area we decided to go back to the hotel.

For you readers, it may be interesting to see how big the complex actually was if you look at the map and zoom back a little bit. Only after seeing the scale of how big the imperial citadel was can one truly admire their skill in building this icon of Hue.

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