Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Friday–Sunday December 3–5, 2004
This photograph shows a section of the temple of Angkor Wat, built during the Khmer Empire, about 1125 AD. It is a large structure. For instance, the walls surrounding the temple are over two miles in length. This was a Hindu temple at first, and then when times changed it became a Buddhist temple.
This is the western entrance to Angkor Wat. The long railings on the sides of the road are stone serpents. The temple is so large that it is difficult to fit into a single photograph.
An arcade at Angkor Wat. Scale is shown by the woman on the left side of the photograph.
The Angkor area is a Unesco World Heritage site.
The area around Angkor Wat contains many Khmer temples. This is a bas relief wall carving at another temple, Bayon. The humans appear to have ropes around their necks, not a good sign for them. Elephants are still seen in the area.
Here is an intricate sandstone carving at another temple, Banteay Srei. Elephants and a Goddess are easy to spot. This temple was built about 1000 AD.
This is a courtyard at Banteay Srei. Even though it was built one thousand years ago, it is in fine shape.
Another nearby Hindu temple—Banteay Samre, built in the 12th century. You can see there are not many tourists at some of the temples near Angkor Wat.
This photograph was taken at Lo Lei, built in 893 AD. It is fortunate that a lot of Khmer art remains on site, but some has been removed. The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has “a sizeable collection of stone and bronze material from Angkor Wat.”
Bayon, another site, has a number of large faces, four per column.
The two predominate colors in the Angkor Wat area are green and blue. This is a rice field near Siem Reap.
Ta Prohm is well frequented by tourists, as it has not been repaired (and has been featured in movies). Tree roots have broken up the buildings, and rubble is everywhere.
Preah Khan, above, a Buddhist temple, was built in the late 1100s and had tens of thousands of people living near it. Its stone work is in good shape, despite being exposed to the elements.
We learned that the Khmers grew tired of being attacked from Burma, and one day moved the capital and its people down to Phnom Penh. The monuments of the civilization around Angkor Wat were left abandoned.
We arrived at Siem Reap Airport from Bangkok and immediately set out to see Angkor Wat and other nearby temples.
Next—Chiang Mai, in the highlands of Thailand.
