Day Three of Angkor Wat tour--the Roluos Group

We got more ambitious aoout our departure time, and more adamant about beatig the heat. Today we left at 7 AM for a somewhat lengthy ride from one side of Siem Reap to the other to see the older monuments known as the Rolous Group and a few other things. This entailed a short trip to the "gas station" to get more fuel for the motorbike that pulls the chariot.

The monuments of Roluos, which served as Indravarman I’s (877-89) capital, Hariharalaya, are among the earliest large, permanent temples built by the Khmers and mark the beginning of the age of Khmer classical art. They are found 13km east of Siem Reap near the town of Roluos.

Preah Ko
Erected in the late 9th century, dedicated to Shiva. The six prasat (stone halls), aligned in two rows and decorated with carved sandstone and plaster reliefs, face east. It has some of the best surviving examples of plasterwork seen at Angkor and is currently under reconstruction by a German team.



All of the monuments have makeshift souvenir stalls and refresment stalls. Upon arrival a tuk tuk is bombared by young children selling postcards or guide books or women selling scarves and cold drinks. They are extremely insistent, will try to engage you in conversation and will remember you when you come back from the site and wander around looking for the driver.
Bakong

Bakong is the largest of the Roluos Group. It has an active Buddhist monastery just to the north of the east entrance. It was dedicated to Shiva. It is a representation of Mt Meru and served as the city’s main temple.
The complex faces east and consists of eight towers of brick and sandstone. It is enclosed by three concentric walls and a moat. There are well preserved statues of stone elephants on each corner of the first three levels. There are 12 stupas, four to a side, on the third tier.


A Buddhist monastery and school can be seen on the left.

The entrance to the monastery.
Lolei
The four brick towers of Lolei, an almost exact replica of Preah Ko (though less well preserved) were built on an islet in the center of a large reservoir, though now it is on dry land.
There are sandstone carvings in the niches, and Sanskrit carving on the doorposts.


Often when we returned to the tuk tuk our driver Krem. like many of the other drivers, had fallen asleep in the passenger side of the vehicle.

We continued along a very long ride through very rural areas that had few tourists on them--certainly most of the tourists going this route were on buses. But the tuk tuk was very cool and pleasant and Krem did not drive as fast as other drivers so it was easy to see the scenery.
We passed several of these unusual devices--they sounded like lawn mowers but looked like electric horses that could be attached to a wagon to pull it.
Banteay Srei
Considered by many to be the jewel of Angkor, it lies 21km northeast of Bayon or about 32 km from Siem Reap. . A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, cut from pinkish stone with some of the finest stone carving. Banteay means “Citadel of the Women”, it is said to have been built by a woman.
Construction began in 967. It was not commissioned by the king but by a Brahman who was a tutor to the king.

Banteay Srei was the first major restoration undertaken by the EFEO in 1930. In 1923 Frenchman Andre Malraux was arrested in Phnom Penh for attempting to steal several of the site’s major statues and pieces of sculpture. Ironically, Malraux was later appointed minister of culture under Charles de Gaulle.


Right aftr we left Banteay Srei the motorbike had a flat. Luckily we were very close to a station that fixed the tire. It would have been a disaster if we had had the problem out on the road--we passed through fairly isolated areas.

Day Two at Angkor Wat--the Grand Tour

We were a little more adventurous for day two, we left at 8 AM for the "Grand Tour". There was more driving. The driver said he is paid $50 a month and works every day--seven days a week. If he misses a dayof work he gets $1.50 deducted from his pay. We paid $3 for the sunset tour, $8 for the small tour, $11 for the grand tour. We gave him the change each day as a tip.

Prasat Preah Khan
Preah Khan (Sacred Sword) is one of the largest complexes in Angkor. It covers a very large area, with four processional walkways approaching the gates, bordered by a depiction of the churning of the ocean of milk.

These photos illustrate the looting of the images that took place in the early days after the European discovery of the temples. Most often the faces or heads of the images were carved or broken off and are no doubt today scattered through France. It was mentioned more than once that the main culprit, who was convicted of looting in the early 20th century, was later appointed to a top government position on culture by Charles de Gaulle.

Neak Pean
A 12th century Buddhist temple. It has a large square pool surrounded by four smaller pools. In the center of the central pool is a circular island encircled by two naga. In the central there were four statues, but only one remains, reconstructed from the debris. The figure has the body of a horse supported by a tangle of human legs.

Ta Som
The central area is in a ruined state with restoration underway by the World Monument Fund.

Pre Rup
A pyramid shaped temple mountain with the uppermost of the three tiers carrying five square shrines arranged as a quincunx (a common configuration). Pre Rup means “Turning the Body” and refers to a traditional method of cremation, suggesting that this may have served as the royal crematorium.

East Mabon
A Hindu temple erected in the 10th century. It would have been on an island but is now on dry land. The corners are guarded by harnessed elephants. Holes in the rock is where plasterwork was attached to the stone.

We finished up a little earlier in the day and I had the driver take us back to Angkor Wat. While my mother waited in the"chariot" I did another circuit of Angkor Wat with my video camera. If I figure out how to post videos I will do so later.

Day One at Angkor Wat--The Small Tour

Angkor Wat--The Jewel of Cambodia

On Sunday we set off for the "Small Tour". It includes the major temples in the Angkor area. I guess it is called the small tour because there is less driving, the temples are all centrally located. This is the tour that people do when they just have one day.
We left the hotel at 9 AM in a tuk tuk driven by Grahm (?), the driver we had had for the sunset tour to Phnom Bakheng and who would be our driver for the next two days.
West gate entrance to Angkor Thom, which once would have housed a population of over one million. This was used as a filming location for Tomb Raider. We were let out of the tuk tuk and walked through the gate. The men on either side are pulling a giant snake, symbolic of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk (a creation story). We were to pass through this gate many more times but we did not walk through again.
Bayon
A collection of 54 gothic towers decorated with 216 coldly smiling enormous faces of Avalokiteshvara in the image of King Jayavarman VII, who had it built. Decorated with 1.2 km of bas-reliefs incorporating more than 11,000 figures.
Baphuon
A pyramid structure of mythical Mt. Meru, completed in the 12th century. In its heyday it would have been the most spectacular of Angkor’s temples. The temple had been taken apart piece by piece by the French when war erupted in 1975. The records were destroyed and after the war archeologists were left with a huge jigsaw puzzle. A ten year reconstruction project started in 1995 and in 2005 the temple was reopened to the public.
The 350m long Terrace of Elephants was used as a giant viewing stand for public ceremonies and served as a base for the king’s grand audience hall.
Ta Keo
A stark undecorated temple left unfinished. It was built in the late 10th century and dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. The summit of the central tower is almost 50 m high.

Ta Prohm
The most atmospheric ruin at Angkor—unlike the other monuments it has been left to be swallowed by the jungle, and looks very much the way most of the monuments of Angkor appeared when European explorers first stumbled upon them. It was built in 1186, and was a Buddhist temple dedicated to the king’s mother.

Banteay Kdei

A massive Buddhist monastery from the latter part of the 12th century.

Prasat Kravan

These five brick towers are oriented north to south, face west, and were constructed for Hindu worship in the tenth century.
Angkor Wat
The largest and most breathtaking monument at Angkor. It is the best preserved, as it was never abandoned to the elements and has an active monastery behind it. Built as a funerary temple for Survayavarman II in the 12th century. It was built to honor Vishnu. It is oriented to the west, symbolic of death. It is famous for its beguiling aspara (heavenly nymphs)—more than 3000 are carved into the temple walls. It is surrounded by a moat, 190 m wide, which forms a giant rectangle measuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km.

It was very hot and late in the day when we arrived at Angkor Wat. We were already pretty tired from all the climbing. I was very excited to visit this temple, filled with anticipation as we walked the long bridge over the moat.
Right after entering the main entry (with the three spires) we encountered a series of stone corridors with big steps every twenty or so feet. It made walking difficult.
Up a flight a stairs and we found what looked like pools.
Depictions of the many nymphs that were everywhere.
This may be an example of the botched cleaning process that the Cambodians attempted several years ago. They abaonded this corrosive process and have started a less damaging technique.

A Buddhist monastery can be found behind Angkor Wat. This is the only temple that has been in continuous use since it was built. The other temples had a monk or two praying in the main sanctuary, but Angkor Wat had several monks throughout.
The five central towers (called a quincunx) are in the shape of a closed lotus blossom.
The entrance to the third level was via an extremely steep stairway. Below I am making my way to the top, and above you can see me looking from the top.
The way down was somewhat easier, as they had installed a metal rail.
Visiting Angkor Wat was really an incredible experience. I knew that it was big, but didn't realize it is the largest religious structure in the world.