Angkor-Day Three

Angkor Thom

As I mentioned in my earlier blog on Angkor Wat, we purchased a three day pass when we arrived on late that first afternoon. Our first day we only had time to see one temple and a breathtaking sunset. Day Two was spent primarily at the iconic Angkor Wat followed by a short visit to the intentionally unrestored Ta Prohm. I was glad that we decided on a three day pass because it takes a minimum of three days to make your visit worthwhile, and I can see that a week would be ideal to see all of the temples which I believe number close to twenty.

Moat around Angkor Thom

On our third and last day, we attempted to conquer Angkor Thom, the largest of the ancient cities. The night before, we had driven across the avenue of Gods lining the bridge across Angkor Thom's moat and passed through its impressive S Gate with the four faces.

Avenue of Gods

S Gate

Our driver, Mr. Ro, suggested we hike the wall of this one corner of the temple so this is where we started out on our third day. We enjoyed the views of the moat from the high wall, and even managed to stop and pet the wild monkeys who were happy to drink from Frank's water bottle.

Once inside, we marveled at the carvings.  I stopped to have my photo taken so that I was nose-to-nose with a God.

We hustled around that day, climbing to the top of temples for the view.

We ended at Angkor Thom's famous Elephant Terrace.  This long terrace used for royal receptions got its modern name front he elephants carved along its wall.

The night before, we were actually inside the walled city of Angkor Thom to visit one of its temples, The Bayon.  This temple has one of the most religious backgrounds, having passed through different religious phases.  Each successive king, having his own religion, found it easier to remodel the temple than to erect a new temple.  We witnessed a wall of Buddhist guardians that were pulled out presumably for a new, Hindu King's reign.

Since we arrived late in the evening, the guard who was preparing to close for the night gave us a guided tour.  He had asked if we were Americans and mentioned that the U.S. was helping with the restoration of this temple, but that the crew had already gone home for the night.