Around the World in 8000 days: Angkor Temples part 4: Angkor Thom, Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Som

Welcome to our travel blog. We are Tabitha and Nic. In 2011 we 'retired' in our early 40s and set off to travel the world. We spent our first year in South America and have been lucky enough to make two trips to Antarctica.

Our blog is a record of our travels, thoughts and experiences. It is not a guide book, but we do include some tips and information, so we hope that you may find it useful if you are planning to visit somewhere we have been. Or you may just find it interesting as a bit of armchair travel.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Angkor Temples part 4: Angkor Thom, Bayon, Preah Khan and Ta Som

South Gate, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

Our last day of temples started off in Angkor Thom, which has a whole host of things to see, the most impressive of with is definitely Bayon, but first the rest.

The complex was built after earlier residences were attacked, and hence the perimeter wall is huge, standing at around eight metres tall, and there was an equally large moat for good measure. Of the entranceways, it is the South Gate that is the most famous, with 54 gods and 54 demons lining the way, referencing aspects of a Hindu legend. This is where you will find the elephants but, however tempting it may be, please don't take a ride, as these poor creatures do suffer. Only last year, one collapsed and died here.

Leper King Terrace, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

Inside, there are two terraces, the Leper King Terrace and the Terrace of Elephants. The origins of the name Leper King are much debated, and various theories exist. Some believe that it is named after either Kubara, the God of Wealth, or King Yasavaraman I, both of whom were said to have leprosy. Others think the name simply comes from the way that the discoloured stonework and moss look a little like the way that the disease affects people. There is speculation that it was a cremation site for royalty.

Elephant Terrace, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

The Elephant Terrace, on the other hand, is a little more obviously named, as it has carvings of elephants along it.

There are many smaller temples in the complex, but the main one (aside from Bayon), is Baphuon. Around the temple, you can see there are lots of pieces of stone laid out. These are pieces of the temple. Baphuon had been completely dismantled for restoration, using the normal, painstaking process of numbering each piece individually, and plotting where it goes on a plan. Unfortunately, the Khmer Rouge destroyed the plan. So the process of putting the temple back together again is long and arduous, but they are getting there.

Elephant Terrace, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

Another that we passed by was Phimeanakas, which is pretty rough and unimpressive looking, but was known as the Tower of Gold, so it is believed to have had a golden pinnacle.

The legend goes that the gold tower was home to a nine headed serpent spirit, which appeared to the King as a woman, and he had to sleep with her every night before going to his wife, or he would die. Sounds a bit suspect to me!

Leper King Terrace, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

Bayon itself is quite different from the other temples in its decoration. While some of the temples have large faces over the top of the perimeter gates, Bayon has them everywhere. It does have some apsara carvings and bas reliefs of devata, but some are of far more mundane images of everyday life.

In any case, it is the faces that really make this place unique and interesting. they stare down at you from almost every angle. And if it seems that I have taken a lot of photos of faces, then yes, that may be true, but when you consider that there are around 2000 of them - faces that is, not photos - it doesn't seem quite so bad I think.

Oh, and watch out for the monkeys. They are fun to watch, but they can sometimes be aggressive, especially if you have food, and they can certainly be naughty. We watched one woman crouching down on the ground to take photos of a couple of monkeys, only to have another couple come up behind her and one jump right on her back. That gave her a shock.

Phimeanakas, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

After Bayon, we visited Preah Khan, which was another interesting temple. There are four sets of passages that lead into the centre of the temple, and in three of them, the doorways get smaller as you go in, making you have to stoop to pass through. We were told that this is to ensure that you are humble as you near the presence of the Gods. The fourth way in is the Kings entrance. His doors stay larger, as his divine right means he does not have to bow down.

There is also a nice example here of a Hall of Dancers, named after the images of rows of dancers on the walls. It is believed that this may have been where dancers performed for the King.

Elephant, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap

I don't know whether we were just lucky elsewhere, or unlucky here, but this was the one place where we encountered a couple of people - in some kind of security guard uniform no less - who wanted to 'offer us helpful information', take our photo for us, and then of course want us to give them some money for their troubles and to guide us around. We politely declined.

Our last temple was Ta Som, which is often described as a mini Ta Prohm. I think this is largely just because it also has trees growing through some parts. It is a nice little visit though. Much of the temple is in ruins, but there are some good bas reliefs on the one standing tower, and there are very few visitors here most of the time.

So that is the last of the temple posts. I have to say, we really did like them, especially the fact that there was some variety in them. And of course, while we saw the main ones, we didn't see even nearly all of the smaller ones. Definitely well worth a visit.