We have an early 8 am start for our visit to Angkor Thom. Our first stop is to buy our three day passes to the historical areas. As part of the process, photos are taken and printed on the $62 ticket, I’m sure to avoid resale or “borrowing”.
We drive 15 minutes past Angkor Wat to Angkor Thom, a great ancient Khmer city near Siem Reap, built in the mid-12th century to early 13th century and probably abandoned in the 16th Century. The bridge to approach the gate has 52 statues of demons on one side and 52 statues of gods on the other. Many of the heads were stolen in years gone by but there are some remaining and several restorations. Atop the gate is a four-sided face of Avalokiteshvara, the goddess of compassion, though there are some reports the face is similar to King Jayavarman VII who built the city.
This is the face we see repeatedly on the buildings of the city including many, many times on Bayon, the centerpiece temple of Angkor Thom. The temple is quite amazing and it seems I am always under the watchful eye of one of the 216 faces of Avalokiteshvara.
Gho Vanda leads us on to Baphuon as well as the Terrace of Elephants and other structures within the city.
We continue around the large city to Phimeanakas, a royal palace. By now we’re all pooped. Gho Vonda is extremely informative, but we are hot and tired. We walk to the air conditioned van and drive to a local restaurant for lunch.
Gho Vanda leads us on to Baphuon as well as the Terrace of Elephants and other structures within the city.
We continue around the large city to Phimeanakas, a royal palace. By now we’re all pooped. Gho Vonda is extremely informative, but we are hot and tired. We walk to the air conditioned van and drive to a local restaurant for lunch.
We finish lunch around 2 pm and return to the historic area for a visit to Ta Prohm, the temple used in the film Laura Croft: Tomb Raider. This temple helps us to visualize how the jungle overtook the city of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat before the restorations. The temple has trees and vines which have grown into the temple buildings such that they cannot be removed without harming the temple. Very interesting! It’s the heat of the day and Ta Prom is overrun with tourists. I can’t imagine what it would be like if China did not have the Corona Virus travel restrictions in place. Gho Vanda says that Kung Fu walking is required. Wild!
It’s 3 pm when we exit Ta Prohm. Our itinerary says that we will go to a Homestay run by French chef tonight, which means we will have 45 minutes to 1 hour to rest at our hotel before getting back in the van. The group revolts! We are willing to skip the 40 minute ride and the dinner at the Homestay and just relax, doing dinner on our own. Gho Vanda makes some calls and swaps the dinners for tonight and tomorrow. Yeah! We have time to relax at the pool, nap and shower.
At 6:30 pm we go to a dinner show which features Dance of the Apsara. According to Hindu mythology, Apsaras were beautiful female creatures that descended from heaven to entertain Gods and Kings with their dance. There are different meanings in the hand gestures of the Khmer Dance, and the dance very gracefully tells different stories. The food is good and we enjoy the show.
It’s 3 pm when we exit Ta Prohm. Our itinerary says that we will go to a Homestay run by French chef tonight, which means we will have 45 minutes to 1 hour to rest at our hotel before getting back in the van. The group revolts! We are willing to skip the 40 minute ride and the dinner at the Homestay and just relax, doing dinner on our own. Gho Vanda makes some calls and swaps the dinners for tonight and tomorrow. Yeah! We have time to relax at the pool, nap and shower.
At 6:30 pm we go to a dinner show which features Dance of the Apsara. According to Hindu mythology, Apsaras were beautiful female creatures that descended from heaven to entertain Gods and Kings with their dance. There are different meanings in the hand gestures of the Khmer Dance, and the dance very gracefully tells different stories. The food is good and we enjoy the show.
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