3/20/06: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Day 3. Now begins the touring of temples. The temples were all pretty amazing. But after a while I wondered why they all ended up looking very similar to one another. It turns out that it was because one was built as a small tester model of another, or as a copy/replica. Also, there are a lot of doors. And everyone is an artist, so everyone takes pictures of these cool doors. Anyway, as for the history aspect of these temples, since I was in a tour group from Taiwan, I unfortunately didn't understand everything- turns out that words describing temples and history are much more difficult than everyday words and are mostly out of my vocabulary range. My mom translated some of it, but some of my descriptions are from the internet. It really added meaning to the places I went, even after the fact. But, that having been said, I know that no one likes to read and less people actually like history, so I'm going to highlight what I consider to be the most interesting places if I had to choose, or the places I'd go if I were in some kind of race.













1. Preah Khan - "holy sword". Built on the site of King Jayavarman VII's victory over the invading Chams. Commemorates his father the same way that Ta Prohm (see Day 4) commemorates his mother. Both temples are largely unrestored and are covered in vegetation in respect for the ruined nature of the temple. Site includes 430 other shrines. [above (4)]



2. Neak Pean - "entwined serpents". An artificial island when filled with water (I went while it was dry). Shaped like a hospital cross, each of the four ends contains a water spout representing a horse, a lion, an elephant, and a man. Water eminating from these spouts is said to be holy and cure illness. In front of the middle island at one end is a horse statue with human legs, which is said to represent the myth: people who had been flooded were saved when Buddha changed into a horse and took them away. [Left (1) and Right (1)]







3. Ta Som - "Ancestor Som". Exactly the same external enclosures of Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei (see Day 4). Now known for the giant trees that have taken over parts of the temple. [Left (1) and Right (1)]





4. East Mebon - Temple complex was built by Rajendravarman on an island in the middle of the East Baray, although the water is now dried up. The resevoir originally served to regulate river flow and to irrigate crops. [Below: first (2)]
5. Pre Rup - "Turn the Body". Similar to East Mebon. One of the last "realizations of the 'temple-mountain'". The courtyard center holds a king's ashes/grave and the building to its right supposedly holds the king's real foot, although I only saw a foot statue. [Below: third and fourth (2)]























6. Banteay Srei - "Woman's Citadel". It is considered to be one of the top temples; the carvings are said to be as ornate and beautiful as those of wood, but made from stone. I think they used red sandst
one, whereas in some of the other temples, they used white sandstone. This was one of my favorite places. [Above (4)]

7. Prasat Kravan - Surrounded by a moat and now in a state of ruin from large tree roots.

8. Terrace of the Elephants - A structure raised high above ground for the king to look down upon a large field where elephant fights were conducted. Adorned with many elephant decorations. [Below: first (3)]











9. Phimeanakas - "Vimana Celestial Palace". Hindu temple built during the reign of Rajendravarman II in the form of a pyramid with three tiers. According to Wikipedia: This site is often infested by dangerous groups of monkeys who attack visitors and tourists." I didn't see any, but there are random monkeys roaming around town and Angkor Wat that tourists really loved to try and get close for what I'm sure are amazing pictures of someone getting rabies.

10. Terrace of the Leper King - There are myths that one or several kings had leprosy. I might have missed this part of the tour somehow, but it's on the itinerary.

11. Bayon - Located in the center of Angkor Thom (last and most enduring capital city of Khmer empire), it was repeatedly revised and had four phases of construction as a result. There are Buddha faces at the four cardinal points on top of the towers. [Above: last picture (1), Below (4)]











12. Phnom Bakheng - Despite being one of the more difficult places to get to Phnom Bakheng was absolutely teeming with people. First, you climb a mountain to get to the base of the temple (or ride an elephant). Then, to climb to the top of the temple, you need to climb several tiers of amazingly steep and narrow (about 4-5 inches wide) stairs .












It was a really long, hot day. But today (the day I posted this) in Taiki it's fucking freezing outside (they say perhaps 2 more months... so until JUNE... of snow). So I made peanut butter cookies. They were delicious.