Angkor Wat - Cambodia

Here we are in front of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  Chuck and I have wanted to visit this site for many, many years.  It has been named the 8th wonder of the world and it is truly amazing.  Angkor Wat (Holy Temple) is the largest Hindu temple in the world and was built in the 11th century.  The temple was dedicated to Vishnu, but was converted to a Buddhist temple 400 years later. It is huge - comprised of a large moat (200 meters wide), an immense wall surrounding the temple, and 5 towers - representing the sea, mountains, and heaven. 

The interior walls of the temple are covered with 2000 meters of carvings - depicting the stories of Vishnu, heaven/earth/hell and the beginning of the world.  The carvings are still striking in their level of detail.

















The walls that make up the towers are covered with carvings of dancing ladies (Asparas) and flowers.  Many Asparas are still intact - like this one.  As you wander around the temple it is hard to believe that this was built almost a thousand years ago.




























Down the road from Angkor Wat is Angkor Thom (Holy City) which was built a hundred years after Angkor Wat.  Angkor Thom is a walled city, 10 square km big, and has a number of temples built within it.  The largest temple is Bayon Temple which is located exactly in the center of the city.  It is made up of 54 towers - each decorated with 4 enormous smiling faces of Buddha, which look suspiciously like the king who commissioned the building of the temple.  This king followed Buddhism but tolerated Hinduism so components of both religions could be found in the temples he built.
























We also visited several other temples that had not been fully restored.  There were large piles of stones from where the walls and towers had collapsed.  These temples were quiet and eerie - we felt a bit like archaeologists finding new treasures.







Another temple we visited was built in 967 AD and is made of red sandstone with very intricate carvings all over it.  This was above each of the doors in the temple.

























It is the end of the wet season, so pooling of water is occurring along the roadsides and in the temple grounds, which provide some great photo opportunities. 






















This was one of our favourite temples - nicknamed the "jungle temple" - which was featured in the Angelina Jolie movie "Tomb Raider" from 2002. 

The temple was undergoing significant restorations but several large trees had been left in place to continue to highlight the jungle affect on the temples.

Kenna and Cole exploring the temples.