Angkor Wat & Angkor Thom

Day2Night The Angkor Wat Angkor Thom Issue 3

The entrance of Banteay Srei, Siem Reap, Cambodia

I was walking at the Cambodia Border.

Space View on the way to Siem Reap

Traffic A crossroads in Siem Reap

Bus station at Cambodian bus company.

The hotel sign that I rested in Cambodia.

This is an intersection in Siam Reap City.

Shopping The Lucky mall is the biggest department store in Siam Reap.

Night Life The Night Market in Siam Reap

Travel alone Siem Reap is a province of Cambodia that near Thailand. I sat on a bus only 7 hours to Siam Reap. In Siem Reap, I found Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom that is one of ten miracle ancient place of the world.

I arrived Siem Reap in the evening after I planed the way to travel and I learned about many things for travel aboard by myself.

Before I traveled to Siem Reap I read many books, searched many informations from internet for plan program to travel because this is my first time to travel aboard by myself. At first time, I had a travel mate but finally she was busy. I worried to travel alone but I thought I had a lot of informations and a good plan, I believed I could travel to Angkor Wat Angkor Thom alone because there was many people travel alone. But in my mind, I thought if I had someone was a travel mate I would feel better but I need to travel, I’d ever canceled my trip, I had a good plan and I thought Siem Reap is the best choice for travel alone.

My travel plan Day 1 08.00 09.00 12.00 17.00 18.30 22.00

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Already at Bus Terminal Start to travel by bus Cross the frontier Arrive Siam Reap Go to Night Market Sleep

Day 2 05.00 - Visit Ankor Wat & Ankor Thom 19.00 - Have dinner & Sleep Day 3 06.00 07.00 08.00 15.00

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Have Breakfast Already at a bus station Come back my country by bus Arrive BKK

1 week before travel Nearby travel, I busied to prepare my travel. Many thing was more difficult than I thought, example reserved a hotel, bought a bus ticket, exchanged money, contacted Thai people when you leave in Siem Reap and Siem Reap transportation. I hoped necessary informations that I prepared can help me when I had some problem.

My check lists before travel 1.

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Book a bus ticket Book a hotel Open data roaming Save necessary informations Exchange money Prepare a map Prepare foreign languages Prepare a baggage

At Night Before Travel Next day, I would go to Siem Reap. I prepared everything almost already but I afraid some unlawful occupation. I didn't know another alone travelers feel afraid before travel like me, did they?. I had plan, bus booking, hotel booking, exchange money, communication and transportation.

But I didn’t sure it was going to be alright because this was my first time to be an alone traveler.

I’d ever planed to travel a lot of places but every plans was canceled because I afraid to travel alone. I thought "I'm not already, haven't good information, dangerous, have little money". In this time, I had many reasons to cancel my trip but I asked my friends they answered "If you need to do, let's do it. If you need to travel, let's travel".

I thought my friends say "Right". I didn't know what is the best plan but I known I had a lot of informations and I need to travel. Tomorrow I would go to travel although I feel afraid.

Enjoy for travel I arrived Siem Reap. Although I felt worry sometime. Now I was staying on my bed in the golden papaya hotel at old market. This room was 15 $ per night. There was TV, Wi-Fi and Air conditioner. It wasn’t a five star hotel, So I brought my importance stuffs with me every time when I leave my room.

I went to this hotel by Sally who is a Tuk Tuk driver. He could speak English well. He sent me this hotel and would get me travel Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom next day at 5 am for looking sunrise at Angkor Wat. I thought he looked friendly and talkative.

He introduced me about many places in Siem Reap. I hoped he was a good Tuk Tuk driver because tomorrow I would travel with him all day.

When I got in room already. I played Wi-Fi for contact my parent and boyfriend. After that I took a shower and went to survey a market for dinner.I walked to the Lucky Mall. There were a lot of clothes and foods.

I ate a chicken burger at Lucky Burger restaurant that sale burgers, fried chickens and pizzas. I thought Lucky Berger was the most popular food in Siem Reap because there was a lot of Cambodian waited for eat it. When I ate already I thought it was a good taste burger. I liked it rather than McDonald or KFC and Pizza Hut. If it opened in Thailand, I would buy it surely.

When I had a dinner already. I walked to the night market near my hotel. It was like Kha-San Road in Bangkok and Night Bazars at Chiang Mai. There is a lot of sea foods, and many massage shops. It was cheaper than Thai massage (1 hour pay 6 $). May be tomorrow when I came back from travel Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom I would get a massage or a fish spa.

In this time, I had many reasons to cancel my trip but I asked my friends they answered "If you need to do, let's do it. If you need to travel, let's travel". I thought my friends say "Right". I didn't know what is the best plan but I known I had a lot of informations and I need to travel

Sunrise at Ankor Wat, Siam Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat The outer gallery of Angkor Wat.

Lintel A decorative pattern for rear-door in Angkor Wat

Devatas are characteristic of the Angkor Wat style.

Inside a terrace in the gallery of Angkor Wat

The main pathway to Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat My first activity was early awake and going to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. There were a lot of tourists. It was the most impress place that I'd ever seen. The sky was changing color follow the sunrise behind Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the greatest place that I've ever seen. A lot of stones beautifully arranged and carved by Angkor peoples.

I felt amaze that 2,000 years ago, peoples who believed in goddess could build the most giants temple for their goddess.

Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations. UNESCO has set up a wide-ranging programme to safeguard this symbolic site and its surroundings. - UNESCO

Angkor Wat was first a Hindu, later a Buddhist, temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu.

As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture.

It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the templemountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometers (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor, which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara. Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds�. - wikipedia

The Ba-Yon Castle, Ankor Thom, Siam Reap, Cambodia

Great Castle The Ba-Yon Castle is the greatest castle in Angkor Thom.

Sculpture Bas-relief sculpture around the Ba-Yon Castle

A smile god on the top of the Ba-Yon Castle

Two tourists were reading the Ba-Yon castle history book.

Angkor Thom Before I walked around Angkor Wat already, I were going to Angkor Thom. This is a lot of castles for last Angkor Loyal Family.

Inside the castle, I thought it designs like a maze.

Around Angkor Thom has a lot of castle but the most climax is Ba-Yon castle. It has many four smile goddess faces around the top of castle. I were funny and happy to saw a lot of castles but I were tried because it's very hot and a top of castle is very high.

Angkor Thom, the last capital of the Khmer Empire, was a fortified cit enclosing residences of priest, officials of the palace and military, as well as buildings for administering the kingdom.These structures were built of wood and have perished but the remaining stone monuments testify that Angkor Thom was indeed a "Great City" as its name implies. Temples inside the walls of the city described in this article are Bayon, Phimeanakas, Baphuon, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Prah Palilay, Tep Pranam and Prasat Suor Prat. - tourism cambodia.com

Angkor Thom "Great City", located in present day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII. It covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.

Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.

Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however.

Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest, and Angkor Thom overlapped parts of it. The most notable earlier temples within the city are the former state temple of Baphuon, and Phimeanakas, which was incorporated into the Royal Palace. The Khmers did not draw any clear distinctions between Angkor Thom and Yashodharapura: even in the fourteenth century an inscription used the earlier name. The name of Angkor Thom was in use from the 16th century.

The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295.

In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609, when an early western visitor wrote of an uninhabited city, "as fantastic as the Atlantis of Plato”. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000– 150,000 people. - wikipedia

The smile godnes on the top of the Ba-Yon castle

The Baphuon is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia. It is located in Angkor Thom, northwest of the Bayon. Built in the mid-11th century, it is a three-tiered temple mountain built as the state temple of Udayadityavarman II dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. - wikipedia

The way to the Baphuon, a temple in Angkor Thom

The way into the Baphuon (look from the second floor of the Baphuon )

The top area of the Baphuon

View of the Baphuon (look from the top of the Baphuon)

The top of the Baphuon looks like Pyramid.

The stair of the Baphuon is very steep.

A door into Phimaenakas area, a Hindu temple in the Khleang style, built at the end of the 10th century, during the reign of Rajendravarman (from 941-968), then rebuilt by Suryavarman II in the shape of a three tier pyramid as a Hindu temple.

Phimeanakas is located inside the walled enclosure of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom north of Baphuon.

- Wikipedia

The Phimaenakas, a Hindu temple in the Khleang style

There are five identical gates to enter Angkor Thom.

The Victory Gate is on eastern wall of Angkor Them and is the second most used gateway into the Royal Square.

Visitors entering or leaving Angkor Thom through this Gate will earn an opportunity to see many significant vestiges, including the Ta Prohm, Ta Keo and Banteay Kdei.

- victorygateangkorthom.visitwonders.com

Castle The way to Ta Prohm castle

Gorgeous The stone castle was carved gorgeously.

A Chinese tourist is outstanding in a red dress at Ta Prohm.

A balcony in Ta Prohm Castle

Roots of a spung at Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm When I finished from Anhkor Wat Angkor Thom, I wanted to see the most beautiful place when you go to Siam Leap. It's Ta Prohm castle that is the oldest castle. It has a lot of roots of tree grown in the wall castle. I think the natural building is more powerful than the human building.

Ta Prohm is a castle outside Angkor Wat Angkor Thom. I leave out Angkor Thom at the victory gate. At Ta Prohm, there were many tourists travel to visit one of amazing places in Siam Reap.

Unlike most of the temples of Angkor, Ta Prohm has been largely left to the clutches of the living jungle. With its dynamic interaction between nature and man-made art, this atmospheric temple is a favorite for many - who can't help but feel a little like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (which was filmed here) as they pick through the rubble.

- sacred destinations.com

Ta Prohm is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap). - wikipedia When Angkor was rediscovered in the early 20th century by French archaeologists, all of the temples had become overgrown-but none so spectacularly as Ta Prohm.

Nevertheless, as they excavated and restored the other temples, the archaeologists had to make sure that the giant tree roots enveloping Ta Prohm would not further deteriorate the structure or make it dangerous to visit. Though Ta Prohm may look like nature unfettered, the appearance of neglect is in fact fastidiously maintained. - atlasobscura.com

The giant tree grow above the corridors of Ta Phom

Nuture have power more than human’s imagination.

I am a little girl when I stay at a giant tree.

A sculpture in Ta Prohm tells about Hindu story.

A pediment of Banteay Srei has many stories in it.

Pink Banteay Srei made from many pink stones.

Tower The mandate and central tower seen from the northeast.

Banteay Srei Finish I traveled in the most popular place, Ta Prohm. I had lunch in restaurant beside a reservoir and went to see Banteay Srei Castle. It made from a lot of pink stones.

On the way to Banteay Srei, I saw a droughty area I felt I was very lucky to born in Thailand and has the greatest king that traveled to develop my country to be a moist area. But I felt jealous in simply life of the Cambodian and don't worry to make a lot of money.

The roads have been recently repaired and it takes about 30 minutes from Siem Reap to get to the temple. To reach Banteay Srei, follow the main road north out of Siem Reap, turn right at Angkor Wat and follow the road to Srah Srang where you turn right past Pre Rup. At the East Mebon there is a check post where you need to obtain clearnce. Turn right again at the road before the East Mebon; pass through the village of Phoum Pradak, where there is a junctions (if you continue straight, after about 5 minutes, you will reach Banteay Samre). At this point, you come to a fork; take the road on the left and follow it to Batneay Srei tourism cambodia.com

Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey is a 10thcentury Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Located in the area of Angkor in Cambodia. It lies near the hill of Phnom Dei, 25 km (16 mi) north-east of the main group of temples that once belonged to the medieval capitals of Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom. Banteay Srei is built largely of pink sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made the temple extremely popular with tourists, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art.

Banteay Srei is built largely of a hard pink sandstone that can be carved like wood.

Brick and laterite were used only for the enclosure walls and some structural elements. The temple is known for the beauty of its sandstone lintels and pediments.

A pediment is the roughly triangular space above a rectangular doorway or openings.

A lintel is a horizontal beam spanning the gap between two posts. Some lintels serve a structural purpose, serving to support the weight of the superstructure, while others are purely decorative in purpose. The lintels at Banteay Srei are beautifully carved, rivaling those of the 9th century Preah Ko style in quality.

The site consists of three concentric rectangular enclosures constructed on an east–west axis. A causeway situated on the axis leads from an outer gopura, or gate, to the third or outermost of the three enclosures. The inner enclosure contains the sanctuary, consisting of an entrance chamber and three towers, as well as two buildings conventionally referred to as libraries. - wikipedia

Many doors in Banteay Srei were straight.

The beauty of its sandstone lintels and pediments

When you look outside the door of Banteay Srei Castle

Ta Keo had to be the state temple of Jayavarman V, son of Rajendravarman. It has five sanctuary towers arranged in a quincunx, built on the uppermost level of five-tier pyramid consisting of overlapping terraces, surrounded by moat, as a symbolic depiction of Mount Meru.

Its particularly massive appearance is due to the absence of external decorations, as carving had just begun when the works stopped, besides an elaborate use of perspective effects. It is considered an example of the so-called Khleang style.- wikipedia

A leo stone have still sat and guarded Ta Keo Castle along time.

Ta Keo is the one of highest castle in this area.

Wait Many tourists is waiting to see sunset.

Peaceful Evening scenery on the Phnom Bakheng mountain

Two tourists were waiting to see sunset on the top of Phnom Bakheng

Phnom Bakheng In the evening, I went to above the mountain to saw sunset at Phnom Bakheng castle. There were many tourists was waiting to see it too but there was the rain dropped in the wast. But I felt impress to wait it with everybody. It was a climax activity that you should to do when you came Angkor Wat Angkor Thom So I went back in town, had dinner, and prepared to come back home in the morning. At night I slept in deep because I ran out of battery.

Phnom Bakheng is one of Angkor’s oldest temples. It was built as a state temple between the late ninth and early tenth centuries, when King Yasovarman constructed it as the centerpiece of his new capital, Yasodharapura, later absorbed into Angkor.

The first mountain-style temple built there, Phnom Bakheng represents Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods. Despite its architectural and historical significance, the temple is popular today mainly for its panoramic view of Angkor Wat, particularly at sunset. - wmf.org

Phnom Bakheng is a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods, a status emphasized by the temple’s location atop a steep hill. The temple faces east, measures 76 meters square at its base and is built in a pyramid form of six tiers. At the top level, five sandstone sanctuaries, in various states of repair, stand in a quincunx pattern—one in the center and one at each corner of the level’s square. Originally, 108 small towers were arrayed around the temple at ground level and on various of its tiers; most of them have collapsed.

Phnom Bakheng is one of three hilltop temples in the Angkor region that are attributed to Yasovarman's reign. The other two are Phnom Krom to the south near the Tonle Sap lake, and Phnom Bok, northeast of the East Baray reservoir.

Following Angkor's rediscovery by the outside world in the mid-19th century, decades passed before archeologists grasped Phnom Bakheng's historical significance. For many years, scholars' consensus view was that the Bayon, the temple located at the center of Angkor Thom city, was the edifice to which the Sdok Kak Thom inscription referred. Later work identified the Bayon as a Buddhist site, built almost three centuries later than originally thought, in the late 12th century, and Phnom Bakheng as King Yasovarman's state temple. - wikipedia

Phnom Bakhemg, that temple is on the hill

Tuktuk The transportation of choice while in Siem Reap

Home Border area between Thailand and Cambodia

The Best Castle I felt a return trip was shorter than a depart trip. I felt fully in this trip. In the morning at Siam Reap, I ate baguette with pork and vegetable for breakfast. It’s cheap, delicious and simply for native but it was a special meal for me. I received a lot of memories in this travel.

A special man who I must thank giving for guide me to travel in Siam Reap is Sally. He is a Tuktuk driver. He is a good man. First time I worried about safety in my single trip but Sally had a friendship smile and guide me to travel. I was very impress him.

Finally, I felt happy to touch in this place, had good memories, found many good places, foods and peoples. And I hope to come back Siem Reap again.

Right Page: First: My Bags for travel this trip Second: My Passport and Cambodia’s arrival and departure card Third: My rest room in Siem Reap, Golden Papaya Guesthouse Forth: 1 day Angkor pass card 20 US$ Left Page: First: My first meal at Siem Reap is Lucky Berger’s Chicken Berger set.

Second: My breakfast at Angkor Wat is Rice soup with pork.

Third: My Lunch at Angkor Thom isPork Steak with French fry.

Forth: My dinner at Siem Reap city is Pork noodle.

Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and a popular resort town as the gateway to Angkor region.

Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market. In the city, there are museums, traditional Apsara dance performances, Cambodian cultural village, souvenir and handicraft shops, silk farms, rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.

The name Siem Reap translates literally to the 'Defeat of Siam'—today’s Thailand—and refers to the centuries-old conflict between the Siamese and Khmer peoples. Under the rule of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 18th century, it was referred to as Nakhom Siam.

According to oral tradition, the name was given by King Ang Chan (1516–1566) as “Siem Reap”, meaning “the flat defeat of Siam” (Cambodians call Siam or Thailand “Siem”). It was because of Ang Chan's victory against a Siamese invasion, slaying Prince Ong, and capturing no less than 10,000 Siamese troops.

Today, Siem Reap serves as a small gateway town to the world famous heritage site of the Angkor temples. Siem Reap nowadays is a vibrant town with modern hotels and architectural styles. Despite international influences, Siem Reap and its people have conserved much of the town's image, culture and traditions.

Siem Reap, the developing resort town near the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia ranks 4th based on the World's Best Cities of Travel + Leisure survey 2014.

- wikipedia

Sally, The best Tuktuk driver for my trip.