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| Angkor Wat means City of Temples |
Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world on a site measuring 402 acres. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple of the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire in the early 12th century, it was gradually changed to a Buddhist temple of worship in the late 12th century.
According to Wikipedia, it is the best preserved temple of the region and "combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the deas in Hindu mythology." Unlike most Angkorian temples, it is oriented to the west.
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| Bas-reliefs |
Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata. Apsaras are the ethereal youthful beings dancing in celestial palaces while Devatas are beautiful standing young goddesses in elegant outfits. They present fantastic photography subjects as they look different according to the direction of sunlight.
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A fat Macaque monkey rests outside the temple hoping for a treat from a tourist
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| Where's waldo? The monkey wants a ride on the Vespa! |
We see a woman dressed in the traditional Hindu Sari waiting next to a motor bike with an intrepid couple of monkeys who seem to want a ride.
This monk was trying to enjoy a quiet cup of tea until the tourists came along wanting to take his photo. I thought he was trying to meditate. Poor monk. He did have a great attitude toward the intrusion and didn't seem to mind being photographed.
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| Another view of Angkor Wat |
Interestingly, we saw bullet holes in certain areas of the temple that had been the result of fighting between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese forces. Khmer Rouge was the name given to Cambodian communists and later the followers of the Communist Party of Kampuchea in Cambodia.
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| Monk providing a blessing to a European tourist |
For a donation of one dollar US, the monks will provide a Buddhist blessing.
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| The worship shrine of the temple |
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| The sunset as we were leaving the inside courtyard of Angkor Wat |
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| Jess and Fred in the tuk tuk |
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| The coach that took us to the Saigon airport this morning! |
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