Angkor Wat
The Angkor Archaeological Park has many temples including Bayon, Banteay Srei and others but the most breathtaking
is Angkor Wat. The sheer size and obvious architecture is stunning, starting with the large, open walkways and the moat that surrounds the complex.
Angkor Wat is shaped like a pyramid with five towers rising 65 meters into the air. There is a theory by a French archaeologist that aspires to the
thinking that Angkor Wat is based on the map of the Universe, the central tower, outer walls being the mountains and the moats - the oceans.
It certainly has a history as it was originally a Hindu Temple dedicated to Shiva but over time changed its reason for being.
The entrance over the moat is an exciting entry to this awesome place so there was lots of exploring to be done. One of the very noticable things
about Angkor Wat is the openess and access to people to use in lots of ways even accomodating sellers and visitors in the same welcome manner.
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Inside the main temple area is another long walkway that extends for quite some way. There are a couple of buildings on each side, known as the libraries. Walking on just a bit more
you come across an expanse of water that at times has a wonderful reflection of the towers in it. The grounds are very green and lots of people are just standing or sitting and admiring the wonderful view ahead of them.
Crossing through another entryway brings us to the central complex that allows us to explore the internal walkways of this ancient wonder.
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One of the features of the temple has to be the many carvings and apsaras on the walls. Bas reliefs also tell the story of historical wars and parts of mythology.The bas reliefs of the
first- level galleries are amazing and tell tales of times long gone in exquisite detail. Some recommeded ones to see can take quite sometime
to find but are well worth the search in the end. Most depict battles and everyday life and are on show for all to see.
An incredible place to visit and even though the day was overcast
and very humid but we were mesmerised by the incredible relic of history that we were priveliged to visit.
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