Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
After lunch we went to Angkor Thom, which is a general name for the whole complex. There are five bridges the cross a moat to enter, but only one has the any remaining statues of deva (angels) and asura (demons) that line the bridge. The greyer colors are where they are starting to be repaired and maintained.
The gate into the complex is topped with four faces of Buddha.
Angkor Wat is more famous as it is in better shape. Our guide spoke about how its builders used better arches to maintain the gates and wall. Within Angkor Thom is the Bayon Temple.
There is active construction work here to save some of the towers and walls from collapse. Each tower has four faces of Buddha, each facing a different direction. There are some very steep stone steps to get up the temple. So, start your favorite marching music and prepare for the parade of Buddha faces:
That last one is so cute I went for a close up. I love how some of the heads are grinning, kind of like the Mona Lisa.
Do not fear, there is a statue of the whole Buddha, not just his face.
There are still Apsara here, but apparently they dance in twos.
There was one wall with a giant carved mural.
Tree Temple
From here we visited the Ta Prohm temple, made famous from being the setting of the 2001 Angelina Jolie movie “Tomb Raider“. It’s known for the trees growing withing the temple, but that left most of the temple as a wreck. Some buildings are in the midst of restoration.
However, the living trees provide a striking view.
Yet even amongst the rubble there are hidden Apsara.
So ended a long day of stone step climbing and temple visited. However, we got to see a local dance show that night, which I will record next.