Head Banging

Angkor Thom today, but no Angkor Dick or Angkor Harry to go along with it.  In the morning we went along the W side of the N-S dividing road, and this tour was packed with tourists, the most I’ve had the misfortune to encounter so far.  But these sites are highly visible and easily accessed, so I shouldn’t really be surprised.  It’s just irritating having to share these wonders with careless ants crawling all over walls and leaving behind their litter and constantly trying to ruin my photos.  But I digress.

Same old, same old.

Angkor Thom!

Ugh. People. :/

Angkor Thom is one of the largest Khmer cities, most of it dating to the twelfth century CE with some earlier bits, and was the capital for about four centuries.  Our first stop of the day was Preah Palilay, a Buddhist sanctuary in the N of the city, down a dirt path and blissfully free of tourists.  It’s unusual for its single tapering tower, now partially caved in, that gives it an almost fairy tale quality.

Nun waiting to try to sell us incense to burn for good luck.
*side-step*

Look who's already ready for a rest at ten in the morning.

On the way back to the main road, we stopped at Tep Pranam, a statue of the seated Buddha dating to the sixteenth century CE.  So far, it’s the only original Buddha statue I’ve encountered at Angkor.  Most others have been stolen, destroyed or removed to the Angkor National Museum (which we’ll be visiting Friday morning to check out all the great stuff that’s no longer in situ).

Up next was the Leper King Terrace, which lines part of the W side of the road through Angkor Thom.  This huge, elaborate structure has seven registers, with what must be hundreds, if not thousands, of  deeply carved relief figures in mythological scenes, including gods with swords, devatas, and nagas and marine animals on the lowest register.  It doesn’t run in a straight line, but twists in on itself in a miniature maze, leading you up to the top of the terrace, from which you have a view of the adjacent Elephant Terrace and the Suor Prat Towers across the road.


No sign of the "Leper King." I'm hoping they have the relief that inspired the name at the Museum.



Naga.

Carnie???

Devatas.

Apsaras.

I found the Elephant Terrace more appealing, perhaps because it had far fewer figures and was much less convoluted.  In addition to elephants in relief engaged in such activities as carrying battling warriors, fighting lions, and ripping other animals apart, there were also elephants carved coming out of the wall with their  trunks fully in the round and used as pillars.  A long series of garudas (mythical bird-men with beaks and wings, the natural enemy of nagas) also share the space.

"Look, Mr. Frodo! An oliphant!"

...an oliphant fighting a lion...

Garudas!

If you can't beat'em...

These lead to the Royal Palace and Phimeanakas, the temple.  Few buildings remain, as most were non-religious and therefore most likely built out of wood and other perishable materials, but in a way this lack of structures is beneficial.  The Terraces are packed with tourists, as is the palatial complex, and the now-open plan of the site gives one a little room to breathe after bumping elbows with visitors along the road.  After climbing up and falling down the mountain-temple of Ta Keo yesterday, I opted out of going to the top of Phimeanakas.  Instead, Roman and I wandered over to the palace’s large pond, a rectangular pool of impressive dimensions with beautiful bas-reliefs carved along its inner walls of fish and crocodiles with lions' and horses' heads.  It was so peaceful and the view so expansive and grand, it was easy to put myself in the place of an Angkor ruler taking a few moments respite on its banks.

Super cute kids running around the palace grounds in leaf hats with stick guns that their Cambodian guide had made for them.

Phimeanakas.  Too many steps for my taste.

Large Pond, aptly named.

After our brief rest, we headed through a hole in the wall (really, a carved entrance, but it felt like a hole after all the imposing gates here) to Baphuon, a humongous temple-mountain built in the form of a five-tiered pyramid.  It’s currently undergoing reconstruction, which I normally hate but of which I’m in full support in this instance.  The temple is covered in lose fallen stones that would make the climb up highly inadvisable if not forbidden.  This impressive site wrapped up our morning.

Through the hole.

The W side of this huge temple has a gigantic, unfinished carving of the reclining Buddha, head to the N and entrance through his middle. Can you spot him?

After an actual siesta, we headed back to cover the E side of Angkor Thom at a nice leisurely pace.  Our first (and my favorite for today) site was Preah Pithu, an unusual site with five smallish temples, two oddly-shaped moats, and a large handful of children whom Roman decided to befriend and who kept asking me to give them ice cream.  (One actually started to pretend-cry when I said “No,” and Kyle gave him a withering stare, sending him scurrying off.)  Aside from the kids, who were actually rather informed and somewhat helpful when not attempting to guilt me into giving them treats, the complex was really quite peaceful, surrounded by trees and shaded in the warm afternoon, and lacking in tourists, most of whom apparently didn’t feel the need to venture across the road.  Most of these temples had that story-book atmosphere about them, like I'd just skipped down a forest path and found myself at a long-forgotten cottage.  Alas, I was struck by a bout of clumsiness brought on by over-excitement at the fourth temple and smacked my forehead right into a lintel (the stone serving as the top of a doorjamb) while heading into the middle of the sanctuary, which was apparently built for five-foot visitors.  Some not-so-enchanting words filled the air, but fortunately my handy new hat very slightly softened the blow and no blood was gushing  from my head, so I’m going to call that a win.

Temple V (484V on the map above), the largest in the Preah Pithu complex.

Temple V contains the only linga I've seen in situ an Angkor. It's a stylized phaullus and represents the god  Shiva. It would normally fit into a square stone, a yoni, representing its female counterpart.

Bas-relief! One of the few at Temple V, whose decoration was not finished.

Temple Y (485Y), the simplest at Preah Pithu and obviously not doing so well.

Temple X (483X), the only structure at Preah Pithu that was built as a Buddhist temple. (The rest are Hindu.)

Temple X has a moat and dates to the fourteenth century CE, a century later than the rest of Preah Pithu.

Buddhist frieze inside the sanctuary.



Temple U (482U) is where I banged my head into solid stone, because I got over-excited and distracted by the wonderful state of its carvings.

Temple U bas-relief of The Churning of the Sea of Milk and the creation of the universe.

Temple U bas-relief of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma over the head of a kala (a demon commanded to devour itself).

Temple T (481T), unusual for its W-facing alignment (along with Temple U).

Temple T has a naga balustrade (railing of the bridge) over the moat it shares with Temple U.

Temple T, with the roots of a tree growing around a slab of stone.

It was nearing sunset as we strolled down the row of the twelve W-facing Suor Prat Towers, the purpose of which is unknown, though the modern name means “towers of the tightrope walkers.”  Set slightly behind these, at N and S, are the Khleangs, “the warehouse temples,” though their purpose, too, is unknown.  Despite this enigma, or perhaps because of it, these two buildings, set in symmetry along the road though one was built decades before the other, are shaded not just in mystery but in lush vegetation through which one must carefully trek in order to approach the tumble of loose stones over which one must perilously totter to even think about reaching the entrances.  They were lovely silhouetted against the low-slung sun.

Line of Suor Prat Towers.

Leaning Tower of Suor Prat. There's a monk sitting in the lower left hand corner, if you look close.

The Towers all face W, so at sunset they're beautifully lit on the front.

North Khleang. I couldn't make it inside. I nearly twisted my ankle three times just walking the perimeter.

Partial E wall left at North Khleang.

South Khleang, the younger, smaller model.

Finally, on our way back to modern life, we stopped outside the Victory Gate on the S side of Angkor Thom, to snap a few pictures of the amazing balustrade lining the road: on each side, huge figures carry a naga, gods on the left and asuras (demons) on the right, in the appearance of playing tug-o-war, during the Churning of the Sea of Milk.

Me and the asuras.



Shaded by a naga, Buddha-style.

Today’s highlight is actually meeting a Buddhist monk.  While standing at the top of Temple X at Preah Pithu, he waved to me then whipped out his digital camera to get a picture of the western girl in her cowboy hat.  When I made it back down to the bottom, I asked for a photo in turn and listened while he answered Roman’s questions about this temple.  At the end of the conversation, he asked for Roman’s email address so he could keep in touch… I really need to re-evaluate my definition of a monk.

You can see his camera case by his left knee. ;)