"Angkor"s Aweigh

Today, I toured around with Marije and Jennifer, and Marije's friend Humphrey, who flew in just hours before. Since I had been to the major sites yesterday, the gang was nice enough to agree to spend today at some sites further out.

We started with Preah Khan, which is a large complex whose name means holy sword. It was built on the site of Jayavarman VII's victory against the Cham invasion. At the front entrance, you can see statues of guards holding swords, for which the temple is named.


The bridge over the moat outside is lined on either side with railings in the form of gods holding a giant naga (multi-headed serpent). This is a representation of the Hindu story of Churning the Ocean of Milk. The story goes that the gods and demons temporarily joined forces in order to obtain Amrita, an elixir promising immortality, which had been lost at the bottom of the ocean. In order to obtain it, they wrapped the Serpent King around a mountain in the ocean and tugged back and forth to turn the mountain, which in turn churned the ocean. This effort last 1000 years, at which time the elixir resurfaced, the gods and demons battled for it, and the gods won, securing for themselves eternal life. The demons were banished into the earth.


Unfortunately, some of the structure inside this site has caved in and efforts to brace the stones have been only partially successful. And, no, it wasn't me that knocked it down. I swear. No, really.

I love the detail of the carvings at this site, as well as the color palette created by the grey and red stones and the green lichen that has found a home here. In the foreground, you can see arches where Buddha images once were. The belief is that these images were all removed at the order of King Jayavarman VIII, in an effort to return the site to it's Hindu roots.

And here are my awesome traveling companions, Humphrey, Jennifer, and Marije.

And, yes, another corridor photo. But this one has a purpose. It gives you an idea of the layout of the complex, with many corridors forming rings around the center and passing through to the middle.

The good news regarding this complex is that this site's restoration team is not planning to recreate the temple with new materials, but rather prefers to preserve and maintain the existing structures, including the giant trees that have taken up residence here. These resilient trees sit atop the walls, their roots crawling down the sides to the earth.

Even when there have been attempts to cut down the trees to preserve the structures, nature somehow always wins, as you can see from the leafy shoot growing out of this giant stump.
To get an idea of the size of the complex, here is an aerial view. And this is just the back lot.

Our next stop was Neak Pean, which is made up of four pools, fed by a fifth, central pool. Below is a picture of one of the outer pools. (Humphrey and Jennifer would be underwater except for the fact that we arrived in the dry season.)
The central pool, which would also have been filled with water, contains a Buddhist temple on it's "island", surrounded by two entwined serpents for whom the site is named.
The four lower pools were fed through a spout which streamed water from a statue's mouth, with each pool having a different statue (elephant, lion, horse, and human pictured below).
In keeping with the natural surroundings theme of the day, we stopped off at Ta Som, which is best known for it's strangler fig tree that has taken over one of the gateways.

It makes for a dramatic and awe-inspiring vision, but it is not without consequences. The damage to the stone structure can be seen in the photo below. Note the odd angles of the supporting stones on the face of this gate.

Our last stop for the day was PreRup, which we climbed in order to see the sunset and relax on the terraces as we awaited its arrival. What can you say about sunsets that a picture doesn't tell? Nothing. So, I will just leave you with the pictures.