The smiling face of Bayon
A quick recap- I had been snoring on a Tuktuk on the way to Baentey Srei.
A detailed recap- Read the first part(and doze off like me.... especially for those who suffer from insomnia)
11:00 AM: Woke from my slumber by the simultaneous announcement of the Tuktuk driver and a hard prod on my protruding belly by my wife.Walking briefly through a forest path,was welcomed by a rather small temple complex surrounded by a moat. Doubts have already started playing in my mind if the extra $5 and 1hour loss was worth it to come here.
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| A small temple complex surrounded by a moat.....rather uninspiring from a distance. |
But Baentey Srei, is the chupa rustom of Angkor. What it lacks in size,it compensates by the intricately carved murals,so delicate that it is called the Citadel of Women (Baentey Srei,for only a women could have built it!) What makes this even more special,is that this Shiva temple was not built by any king,but by an ordinary Brahmin ( the Tutor of Jayavarman V) and was built 300yrs before the great Angkor Wat ( late 9th century)
Note : Zoom in to see the details!
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| The full panel of Indra on Airabhat |
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| Ravana praying to Shiva( note that in the lower panel the earthly beasts are frightened of Ravana, the upper panel of Rishi’s are perplexed,while the top most panel of Ganesh(with an elephant head), Gaduda( Bird head) and Dakshya Prajapati ( goat head) are undisturbed. Parvati is seated on the left lap of Shiva. |
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| The same temples at different viewpoints appear so different! |
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| mokor |
A pricey coconut water($5) was enough to kill my hunger pangs. So we were back again in the Tuktuk for the return journey to join the rest of the crowd.
12:50 PM: With the merciless noon sun already reducing our morning josh to 50%, we needed some refreshments and shade to increase our blood sugar and some spirits to raise our spirit.
But,being a bong,meant that you have to check everything that the guidebook said(or risk FOMO....fear of missing out). So ignoring the vociferous protests of my wife(a rare moment for me),I hopped off the Tuktuk to check out the large Shiva stupa of the Preah Khan( sacred sword).
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| The large Shiva Linga |
Contrary to the above pic,this place was originally built as a temporary royal residence of Jayavarman VII( while the Angkor Thom was being built),but later served as a place of worship for Mahayana Buddhist, Shiva,Brahma and Bishnu– a sort of religious fusion,evident in its archaeological style.
2:00PM: The walled city of Angkor Thom, the greatest most magnificent capital city of Ancient times(before I came here I only knew about Angkor Wat,but if Angkor Thom is even greater than that!)
Entering through the Northern Gate it was time to re energize ourselves. The bazaars of Angkor Thom is a great melting pot of cultures ! There were two British Teens,sipping on the cool coconut water, while their electric moped got charged, an old Australian lady on crutches asking the beautiful Vietnamese waiter for some non spicy Singaporean fried rice, a group of impatient Chinese hurriedly getting on their big AC buses , a few rustic Russians with weird tattoos enjoying their drought Beer, a newly wed German wife blushing while her husband showing her the pics just taken on the DSLR, a young Japanese girl adjusting her hat looking at the map deciding where to go next and we two Indians gulping our food like a glutton!
3:00PM: Angkor Thom is not a single temple,but a walled city. After the successful seige of Angkor Wat and the defeat of Khemr king Suryavarman II by the Chams( Vietnamese), his successor Jayavarman VII decided to built a city that would be invincible like that of Indra’s Mount Meru. Angkor Thom is surrounded by a moat called jayasindhu and then a wall jayagiri and is surrounded by 5 gates( the extra one being victory gate to East)
Instead of walking over the terrace of leper king and the terrace of elephants we whisked past to the Temple of Bayon, Angkor Thom’s cherry on the cake.
Looking from a distance,the temple of Bayon looks like a giant piece of rubble,but climb up to the third level,the zigsaw puzzle seems fall in pieces to construct a mesmerising eriee beauty of numerous smiling faces l( of Avalokiteswara Buddha,or some say the king Jayavarman VII) looking at you!
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| The symmetry of the Smiling face of Bayon |
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| The all pervasive eye.....looking upon you from every direction,wherever you are. |
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| The French rediscovered the ruins admist Banyan trees and named it Bayon |
4:30PM: We were templed out by this time, and after some argument decided to skip the Bauphuon. However I took some hasty pics from the outside
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| The ruins of Baiphuon |
4:45 PM:We exited the Angkor Thom through the southern gate, which is adored by the face of none other than Avalokiteswara with both sides flanked by scenes of samudramanthan.
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| The Asuras |
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| Looks like the Mayan pyramid temple |
5:30PM:Foot massage ($15) and a hearty meal($10)
6:30 PM: zZzZZZzzz
QUICKFACTS
- Best time- Sept to Feb
- Fly in- via Bangkok/Ho Chi Minh/ Hanoi/Laos capital
- Fly out-via Bangkok/Kualampur
- Currency- USD/ Real (only for smaller changes)
- Stay- from $5 to $50, accommodations for all tastes and budgets
- Eat- Spoiled for choices
- See- Angkor temples, Tonle Sap, Prek Toal bird sanctuary.
- Do- Temples, Bird watching, Zip lining, Boat riding in Tonle Sap, Hot air balloon,
- Shopping- plenty of things, but bargain hard
- Safety- Safe, but do use common sense
- Play- lots of pubs, and foot/fish massages
- Additional Info-Travelfish, Lonely Planet
Awesome description with lovely pictures making all of it alive..
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