Angkor Wat - March 21st

Forty people departed the ship and flew to Siem Reap where the temple complexes are.

After settling in at the hotel, we went to dinner and a folklore show. The women dancing bent their fingers back into ungodly positions.

Just like one of the stone carvings at Angkor Thom, the first temple complex we visited the next morning:

The smiling faces on the entrance of Angkor Thom are said to be the likeness of King Jayavarman VII and are the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer architecture.

At the elephant terrace, carvings honored all the elephants used in building the temples:

Next stop, Ta Prohm Temple:

This temple is famous for the enormous fig trees growing in, over and around the walls, which you might recognize from scenes in Angelina Jolie’s movie Tomb Raider.

After lunch, Angkor Wat.  It is the most magnificent temple in Cambodia, built by King Survayaraman II in the early 12th century as a Hindu temple. He dedicated it to the god Vishnu. As the main religion of the Khmer empire changed from Hinduism to Buddhism, Angkor Wat subtly and slowly became primarily a Buddhist temple during the 13th century; but Hindu shrines remain. The King’s tomb is on the top tower. To get there, you have to climb 75 almost vertical steps.

This is after already climbing up two other levels with steep stairs but no handrails. Definitely not OSHA approved.

The spire on the right above is one of four that surround the main temple. It is another significant example of high classical Khmer architecture. Being the best preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to remain as a significant religious center since its beginning. Angkor Wat is so synonymous with the country that it is on the national flag. The tourists that come here help support the rest of the country with all the money they bring in. The main temple spire:

It is hard to convey the scale of Angkor Wat. More stone was used here than the three largest pyramids combined. The outer wall surrounding the complex is more than 4 miles in circumference. Here is the main entrance through the outer wall:

And here is the outer wall stretching away on the other side of the entrance:

Once inside, it is quite a hike to a second wall surrounding the main grounds. And there is yet a third wall with spires on the corners enclosing the inner courtyard of the main temple. Here is the view from inside the outer wall across a reflecting pool showing the middle wall and then inside the four corner spires flanking the main temple:

Our nickname for Angkor Wat was Angkor Hot. It reached 110 degrees. People were succumbing to the heat.  So I used my tried and true tennis tips to help cool down one of the other 180 cruisers so she could make it to the top: dip a bandana in cold water and wrap around her neck; pour water directly on her hair and let it trickle off; drink cold water to cool down her core; drink Aquarius water afterwards to replace electrolytes. By eating two bananas after returning to the hotel, and getting some salt on the rim of her Margarita glass, she started to feel a whole lot better.