The Iconic Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is the iconic temple that is shown on the national flag of Cambodia. We ended our Small Circuit Tour here approaching it through the quieter east entrance. Angkor Wat was built as a Hindu temple representing Mount Meru with its five mountain peaks, and the 200 m wide moat representing the ocean. It was built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century and was dedicated not to Shiva but rather to Vishnu. It later was turned into a Buddhist temple.

M’sa and I climbed the uppermost platform to the Bakan Sanctuary while Mama waited on the second level. I didn’t think the steps were as steep as they were at Ta Keo.

Up here there were several Buddha statues being worshipped.

The galleries on the lower levels contain many stone carvings. Again we were confronted with the story of the Samudra Manthan on one of the panels.

We returned home for lunch and a rest. Tuk Tuk Bean came back in the afternoon to take us country-side touring. Since we enjoyed his company, had not yet adjusted to the time, and still had the third day to use on our Angkor Pass, we booked him for the following day to go experience the Angkor Wat sunrise.

Angkor Wat Sunrise

Mama slept in. She was the only one sleeping anyway at 4 am. Knowing how she felt about sunrises, sunsets, stars and such, I hadn’t bothered to include her. But it took months, in fact up to our very presence in Cambodia, to convince M’sa to come along with me. Since she like me was waking up routinely at 4 am it wasn’t that hard for me to convince her. In the end, the sunrise was well, a sunrise. It was surreal to see Angkor Wat appear to us through the darkness. But the dawn itself was made extra special by Tuk Tuk Bean positioning us in the best position for photos. That’s right, he parked his Tuk Tuk (flashing neon in the darkness) and walked us over to what he felt was the best place to see the sunrise away from the crowds.

I noticed that right after the early morning sky went through changes in different colours, people started to leave. Probably to start their visit of Angkor Wat. Since we had already seen it we weren’t in a rush and were rewarded with actually seeing the sun rise above the horizon. If it weren’t for the fact that we had to return home in order to be on time for our cooking class pick-up, I’m sure we will still be out there on our photoshoot with photographer Tuk Tuk Bean! I’m so glad to have chosen the Small Circuit with him.

I have mentioned before how Angkor was one of the most powerful empires in its time. The Khmer controlled present-day Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam. It is said that this can be attributed to the ability of the Khmer to build extensive irrigation systems – waterways, dykes, and reservoirs. This meant the people, mostly farmers, didn’t have to rely on the weather. They could irrigate their land during the dry season. The East Baray previously mentioned was over 7 kilometres long and almost 2 kilometres wide. It now sits dry. Impressive!