TEMPLES GALORE
Lila set her alarm for 4.00am but her iPod was still on
Australian time so we ended up waking up at 2.00 in the morning. When it was
time to go (5.00am) we got in the van and headed to the most well known temple
(Angkor Wat). We walked down to a flat
area near one of the ponds and watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, along with
several hundred other tourists. Although it was early in the morning it was
extremely hot, but interesting to see how well kept Angkor Wat temple is, as it
is 900 hundred years old. We walked
inside Angkor Wat and our guide (Setha) told us the history, many stories and
the religion of the temple. After
looking around we were all so hot, sweaty and very wet. Then we had breakfast, then we went up in a hot air balloon that was attached to the ground so you only go up and then down on a winch. it was a great view when you got to the top. We did 7 other temples today with a two-hour
break in between. Nearly all the temples
were build by King Jayavarman VII, he was well respected by his people. Lila
and I were so happy when the day was over, everyone was exhausted.
Angkor Wat (Temple
that is city)
·
The world largest religious monument, at 200
hectares all built and carved by hand
·
Dates back to the 12th century
·
Surrounded by a moat, 5.6 km in length and 190 meters
wide, this was all dug by hand
·
It was once believed the moat contained
crocodiles
·
All carvings in this temple represented a story,
or religious belief
·
This temple contained large library’s
·
Most of the artefacts have been stolen and
destroyed (many Buddha’s were missing arms, heads and hands). Some of the artefacts from this temple are now
displayed in French Museums
Ta Prohm
·
This is a Buddhist temple built for the kings
mother
·
This temple is only 450m north of the
entrance of Angkor Wat
·
Ta Prohm is over grown with big trees, that are
supporting the buildings
·
Angkor Thom
·
One of the largest Khmer cities ever built, 9
squared kilometres in area
·
When the city was its most busiest it had a
population of one million people
·
This city remained the capital until the 17th
Century
·
The east gate was used as a location in Tomb
Raider the movie
·
The wall around this temple was 8m high and 12
kilometre in length and was surrounded by a 100m wide moat
Bayon
·
This temple is one of the most religious temples
in the world
·
It is a very complex temple because it’s been
through lots of different religions and how it is built.
·
It has 54 gothic style towers decorated with 216
smiling faces
Terrace of Elephant
·
The 350 meter long terrace of elephants was used
as viewing stands for the public.
·
It has a 3 meter high wall with carvings of
elephants and their mahouts in a hunting scene
Banteay Srei
·
A small temple in size in compared to Angkor Wat
·
Discovered by the French in 1914
·
Also known as the pink temple because it is made
from pink sandstone
·
All the carvings in this temple were very
detailed
After the temples in the morning we went back to the hotel
and relaxed, later on in the afternoon Nan and I went a saw some Cambodian Kick
boxing (Pradal Serey). This is very similar
to Thai kick boxing, this sport is played every Wednesday from 4-6pm in Siem
Reap. You can go to the TV arena and
watch the fight live, this is where I went.
Mum and dad saw Nan and I on telly that afternoon, my favourite fight of
the night was the very last fight. When
we all thought the red guy was going to win because he was tank but the blue
guy ended up winning. I got my photo
taken with the winner.
WINNER
No comments:
Post a Comment