September 9, 2000
(09-09-00)
Today is Saturday, and we went to Angkor Wat. We were on a tour, but we were the only ones doing the tour, so we pretty much got to do anything we wanted.
Angkor Wat is the most spectacular and best preserved of Angkor's temples is the self-contained universe of Angkor Wat, erected by Suryavarman II to honor himself and the Hindu god Vishnu. Angkor Wat is approached from the west along a magnificent road lined with colossal balustrades carved like cosmic serpents.
Recently restored by the Archaeological Survey of India, the complex rises in three concentric enclosures behind the western gate, which is almost as large as the central shrines. An entire day can be spent wandering around the terraces and pinnacles studying the Hindu deities, bullet scars, and row of Buddha?ngraciously decapitated by the Khmer Rouge.
That is all we did the whole day, it took forever to walk all over. I think you could have had spent four days walking the whole thing. |
