My Khmer Adventure: Part II

So after a very thrilling day one..we were really looking forward to day two..as today was when we were going to see one of man's greatest creations: The Angkor Wat
As our tuk-tuk approached the temple complex..i could actually feel the atmosphere building up...it was so electric..finally i was going to see Angkor!!
hmmm...it is really difficult to describe the Angkor..i am absolutely speechless..it is heaven!! the ancient khmers really have built a heaven on earth...

Magnificent Angkor

The whole temple complex is surrounded by a huge moat for protection..and has four entrances facing the four direction...the complex took 35 years to build with 4 million people working on it..and it is still incomplete..they stopped the temple construction when the king passed away as they had lost their inspiration...the king was finally laid to rest in the secret chamber in one of the towers...

Splash of Orange

Second Level of Angkor

Long passsges...

The Architecture is just too good..the carvings are in so fine detail..most of the carving are stories from the Ramayana(fight against Ravana, fight between Sugriv and Bali, Hanuman's visit to Lanka) and Mahabharat (Kurukshetra war)..and other stories like the Sagar Manthan (churning of the ocean)...the temple originally was a Vishnu temple..and later a Buddhist temple...there are 3 levels and the steps are really steep!!!

It took us the whole day to see the temple complex..after that we went to see the entrance gate to Angkor Thom (temple city)...this is another complex where people actually stayed..even the kong stayed in Angkor Thom....the main entrace gate is really impressive...again depicting the sagar-manthan (seems to be the favorite story !!)
After this thrilling and rather exhausting day..we headed over tp Pub street in siem reap to chill out...found a lovely Irish pub with some good drinks and food...
Perfect end to a perfect day...