July 14

THE HIGHLIGHT

of the trip

Angkor Wat

Today was the day we'd all been waiting for.  Many of our fellow guests had remarked to me as I had to several of them that the primary reason for coming was to see this amazing wonder of the world, Angkor Wat.  And trust me, it did NOT disappoint.  Just amazing.  The photos cannot do justice to how huge this temple complex is.  And it is in such amazing shape for a palace/temple that was built between the 10th and 12th century.  The carvings and reliefs are breathtaking - I took nearly 150 photos today, so to "limit" it to only 25 was a feat in and of itself.

As a group we all had reservations yesterday when we were informed that we'd be leaving our luxurious Five-Star Hotel resort at 6:30 am.  But our program director, Mr. Khanh assured us over and over that we would see why and appreciate the early start today.  And a huge thanks to Avalon and Mr. Khanh for the design of today's excursion.  First, by leaving that early we avoided a large part of the crowd (over 7,000 visitors a day) that was streaming in as we were leaving.  

Secondly, while it was often very hot and muggy within the temple the ride out there on our tuk tuk and a lot of the time when the breeze picked up, it was very pleasant.  And giant kudos to our Cambodian guide Mr. Chantah who had the motorized transport take us in from the backside of the complex.  Our first view was a MUCH closer view of Angkor Wat than I'd thought we'd be able to see.  AND the small crowd that had begun to arrive were all coming up the LONG opposite walk way so we avoided people for nearly 2/3 of the 2 1/2 hours we were here.  After disembarking off the vehicles we approached through the east gate - which in and of itself was amazing.  

Note in the photo above of the gate how straight the lines are and how symmetrical it all is....and it was hand carved and built by hand over 900 years ago!  As we walked up the tree-lined boulevard we could see the main tower splitting the trees.  What a moment.  And when we got to the clearing I took a panoramic shot.  I kept thinking everyone would be having their photo taken, but no one did so we made the first move :)  

And then we began to climb into the temple complex.  To give you some perspective, scroll up to the aerial view.  We approached from the lower right hand side and climbed up through the first gate in the center bottom.  Going into the first level of the courtyard surrounding the inner temple you really got a sense of how massively huge this place is!  

The photos above were taken - if you look again at the overhead view - from within the first courtyard.  So we walked in through the initial gate, then turned left .... you'll see a blue rectangle, that's about where the first of these two photos was taken and then the second was taken as I turned to my left and looked down the walls.  Looking at the overhead photo - we walked along the wall from where the blue rectangle is towards the top of the picture.  Midway up the wall we climbed the steps.  As we climbed up to the next level and wound our way around the complex we came to the carvings/reliefs on the wall which told the history of the king who'd built this place.  The walls were at least, AT LEAST a hundred yards long and covered from floor to ceiling with precise carvings like these below.  

The last of the three photos immediately above is of a column covered in writings from the 12th century!  Note the color of the ceiling.  At one point it was all painted in a variety of colors!  Now, on the overhead photo, we had moved along the inner wall heading towards the top of the photo and crossed into the interior courtyard.  We would our way through the interior and saw swimming pools and various rooms.  Then it was time for everyone to make a choice.  You could exit the temple and wait or you could "ascend to paradise" as Chantah put it.  If you look at the overhead photo and the point where we'd gone up to the next level.  Just inside of that, between the two towers on the inner left hand side, you see some steep steps.  If you wanted, you could climb up here to have a look at the upper level of the temple.  

Oh yes, that's right....wouldn't have missed that for anything!  Looking at the two above photos I know it looks high and steep.  But believe me, the pictures don't even begin to portray how very, VERY steep those narrow stairs were nor how very, VERY high we were!  

We circled the entire temple and return to the same steps before oh-so-slowly making our way down.  We were encouraged to back down because that way we would not be actually looking down.  We roamed the courtyard for a few minutes and eventually made our way to outside the main walls.  Now we were at the top of the photo above which gives an overhead perspective.  You see the body of water that is upper right/center.  On the far side, on the brown sandy beach we got a picture taken - one with us in it and one without - because you can see the reflection of Angkor Wat in the water.  We were told it's much better when there isn't a breeze causing a ripple on the water.  

You'll also note how much darker the structure is in these photos - because we are facing back towards the east.  Again, great planning by Avalon and our guides so that the sun was BEHIND us as we took our photos throughout the day!

We boarded our tuk tuck vehicles and set out for Angkor Thom.  While not nearly as big as Angkor Wat, it is covered with carvings and reliefs of faces.  The first thing we saw was a statute covered bridge over the moat to this temple (see above) and then we drove through the gate.  Once we arrived you could begin to see the many faces on the towers!  

Again we climbed to the first level and looked at carvings which told the history of the building of this temple and how the people lived.  We went up another level and again the group was asked to make a choice about exiting or climbing to yet another level.  These steps were not nearly as steep or high but they were MUCH narrower and there were no hand rails.  No matter, Kim and I went up!  The photos below were taken on that next level.  

After about fifteen more minutes we headed back to reunite with the rest of our merry band.  We were back at the resort hotel by around noon and had lunch with another couple before heading upstairs to regroup for the afternoon.  Tonight we have our "Farewell Dinner" which includes a show by local performers.  I'll have videos of that later.

Tomorrow Kim and I will be transferred to the airport at 9 am for an 11:30 flight that will eventually arrive in Shanghai, China about 7:30 pm.  Sunday is the official beginning of the Viking "Imperial Jewels of China" tour, but that day is designated for everyone to arrive and check-in.  So our first day of seeing the sights of China won't be until Monday.  

REMEMBER IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW OUR CHINA TRIP

You must check our china website each day on your own

I know that anything "Google" related is blocked, but I'm nearly certain my web hosting service will be free and clear to post photos.  We should have strong connections through Monday and then we'll be on the Yangtze River for a week before flying to first Xian and then Beijing at the end of the trip.  All of those nights I'll have a good connection I'm sure - but there is NO ACCESS TO FACEBOOK.  Once we return stateside I'll have much to post on Facebook, but you can follow daily on the link below:

http://www.freewebs.com/markim/china_index.html

click the photo below to go to this link