Angkor Wat Cambodia

Angkor Wat is somehow a Disneyland from the past with a

real use,  the marvelous temples bring a income for the people in that area and far beyond.

This palaces, temples, sculptures, relief's and bas relief's are so overwhelming it's hard to say anything, maybe the best would be to stay quiet, keep the mouth shut .... and make pictures, that's what it is. A orgy of expressive pictures in 3 dimension, bas reliefs.

Today tourists climb through the stone landscape, monks stroll around, whole groups from wedding parties visit the Angkor Wat monuments and some kids and others try to get some money from the tourists.

For them all tourists are millionaires, so let them in this believe and spray some money, for the visitor its a little tip, for the kids and others its a substantial amount they can use for things or services they need.

Temples of the god-kings - Angkor Wat  

Late in the eighth century, an ambitious Cambodian prince convinced his suffering people that he was a deity. Proclaiming himself as universal ruler--or god-king--Jayavarman II declared his people's independence from Java.

His newly created Khmer Empire would rule Southeast Asia for about 600 years. At least 38 more god-kings followed his reign during that was known as the Angkor period (802-1432). Each god-king had a sacred "temple-mountain" built as a symbol of power and as a final resting place. The massive stone

temples covered an area of 75 square miles. The most striking structure was Angkor Wat, built by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. That wat, or temple, has five majestic towers that symbolize the dwelling place of the Hindu gods. Today, tourist journey to northern Cambodia and marvel at what remains of the temples of the god-kings.
The Bayon, in the walled city of Angkor Thom, has a series of large sandstone towers, each with four sides carved with smiling faces representing an all-seeing and all-knowing Buddha. The distinctive curl at each end of the lips is known as "the smile of Angkor."


On the south entryway to Angkor Thom, one side of a bridge is lined with stone demons with round eyes and puffy cheeks. The other side of the bridge is lined with statues of gods.

Sandstone sculptures in the form of elephants line a portion of the main square of Angkor Thom known as the Elephant Terrace.

A Buddhist monk stands by the gnarled roots of a strangler fig tree that has invaded the temple of Ta Prohm. Modern dancers adorn themselves with traditional headdresses and jewels while kneeling with increase in the west gallery of Angkor Wat. The ornate central tower of Angkor Wat stands for Mount Meru, the mystical center of the universe in Hindu mythology. Many of Angkor's temples have statues and intricate carvings, known as bas-reliefs, that depict both Hindu and Buddhist symbols.

Angkor Wat, Cambodia,  was created  in the 12. th century under a great Khmer King his name was Jayavarman VII ( 1181 - 1219).

The text right below is from The Monuments of the Angkor Group by Maurice Glaize from the 1940ties. We took this text because its like it was written yesterday, nothing has  substantially changed in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

There is only one way to best view Angkor - without unnecessary stress and with some benefit - and that is to allow at least a week, and to visit within reason two or three temples per day maximum.

If this period of time is insufficient to penetrate to all the secrets of the very particular architecture and the dense ornamentation - which require a certain adaptation in order to fully appreciate their value - it is instead permitted

to at least taste their charms, to assimilate the rudiments of Khmer Art, and to leave with a desire to study them in more depth. A stay of short duration will, however, give a good idea of the ensemble - on condition that one paces one’s program according to small amount of time at one’s disposal, and has no pretension to ‘see the everything’. For this reason, we propose several itinerary types to aid the task of the hurried tourist. A minimum of three days would seem to us essential to make contact with the principal monuments of the group.

Angkor may be visited in all seasons.

However the most favorable period extends from November to March, during the first months of the dry season, when the temperature is particularly clement. In contrast, April and May are hot and humid, and then come the rains -through to September - which put one at risk of immobilization for several hours - though without always lasting an entire day. They are extremely rare in the morning, and the sandy soil quickly dries. This is the time when the forest becomes alive and verdant, when the reservoirs and moats refill, when the
stones become covered in creepers and lichens - and it is only important to no longer climb except with extreme caution amongst the boulders and on the sandstone blocks, which the moss renders slippery.

It is preferable, particularly in the hot season,

to leave early in the morning and to return before eleven o’clock, and not to revisit in the
afternoon until three or four o’clock - the light at the end of the day being generally more favorable. The majority of the monuments -