“It is a work of power, unity and style.” I normally don’t reward wikipedia with accuracy points, but this quote on the Angkor Wat page perfectly defines the ancient Buddhist temple complex. Angkor Wat, meaning “Temple City” in Khmer, is the largest religious monument in the world. It was build in the 12th century, but doesn’t look a day over 15th century (bad joke).
Although I’m grateful for the experience to tour the temples, we did it all wrong. Yes, we made it to sunrise, but we weren’t prepared for the full day ahead of us. I’ll admit, again, that I failed on my research for this portion of the trip. I don’t know if I was tired or thought the temple would be self explanatory, but either way I could easily use another day or two exploring the massive complex. With that being said, I still appreciated the unique architecture, wandering monks and rich history Angkor Wat has to offer.
We arrived at 5am for sunrise, taking pictures every 30 seconds to try to capture the perfect progression of the fiery light creeping behind the central temple. Once the sun appeared full above the temple’s peak, we toured the inside of the rock structure. I felt like I was making my way through the Legends of the Hidden Temple set, hoping one of the stone carved faces doesn't gobble me up. A monk was seated in one of the open areas. He offered a red braided bracelet to those who desired a blessing. My brother and I both knelt down next to him and received the good words.
The colors don't seem very diverse from a distance, and of course the pictures don't do it justice, but the shades of grey and greens that cover the temples are magnificently beautiful. I wanted to take a picture of every stone, each one looking vastly different from the next when up close.
No comments:
Post a Comment