20.01.2017 - Today, we wake up very early to purchase another ticket from Angkor Wat Ticket Office. My sister's friend did not follow us the day before and we cannot purchase on her behalf as one needs to have their photo taken. We woke up at 3.30am because a tuk-tuk is coming to pick us up at 4.15am. Usually, it is recommended to depart at 4.30am but we wanted to avoid the crowd at the ticket center as we saw yesterday.
We booked the tuk-tuk from Mad Monkey Hostel. The Hostel has a few tuk-tuk drivers assigned. The tuk-tuk has the logo of Mad Monkey Hostel. I booked the tuk-tuk the day before, and the receptionist tells me it is USD17 for half a day for 3 temples (Angkor Wat, Ta Phrom, and Bayon). If it exceeds half a day, we can negotiate the price with the tuk-tuk driver. We exceeded till 2pm but we were not charged extra. One can book any tuk-tuk drivers from outside (there are so many of them) for USD20 for a whole day to bring you around Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. Thankfully, I chose 3 because I was already tired after 2 temples, and the heat was overwhelming. I cannot imagine how the tourists managed to sustain a whole day. Well, one has the option to go back to the hotel after the sunrise for a rest and then come back again to see the temple because you have a pass with you. Or have lunch in town and then come back again.
At 4.15am, the tuk-tuk driver was waiting for us. He is so punctual. I am amazed. It took about 15 minutes to reach the Ticket Office. There was only one tuk-tuk and I saw 5 tourists.
This is the crowd by 5am. Everyone wants to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. The parking ground was full of tuk-tuk.
Another 10 minutes and we were at Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. The place was busy! There were even vendors selling food. Our tuk-tuk driver dropped us and told us where he will be. He slept while he waited for us.
Even at 5.15am, there were security guards checking your tickets.
Now, I present to you the sunrise moments from Angkor Wat. There are 2 spots to view the sunrise, because there are 2 lakes where the reflection of Angkor Wat can be seen against the lake and it is beautiful. One lake has water lilies. Another lake has none. Almost everyone will crowd at the lake with the water lilies because the view is better. The day before, a Danish tourist (who was with us in the Countryside Tour) suggested we go to the other lake (with no water lilies) as she said the view was good and less crowded. So, I listened to her. Wrong move. It definitely is a better view from the lake (with the water lilies). Not because there are water lilies. But the sun is not blocked by the trees. I could hardly see the sun rising up from where I was seated because it was blocked by the trees. I could only witness the change in the colour of the sky.
Enjoy the sunrise photos! I sat here from 5.30am to 7am.
This is view from the lake with the water lilies.
I managed to get a shot with a pigeon flying past by. Pretty. Are you bored of the sunrise photos? Haha.
It was already 7.30am and it was getting hotter. Thankfully, there was a toilet available for KHR2000 / USD0.50.
Time to step inside the temple.
Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត or "Capital Temple") is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu.
As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that are sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. Source from Wikipedia.
The steps are steep to go up the tower because it is said that the way to God should not be easy. We could not go up the Tower because it was a Holy Day as it was half moon.
Angkor Wat is decorated with depictions of apsaras and devata; there are more than 1,796 depictions of devata in the present research inventory. Angkor Wat architects employed small apsara images (30 cm (12 in)–40 cm (16 in)) as decorative motifs on pillars and walls. They incorporated larger devata images (all full-body portraits measuring approximately 95 cm (37 in)–110 cm (43 in)) more prominently at every level of the temple from the entry pavilion to the tops of the high towers. Source from Wikipedia.
An Apsara (also spelled as Apsarasa) is a female spirit of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Apsaras represent an important motif in the stone bas-reliefs of the Angkorian temples in Cambodia (8th–13th centuries AD), however all female images are not considered to be apsaras. In harmony with the Indian association of dance with apsaras, Khmer female figures that are dancing or are poised to dance are considered apsaras; female figures, depicted individually or in groups, who are standing still and facing forward in the manner of temple guardians or custodians are called devatas. Source from Wikipedia.
Deva is the Hindu term for deity; devatas (Devanagari: देवता; Khmer: ទេវតា (tevoda); Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese, Malay and Indonesian: dewata; Batak languages: debata (Toba), dibata (Karo), naibata (Simalungun); Philippine languages: diwata), are a kind of smaller more focused devas. The term "devata" also means devas (deva in plural form or the gods). They are male and female devata. Source from Wikipedia.
One can see the contrasting difference of the restored and unrestored figures.
Me doing a temple run, using Panorama function. Haha!
An unfinished restoration work of an Apsara lady. This is not obvious. One has to walk on the ledge to snap this photo. Fear not, the ledge is wide enough to be walked on.
Some of the heads of Buddha were stolen to be placed in museums.
Careful when you walk. Notice the ceiling.
Here, everyone is snapping a photo of themselves because this is considered the center of the temple. I think it is odd snapping a photo like that because when you look back at your millions of photos after a holiday, I doubt you will remember the reason you took this photo. There was no difference on its ceiling.
I told my sister to take a shot of me, the temple and the water lilies, which she did a good job of.
There were workers cleaning the rubbish from the moat. They did a good job at it!
It was 9.00am, and we are off to our next temple - Bayon.
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