DAY ONE
7:30am Breakfast at Hotel or Other
8:15am Leave
for tour of Angkor Thom (comprising of the Bayon Temple,
Terrace of Leper King and the Elephant Terrace).
The city of
Angkor Thom, founded by Jayavarman VII in the 12th century, was one of the largest of all Khmer
cities and remained the capital until the 17th century.
We enter the
city through the monumental south gate, its tower feature four faces pointing
in each of cardinal directions with the elephants holding up the main gate,
preceded by a no less impressive Avenue of Gods and asuras lining the bridge
across the structure moat.
The Bayon or state temple of Jayavarman II
is one of the most enigmatic and power religious constructions in the world. It
is a unique mass of “ faces tower” which create a stone-mountain of ascending
peaks. There were originally 49 towers of which 37are still standing today.
Most are carved with four faces on each cardinal point. The central tower has
many more.
The Elephant
Terrace is at the
heart of Angkor Thom and looks out overage Royal spare. It marks the entrance
to the Royal Palace and was the focal point for Royal receptions. The Carving
of the elephants along its Walls gives it its modern name.
Terrace of
Leper King, This
massive terrace is named after the 15th century
sculpture that was discovered on top of it. It probably dates back to the reign
of Jayavarman VII and has been restored in a manner, which allows visitors to
explore the earliest to most recent additions by actually entering the internal
layers of the structure.
11.00am
2:30pm Leave for tour of Angkor Wat
and sunset at Bakheng Hill
Build
between the 9th and 14th centuries, the city of Angkor is one of the
grandest monuments ever constructed. The entire complex covers approximately
164sq miles with over 200 temples. Among the 30 temples that are accessible
today, the most famous is Angkor Wat, the largest religions building in the world, with a volume of stone
equaling that of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt.
Conceived by
Suryavarman II early 12th century, Angkor Wat took
an estimated 30 years to build. Unlike most other Khmer temples, it faces West,
the most likely reason is because the temple was dedicated to Vishnu, who is sometimes associated with the
West.
Phnom
Bakheng, late 9th century was the state temple of the first
capital of Angkor. Begin the ascent from the east side at the foot of the hill
close to the road. The view from the top is magnificent, particularly of Angkor
Wat to the South East and is the most popular spot for tourist at sunset. The
three prominent hills of the area, Phnom Bakheng, Phnom Krom and Phnom Bok were
all crowned with temples at the same period.
6:30pm
DAY TWO
7:30am
8:15am In
the morning, you will continue your temple visit, including Prasat Kravan
with unique brick sculptures, Pre Rup, the mountain temple, Ta
Som, Neak Pean, a foundation built in the middle of a pool and representing
the paradisiacal Himalayan mountain-lake, Eatern Mebon, guarded
at its corner by stone figures of harnessed elephants, some of which are still
in a reasonable state of preservation and
Preah Khan, built in the
12th century was one of Jayavarman VII’s largest
projects dedicated to his father. Preah khan was much more than a temple with
over 1,000 teachers it appears also to have been a Buddhist university as well
as a considerable city. Preah Khan is located on the western edge of its own long
baray, the Jayatataka, and a terraced landing stage at the end of the temple
W-E axis access to the lake with a moat surrounding the city.
The third
enclosure bounded by another laterite wall is the grandest with four gorupas and
located within the enclosure is the Hall of Dancers decorated with friezes of
dancing Apsaras.
You can
cross Preah khan from East to West or vice versa. As you walk, be aware by the
magnificent stone sculptures of giant garudas, each one grasping the tail of a
naga, its traditional enemy, in each hand.
The
restoration of Preah Khan is currently undertaken by the World Monuments Fund,
a US based foundation. Raffles International is a patron of this foundation.
12:00noon
2:30pm In the afternoon, transfer to the
archaeological site and continue the temple tours
Ta Phrom, was built in the 12th century by Jayavarman VII as a royal
monastery. It was dedicated to the king’s mother. This temple, was chosen to be
left in its natural state as an example of how most of Angkor looked, upon its
rediscovery in the 18th century. Shrouded in
jungle, the temple of Ta Phrom is ethereal in aspect and conjures up a romantic
aura with gigantic roots and branches intimately intertwined with the stoned
and probing walls to form a natural roof above the man made structures. Then,
visit Takeo, Thommanon and Chau Say Tevoda
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