It was flooded. There was no sun in the morning. Good thing we did not wake up early that morning to catch the sunrise.Angkor Wat was glorious. It has very intricate architectural designs. I could not even begin to imagine the grandeur of this place during its time. Most of the wall carvings are still intact. Most had a dark polished look to it. Tourist’s hands can be damaging.
I would like to compare it to the breathtaking view of the Forbidden City in China. Considering that stones were used to build this temple, China was way advance at that time.
After that we visited Angkor Thom and many other ruins surrounding it. After a while you get tired seeing ruins after ruins. Buddha’s face adorns the temple façade. I was told that it was actually carved out to resemble the King’s face instead.
The next temple we visited was where they shot the movie Tomb Raider. Tree roots were holding the temple together. Larger ones adorn the walls of this breath-taking temple.
After that we climbed the elephant terrace. It was a long walk up the hill. We later hired an elephant to bring us down the hill. The view from the top was beautiful. It was cold and mystic up there.
The elephant ride was excellent! His steady movement was assuring. No machine could perform such feat of maneuvering at a sharp angle. 3 of us were sitting on its back with a guide in front of us. The guide uses his legs to control the direction of the elephant by pushing its ears.
