Posts Tagged ‘Jayavarman VII’
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF ANGKOR THOM
Angkor Thom is a city built in the twelve century by Jayavarman VII. There are five gates that open up to Angkor Thom. There is a gate on the north, west and south sides and two gates on the east side. Each gate is flanked on one side by fifty-four statues of gods and on the other side by fifty-four statues of demons. The gods and demons are seen pulling the snake-god Vasuki in the scene from the Churning of the Sea of Milk. (See www.sacred-destinations.com.) I took an elephant ride from the outskirts of Angkor Thom and entered it via one of the gates to get a different perspective of the place. From high up on my elephant, I felt like I was above the gods and demons that lined the entrance to Angkor Thom and that I could reach the sky. I also felt isolated from those entering Angkor Thom on foot. Interesting…
TA PROHM: A TRIBUTE TO THE PLANTS AND TREES
On the second day of our stay in Siem Reap, our guide excitedly told us that he was taking us to the jungle temple where the movie Lara Croft was shot. Although I enjoyed that movie, using it to promote Ta Prohm did such an injustice to this alluring and mystical temple. Ta Prohm is a sight to behold and no words are needed to promote it. Fortunately, our guide later redeemed himself by taking us around Ta Prohm and sharing with us a wealth of information he had about this jungle temple.