Angkor Wat (General Photos) November 2006

Angkor Wat (General Photos) cover page.	Map of Cambodia with star indicating Angkor Wat.	Road (at dusk) leading to the south gate of Angkor Thom, which is the 13th century capital built by King Jayavarman VII.	The five gates of Angkor Thom citadel were designed for the passage of elephants. Now, tour buses pass through them.
Day shot of face on the south gate is of Avalokiteshvara (the revered bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas).	To the right of the south gate are 54 demon statues.	The same demons at dusk (some of these photos were taken at dusk, and others during the day).	Closeup of the demons.
A demon statue with the moat in the background.	A similar demon statue as seen at dusk.	More demon heads at dusk.	Closeup of a demon head.
Demon head with the moat in the background at dusk.	Another evening shot of the same statue showing some age spots and the moat behind it.	To the right of the south gate are 54 statues of gods. It's better I am hanging out with the gods rather than the demons!	Statue of a hydra-headed snake. This was taken in Siem Reap (the main town next to Angkor Wat).
Closeup of the hydra-headed snake. My hotel was located nearby.	Elephant drivers with elephants for hire lined up in the Angkor Thom temple complex.	This was my elephant driver. He looked kind of bored.	Another elephant driver with many elephants lined up.
I snapped this photo of some other riders from the elephant that I rode (a difficult task since it was a bumpy ride)!	These riders were in front of my elephant.	This elephant driver was feeding a pineapple to this elephant.	The elephants are especially fond of bananas.
I took this picture of the monks from the elephant that I was riding.	This little girl and her mother sold pineapples to be feed to the elephants.	Closeup of the little girl.	View of Bayon Temple, found inside of Angkor Thom (as seen from the top of my elephant).
This is another side of Bayon facing a pond.	The Bayon Temple was built in the 13th century as the state temple of King Jayavarman VII.	Entryway leading into the Bayon Temple (by now I was on foot, not on the elephant).	Cambodian man who was selling candles outside of the Bayon Temple.
The most distinctive feature of Bayon Temple is the multitude of smiling faces on the towers (there originally were 612 faces).	Stairs leading into the temple. Note the many wonderful faces on the towers.	Some nooks and crannies inside Bayon Temple.	An ancient passageway inside the temple.
Multiple doorways inside Bayon Temple.	A 13th century bas-relief, most likely depicting mythological, historical or mundane events.	A magnificent face as seen through another doorway.	Another face carving at Bayon Temple with some age spots.
These young Cambodians in costume charged me a buck for this photo (they prefer U.S. dollars to Cambodian currency).	A distinctive profile on the tower as seen through a doorway.	Closeup of the profile on the tower.	There are many more heads and carvings through this doorway.
Everywhere you look in the Bayon Temple, there are more wonderful faces.	I count six faces in this photo.	Me posing at the Bayon Temple among the ancient faces (of which, hopefully, mine is not one of them)!	View of the Bayon Temple as I left it with my tour guide.
Stone ruins in front of the Elephant Terrace, a part of the walled city of Angkor Thom.	Angkor's King Jayavarman VII used the Elephant Terrace as a platform from which to view his victorious returning army.	Mother and child whizzing by the Elephant Terrace on a moped (the preferred means of transportation in Angkor Wat).	Across from the Elephant Terrace are some ancient Angkor stone buildings.
Another view of the building.	Two ancient Angkor buildings side by side.	A bit further down from the Elephant Terrace is this terrace with lions on it.	Closeup of the terrace steps.
More detail of the wall and terrace. I see elephants with a lion on top.	Closeup of some dog and bird like figures who's arms are holding up the wall.	I decided to hold up the wall, too!	Another bas-relief of ancient figures.
Thommanon is a temple located just east of Angkor Thom.	What makes this temple different is that it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.	It is one of a pair of Hindu temples (the other is Chau Say Tevoda) built around the middle of the 12th century.	Thommanon is architecturally more advanced than its predecessors.
The designers took advantage of the natural qualities of sandstone, rather than simply imitating it in wood.	Sandstone carvings as seen at the top of Thommanon Temple.	More Thommanon Temple views.	Me posing at one end of Thommanon Temple.
Along a road in Angkor Wat was this gnarly tree growing on some ancient ruins.	Another tree, next to the first one, also, growing amongst the ruins.	Notice how this tree seems to split down the middle.	Ta Keo is an incomplete temple in the Khleang style and built as the state temple of King Jayavarman V.
Ta Keo Temple was dedicated in 1000, but work was later abandoned, with little decoration applied.	Since the temple was never finished, it is uncarved throughout, giving the walls an unintentionally severe appearance.	View of Ta Keo Temple's west façade.	View of the temple's entrance.
Note the three towers of Ta Keo Temple.	Great angle of the temple looking up a hill through the trees.	Interesting gnarly and twisted roots of the tree in front of the temple.	Closeup of the gnarly and twisted roots of the tree.
Façade of the Hindu temple Prasat Kravan which was built in 921 AD by the nobility, not by the king (of brick and plaster).	Central tower of the Prasat Kravan Temple.	Me next to a dog sculpture at Prasat Kravan.	Interior wall carvings at Prasat Kravan. The temple is dedicated to the Indian god Vishnu.
This chimney leads from the inside to the top of the temple.	Another interior wall carving at Prasat Kravan (a Hindu goddess, perhaps).