Cambodia – Angkor Wat proper

[Click on the photos to enlarge them.]  The tricky thing about visiting Angkor Wat is that Angkor Wat per se is merely one ancient site – albeit a really large one – among many near the small city of Siem Reap. So these are photos and video of Angkor Wat per se – later posts will feature other sites in the region we call Angkor Wat.

Moreover, Angkor Wat proper is not the temple that I, at least, picture when I think of “Angkor Wat”: crumbling as the jungle overtakes it. Photos like this are misleading:

Instead, it has been cleared and reconstructed for us, the tourist hordes.

This video gives a sense of what it’s like to be there; we were hardly alone. The scenes move generally from the western entrance to the eastern one.

This photo is of the eastern approach. The next one is from the tower, looking west.

What does it all mean? What was daily life like here? Where were the latrines? Guides and guidebooks explain, often in lengthy detail, the religious import of the architecture and decorations; unfortunately, little is revealed regarding daily life. For me, the main attraction was finding a wealth of arresting visions.

Many interior walls contain massive, carved scenes from epic tales.

People continue to leave offerings at statues such as this.