7-28 Siem Reap - Day 2

We got a knock on our door at 7:30am. It was Vanny. We moved to a cheaper hotel that he recommended, then it was off to Angkor Wat for our first of many history lessons of the day.

ANGKOR WAT:
We picked up Vanny's friend who is a licensed tour guide. It was sad to learn that the temples used to be full of statues and carvings, but were looted and desecrated over the last 1,000 years during wars and under the Khmer Rouge. The French particularly came in during the civil war when the areas were not protected and removed a great deal of artifacts to sell on the black market. One area used to house 1,200 Buddha statues and carvings but only half a dozen remain, all with their heads removed to be sold on the black market. Some areas have ropes to keep people back, but it's ineffective. The temples are showing signs of wear from so many tourists walking around and touching stuff. The most interesting feature at Angkor Wat is probably the four galleries of stone carvings on each of the four sides of the temple. Many tell stores of Hindu gods, kings, and even heaven & hell. There is a decent amount of renovation going on to repair and rebuild the temple, but it will take a lot of time and money. I read a rumor online that they may begin closing off many areas of temples to the public because they are being damaged so badly. We didn't get hassled too badly by local vendors, except from one kid trying to sell us a baby turtle.
BAYON:
After just 2hrs at Angkor Wat, we drove North to Angkor Thom, which is much bigger. When there was a new king in the 12th century AD, he wanted his own temple complex. Angkor Wat was more or less abandoned and construction began. The moat is 3km on each side and we entered across an ancient bridge and through an ancient city gate. Ankor Wat's moats are 1km square, making Ankor Thom 9 times larger! The main temple Bayon was badly damaged by the roots of massive trees upending and spreading apart massive stonework. We also saw a large temple undergoing massive rebuilding with cranes, a royal palace, the elephant terrace, and terrace of the leper king. All of these were inside the walls of the Angkor Thom complex. It's interesting that some temples are Buddhist, some Hindu, some a mixture of the two, and some are victims of conversions from one to the other. By 4pm we were exhausted and drenched in sweat. A cold shower and a nap were heaven-sent. Dinner was very good, and once again we stuffed ourselves. We took it easy that night, which was much needed.