Angkor Thom was the capital of the Angkor region, and is a 3km x 3km area where the royal family and dignitaries lived. All in all there were 5000 people living there. The Bayon temple, built in the 11th century, was blessedly uncrowded when we arrived and with its multiple towers was quite the sight. Each of the 54 towers had four giant faces carved into the stone, one facing each compass direction, and each represented one of the four Hindu states of mind: love/kindness, sympathy, equality, and calm. There were also multiple reliefs along the walls because back in the day people couldn’t read and the pictures told stories and taught them about Hinduism. The workers who built the temples were not paid, and believed they had to earn their way into heaven by doing things like building temples. The stones for the temples came from a quarry located 60 km from the area, and people believed that to ascend the 36 steps it takes to get to heaven you had to bring 36 stones to the temple over the course of your lifetime. Each stone brought you one step closer to heaven. In the dry season they got the stones to the temple via elephants and rolling logs, and in the wet season via bamboo rafts.
After climbing all over Bayon temple, we went to two more temples in the royal complex and then to the Elephant Terrace. The terrace overlooks an expansive open space that surrounded by jungle where the royal games were held. The games included horse racing, people racing, and elephant racing. Opposite the terrace were 12 towers representing the 12 Chinese astrological signs. Being born in the year of the rat, I would have gone to the rat tower to pray. To entertain the crowds, people would tightrope walk between the towers and because the terrace is far enough away it seemed as though the acrobats were walking on thin air. Must have been a pretty cool sight to see.
Photo: Bayon temple
Video: Elephant Terrace
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