Cambodia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 90

VISITING THE TEMPLES
The temples are o cially open daily from 5am till 6pm, although Banteay Srei closes at 5pm.
TRANSPORT
There are a number of transport options to get to and around Angkor Wat from Siem Reap:
your choice will depend on your time frame, your budget and which temples you intend to
visit. Hiring a tuk-tuk is the best way to get around (tours of the Grand Circuit temples, lasting
most of a day, can be had for just $12). For one person, a moto (Grand Circuit around $10) can
serve a similar purpose, but will be less comfortable. If you have time to spare, renting a bicycle
(around $3/day from numerous outlets in Siem Reap) is perhaps the most enjoyable way to
explore the temples. Distances are manageable, and the terrain is almost completely flat,
although be aware that exploring the temples, with their endless steps, can be pretty tiring, so
don't try to cover too many in a day.
ENTRY PASSES
Entry passes are required to enter the Angkor area, and must also be shown at all the
temples. At the main entrance, on the Siem Reap-Angkor Wat road, three categories of pass
are available: one day ($20), three days ($40, to be used within one week) or seven days ($60,
to be used within one month). You need to go here to purchase your ticket even if you want to
visit the Roluos temples, which are, frustratingly, in the opposite direction. Most people find it
adequate to buy the three-day pass, which gives enough time to see all the temples in the
central area and to visit the outlying temples at Roluos and Banteay Srei. If you're short on
time, you can cover Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Ta Phrom and Banteay Srei in one full day.

2

he detail and sharpness of the images
make this one of the greatest stone
sculptures ever created.
Returning to the Terrace of Honour
and walking towards the central chamber,
you'll pass through the cruciform galleries
linking the first and second levels. On the
right-hand side is the Gallery of One
Thousand Buddhas , though only a
handful of figures now remain. he walls
of the courtyard on the next level are
carved with numerous detailed apsaras ,
celestial nymphs. here is a total of 1850
of these figures in Angkor Wat, each
individually carved with unique features.
A neck-wrenchingly steep staircase leads
up to the topmost third level (you'll
probably have to queue to get up), from
where various Buddha images look
down from the central sanctuary on the
temple below.

turn by a 100m-wide moat - although of
the original wooden houses which once
filled the space inside the walls no trace
remains. Certainly more spectacular and
extravagant than any Western city at the
time, Angkor hom was an architectural
masterpiece, home to perhaps a million
inhabitants. Now only the city's great
religious monuments, built in
imperishable stone, remain as a testament
to the city's former grandeur.
here are five gateways set in the walls
around Angkor hom, four covering each
of the cardinal points and the fifth, the
Gate of Victory, set in the east wall leading
directly to the Royal Palace compound.
Each gateway is approached via a stone
causeway crossing the wide moat. On
each causeway, 54 god images on the left
and 54 demons on the right depict the
myth of the Churning of the Ocean of
Milk, as featured in the East Gallery of
Angkor Wat. Each of the five sandstone
gopuras is crowned with four large heads,
facing the points of the compass, flanked
by an image of the Hindu god Indra
riding a three-headed elephant.
If you're approaching from Angkor Wat,
you will probably enter Angkor hom
through the South Gate. Directly north, at

Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom , 2km north of Angkor Wat,
was the last and greatest capital of the
Angkor era, built during the late twelfth
and early thirteenth centuries. he
immense city is enclosed within a square
of defensive walls, 8m high and 3km long
on each side, themselves surrounded in