Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ANGKOR THOM BY ELEPHANT
If you want to do things in style you can make your way to the Bayon from Angkor Thom's
southern gateway by
elephant
(7.30-10.30am; $10-15). The pachyderms wait at the stand by
the southern causeway in the morning, although you won't find any in the afternoon, when
they all head off to Phnom Bakheng (see p.170).
while boats ferry in worshippers.
Beyond the western tower
, it's worth pausing to check
out the pantheon of gods: a fine
ten-armed Shiva
is flanked by Vishnu on his right and
Brahma on his left, and surrounded by apsaras.
Turning the corner, you're back in the
east gallery
, where there's a
military parade
featuring musicians accompanying cavalry, and a six-wheeled chariot drawn by Hamsa,
the sacred goose and mount of Brahma. The final panel of note, in the gallery just
before the gopura, pertains to the legend of the
Leper King
, in which the king contracts
leprosy after being spattered with the venom of a serpent he fights. As women minister
to the king, a cure is sought from ascetics.
3
The first enclosure and central sanctuary
Besides corner towers, the second enclosing wall appears to have a further three towers
per side; these are actually part of the
first enclosing wall
, which takes the form of a
toothed cross, the points of which merge into the second enclosing wall. The complexity
of the construction is compounded in the first enclosure, where towers bearing four
faces stand closely packed, at each angle of the cross and on the small sanctuaries.
Whichever route you take into the first enclosure, you'll be presented with a veritable
forest of massive, four-faced towers, each face wearing an enigmatic expression with just a
glimmer of a smile. Unusually in Khmer architecture, the low platform of the central
sanctuary is more or less circular, with eight linked
meditation chambers
spaced around it.
Terrace of the Elephants
Laid out in alignment with the west wall of the Bayon, the
Terrace of the Elephants
originally served as the base for a now-vanished royal reception hall and viewing
platform over the surrounding area. The terrace is named for the fabulous bas-relief
frieze of elephants stretching some 300m along its eastern side, with hundreds of the
beasts (and their mahouts) shown hunting and fighting with tigers. Three elaborate sets
off
staircases
lead up onto the terrace at its northern and southern ends and in the
middle. The southern stairs are flanked with three-headed elephants, their trunks
(entwined around lotus buds) forming impromptu columns. The central staircase
sports lion- and garuda-head creatures, their arms upraised, as if supporting the weight
of the terrace above. On top of the terrace at its northern end is a raised plaform
decorated with a frieze of sacred
geese
(
hamsa
) that would formerly have supported a
royal building of some kind. Close by, at the northern end of the terrace, is a striking
carving of a
five-headed horse
, hidden behind a later wall that was constructed to
buttress the terrace.
Terrace of the Leper King
Adjoining the Terrace of the Elephants, the
Terrace of the Leper King
is believed to have
been the site of royal cremations - appropriately, the headless statue on the terrace is
that of Yama, god of the underworld, although the vandalized figure is in fact a
reproduction. For many years, the statue was assumed to depict Jayavarman VII himself,
who several legends say contracted the disease - although there is nothing to verify this.
The base of the terrace is covered with profuse
carvings
layered in tiers. Snakes and
sea creatures inhabit the lowest tier, with gods and goddesses above. On the south side
at the base of the terrace a small gap leads into a narrow, trench-like walkway that loops
around the terrace inside the exterior walls. Here you'll find the so-called “
hidden
