Cambodia - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Northern Thailand - page 447

TEMPLES OF ANGKOR
Where to begin with Angkor? There is no greater concentration of architectural riches any-
where on earth. Choose from the world's largest religious building, Angkor Wat; one of the
world's weirdest, Bayon; or the riotous jungle of Ta Prohm. All are global icons and have
helped put Cambodia on the map as the temple capital of Asia.
Beyond the big three are dozens more temples, each of which would be the star were it
located anywhere else in the region: Banteay Srei, the art gallery of Angkor; Preah Khan,
the ultimate fusion temple uniting Buddhism and Hinduism; or Beng Mealea, the Titanic of
temples suffocating under the jungle. The most vexing part of a visit to Angkor is working
out what to see, as there are simply so many spectacular sites. One day at Angkor? Sacri-
lege! Don't even consider it.
The hundreds of temples surviving today are but the sacred skeleton of the vast political,
religious and social centre of the ancient Khmer empire. Angkor was a city that, at its
zenith, boasted a population of one million when London was a small town of 50,000. The
houses, public buildings and palaces of Angkor were constructed of wood - now long de-
cayed - because the right to dwell in structures of brick or stone was reserved for the gods.
Angkor is one of the most impressive ancient sites on earth, with the epic proportions of
the Great Wall of China, the detail and intricacy of the Taj Mahal, and the symbolism and
symmetry of the Egyptian pyramids all rolled into one.