Angkor Thom

I rode a rented bicycle to some of the monuments in Angkor Thom, the ancient walled city of the Khmer during the reign of King Jayavarman in the 11th century. Traveling by bicycle was pleasant enough in the cool shade of the morning but got pretty tiring and hot by noon when I had finished visiting the temples I had wanted to and was tired and hungry.

Highlights from some of the temples I visited today:

Bayon -- The eerie faces of gods with the face of King Jayavarman peer out at the visitor from every side of every tower in the temple. Also, it was difficult to find the way from the outside courtyard to the highest inner courtyard if you tried to accomplish this from any direction other than from the front of the temple. My normally great sense of direction was confused by some of the twists and turns it took to get to the top of the temple. Also, if I was in an enclosed area of the temple, I tried not to look at the ceiling, because it seemed like there were rocks up there, building blocks of the temple, ready to fall at any moment. The uppermost courtyard was impressive, with all those faces up close looking at you and all the outer towers encircling and encroaching upon the center tower.

Baphuon - The grounds of this large temple were a mess, and most of it was closed off due to restoration efforts. The real find on the grounds was a tall temple in the shape of a pyramid that you could climb by going up a long, steep narrow flight of steps that left me breathless when I got to the top. The temple wasn't talked about at length in the guide book; I think the name of it might be Phimeanakas, which strikes me as a somewhat Greek name.

Terrace of the Leper King: Intriguing at first just because of the name. There's a statue at the top of the terrace that could be the image of an Angkor king in the 12th century who had leprosy, or it could be the image of the God of Death, Yama. The monument has a couple of layers of carvings on the walls, with the inner, original ones really well-preserved. In the narrow walkway, I met a landmine victim who had lost both of his legs but seemed really cheerful. I had given him a 1000 riel note (equivalent of 25 cents). He asked me where I was from, how long I was staying in Siem Reap and what I had seen so far. He seemed to speak excellent English. I think most of the people here pick up their English from speaking to foreigners, because a waitress I had spoken to at a restaurant said that they didn't teach English at any of her school up through high school. She is from Banteay Srei, which is 30 km northeast of Siem Reap. I think that the level of English I have seen in Cambodia is higher than that I experienced in Vietnam, and that proficiency is even more amazing considering that the teaching of the English language seems to be spotty in pre-university education in Cambodia. I have had really good conversations with some of the Cambodian people I've met in Siem Reap and, before, in Phnom Penh. It makes me feel guilty for being barely proficient in a second language.