Cambodia: Exploring Angkor Thom
The inner wall of the Terrace of the Leper King
After checking out the impressive Temple of Bayon, the exploration doesn’t end there. Angkor Thom, is a vast complex surrounded by high defensive walls with 5 gates, thus the name Thom, meaning Big. When Javayarman VII recaptured Angkorian empire from the Chams in 1181, he did some major empire wide constructions and made Angkor Thom as the new city capital. So aside from Bayon, there are other impressive structures just a walking distance from the center of the complex worth noting. So let’s take a brief look into some of them.
Exploring the Terrace of the Leper King
First, let me give a note about exploring the temples. Most of the time, the area where the structures are, is exposed to the sun and also at times dust. So make sure to wear light cool clothing, bring sun protection, like hat, sunglasses and/or umbrella. At the time we were there, the sun was blazing, since April and May are their hottest season, so make sure you bring plenty of water. I’m sure a liter of water wouldn’t suffice, I think I drank around 2-3 liters of water a day during exploration just to keep myself hydrated. There is no shortage of water in the area as vendors, with their hypersensitive tourist-sensor would immediately scream their “Would you like something cold to drink sir?” alarm once you step on their perimeter senses. I think I spent more money buying water here than food, a bottled liter of water here cost US$ 2.
Inner wall corner detail at the Leper King Terrace
Continuing on, there are two structures here that is really worth examining closely for their intricate details. These are the Terraces of the Leper King and the Elephant. The former is a double terrace wall. During the French restoration of the structure they found an inner wall collapsed and when they cleared the debris they found an inner terrace wall which seems to be the earlier version of the terrace. Now everyone is free to inspect both walls, warning though to those claustrophobic as the inner wall has narrow corridor and 20 feet high wall. It feels like being inside a maze since it’s quite a distance from end to end.
Outer wall detail of the Leper King Terrace
What amazed me about this terrace is the level of details adorned on both walls. The terrace is made with laterite and sandstones and the design consist of snakes, giants, asparas and other decoration I think the creator could think of. I must admit my pictures here only gives half of the level of detail when you’re on the wall itself. The identity of the “Leper King” himself is also a mystery to researchers, but nowadays, it’s been accepted that it represents Yama, the god of judgment and death since the place is believed to be a crematorium.
The Elephant Terrace
The other impressive terrace is The Terrace of the Elephants, which is a larger 2.5 meters tall and longer terrace spanning 300 meters long. This terrace is elaborately decorated with larger sandstone carvings, and most notable are the sandstone elephants with protruding trunks which the terrace got its names. But aside from the elephant there’s also some tigers, lions, nagas, garudas, warrior ans horses in the bas reliefs presented in excellent details.
The elaborate Elephant Terrace spans 300 meters long
Another thing about exploration, you could also hire a guide who can explore important facts about the temples and the structures. A guide would cost around US$20-25 a day. Likewise if you don’t have the fund, you could read your book as well if you have one when you’re there like we do. If you don’t have one again, there are lots of bootleg books being sold there on considerably cheap price! But as for us, when we chanced upon a guide who can speak English touring a group, we try to eavesdrop on their explanations so we could have an idea of what we are looking at. Like for the Terrace of the Elephants, we learned that the Royal family sometimes use this as a stage for entertainment and as for the ministers and generals, it’s to review their forces.
Entrance to Phimeanakas
Another significant structure in Angkor Thom is Phimeanakas also known as the ‘Aerial Palace’. The temple is a small pyramid-like structure built with laterite and sandstone in around 10th or 11th century. Frankly when I saw this, it immediately reminded me of the strutures from the Mayan or Aztec pyramids in Apocalypto where sacrifices are held. But this temple is very important since this is where the kings do their worship.
The Aerial Palace, Phimeanakas
The bas relief details here though isn’t as impressive, but do try to climb at the back where a stair was constructed for an easy climb at the top where you could see some views of the surrounding areas. Legend also has it that a nine-headed serpent lived in this golden tower before and would transform into a woman. The Angkorian Kings were required to make love to this serpent every night or else disaster would be brought to his kingdom.
The giant jigsaw puzzle, Baphuon
Another interesting structure in the area is a Baphuon, which is also a temple which symbolizes a mountain. I saw a feature of this structure before in Discovery Channel as it is one structure undergoing massive restoration. During restoration by The Ecole Francais d’ Extreme Orient in 1972, they found the structure severely collapsed and had to remove all the pieces individually and documented each piece before they restore it all together. But when war came, the restoration halted and some of the documents where destroyed or lost. After the war, they had to document each pieces again and figure out how to put them back together, thus it became a jigsaw puzzle. Luckily they seem to going on the right track as a large part of the temple has been restored slowly.
Prasats Sour Prat
Finally, spread across evenly just in front of the terraces are these Prasats Sour Prat. Prasats are also known as Towers. There are twelve of these towers, which artistically and architecturally is quite different from all the structures in Angkor Thom, making it hard for archaeologist to classify and date them. At first I thought it was like a first line of defense when an enemy infiltrated a war, but another writing said that these towers were used to settle disputes. Accused are put inside each tower and the one who goes out sick is guilty. A bit absurd personally but if that is what they believe in at that time. Now it’s a very nice photo opportunity with those towers standing along the green hill and some fauna grazing along.
That’s it for Angkor Thom! If you only have a day or limited time to explore the park, Angkor Thom along with Angkor Wat should be on top of your list. Next post would be a side trip of sorts. I will be alternating features regarding some stuff, food and places in Cambodia to avoid being templed-out in this blog. 
Tags: Angkor Archaological Park, Angkor Thom, Cambodia, Heritage, Siem Reap, Structures, Temples, UNESCO
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Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 at 7:12 pm 
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April 22nd, 2007 at 8:01 pm
wow! ang ganda! how i wish makapag lakbay din ako sa ibang lupain..
ganda ng mga kuha nyo!
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:52 am
Very well photographed, Ferdz; not to mention that you made me want to book a flight and see this incredible place for myself. Such culture they had.
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 am
amazing that these structures have stood for more than 800 years. So the key is laterite and sandstone, I guess.
I like the legend of the serpent woman. The kings had to make love to it or else disaster will ensue? I wonder who was the one who came up with that one. hehe
April 23rd, 2007 at 8:01 am
Wow, it really is a beautiful place to visit, noh?
(:
April 23rd, 2007 at 9:47 am
Oh, I think this place is featured in Lara Croft:Tomb Raider.
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:43 am
nice photographs.. and i learned a lot from this post about angkor thom. lovely ancient terraces they have there with intricate designs…
April 23rd, 2007 at 10:53 am
Wow! How intricate those walls are. I cannot imagine how many man-hours that took!
That elephant terrace…Wow!
Do we have anything like this in the Philippines?
April 23rd, 2007 at 11:46 am
galing nitong continuing series bro. ung sidelighting ng inner wall ng leper king terrace brought out the details. it’s amazing how these were able to withstand the elements, including human meddling
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:30 pm
hanglufet! meaty entries coupled with great sets of photos, ano pang hahanapin? US$2 ang isang litro ng tubig? kamusta naman yun! matubig pa naman ako. taking photos of these temples is really a challenge. it’s difficult to make these “dull-looking” structures come alive and interesting in prints. i know, you know what i mean. i’ve seen a horde of photos on the Angkor and its surrounding temples, and most of the mistakes fall on bad angling, uneven lighting (either over-exposed or under-exposed), but mostly framing saka bad angling. I am really happy with the photos you’ve got here Ferdz. at least yung mga photos mo, nakukuha yung details without compromising the right framing and good angle. saka tipong bago naman…hindi yung usual stuff.
p.s. do you know when the Olympus E-510 will be coming out? i’ve checked with Meyer and so far, parang yung E-500 pa lang nasa Pinas. It has been confirmed by one Olympus dealer in SM during their latest exhibit last April. btw, are you using E500? or E400?
April 23rd, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Let me ask, are your postings about your travels done real time?
April 23rd, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Hi! Blog-hopped from Cat’s site, this is an amazing blog! The pictures were amazing and your descriptions make me feel as though I could see them too. ^_^ I’m definitely adding this site to my blogroll and referring it to my friend. He’s actually a blogging addict and photographer so he’s gonna be going to Cambodia too this year. Great trip, thanks for the pictures! A shinigami by night huh? Ako naman Vaizard! ^_^
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Amazing structures!
I love that little boy in your first picture. It really gives a sense of scale!
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:32 pm
ang galing naman kung paano nila nagawa yan. like the first pic ang taas pala. napanood ko sa travel tv dito may air baloon daw dyan at sabi pag bisita daw dyan showing visible anger is not acceptable behavior. heheh
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:34 pm
wheeww this is an art… pinaghirapan talaga to ng mga skultor…
April 24th, 2007 at 10:50 am
This is a great tour of Angkor Thom Ferdz. Very detailed. As usual, your pictures are superb!
Sulit talaga ang pagpunta mong Cambodia. 
April 25th, 2007 at 6:24 am
wow.. nice pics and structures… and very rich culture… ganda ng mga walls… this should be voted as one of the new seven wonders of the world…
please visit : http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php
April 25th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
someday ako rin
April 25th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
ayos ang series talaga… ganda pa ng mga pics… kelan tayo mag shoot?
hehehe
April 26th, 2007 at 8:34 am
whew, ang ganda ng mga walls.. I’m wondering pano nila nagawa yan at pinaghirapan talaga ng husto. Galing ng mga kuha mo Ferdz, kudos to you!
October 8th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
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