King Yasodharesvara declares himself: "The Lord of the One Who Bears Glory"

And so it started. The king moved the capital of his newly conquered territories to the area surrounding Siem Reap.
Fired up on Johnny Walker (gas comes in old bottles) ,Tuk Tuk driver #5070 (otherwise known as Lee) kicks it up as we enjoy a three day tour of the Temple complexes surrounding Siem Reap.
Our first stop was Angkor Wat. An impressive, fairly intact, collection of buildings made to represent Mt Meru (in the center and the mythical mountain in Hindu faith), the surrounding continents and oceans. Very interesting it took us quite some time to see it all. Shane climbed to the top (I didn't as I was wearing a skirt) and got quite the view.
Though Angkor Wat is what the area is famous for, and in the middle of a battle to be claimed as the next wonder of the world, it really wasn't the highlight for us.
There are other temples that are varied and fascinating. Some that were fascinating just because they were in a chaos of ruins having been taken over by the jungle. Others because of the amazing faces carved in the stones. One of the temples (Bayon) had faces nearly 3 meters high that seemed to watch you from all directions. There were no perpendicular intersecting lines in the whole place. It was wonderful to get lost in both physically and spiritually.
By day three we had seen most of the temples in the area. We are, as they say, templed out! However, the variety kept us interested right to the end.
King Yasodharesvara was the first to proclaim himself a diety. From that point on each successive King built a complex to proclaim his (or in one case her) glory. There is only one case I read about where an old complex was refurbished.... it seems they all wanted a little piece of the rock for themselves.
The styles of architecture changed over the years (907AD - early 16th century) as did the intricate nature of their carvings. On the Leper King's dias there are carvings that had been buried that look like they are new having only been uncovered in the last 50 years.
Where in the world are we?? We are always asking that question. It is amazing to realize where we are ... a former Kingdom that had over 1 million inhabitants in the city of Angkor Wat (at the height of it's power in the 11 - 12th century). That was a time when London only had about 50,000 people and still thought they were the cat's ass!!
It is easy to imagine the grandure of this area when the painting was fresh, the stucco uncracked and the teak and gold structures firmly secured to the temple platforms. Sitting on top of Takeo temple we could feel the cool breeze, see out to the far reaches and imagine the days when this was an area surrounded by jungle and teeming with human activity.
Tomorrow we take the boat to Battambang then head south. Well, that's the plan anyway. Will let you know.