Boredworkers.com

A tour of Angkor Thom would not be complete without a visit to the Royal Enclosure and its surrounding structures. Among other things, the round trip includes a tour of the Terrace Of The Leper King, Elephant Terrace, The Royal Enclosure, Phimean Akas (Sky Palace) and Baphoun Temple.

Terrace Of The Leper King and The Elephant Terrace
Strange this one. The Leper King came about because the statue at the top of the so called terrace was spotted and with discolouration and moss that it looked like someone who suffered the condition. The fact that one of the previous Khmer kings was supposedly a leper just plays into the legend. But that’s really besides the point. The statue is actually of the Hindu god, Yama.

We started at the base of the terrace, and made our way through the winding passage towards the top. The mazelike path is supposed to represent the way through hell. The walls on either side sported carvings of Yama’s helpers and his harem. Our guide told us some funny anecdotes that escapes me at the moment.

After wending our way through the claustrophobic enclosure, we climb a flight of steps to the top of the Terrace, sort of like a stairway to heaven. And it was indeed heavenly at the top. For one thing, a strong easterly wind was blowing through. Hidden away under the shadows of an umbrella, feeling the breeze blowing through your hair on a hot shiny afternoon with clear blue skies, on foreign soil with sprawling landscapes all around is something that must be experienced to be understood. As with all high places, the Terrace provided its visitors with a grand sight of the surroundings.

Next to the Leper King, stands the Elephant Terrace. Another misnomer perhaps. It was named such not because elephants frolicked through the trees and spent hours lazing on its vast grounds. It was named as such because of the numerous elephant carvings that lined the outer eastern wall, carved in such a way that the place seemed to be bourne on the backs of hundreds of elephants. The king used to hold court at the terrace, watching the return of his victorious armies. We were told that there used to be an arching roof over the terrace. All of it has since rotted away from time and the elements. What remains are the foundation stones.

Here, we rested under a lonely tree that had sprouted out in the middle of the terrace. It must have been at least a hundred foot high. Its roots were thick and broke the even surface of structure’s floor. While it looked impressive, it threatened to destroy the ancient structure. So much so that work is underway to cut down the tree, or at the very least, cull its growth. Supporting struts have been constructed around the tree’s base, in fear that it might topple over and take half the court with it. Whatever the future held for the magnificent tree, it provided a shady respite for us as we gossiped under its leafy cover.

Royal Enclosure And Phimean Akas

The Royal Enclosure is an area that measures 250 metres across by 600 metres. The walls hide a shady grove. On either sides of the courtyard are the royal baths, which have since been reduced to mossy ponds. Vendors have set up stalls, offering various handicrafts and souveniers to interested foreigners. They also sell drinks and tidbits to quench your thirst and keep hunger at bay. Fresh green coconuts go for USD0.50 each. After being out in the sun for half a day, it is actually difficult to resist the tempting coolness that the coconut juice offers.

Deeper inside is Phimean Akas, the Sky (or Celestial) Temple. Legend has it that the king used to climb to its peak and spend every night romancing a seven headed spirit. If he failed to do so, he would die a horrible death. As with most every other temple in Angkor, this one’s high up there with high mini steps that take some effort to climb.

At some point or other, you’ll soon realise that most if not all Angkor temples are high up and mostly with super small steps. They just don’t make it easy on anyone who wishes to get to the peak. I’ve come to wonder as to the reason behind this. For one thing, we already know that the temples are usually built to symbolise Mount Meru, home of the gods. So being high up is understandable. But why make the steps so small? Is it to force the pilgrim to grovel and crawl up the steps, making it a humbling journey to the peak? Perhaps. Only the original architect would know.

We climbed to the peak and I napped for half an hour within the small corridors at the top, buffeted by the same cool breeze that was still blowing through Angkor. Our guide must have wondered where we’d disappeared to. The journey down was probably worse than the climb up. Fortunately, there were railings along the side to help us on our way.

Last Stop: Baphuon

On the way out of the Royal Enclosure, we made a quick stopover at Baphuon. Restoration work, led by French archeologists, is currently in underway to restore this three tiered temple mountain. Unfortunately, efforts have been met with great resistance. The first attempt began in 1960 and was interupted when the Khmer Rouge regime came into power. During the initial restoration work, the temple had been carefully and systematically taken apart and its different pieces strewn about the compound outside the temple grounds like giant jigsaw puzzles. Each piece was carefully numbered and documented, detailing the means to putting them back in place. Unfortunately, when hostilities began, the book containing all the documentation was lost. That meant all the initial efforts were lost. Worse still, no one knows the numbering system that was used. What was left was a mess of some thousands of numbered building blocks.

The latest efforts began a decade ago and is still in progress. The crew is painstakingly scanning each of the blocks and analysing the different pieces using complex software to discover how they fit together. Due to the delicate nature of the restoration work, entry into the temple is limited to certain hours and days of the weak. Since it was a Sunday, the place was closed to visitors. If you wish to see the insides of this broken temple, you’ll have to plan your visit according to its visiting hours.

The walk back to the van led us along the long wall of the Royal Enclosure. Underneath, is a catacomb of pillars and corridors, ideal for a photoshoot and playing hide & seek. The top of the wall reminds me of a long catwalk. Wouldn’t it be interesting to hold a fashion show here?

Trivia:
Most of the statues that you see within Angkor are actually replicas of the originals. The latter have since been removed and placed in Museums for safe keeping and public viewing. This was due in part to the large scale pillaging of the temples. As a matter of fact, the statue of Yama at the Terrace of the Leper King is itself a replica. A very well done copy indeed, as someone had once mistakened it for the real thing and tried to decapitate the statue only to find a steel rod holding the the head in place.