1 post tagged “angkor wat”
I attended some of the Ogilvy team's regional meeting today in Siem Reap. They have a theme of flying pigs called the Festival of Ideas borne on banners throughout the city. Clearly a nod to the Year of the Pig and the "until pigs fly" adage. Since I am only here till Sunday morning and am jammed into sessions for the next two days, dawn till dusk, I ducked out to visit Angkor Wat and the surrounding ruins.
Meet Say. He was my guide. Mr. T was our driver. Thank God (or more appropriately, thank Buddha or Vishnu), for these two guys. They shuttled me around and were ever so helpful. A series of kings from about 800-1400 built the various temples and cities around Angkor Wat. There are three kings in particular that stand out from the crowd. One of them - Jayavarman II - is responsible for building the best preserved ruin - Angkor Wat in just 37 years. I also visited Angkor Thom and The Bayon. These last two are the handiwork of #VII. At some point the kings moved from Hinduism to Buddhism which is evident in symbols through the ruins.
Anyhow, I always picture the ruins deep in the jungle. They are of course right beside the main roads here. Still, for me, they are a tremendous sight to behold. Say tricked me into walking up to the third level of AW. He didn't come. Let me tell you - it is steep and high and I am afraid of heights. I was like a granny clutching the flimsy handrail on the way down.
The precision of the engineering, the relentless bas-reliefs, and the scale are tremendous. So much to see in this world. Makes me feel like a part of the human race again.
Big heads.
