Gate – Traveling Mark

Angkor Thom North Gate

Out of 5 gates that afford access to the royal Khmer city of Angkor Thom, only two are heavily trafficked. Being on the Petit Circuit through Angkor Archaeological Park, both South Gate (the busiest one, because it’s also part of the Grand Circuit) and Victory Gate have people passing through them often. Since Angkor Thom North Gate is on the Grand Circuit and off the itinerary vast majority of visitors to Angkor restrict themselves to, it is a much quieter gate than the other two.

Angkor Thom’s square shaped exterior wall has one entrance gate on cardinal point, except from the east wall, which has two – East Gate and Victory Gate. East Gate, even though it’s in the middle of the wall and in line with Bayon, sees very little in terms of traffic because everybody who passes through Angkor Thom simply takes the paved road which was laid to pass through Victory Gate. Yet there still is a gate traffic through which is even scarcer. West Gate is almost totally abandoned and hardly gets any visitors through. Only the most determined explorers who also decide to visit West Mebon (huge water reservoir west of Angkor Thom) take this detour which requires whole day (unless you have motorized transportation) and has very little else to offer.

Needless to say, South and Victory Gates, being the busiest of five have seen more restoration work than the other three gates. North Gate did get restored a bit, but it was one of the gates that was pretty well preserved to begin with. When looting became a profitable past time activity for average Cambodians, many stone giants (Devas on the left and Asuras on the right) adorning the sides of the causeways spanning the dried up moats in front of each gate were vandalized and their severed heads sold to collectors from abroad. Many of the North Gate giants didn’t escape this fate either, leaving this part of the North Gate desperately devastated, but the gate itself remains in pretty good shape.

Nothing otherwise makes the North Gate of Angkor Thom special in any way. It is quieter than South Gate, so if you seek less disturbance from the Cambodian touts of doom, you can find it here. However since all Angkor Thom gates were built to be identical, your best bet for pictures is to stick with the South Gate due to well restored Naga bearing Apsaras and Asuras on either side of the causeway. South Gate also gets many elephants through it which also makes for rather interesting, albeit sad pictures. Like all other gates as well as the towers of Bayon, the North Gate is crowned with the faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara bearing the likeness of king Jayavarman VII who had them build.

Photo: Raw of Asuras Before the North Gate of Angkor Thom

I didn’t spend much time at the North Gate, just passed through it, making only a minute long stop to snap a couple of pictures. By entering Angkor Thom through the North Gate, I returned to the area I had previously explored, so North Gate concluded my adventure on the grand circuit of Angkor. I did a lot that day. It was incredibly hot and I even managed to foil an attempt to have my bicycle stolen. I was ready to start riding back towards Siem Reap where my cozy bed at the Prom Roth Guest House and Ha were waiting for me. I only had one more stop to take – back at Angkor Wat to say “Hi” to the girls and have one more coconut for the energy to ride back after a long and tiring day.

Terrace of the Elephants

Terrace of the Elephants is located immediately to the north of Baphuon. This 300 meters long, 2.5 meters tall stone terrace represents the front of the Royal Palace area, including the Phimeanakas temple and the Sras Srei water reservoir. If you follow the road leading towards the North Gate from the Bayon temple, you will have the Terrace of the Elephants span for over 300 meters along the road on your left hand side. There are five stairways leading up to the terrace, with central stairway being in line with the Victory Way – the road connecting the Royal Palace area with the Victory Gate. Two smaller stairways exist on either side of the central stairway and two more are at either end of the terrace.

The original name of the terrace is unknown, however the reason why it’s been referred to as the Terrace of the Elephants becomes clear as soon as one comes close to it. The walls are covered with carvings of elephants and side stairways are flanked by three-headed elephants with trunks pulling lotus flowers, similar to those found on the South Gate to Angkor Thom.

Photo: Elephant Carvings on the South Wall of the Terrace of the Elephants

Front end wall is for the most part covered in carvings containing hunting scenes with elephants. The sections of the wall between the central stairway and its small side stairways is covered with garudas – mythical bird men known as the vehicles of Hindu god Vishnu, also known for being the mortal enemies of nagas, the seven headed serpents representing rainbows. Alongside garudas, these small sections of walls contain figures of men with lion heads. Both garudas and lion-headed figures are sculpted with their hands raised above their heads and are alternating along the wall.

Photo: Terrace of the Elephants Central Stairway

I got to the Terrace of the Elephants in the early afternoon but because the terrace faces east, I had all the front end carvings as well as the three-headed elephants blackened by the shade. Terrace’s orientation clearly suggests that the best time to visit it is in the morning or anytime before noon – that’s if you want to catch it in the best lighting for photography.

Photo: Stone Lion Guarding the Terrace of the Elephants Faces the Victory Way Intersection

I climbed the central staircase to get on top of the Terrace of the Elephants where balustrades containing naga heads and guardian stone lions decorate the space. This was my access point to the rest of the Royal Palace area including an ancient temple of Phimeanakas, the Sras Srei pond, Preah Palilay and Tep Pranam. I walked back along the north side of the Royal Palace to get to the road where I accessed the Terrace of the Leper King.

There are some fine carvings on the north wall of the Terrace of the Elephants, including the carving of a five headed horse the mythical origins of which are unknown, but the pictures of this one is one of the few I was unable to recover from the formatted memory card after my laptop was stolen.

Photo: Naga Balustrade on Top of the Terrace of the Elephants

Angkor Thom South Gate

Known as Yashodharapura, the South Gate of Angkor Thom is the nearest point of entry to the royal city of Angkor Thom from Angkor Wat (and Siem Reap). There are five entrance gates to Angkor Thom – one at each cardinal point and a Victory Gate, which is on the eastern wall and affords access to the royal palace area, but South Gate is hands down the most popular and the most congested. All of the Angkor Thom gates look virtually the same, but because South Gate is the point of entry for vast majority of visitors to Angkor Thom, this gate is the most complete thanks to extensive restoration works. Just as most tourists do, I started my Angkor adventure with Angkor Wat too (not realizing at the time that it was not a good idea), which had me enter Angkor Thom through South Gate.

The laterite causeway that crosses over the surrounding moat to approach the Angkor Thom South Gate is lined on both sides with a naga (multi-headed serpent) balustrade held in place by statues of Apsaras (gods) on the left, and statues of Asuras (demons) on the right striking a pose resembling the tug of war. These figures previously existed at each of the causeways leading to Angkor Thom but most have been stolen. South Gate is the only one that’s vastly complete. North Gate still has several full figures but other gates were stripped of most of them with only a few remaining. Many of the missing heads along the causeway approaching South Gate have been restored with new ones, while a couple were still missing, waiting to be restored (at the time of my visit). There are 54 figures on each side of the causeway.

Photo: Restored Head of Apsara Figure That was Previously Stolen

The gates themselves, which reach as high as 23 meters (75 feet) are surmounted by a structure with four faces each facing its own cardinal point. This symbolism is seen on many temples built by Jayavarman VII, including Angkor Thom’s state temple Bayon and Banteay Kdei which is on the eastern side of the small circuit. The faces represent the likeness of bodhisattva Lokeshvara, the deity with whom god-king Jayavarman VII identified.

Photo: Head of Apsara Divinity at Angkor Thom South Gate

Base of the South Gate tower is decorated on both sides by a three-headed elephant plucking lotus flowers. The trunks of an elephant form three pillars and are believed to represent Airavata, the mount of Indra. God Indra is the god of the sky and the king of the gods. His presence at each of the gates leading to Angkor Thom reinforces the idea that naga balustrades lining the approach to each of the gates were built to represent a rainbow – in Khmer mythology, rainbows are believed to link the world of men with the world of the gods.

Photo: Head of Naga Whose Body is Held by Asuras in a Tug of War Pose Alongside Causeway Leading to Angkor Thom South Gate

If Angkor Thom was built as a representation of Mount Meru with the moat serving as the sea of milk that surrounds it, then naga balustrades would represent rainbows connecting the world inside of the temple (world of the gods) with the world outside of it (world of men). I was coming from the outside, entering Angkor Thom, world of the gods through the South Gate. I was drenched in sweat, worn out by the heat, but excited to explore the largest Angkor compound still standing.

Photo: 54 Apsaras Hold the Body of Naga at Angkor Thom South Gate

Wat Damnak

I woke up to a new day ready to explore more of Siem Reap’s pagodas. The sun was already baking the air outside which made me happy since it was rainy season in Cambodia, but this was the second day with no rain. Already well aware of how devastating Cambodian sun is, I fortified my skin with natural sun block (as close to organic as it gets), applied powerful mosquito repellent (don’t even bother with anything that contains less than 30% deet – Cambodian mosquitoes are vicious, plentiful and active during all parts of day and night), sat on my mountain bike and off I rode for Wat Damnak.

As always, I used the map provided in Angkor Siem Reap Visitors Guide to find locations of most relevant temples and pagodas in Siem Reap and used it as my main guide in choosing the best itinerary to get me there. Not that it’s in any way difficult, given rather small size of Siem Reap.

Wat Damnak is located near Phsar Chas aka Old Market, just on the opposite side of the Siem Reap river. If you were to take a walk around the Old Market, you would see the stone bridge right on its south-east corner. Take a walk across the bridge and by the time you made it half across, you will see the roof of beautiful Wat Damnak to your slight right.

Photo: Wat Damnak Front Gate with Cables Spoiling the View

Once I was across the river, I just followed the road that seemed to go in the general direction of Wat Damnak and it got me there. The entrance gate was the same way I got used to seeing from other temples I have visited before – magnificent, but spoiled by presence of disorganized bunch of cables which are used to electrify Cambodia. These cables spoil the view of basically every important or nice to look at structure in Cambodia, except from Angkor Wat temples since this part of the country has not yet been electrified. This was driving me up the wall as no matter where you go, you see beautiful temples, but you have no means of finding an angle under which to take a picture so it is not ruined by crap loads of cables cross knitted along each other.

This would have been the second day of Pchum Ben Festival. The 15 days long Festival of the Dead is an important part of Buddhist Khmer culture so during these two weeks I was encountering it on my every step. Pchum Ben was the most prominent within temple grounds. It always involved presence of dozens of monks, very loud traditional Khmer music played from really old loud speakers (awfully painful for the ears) and lots and lots of food and then some more.

Photo: Wat Damnak Vihara, the Prayer Hall

Just as with any Cambodian temple during Pchum Ben festival, there were many people around and lots of traffic in and out. It was a scorching hot day but locals were all nicely dressed and carried bowls with food they’d use as offerings to their dead ancestors and to local monks. I parked my bike by Vihara – the prayer hall. It was close to Wat Damnak’s entrance gate and there seemed to be most commotion happening there. Aside from noticeable crowds, there was also obvious audible effect as Buddhists inside were repeating chants with powerful unison after the leading monk.

RELATED GALLERY:
Wat Damnak Photo Gallery

Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple and Pagoda, Siem Reap, Cambodia

After I have passed the funeral procession that was walking down Pokambor Avenue in Siem Reap, I headed straight north up the avenue, along the Siem Reap River until I got to a bridge which continues as Street 23 on the east side. The bridge was unlike others I have seen in Siem Reap – it looked well maintained, brightly painted with undamaged decorations containing Buddhist symbols. West side of the bridge had a large gate which nicely supplemented the splendour of the gate at the opposite side of the road – the gate to Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple and Pagoda, the largest and most astounding pagoda located directly in Siem Reap town, Cambodia.

Colorful Settings of Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple and Pagoda in Siem Reap

Even though Wat Preah Prom Rath is nothing special when it comes to pagodas, I was attracted to it and found it jaw dropping as it was the first real deal pagoda of this sort I have ever seen. The gate was open and there were people inside, yet I was reluctant to enter. Temples are obviously houses of worship for Buddhists of Cambodia and as many times before – I had no idea what proper etiquette in temples is. The last thing I wanted to do upon my first day in Cambodia is to offend the locals, who are said to be strongly spiritual, closely following the teachings of Buddha.

I stood by the gate, yet nobody seemed to mind my presence, so I allowed the temptation to prevail and stepped right inside the gated and fenced compound of Wat Preah Prom Rath. I was ready to bow down and apologize while pacing my sorry self out of there should I hear someone yelling at me for staining their holy temple with my unworthy presence. But it never happened.

Newly Restored University Building Within the Wat Preah Prom Rath Temple Grounds

Wat Preah Prom Rath is beautiful. Located within quite large area, there were several colourful, oriental looking buildings surrounded by lush, well maintained gardens with palm trees and decorative statues. Several benches placed alongside walkways offer resting spots for weary bodies, while temple itself offers soothing for bothered souls.

As foreigner and obviously Caucasian, I stood out like a sore thumb again, but not only have my presence not bother anyone, many locals, including countless monks offered their greetings and smile to me. It made me feel very welcome and shook off my initial uneasiness as I was uncertain whether entering temples was allowed for the likes of me or not.

I spent a lot of time in the Wat Preah Prom Rath compound and for a moment it became my second home. I grew appreciative of the Buddhists and aside from becoming more spiritual, Wat Preah Prom Rath was also a sanctuary for me as a tourist where I would not be bombarded by money hungry Tuk Tuk drivers and the likes. Wat Preah Prom Rath was a whole different world within Siem Reap, which is otherwise extremely hostile towards tourists giving out strong impression that everyone is after your money, whatever it takes. You are constantly jumped and harassed by just about everyone – straight in your face and never taking “NO” for answer. But these people seem to not exist in Wat Preah Prom Rath – or perhaps they simply respect the pagoda as a holy ground where abuse would surely bring upon bad karma.

Silhouettes of Wat Preah Prom Rath Against Cloudy Skies

History of Wat Preah Prom Rath

While Wat Preah Prom Rath is vastly unspectacular as far as the looks and age are concerned, it is spectacular as far as location goes. Located right in the center of Siem Reap and right by the river, Wat Preah Prom Rath gets far more attention than any other temple or pagoda in Siem Reap.

Wat Preah Prom Rath was founded in 1915 making it one of the younger pagodas in Cambodia. The construction of main vihear was finished in 1945 and today proudly hosts larger than life statue of reclining Buddha. Within the grounds of Wat Preah Prom Rath there are also two cannons which are said to have belonged to famous Cambodian warlord Dap Chhoun.

One of the Cannons that Belonged to Cambodian Warlord Dap Chhoun