The Faces of Angkor Thom

Siem Reap, Cambodia -- Day 2

We woke to rainy grey skies and, surprisingly, a few morning fireworks. Len told us yesterday that the mayor had died and the first celebratory volley of pyrotechnics had gone up at 12:30AM. Apparently, they had a few left over, which they sent up at 7:30AM!

Today, we set our temple sights on the largest and most recent of the ancient complexes, Angkor Thom. Built in the late 1100’s by King Jayavarman VII, the massive city gates and three-tiered central temple are adorned with giant stone faces.

Not the king, but warrior faces outside the city to scare off invaders

With four faces on each stone tower of the central temple, Bayon, there are a grand total of 216 serenely smiling and somewhat ominous visages stare down over the structure and surrounding area. Whether they represent the buddhist god of compassion or the king himself, it makes little difference since the rulers of the day typically considered themselves one of the gods. In spite of the crowds and high humidity (some of the tourists could definitely have used a shower), this was one of our favorite spots.

After lunch and snapping picture of the many colorful butterflies, we headed home in anticipation of the evening's entertainment, a trip to the Cambodian circus. The performance troup is made up entirely of underprivileged youth from near the city of Battambang. In the 90’s a concerned man bought some swampland, drained it, and built a small school. It started exclusively as an arts school -- painting and music -- but later added acrobatics to help harness the high energy of the many young students. The result is a unique blend of Cambodian music and dance paired with acrobatics a la Cirque Du Solei and a bit of comic relief thrown in as well. The tent was small and intimate with the stage no more than sixty feet in diameter. Though I'm not sure we followed the entire story line, it hardly mattered. With jumps, flips and feats of strength, it was fun, funny and kept us all thoroughly entertained. Dex and Kylie were only too happy to pose with the group for a quick shot after the show. I highly recommend it.