[Monday, February 2, 2015]
We gathered at 5:30 for the optional excursion to see the
sunrise over Angkor Wat. Angkor
was the city – almost a million people lived in the Angkor area at the 1100s
when the temple complexes were built.
Wat means temple, so Angkor Wat means the temple of Angkor. Angkor started as a Hindu temple, but sometime in the 1200's, the King converted to Buddhism, so the rest of the country did as well. The temple became Buddhist, but still kept its Hindu influences.
The temple is
surrounded by a large moat, 1.5 KM per side and 150 meters across. The center tower represents Mount Meru,
the home of the Hindu gods. The
moat represents the ocean surrounding the heavens.
Sunrise crowd was unbelievable – about 2000 people, six or
10 rows deep. I found a place off
to the far side and snapped away. The pond in front was filled with blooming water lilies. Magic.
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