Angkor Wat: Being There.

If a picture paints a thousand words, it would still be not enough to describe the grandeur of the Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Though the pictures I’ve seen of it doesn’t entice me at all, it has always been on the lists as a must place to visit of every travel enthusiasts – that was the reason I wanted to go there. And so I did… and it is awesome. Built in 12^th century this structure is known as the largest religious monument in the world and considered as the powerful symbol of Cambodia. It’s hard to imagine how the ancient people put up this massive temple. It’s like a small city made of rocks… a giant building-blocks puzzle of rocks. Now I understand the said lists. These photos I took won’t give you the amazing wonderment I felt while stepping on those enormous rocks and being there.

A small temple along the walk way of the entrance can be seen.

One of the causes for its fame is the extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes.

What’s on top of most of the doorways.

The inner walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Looks like a 75 degrees stairway… so steep.

Details one wall.

A detailed bas-relief decoration of outdoor walls.

I heard from one tourist that this used to be open for the people to climb.

Most of the pillars/columns inside the temple have bas relief decorations.