Pre-dawn field trip. Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 20 miles, approximately 2 hours total throughout day. Walking about 2.5 miles; periods of standing; gravel and grass paths, paved streets, many steep stairs without handrails; hot, humid weather. Legs and upper arms should be covered at temples, and hats removed.
Breakfast:
Hotel buffet.
Morning:
We will set out before dawn by motorcoach with a local expert to experience the sunrise over this beautiful city on our way to explore Angkor Wat, the most famous wat (temple) from the Khmer period and the largest religious monument in the world. Our local expert will discuss the symbolic meanings of the architecture of this monument that took from approximately 1116-1150 CE to construct. Never completely finished, it was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. Scholars have estimated that it required 300,000 workers from architects to construction workers, masons, sculptors, and a food corps. Next, we will walk along the causeway approach and go inside Angkor Wat, where we’ll examine some of the extensive bas-relief friezes depicting scenes from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. The total length of the temple friezes can be measured in miles—the depiction of the Battle of Kurukshetra alone is more than 160 feet long. Not only are the reliefs a tremendous human achievement in themselves, they also provide a rare and fascinating insight into the material world of the temple-builders, as most of their artefacts and structures were made of perishable materials that have not survived in the archaeological record. We will return to the hotel for breakfast, then move on through this beautiful countryside to Angkor Thom, the last capital and fortified city of the Khmer empire, and Prasat Bayon. While there are similarities, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are different in architecture, decoration, design, and purpose. Built nearly a century after Angkor Wat, it was a Buddhist shrine as well as the royal seat, richly decorated with priceless images and figures of people and gods. Angkor Thom was in a state of physical decline until restoration projects began around 1996. After the field trip, we’ll continue by motorcoach to our lunch venue.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant in Siem Reap.
Afternoon:
We’ll return by motorcoach to the hotel for free time there. In the early evening, we’ll board a motorcoach and ride to our dinner venue.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
After returning to the hotel by motorcoach, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and our flight to Yogyakarta tomorrow.