Cambodia II ( Angkor Thom )

After letting the happenings of this trip sink for some time, its time to surface it again. To be able to enjoy what has really left for us in Angkor Wat, one must really love real rock climbing besides being physically fit and has a good health condition. Know why? The ancient stairs are steep, excruciatingly steep. However, its still nothing compared to the stairs leading up to the peak of Wu Yi Mountain in Fu Jian, China. :D

Wooden stairs for beginners.

Rock stairs for adventurous and experienced people. ;D

I climbed it obviously. Since I was there, why not enjoy everything which was laid out to me? Took a picture as memory after climbing the rock stair. Mind you, this is not the only steep rock stair in Angkor Thom.

Back to the elephant terrace. You have to take a look at the staggering carvings on the rocks which are stacked up systematically during the ancient times. The way they handle the rocks remain unfathomable like how ancient Egyptians built the wondrous pyramids in Egypt. Without technologies like the crane, how can they possibly lift and stack the gigantic stone structures?

Once again, I conquered yet another steep tower...

Tips : For people who are petrified of height, DO NOT look down when you are climbing and DO NOT stand so close to the edge to look down upon reaching the top. Your knees will wobble vigorously. :) If you want to make fun of these kind of people, this is the greatest opportunity. * evil laughs *

After all the climbing chaos, its time to head to a place where one of the top rated action scenes were taken place few years back * drum roll * -----> Tomb Raider Cambodia Angkor Wat scene! Ha! It was the big, archaic tree which left a grave effect on the ancient temple which impeded us from wondering whether was the scene taken in the studio or was it really taken in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

When I set eyes on the entire place, engulfing the condition on how the archaic trees easily blend into the building structures, I was dumbfounded. My jaw dropped to my collarbone, my eyes wide open as if I saw ghost, it was just astounding. Some of the trees are big and heavy enough to crush the strong structures down!

Before proceeding to the famous tree, take a glimpse of the last Buddha face left in the entire temple.

Note : At a certain period, the king of Angkor decided to change the country's religion from Buddhist to Hindu so he made craftsmen scrape off all of the Buddha faces replacing them with the Hindu Gods. ;D