Terrace of the Elephants and Leper King
October 16th, 2007 by Sean
We walked a short distance from the Bayon to the causeway leading to the Baphuon temple which is being restored – unfortunately closed. On our way we see this beautiful Buddha statue and some monks praying. Erin offers a donation and places incense at its feet.
Along the causeway we spot some locals who are fishing with nets in the man made pools on each side. I failed to get a pic of them catching anything – but their strategy was pretty cool to watch. It is worth noting that it is hot – REALLY HOT!. With the humidity we are talking over 48 degrees. Its kinda like being caught in the rain.. once you are fully soaked (in this case with sweat) it stops bothering you so much. Despite the humidity – nothing can compete with the hot-ness of Erin – check her strutting her stuff on the world’s oldest and coolest runway…
On the end of the causeway is the famous Terrace of the Elephants – a giant viewing stand for public ceremonies, it served as the ‘base for the king’s grand audience hall’ (LP). Spectacular carvings on a huge wall which seems to be holding back the ravaging jungle from the adjacent open field. You can imagine how much more impressive they would be if the tusks were still attached. There is little more I can say besides how impressive it was… lets let the pictures do the talking.
Side note – the street which cuts through the complex has some interesting scenes that you would never find in Canada. Besides the actual elephants and monkeys you have guys on bicycles with dead pigs strapped to their backs – headed to market in town. Here I caught 2 bikes with sugar cane strapped to the back, in the background are the concubine towers and the signs indicating the directions of the nearest temples.
Across the field, in an eerie lost and forgotten arrangement reminiscent of scenes from Lord of the Rings, are the towers where the concubines lived. These were several hundred yards away form the entrance to the King’s residence and one can only assume spread far enough apart to prevent fighting. Standing on the terrace of the Leper King, one cannot help but think “talk about your walk of shame…”
On the far side of the wall is the Terrace of the Leper King – named for the ‘nude though sexless statue’ thought to represent one of at least two known Angkorian kings that suffered from leprosy and lost several vital, sex-defining appendages. It also housed the royal crematorium. The most magnificent part of this terrace is that there is a hidden terrace that was hidden when the outer wall was built. As a result, one can wander into a perfectly preserved hallways with sage apsaras (five layers high in some places) grinning wisely down upon you. The Apsara are perfectly preserved and again one is struck by how lucky we were to be able to see it up close and even touch it. No barriers or yellow lines here… Again, let’s let the pictures do the talking.
Following the Terrace of the Leper King, we were off to our most anticipated destination – Ta Prohm. A temple consumed by jungle and place famous for its other-worldly appeal in the Tomb Raider movie….
