King Suryavarman II

Angkor Wat was built in the first half of the twelfth century by King Suryavarman II to honour the god Vishnu and is unique amongst the temples at Angkor for its west facing facade. It’s an enormous complex of elevated towers, covered galleries, decorated frontons, courtyards, gopuras, stairways and of course, exquisite carvings. There is a large statue of Vishnu, a place of pilgrimage for locals and adorned with flowers and offerings, in the gopura of the outer entrance, The Vishnu statue at the entrance to Angkor Wat.alongwith the first of thousands of delicately carved sandstone apsaras found throughout the temple. Each of Angkor Wat’s apsaras is unique. Elaborate headwear, jewellery, body posture and facial expressions define each one, whether they appear in twos or threes or on their own. Soydy and I continued along the second causeway, 350 metres in length and bordered by a naga balustrade, broken up by ceremonial stairs at regular intervals. We passed by a couple of blind musicians playing flutes and stopped at the two ruined libraries either side of the walkway. A large pool to the left presented us with a magnificent view of all five sanctuary towers reflected in the water and we stopped at a refreshment stand close by for a bottle of cold water before heading for the left-hand corner pavilion of the main temple