"Thousand peaceful faces of The King " a Angkor Thum Travel Page by ukirsari

To protect the people of Khmer after Chams' [Vietnam] invasion, King Jayavarman VII built a new capital called 'Angkor Thom'; The Magnificent or Great City. This place is about 10 square km and enclosed by square wall; 8 m height and 12 km length plus encircled by moat 100 m wide with crocodiles inside.
Welcome to this beautiful ancient city of Khmer! By passing the gateways --Angkor Thom has 5 monumental gates: north, south, west, east and Victory Gate-- you can feel how the King protected his people in the past. See the 20 m height monuments which carved with face of Buddha [Boddhisatva Avalokitesvara] in every side --some people also say; this is symbolizing King Jayavarman VII himself as a Maharaja [God-King], then decorated elephant trunks sculpture below. The faces of Buddha to the four directions mirroring King Jayavarman VII will take care and keep an eye to the Khmers forever ....

"Nona, apakah Anda mau paket tour Lara Croft?" seorang tukang ojek menyapa saya pagi-pagi di Siem Reap, kota kecil yang berlokasi 7 km dari Angkor Wat di Kamboja.
"What?" saya tak dapat menahan geli mendengar nama paket wisata yang ia tawarkan.
"Ini semacam wisata napak tilas syuting Angelina Jolie di Kamboja. Saya juga bisa memotret Anda sedang bergelayutan di akar pohon atau keluar dari reruntuhan kuil persis Lara Croft," lanjut pria itu ramah. Ia pakai motor Honda Dream 125 cc. "Hanya USD10 sehari, tidak termasuk tiket masuk kompleks Angkor."
Ya, nama Angkor Wat memang 'menghangat' lagi gara-gara dipakai sebagai salah satu lokasi pembuatan Lara Croft II: The Cradle of Life. "Banyak yang mengira, syuting cuma mengambil latar Angkor Wat, padahal tidak," cerita Sideth, guide saya selama berwisata ke kompleks kuil agung peninggalan kerajaan Khmer kuno itu.
* Taken from my own article at a local magazine, Jakarta October 2003*

Translation:
“Good morning Madame, do you want to pay visit as tour de Lara Croft,” I heard a driver saying friendly in front of my guest house early morning. In Siem Reap, small-a bit dusty- town about 7 km away from the Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

“What?” I couldn’t stop my smile while hearing his explanation. Lara Croft, Angelina Jolie’s! It’s unusual tour package by the way, named after a blockbuster movie on Hollywood.

“Yeah, I mean that. It’s kinda a footprint what did she do at Cambodia on shooting scenes. You can even hanging on the roots or facing to the entrance on the temples as a real Lara Croft,” he epxlained more, bring his Honda Dream 125 cc. “Only 10 dollar per day without entrance fee to Angkor.”

Well, the name of Angkor Wat became a hot topic [again] since the blockbuster Lara Croft II: The Cradle of Life took shooting in Cambodia. "Many people think that the scenes took places only at Angkor Wat. But in real, so many places around Angkor Thom were used too. Like Ta Phrom,” telling Sideth, my dear guide about this ancient city of Khmer.
* Taken from my own article at a local magazine, Jakarta October 2003*