• Home
• About

Angkor Wat (Cambodia)

Posted on September 25, 2007

We gave Cambodia the short shrift on this trip in order to have more time in Vietnam. In retrospect, this was kind of a bad decision as we felt that we spent a little too much time in Vietnam and certainly did not spend enough in Cambodia. As it was, we went to Cambodia for 5 days and focused the trip entirely on the ruins at Angkor Wat, staying nearby in the town of Siem Reap. What you can you say about Angkor Wat without sounding cheesy and starstruck? Nothing really. It was life-changing, incredible, something everyone should do, amazingly beautiful. Does it convey the magnitude of awesomeness to tell you that we took over 600 photos of the place? Maybe and maybe not. Just take my word that if you have any amount of time in your life that you could possibly meld into a trip to Cambodia to see the ruins, DO IT.

We have mercifully edited down our photo collection to about 50 of our favorite images, but even these don’t do justice to the mystical quality of the place. How can a site that is 1200 years old be absolutely exciting? I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with the size and quality of the architecture and sculpture combined with the gorgeous natural surroundings. All you have to do is look at the grin on my face in roughly 100% of our pictures (despite the fact that it was about 90 deg with total humidity every day) to see how thrilled I was with the experience. Even Gregor, who warned me on the first day of our 3 day temple trek that I would likely be touring the rest of the ruins alone the last 2 days, was totally taken with the complex - and yes happily toured all three days.

A little bit about Angkor; it’s an enormous temple complex that contains over 1,000 individual ruins. Most temples are at least 5-10 km apart with some far flung examples being over 70km from the most famous single temple, Angkor Wat proper. The whole area is a Unesco world heritage site and you pay for either a 1 day, 3 day, or 7 day pass. Gregor and I went for the 3 day and hired a modified tuk-tuk and driver (the affable Kun) to show us around the temples. It’s really impossible to walk between the sites and the few hardy souls we saw on rented bicycles looked absolutely miserable in the heat. Cambodia wisely doesn’t let tourists drive motorcycles so the only way to go is by vehicle + driver.

The first day pulling into the temple complex is something I will never forget. We approached the famous South Gate - the gates are almost as impressive as the temples at Angkor - and the scene was like something out of a novel or film. People riding elephants up to the gates, hawkers shouting about their wares, the vines and greenery of the jungle surrounding us, monkeys, moats, and as a backdrop to it all the massive ancient architecture. It was one of those amazing travel moments when your brain goes on pleasure overload. I think I was utterly taken with the place from then on and this post could run to several pages if I really described everything so instead I’ll just give and overview and stress one more time that you really must go yourself sometime, somehow.

The highlights:
Bayon Temple: The one with the big faces where G and I posed with some traditionally clothed Cambodians. Awesome mostly because it was the first temple we explored.
Ta Prohm: Temple that looks like a set from an Indiana Jones movie. The trees and vines are simultaneously destroying this temple and holding it together. Amazing, romantic scenery.
Angkor Wat: The Mommy of them all. So beautiful from the smallest detail on the most incidental carving to the harmony and grace of overall design and structure. I really fell in love with the ‘Apsaras’ or bas relief dancing girls. Over 1800 of them adorn the walls at Angkor Wat and each is totally unique.
Banteay Srei: Miniature peach-colored temple about 35km from the main complex. The carving here was just amazing and we saw a chameleon blending in with the rock. What more could you ask for?

Along with the temples, we also enjoyed the town of Siem Reap. It’s a place that’s made for travelers, with many restaurants, shops and bars. We whiled away each night after temple exploring sitting in a different open air establishment, resting our feet and discussing what we’d seen. For a town that basically exists to serve the tourist attraction nearby, Siem Reap and its residents were really a treat and made us wish we’d assigned more time to experiencing the rest of Cambodia.

Luckily (hopefully!), life is long and we will return.

Or, check out the flickr slideshow

Comments