Angkor Wat and the Temples of Angkor



Angkor Wat


In the past two days since arriving in Siem Reap I've been going to visit Ankor Wat and the various other temples in the area. On the first day I got my own tuk tuk driver for the day. He was a nice local chap called Chives whose sister works at the guesthouse im staying in.

What I didn't realise is that besides Angkor Wat there are a large number of other temples all in the same surrounding area and these temples aren't like the ones ive been seeing to date... there huge!





Bayon Temple

 Naturally the first temple I went to was Angkor Wat. I have read that going in peak season can be quite stressful however as its off season I got lucky and there was not too many tourists there. As you can imagine the Angkor Wat is a very impressive place. The grounds are huge and the detailed carvings on the walls are great.

After this Chives took me to a place called Angkor Thom which is an area a few square miles in size that contained a number of other temples. The next one on the list was the Bayon temple which I think is my favourite one and in my opinion more impressive than Angkor Wat.



Faces on the Bayon temple


It looks like a pile of rocks from the distance but when you get up close there are hundreds of carved faces and other drawing. It also had a number of floors to the temple and you were allowed to go pretty much to the top.

After this I was take to a number of other temples including Preah Palilay, Phimeanakas and one other that was in the middle of a jungle. Since it was abandoned for a number of years it had been reclaimed and had trees growing all over it.

Temple in the Jungle

This particular temple was used in the Tomb Raider films and we were shoewn the very step where Angelina Jolie stood for the photo shoot which was used on all the posters.

One good thing about Cambodia is since the health and safety laws are pretty relaxed they let you climb all over the temples. I think this really adds to the experience even though it is a little dangerous. Some of the steps are so steep that you actually have to use your hand to climb up them.

On the second day I hired a bicycle and went to a handful of temples it was a 13k ride there but I missed the turning and must have cycled for another 10k before realising. It was pretty hot and by the time I got home I was pretty knackered. One of the temples I did see was called Preah Ko which was again huge.

On my ride home a local on a moped pulled up next to me and started chatting, he rode with me for the last 5k home but it turns out he works at the Orphanage which i remembered cycling past earlier . Conversation eventually turned to football and I told him about my refereeing, he invited me to come and referee a game for the kids at the orphanage in the next few day. Im not sure I'll be able to do it because im getting a bit pushed for time but Ive got his details and he asked me to call him if I could.



Preah Ko



I really like Siem Reap and Cambodia. The above is a great example of how friendly the people are. Ive been on a few nights out with a guy I met back in Pakse who happened to be here and we have always ended up chatting to lots of locals as and playing pool against them. Im going to stay in Siem Reap for a few more days before moving on. I want to get up and see the sunrise at Angkor Wat tomorrow but this means a 4:30am start. We will see!!