This UNESCO World Heritage site features Khmer architecture and most of what we say was built 12-13th century. The scope of Angkor Wat, the biggest temple complex, is mind boggling - our photos will not do it justice. We spent 3 days touring temples, one day on peddle bikes, and 2 days with the Cambodian version of a tuk-tuk (sorry, can't remember the name) to take us to some more remote sites. Driving through the countryside was as delightful as visiting the temples, although much chillier! The challenge, however, much like in India, is dodging the persistent, relentless, requests to buy souvenirs or eat in someone's shop. This aspect of travel in Cambodia wore us down, in time. Maybe with the end in site, our defenses start to come down.
Day 1 -Angkor Wat early in the morning (we left our hotel, on bikes, at 5:30am):
Heading to Angkor Thom, a complex of numerous temples and terraces, through the South gate (best restored gate. All of these temples have 4 gates - one in each of the cardinal directions. They also have very similar layouts and many have moats).
Bayon Temple - famous for its "big head" statues. It was hot, but stunningly beautiful. A great place to just sit and watch.
Phimeanakas Temple
Baphuon Temple
Day 1 -Angkor Wat early in the morning (we left our hotel, on bikes, at 5:30am):
Heading to Angkor Thom, a complex of numerous temples and terraces, through the South gate (best restored gate. All of these temples have 4 gates - one in each of the cardinal directions. They also have very similar layouts and many have moats).
Bayon Temple - famous for its "big head" statues. It was hot, but stunningly beautiful. A great place to just sit and watch.
Phimeanakas Temple
Baphuon Temple
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| Notice how small Barry is - just to the left of the corner. |
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| Hot, tired, and managing a cold. |
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| Terrace of Elephants |
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Day 2 -Pre Rup: I can no longer set this up on the left! Drive me crazy. And what's with the bold?     Banteay Srey - this is the oldest of all the temples. It was built in the 9th century. It is also the smallest, but has some of the most amazing carvings. Stone is sandstone and laterite, for you geology buffs.         On this 2nd day we also hiked 1.5km up to the river of 1000 lingas. A linga is a rather phallic structure, usually associated with Shiva (we saw LOTS of them in India). I have not posted photos, as ours are not all that great. We also toured an NGO - the Angkor Biodiversity Conservation Centre - a rescue facility for Cambodian animals that have been kept as pets, injured, or confiscated from poachers. Day 3: Ta Prohm        
Angkor Wat revisited. The place is so big and impressive, it is recommended you visit it twice. We are so glad we went back... there are over 600m of stone carved bas reliefs. We walked around the first wall (just after the moat) to enter through the south gate. Nice to get this perspective, plus you see no one.
         
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