We couldn’t visit Siem Reap without going to see Angkor Wat, the famous Hindu turned Buddhist temples dating back as far as the 9th century and as recent as the 15th century. The temples sit on 400 square km of land and are the largest religious temples in the world. Angkor Wat is the name of the complex and also one of the most famous temples in the complex. Siem Reap is home to thousands of temples, the complex of Angkor Wat itself is made up of hundreds of different temples, of which we visited only four. But, it took the whole day, I cannot imagine how long it would take to visit all of them!
We had heard that it was possible to hire a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the park, but instead we opted for a tour company where we would get a guide as well. Whether or not that was the right decision I could argue either way. One thing I wish someone had told us was that it is not just a historical site, it is still a temple that is in use and I needed to be in pants and a tee-shirt. I was in a tank top and shorts, but I had brought a scarf to cover my shoulders with and ended up buying some cute elephant pants at the exorbitant park price of $3.00. A scarf has been sufficient for the all of the churches/temples/mosques that I have toured.
However, at Angkor Wat I was told that scarves were not allowed, it was a t-shirt or nothing. So unfortunately, I missed out of some parts of the temples. Our guide was very nice, but harbored some residual anger at the US for bombing Cambodia in the 1970’s and after asking where we were from (and then asking if we had a lot of money) he made several pointed remarks on the subject to us.
Our van picked us up around 8:30am and after picking up a few more people (for a total of 9 people in our group) we headed to the temples. We started at the famous Angkor Wat.
We toured the numerous levels of Angkor Wat which was so amazing. For being so old, they are so well preserved. We enjoyed it immensely! Our guide had just received his master’s in Cambodian history (after retiring from being a monk- I thought that was a lifetime commitment! Apparently, that is not the case) and he took great pride in telling us stories about the temples and the intricate wall carvings throughout the temple.
The Churning of the Milk Sea in bas relief
Next up we visited Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom was not quite as well preserved as Angkor Wat, but that does not make it any less cool to see. Trees have grown up through the temples and become almost part of the temples themselves, sometimes the trees seem to be the only thing holding the temples together anymore, which is really quite impressive and gives them a completely unique look and feel.
This was definitely my favorite temple. We were quite lucky to see the trees like this, our guide explained, as UNESCO plans call for the removal of the trees (which pose a danger of knocking down the temples in a storm) to preserve the temples. One of the most iconic images of Angkor Thom is a rock face with tree branches snaking through it, that has recently been restored and the rock face is now just a rock face. Still cool!
Next up was a mediocre, over priced lunch. Our guide first warned us about the dangers of eating street food, laughed uproariously at the thought of the damage it would do to our digestive systems and then dumped us at a wildly expensive restaurant near the temples, surrounded by other expensive restaurants and street food. However, after lunch, we visited Bayon.
Bayon was made from a different kind of sandstone than Angkor Wat and was not in great condition. However, it was great fun to explore the different levels and enjoy the numerous towers, all covered with faces that made up Bayon.
We had a quick stop to use the bathroom and enjoy the South Gate next. We were unable to enjoy the south gate, however, because we found ourselves very distracted. By elephants! It was a tourist trap, of course, but so cool nonetheless. It was possible to take elephant rides through the park, and this was the place to do it. We had no interest in a ride and the elephant handlers were more than happy to let us just pet the elephants. We got to pet elephants!!!
They are very solid, very leathery and a lot hairier than I expected, their trunks had lot of wiry hair. They also have these beautiful, expressive eyes and are just so flippin cool! And, wouldn’t you know it, there was a stand right nearby that just happened to be selling bananas.
We bought some and fed the elephants bananas! So awesome and probably the highlight of the day (sorry, temples!)
After our elephant encounter we went to visit the last temple of the day, Ta Prohm, which was, our guide told us, on the top of a Cambodian mountain. The mountain turned out to barely be a hill. Unfortunately, this temple was another temple where no scarves were allowed, so I have nothing to report about it. One member of our group reported it being the single most beautiful place he has ever had the privilege of seeing. I think (and hope!) he was just joking since he told us he actually just spent most of his time up there looking for some shade. I think by the end of the day, we were all a little templed out. Our van dropped us off again in Pub Street at around 7pm. Hot, sweaty and exhausted we had some dinner at a Tapas bar and then went home, scrubbed the dirt and the sweat off and went to bed!
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