As promised, my companion post to the one about Siem Reap. Angkor Wat was the true attraction of our short trip to Cambodia, so I figured it deserved it's own post. We decided that a 3-day pass for $62 (the first price increase in >20 years from $40 made two months ago) worked best for how long we had in the country. If you're wondering by the seemingly extra $2, that is a donation that goes to a Children's foundation.
First, I will list the temples we visited, and then at the end I will explain the context in which we saw them:
Angkor Wat - The main temple in the eyes of most, it did not disappoint. Sunrise was worth it, and incredibly beautiful. Then we learned about the various carvings and the stories they told. We got to climb up to a special area where even the Cambodian people don't go very often (they leave it for the tourists).
Angkor Thom/Bayon - In its prime, Angkor Thom was an amazing walled city. Throughout our visits we traveled through three of its four gates. Bayon is a central temple/palace structure with more carvings. There are various terraces and smaller temples surrounding it that we saw on our drives through the area. Here we learned more about the ways these temples were built; thanks to some handy models used by all the guides.
Ta Keo - A spontaneous pit stop, we asked to climb Ta Keo to see the view it provided. We would see a better one later, but it was still worth the climb and the breeze we enjoyed at the top.
Ta Prohm - Arguably one of the best, and Kerry's favorite, this temple is known for the "Tomb Raider tree", a strangler fig featured prominently in the Angelina Jolie movie filled on site. It was overcrowded with large tourist groups and many people desperate to get their picture with this tree. We agreed that it would be best enjoyed in the early morning or during the lunch hour, when others were busy elsewhere.
Banteay Srei - This temple is a 1 hour drive from Siem Reap, but worth it in my opinion. It is very small, and was crowded when we went. However, it is a beautiful burnt red, a stark contrast to the colors seen at the main temple complexes. It is surrounded by a small moat, as many of them are, which I imagine would be a bit more impressive in the rainy season.
Kbal Spean - Don't be misled, this is not a temple. However; it requires the same pass as the temples do, so it is included with them. It is past Banteay Srei, and involves a medium difficulty 1.5 km hike. There were some cool carvings, and a small waterfall. However we were exhausted to the point of not being interested in fighting the other tourists for our turn in the water. Compared to the waterfall outside of Chiang Rai, I would say this one was not worth it. But maybe if we had a guide or more knowledge of the carvings it would have been more informative.
Phnom Bakeng - This is the place to be at sunset, apparently. If you want to fight with other tourists for the perfect view. We did it first thing in the morning, and shared it with 2 other people. 360 degree views of the area were well worth the walk and the climb. You can ride an elephant up, but I hope no one does, as these seats are painful for elephants and they should not be ridden this way.
Preah Khan - This temple is surrounded by a moat, and had three accesible gates. The most interesting this that I remember was the grecian style area off to the side of the east entrance, unexplainably appearing as if it came out of Hercules.
Neak Poan - Our tuk tuk driver called this one the Royal Hospital, but the guidebook made no mention of that. It was a bit unimpressive, maybe because the small moat/cistern areas were almost dry. The walk up across a large reservoir was definitely the best part of this temple.
Ta Som - Home to the "most iconic photo", this temple is relatively unassuming. You can't even find the photo you're looking for unless you head through a back gate and turn around. As a prize, you are harassed by children trying to sell you things, although this is common to all of the temples not just Ta Som.
Pre Rup - The final climb, literally. This was a hot sunny experience that left us happy to return to our aircon lodgings. However it had beautiful carvings, a nice view, and made for a good photo-op.
There are many ways to see these temples, and we probably could have seen more in a better climate (you can only sweat so much before needig rest and relief).
Day 1: We prebooked an English speaking guide, guaranteeing that we see the 3 big ones on the list (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Phrom). Most importantly, we would see Angkor Wat at sunrise. We were picked up by a minibus similar to our Chiang Rai ride at 4:40 am. The guide's English was difficult to understand at times, but he was nice and knew a lot about the temples. Ta Keow was an added bonus as we drove by and decided to stop. We ended our day earlier than we had planned (after being up for 8 hours, mind you) so that we could eat a cheap lunch at the guesthouse and go back to sleep for an afternoon nap.
Day 2: We organized a trip with one of the tuk tuk drivers from our guesthouse. We rode 1 hour to Banteay Srei, and then another 30 minutes to Kbal Spean. We stopped for a marked up tourist lunch, and then visited the Landmine Museum (see my Siem Reap post).
Day 3: Using our tuk tuk driver's services again, we returned to the main complex to visit the remaining temples on the list. It was good to drive past the temples from day 1 again, more rested and in an open-air vehicle.
If we had a driver for the whole time for one flat rate, maybe we would have returned in the evenings. We were often chased away by the heat, hunger, or the growing midday crowds. But once back in our aircon lodgings, it was hard to want to slather on the bug spray and go back out there, even just for dinner. There are many more temples to be explored, but I think we got to see a good number with the time we had.
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