Home » Cambodia » Angkor What? Angkor Wat!

At last! Jeff and I had reached the apex of our journey, Siem Reap, home to the famous Angkor Wat. Among all the places to go in Southeast Asia, visiting Angkor Wat was at the top of my to-see list. Angkor Wat lived up to all my expectations with its beauty and grandeur. Others may disagree with my opinion, in fact I am sure many do, due to the influx of tourists and expectations too high. I guess Jeff and I timed it right, meeting little crowds and felt as if we were the few lucky people to wander in and around these temples. Angkor Wat was spectacular. Definitely ranks up there, if not surpassing the temples of Ayutthaya, the Vatican, and the temples of Kyoto.

Angkor What? Angkor Wat!

Casey Lary
2007-04-21 23:36:46

Displayed times (last time: )

people with missing limbs- victims of the landmines that had been planted throughout the Cambodian countryside. Remnants of the brutal history of Cambodia under the rule of the Khmer Rouge still remain. Overall I had a very good first impression of Siem Reap. I could see why my friend Ben enjoyed living there for 8 months working in the hospital. That night Jeff and I headed back early. I could hardly sleep I was so excited to see Angkor Wat. I felt like it was going to be Christmas the next morning!

Day 1 of templing was incredible. The many temples of Angkor were created between the 9-13th centuries to honor past and current kings, and various religious gods. In an attempt to glorify these ruling bodies, Angkor Wat was built- a good way to be remembered if you ask me! All the books say to save Angkor for sunrise, yet Jeff and I realized that if we waited any longer we might burst. We decided to save the tuk-tuk tour for day 2, and the first day navigate ourselves around the temples. Our original plan was to rent bicycles which we thought we could do in the temple complex, but ended up not being able to. If I did it again, I would definitely get bikes one day to ride around to all the temples- hired from numerous companies in Siem Reap. Instead we took tuk-tuks, motos, and walked. First we had to purchase our passes at the steep price of $40 for a 3 day pass! I only hope that the entrance fee goes into preserving the temples, not the hands of the government. Our first stop was Angkor- the largest religious complex in the world. What a sight. Even among all the tourists there at 10 am, it was absolutely amazing, breath-taking, incredible. Yes, you can just buy a postcard of it and it will look similar, but nothing like meandering through the hallways, seeing the architecture and art up close. As soon as we entered the main building I lost Jeff- we have a tendency to do this, and always somehow manage to meet up. I wandered the outer hallway ...