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

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that Ottawa was the capitol of America. Clearly they are all taught this in school, as they ALL were able to spout off the same geography facts that we had trouble remembering. In attempt to beat these kids at their own game without being rude, avoid purchases and to stop them from pestering us, Jeff and I started to ask them questions. Instead of talking to us, we were the ones asking them questions about their families and hobbies. Once out of the 'buy our stuff or die' mentality, these kids were pretty darn cute. They ended up getting tired of our questions! Haha-mission accomplished! I did end up buying a bracelet from a girl, succumbing to her desperation to sell, and I must admit I absolutely love it, and is probably my favorite souvenir- I am even wearing it right now as I type this. Definitely much cooler wearing it in Cambodia (kind of like how hemp and lanyards are cool at summer camp but no where else). Still find myself wearing it to remember the good times in Cambodia. We finished off our leisurely day at the Bayon. We ran into a group of monks who were more excited to take our photo than we were to take theirs. The Bayon was my favorite stop of the day. This temple has the huge iconic faces everywhere, majestically adorning the numerous towers of the Bayon. Absolutely amazing. We reached the Bayon just before sunset, catching some incredible lighting that lit up the faces. We limited the number of temples we visited to prevent being templed-out. We had a three-day pass and intended to make good use of it. That night we went to a Khmer Dinner with the Aussie/Kiwi/American AND Canadian crew- we met up with our fellow JETs, Jane and Evania! It was incredible to see them and caught up on all our crazy travel adventures so far.

Day 2 of templing started at 4:30 am. Our tuk-tuk picked us up and we were headed to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I don't know where there were more people at 4:30 in the morning- Angkor Wat or hiking Mt. Fuji. ...