The Temples of Angkor

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January 23rd 2011

Published: January 23rd 2011

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Katha Turbostern

Temples of Angkor 1

The gate to Angkor Thom, a city that used to have up to 10,000 inhabitants.

We just spent five days in the city of Siem Reap, which is close to the Temples of Angkor. So it is a good base for visiting the temples. They were built between the 9th and the 14th century and are most amazing. Most of them are still in very good condition, considering the fact that they have been there for more than 1,000 years. Some of them have been re-conquered by nature, with bushes and trees growing between the walls. Angkor Wat is probably the most well-known of the temples, but it is only one, and there are many more. They are up to 60 kilometres apart. Most of them, however, lie within a circle of a couple of kilometres so that you can visit several of them in one day.

Mizzi and I hired a tuk-tuk on our first day (which costs 15 dollars) and did the "inner circuit", the temples that are closest together. Amongst them is Angkor Wat, but also Angkor Thom, which used to be a city with up to 10,000 inhabitants with a big temple (Bayon) in its centre. There is the Baphuon, a big pyramid, and the Elephant Terrace, which was used for

Temples of Angkor 2

The Bayon, the temple in the centre of the city of Angkor Thom. It is Buddhist.

processions. My favourite one is Ta Prohm because it has something mysterious (all of the temples do, but this one does in particular), overgrown by trees and bushes. Apart from these, we visited a number of other temples (hard to remember their names) and climbed so many steep stairs that we were really exhausted in the end of the day.

The second day, we booked a tour to a floating village. During the rainy season, the water level is up to eight metres above the level during the dry season. So houses are built on stilts so the water does not go in when it is high. The bus took us to such a village, and there we boarded a boat that took us to the Tonle Sap where we visited the floating village of Kompong Kleang. People there built their houses on boats so that they can float with the water. After having a look around, the boat took us back to the village on stilts, where we had lunch, and then back to Siem Reap.

The following three days were dedicated to the Temples of Angkor again. On Friday, we hired a tuk-tuk and an English-speaking

Temples of Angkor 3

Carving of an Apsara, a divine dancer, in the Bayon.

guide who took us around the "outer circuit" and explained a lot about the temples to us. In the evening, we rode up to the temple of Phnom Bakheng on an elephant and watched the sunset from the top of the hill. The day after, we shared a tuk-tuk to two other temples with two women from the U.S., Geena and Phillis. The first temple we visited was Banteay Srei, about 1.5 hours north of Siem Reap. It has beautiful carvings. Afterwards, we went to Kbal Spean. This is not a temple, but rather some carvings in a riverbed. In order to get there, you have to climb up some rocks (about 1.5 km), a beautiful walk.

Today, we did the most remote of the temples, Beng Mealea, about 60 km from Siem Reap. By tuk-tuk, the journey takes about 2 hours one way. The temple could very well serve as a scenery for an Indiana Jones movie! On our way back, we stopped at the Roluos Group, some temples that are slightly older and less well conserved, but still worth visiting.

Altogether, these temples are some of the most amazing monuments I've ever seen. And just imagine

Temples of Angkor 4

One more view of the Bayon.

how old they are, and they are still there and most beautiful.

Now, we're back at our hostel. We will have dinner later on and then catch the night bus to Pnom Penh.

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