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Published: October 13th 2013
Sunday morning we caught a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We had three days to visit the temples at Angkor Wat. Three days really isn't enough but since we were on a tight schedule it was all we could afford. Our tuk-tuk driver from Phnom Penh said his brother drives in Siem Reap so he called ahead and we had a ride waiting for us at the bus station. He gave us a free ride to our hostel and we all agreed he would drive us around all the temples while we were there. There are so many temples and the complex is so large it would be impossible to do it on foot. We thought about renting bicycles which would've been terrible with the heat.
Angkor Wat commonly refers to the entire 400 square kilometer complex but technically speaking Angkor Wat is the largest and most visited temple of the complex. The entire complex represents different capitals of the Khmer Empire dating from the 9th to 15th centuries with Angkor Wat itself being built in the 12th century. Angkor Wat itself has been in continuous or near continuous use since it's construction but many of the other
temples had been abandoned and swallowed by the jungle. I was surprised to see at one temple they had discovered more than 200 Buddhist statues in 2010. I would've been sure all the temples would've either been looted or already discovered by that point.
We started off at Angkor Wat and no sooner than we got there it started raining pretty good. Being inside the temple is not a bad place to be stranded by the rain and it added a nice ambiance to everything. I was very impressed with the intricate details of the statues and bas reliefs. I don't understand how people can carve like that today let alone 1000 years ago. My favorite temple was probably The Bayon with it's massive and serene smiling Buddhist faces.
A few of the temples had monkeys hanging around as well. They were fun to watch and not very shy. Not surprising there were a few tourists feeding them, which probably isn't very wise. Everyone in Singapore laughed when I told them I was excited to see wild monkeys for the first time. They warned me to watch out because the monkeys will steal cameras, sunglasses, and hats. I
was secretly hoping one would steal Bryan's glasses so I could get a good laugh.
I was initially concerned about visiting the temples during the rainy season but in the end I'm glad we did. It really didn't rain that much and when it did it only lasted half an hour or so. Another major upside was that the droves of tourists aren't there. We didn't have the place to ourselves by any means but it was never difficult to get pictures without people in them. I had heard horror stories about the massive crowds and roads jammed with tour buses that comes with peak season.
Siem Reap has a nice museum as well. They have on display many of the statues and some of the lintels from above the doors from Angkor. I'm sure many of the statues would either be gone or damaged if they'd staid in the temples and sadly, acid rain is destroying the fine details on many of the carvings.
Our hostel was pretty nice. The Mad Monkey. I think our room was like $16 a night for two beds, AC, private bathroom, and small balcony. The hostel had a nice bar
on the roof which was all beach themed with sand on the floor and hammocks and lounge chairs around. We would wrap up our nights there watching the hustle and bustle below. They also had a great restaurant where one could get a great meal for $2 or $3. I've eaten very little western food since coming to Singapore so I loaded up on cheeseburgers while I was there.
On Wednesday night we began our nightmare journey to Sihanoukville (ok nightmare may be a bit strong but it wasn't much fun)...
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cathy
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Great update Ben. The temples look beautiful - to see in person what was built so many years ago. And the challenges they faced in making such works of art. Now I want the rest of the story. Love you!