Angkor What? Two days of temples

---

We arrived in Siem Reap by bus from Laos at around midnight. We hopped in a tuk tuk with 2 others in search for some accommodation which proved to be more difficult than we thought. We usually book a room before arriving anywhere but decided not to after speaking to lots of other travellers saying its better and cheaper to find somewhere once you arrive. Unfortunately for us the one other time we did this was in India and this also turned out to be a complete nightmare. Note to self - if arriving late afternoon book in advance as its not good arriving in pitch black with no where to go.

We eventually found a room after our nice tuk tuk driver drove us around and didn't charge us any extra. The room was basic but reasonable and all we wanted to do was sleep. We spent the rest of the following day getting our bearings and walking towards the temples so we could work out how far away it was. We decided we would spend the next two days visiting the main temples of the area.

We hired bicycles and rode approx 5km up to Angkor Wat stopping at the ticket office to get a 3 day pass (no 2 days available). We rode round to the right following the circuit towards Ta Prohm. We firstly stopped at Banteay Kdei Temple where we bought a book about the temples of Angkor as I soon realised I knew very little about the history of the temples and what I was looking at. This temple is relatively small compared to some of the main ones and was a good opener for the rest of the day. We spent about 20-30 minutes looking around before continuing along the path to Ta Prohm.

We reached Ta Prohm also known as the 'Tomb Raider Temple' due to it being featured in the film. It dates back to the late 12th and early 13th centuries and is of Bayon style. This is one of the major temples of Jayavarman 7th reign and is actually a Temple Monestery. We really enjoyed looking round this temple, mainly because of the trees that have grown through the middle of the buildings causing some of them to crumble. While most temples have been renovated in some form, Ta Prohm has purposely been left to show how the buildings originally looked.

Whilst walking round a butterfly came and sat on my hand and stayed there for quite a while. I have been trying to get a picture of a butterfly for ages, however Pete didnt exactly take a great shot so the one of him, which i took, is what ive shown here. We spent around an hour here before having some lunch and carrying on towards Bayon.

On the way to Bayon we passed Ta Keo Temple - the giant pyramid mountain temple. This temple stands out for being the first to be built entirely of sandstone. We didn't stay here long but stopped for some photos and a quick walk up the steps. Afterwards we passed through Victory Gate and across the river towards Bayon. We stopped at the Leper King Terrace - a more or less independent building surrounding the Royal Square of Angkor Thom. It was named after the sculpture that was found on top of the huge terrace. We again took a few photos and read some of our book to give us some context before heading down the path to Bayon.

We finally reached Bayon Temple at around 3pm after riding around 18km on the bikes. Although the area is completely flat, for some reason I wasn't finding the cycling very easy and was slowly losing enthusiasm, whilst Pete as usual raced ahead. I was glad to get off the bike and have a look round this huge temple which is mostly significant for its carvings and face towers. We wandered around this temple for a couple of hours looking at all the structures, Pete more so than me, as I didn't really have a clue what I was looking at and didnt find the carvings hugely interesting.

According to my subsequent reading (should have done it before visiting) The Bayon was the State Temple of the Jayavarman 7 and his successors and one of the most powerful religious structures in the world. A bold statement for something I had never heard of until coming to the Angkor region, but this could just be my usual ignorance with such things. Although not truly understanding the importance of such temples I did enjoy looking round at the intricate detail of all the temples and felt I had learnt something.

After Bayon we rode another 6-7km back to our hotel passing Angkor Wat and passing the large moat surrounding the temple. Once back I was shattered, we must of ridden around 25km today in the blistering heat. I was absolutely filthy from all the dust and after a shower collapsed on the bed for a well earned rest.

Day 2 - Angkor Wat

we were supposed to get up at 5am to get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. After snoozing the alarm twice we conceded we wouldn't be bothering with sunrise and would do that part tomorrow morning. We got a tuk tuk to Angkor Wat instead of hiring bikes and arrived at around 11am after a slight mishap. Basically Pete had washed his shorts that morning which contained the non-waterproof 3 day tickets. By the time he realised they couldn't be saved so we had to spend another $40 for the days ticket. This also meant we couldn't go to Angkor Wat tomorrow morning for sunrise.

From the front the temple did not look as big as described in the books especially for something that was a city at the time, but once we had made our way down the causeway and inside I realised it was quite a large building And surrounding area. There are 3 levels, an outer square of long corridors and an inner section. We walked through the bass reliefs first looking at the different carvinall all depicting different battle scenes. Afterwards we walked through to the inner section and up to other second level.

When ready to go up to the top level and look over the city, we headed toward the steps but was told new couldn't go up because we were unsuitably dressed. We were disappointed as wanted to get a birdseye view of the entire area. We decided to go out to the very cleverly placed market stalls to buy some cheap clothes. Pete got a t-shirt to put over his vest and cover his shoulders and I had to buy trousers and a t-shirt as neither my legs or shoulders could be on show.

Once suitably dressed and slightly lighter in the pockets we made our way back inside the inner part of the temple and went up to the third floor. We looked out over the city and could see all the gardens, ponds and surrounding buildings. Unfortunately there was some scaffold with green tarpaulin directly in front of the best view which ruined it slightly but otherwise we got some good views.

Overall we enjoyed looking round this temple and spotting the inscriptions on the wall the one of the corridors. It probably wasn't as awe inspiring as I thought it was going to be but nether the less a must see if visiting Siem Reap.

Traveller Tips:

Remember that women need to have their legs and shoulders covered for Angkor Wat and possibly some of the other temples so bring some spare clothes to change into if you don't want to be walking round in the baking heat fully clothed. Men also need to cover their shoulders so a t-shirt with sleeves is required but you can get away with shorts.

Depending on your interest in these sights you will need a minimum of 2 days but possibly 3.

There is a 1,3 or 7 day ticket available. If you are doing more than 1 day it's worth getting the 3 day ticket.

Tickets are non replaceable if lost or even slightly damaged so look after them.

If arriving into Siem Reap late at night book a room ahead as this area gets quite booked up due to the temples. There will always be something available but you may end up paying more than you budgeted or getting very poor digs as you have no other choice.

The temples are spread over a huge area, it would not be possible to walk round if you want to see more than one or two temples. Hiring bikes is a cheap way of getting about but be aware you'll probably cycle around 20km, however it is all flat so not too difficult. You can also get tuk tuks to take you round which is much quicker but obviously more expensive.

Do some reading before hitting the temples and plan out which you want to see if you are only in the area for a couple of days. This way you'll know what your looking at and may make it a better experience.

---

Photos

Border Crossing
Laos/Cambodia border

Banteay Kdei
Inside the first temple we visited

Ta Prohm
Tree growing right through the middle of the building

Ta Prohm
Our friendly little butterfly

Victory Gate
Crossing the river into the royal square

The Bayon
You can just about make out the towers with faces looking outwards all around

The Bayon
The face towers

Angkor Wat
The start of day 2

Angkor Wat
Carvings on the walls of battle scenes

Angkor Wat
Inside the temples inner area looking at the central spire

Angkor Wat
View from the third level over the city