We decided to spend two days exploring the temples of Angkor. It was awesome. We rode from Siem Reap to Angkor by tuk tuk. It was actually our only mode of transportation for the entire week, other than getting around on foot in the center of Siem Reap.
On our first day exploring the temples we did the small circle. The highlights being Bayon Temple, Prah Thom (the Tomb Raider temple), Elephant Terrace and other architectural wonders of past peoples.
Day two of our trip was spent exploring the town of Siem Reap and the Artisans of Angkor (next post will highlights this day).
Day three of our trip started at 4am. We were to be down for breakfast at 4:30 where the staff of our hotel packed us a breakfast to go. We had actually ordered it the night before and this is quite standard practice, because there are hundreds of tourists that come to greet the sun at Angkor Wat every morning. ..365 days a year. The kids got up relatively quickly, only David provided some entertaining protests. ..as we were leaving the hotels, he said. .."you know, this is way out of my comfort zone. " My answer to him was, " good, because that's how you grow and experience new things." It was early. But it was so worth it.
Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត or "Capital Temple") is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 sq meters). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist temple toward the end of the 12th century.It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer.
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
The masses of people that flock to see the sunrise 365 days a year!
Breakfast picnic at Angkor Wat
The view from the top.
Taking in the ancient historical stone carvings.
Exploring the Cambodian countryside by tuk tuk on our way to Banteay Srei.
Beautiful Banteay Srei - just over 20 km from Angkor, almost at the foot of the Kulen Mountains.
The name means "Citadel of Women" or "Citadel of Beauty", which refers to its size and delicacy of the decoration. It in perhaps the most ornate of all temples in this region.
Snack time - fresh mango and pineapple
Preah Khan - a temple which was massive in size, and with 1000 teachers, was seen as a university city.
Many of the temples have been reclaimed by the jungle and have huge trees and roots growing around them. It is an awesome sight to see and a testament to the power of nature.
The hole in the wall is designed to let light in an be the flame of the candle.
