Cambodia - Siem Reap

Crossing the border into Cambodia, I met three girls who were in the exact same boat as me: No idea where to go but willing to spend the next two days exploring the ancient temples of the Angkor Wat. Michelle and Druti had met travelling and were following the same path together. Nadia and I were both on our own. We all bonded over the next few days.

The thing to do here is hire a tuk-tuk driver for the day. They will escort you to the different temples. There are nearly a hundred in total. Unless you stay for 5 or 6 days, it’s impossible to see them all. So we focused on the main ones and were able to see a dozen or so. Our first day got off to a late start and affected us rather gravely. The temperature was so hot that after seeing two temples, we were all completely exhausted.

Angkor Wat is technically the name for the main temple with the five honeycomb like domes. This was the first site we visited. The size and scope of this thing is massive. You walk over a long moat crossing, pass through the outer walls and are come into a giant courtyard the size of several football fields. It’s another ten-minute walk just to get to the center. Getting up close to the walls and seeing the carved murals is spectacular. Whole sides of the temple will tell a story through one mural.

Our next two temples, Bayon and Ta Prohm, are well known for being used in the Tomb Raider movies. The first is covered with large facial carvings, which are really cool. The second is nestled a little deeper into the jungle. Much of it has been taken over by the trees that have roots wrapping around all of the toppled over stone. It was one of the best temples we went to. Adding to the atmosphere, as we got there, a cloud front moved in and lightning could be heard in the distance. Before long a tropical storm was rolling through. Luckily for us, we were already on our way back when it hit.

The next morning was one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had. We were all up  before the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise behind Angkor Wat. As approached, the early morning light was just starting to shine over the temple. It was an amazing sight. Over the next hour we sat there watching the sun slowly break rise behind the temple and into the sky. It is one of those sights that you will never forget.

From there we set out to see a few more temples. Two of which really stood out. The first was deep into the jungle. It was early enough that there was no one else around. For nearly an hour and a half it was us and the sounds of the jungle. At times I was the only one around. Couple all of that with the early morning mist and the light peeking through the trees made wandering around here an otherworldly experience.

The last temple we visited was one of the largest and very deep in the jungle. Once you passed over a giant surrounding moat, it took nearly a mile to walk to the entrance. From there you explored room after room of tumbled over stone. In the middle was a giant Buddah stature with a lone monk praying next to it. This was a great one to finish with. I came away with a good positive feeling as we spent the rest of the day basking in the spirituality of what we just experienced.

The next morning I was off for Phnom Penh.