Sarah and I spent the last three days in Siem Reap, the home of the famous Angkor Wat temple complex. Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a runner-up on the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World (though many here claim that it is indeed one of the seven wonders). Regardless of its official (or unofficial) title, Angkor Wat deserves its reputation as one of the most amazing places in the world!
We booked a two-day tour of the area through AboutAsia Travel. There are probably 100 tour companies to choose from; we decided on these guys because they advertise a tour of the temples "without the crowds." It cost more than we were expecting but booking the tour with AboutAsia turned out to be one of the best decisions we've made on the trip. The schedule was a bit tiring (in order to beat the crowds, we had to get up very early!) but it was well worth it - we got an incredibly intimate look at some of the most popular temples and our very helpful guide, Hong, explained a lot of the area's history along the way.
Here's most of what we saw, in the order we saw it.
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm, aka the "Tomb Raider Temple," was our first stop on Saturday. As its nickname suggests, this is where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider in the early 2000s. I thought the locals might resent this new common name, but most of them embrace it - tourism increased dramatically after the movie's release! True to his word, Hong got us there well before the big tour groups arrived and we had an hour or so to marvel at the interwoven trees and temples, practically by ourselves.
This corner of the temple was in Tomb Raider and it's one of the most popular spots to take a picture. On our way out there was a line 50-people long waiting for a shot!
One of the corridors of the temple.
Panoramic view of the temple grounds.
Walking through the temple complex we saw moss growing on almost all the ruins.
Buddha faces on one of the gates to the temple.
Ta Nei
Our next stop was at Ta Nei, a smaller temple that is secluded in a quiet forest. I doubt this temple gets many visitors during peak times since it’s so far off the beaten path, but at 8am we were literally the only people walking around. Because this temple is less popular among tourists, less has been done to restore it than at some of the other temples; however, there are some very well preserved carvings on the walls (and it was nice to see what a temple really looks like after almost 1,000 years in the forest).
The entrance to Ta Nei.
One of the elaborate carvings that stood the test of time.
Looking back at the outside of the temple.
Ta Keo
Ta Keo is a much bigger (and much taller!) temple close to Ta Nei. It is made entirely of sandstone and rises five levels above the ground (you can actually see above the tree line from the top). Ta Keo is a Hindu temple (there are both Hindu and Buddhist temples in the area here) that was never actually completed so it was very different than what we’d seen so far.
Ta Keo emerging out of the forest.
It was a steep climb up to the top!
Victory Gate & Death Gate at Angkor Thom
We drove through Victory Gate, as many cars do, then headed a few minutes south to the east gate (aka Death Gate). The east gate acquired its more ominous nickname because dead bodies were cremated here “back in the day,” according to Hong.
As always, Hong led us in the right direction – there was no one at Death Gate so we were able to explore the ancient gate in peace. We walked along the wall back to Victory Gate and snapped a few pictures here before hopping into our van and heading to Angkor Café for a much needed coffee break.
Standing in front of Death Gate.
One of the Buddha heads on Victory Gate.
Angkor Wat
Rested and re-caffinated we headed to Angkor Wat around 11:30am. As we learned, this is actually a pretty good time to visit Angkor Wat because it coincides with the lunch break of many of the larger tours. It was still the most crowded temple we saw but we’re not that surprised – this is the area’s main attraction, after all! We were dropped off at the east gate and walked west toward the main temple complex. We explored the temple for about two hours before heading back to Siem Reap to eat lunch, cool off and relax for the rest of the afternoon. Fortunately our hotel had a great pool and we spent most of our free time there.
Posing for a picture (at Hong’s instance!) just inside the east gate of Angkor Wat. An unexpected benefit of touring with Hong was his insistence on taking photos of the two of us and his knowledge of all the best photo ops!
Approaching Angkor Wat from behind.
As we walked along the outer walls of Angkor Wat we were amazed by the detail (and quantity!) of the carvings in the stone. Scenes like this lined the entire wall!
By one of the old pools on the first level of Angkor Wat.
Even though there were hundreds of tourists around, Hong still worked his magic and showed us the least populated areas!
Angkor Wat and its reflecting pool.
Later in the day we wandered over to Pub Street, the appropriately named area where you can find many bars and restaurants. We had an obligatory Angkor Beer then walked to Georges Rhumerie for dinner. This restaurant is known for their homemade rum and sausages…and neither disappointed. It’s not an authentic Khmer meal but it sure was good!
Colorfully decorated (and well labeled) Pub Street.
Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Our day on Sunday began even earlier than on Saturday. Hong met us at our hotel at 5am – well, technically, he was there at 4:55am knocking on our door to make sure we were awake! – and we headed to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. Unfortunately the day started out pretty overcast so our “sunrise” pictures don’t look like anything special. Oh well, can’t win with the weather all the time…
“Sunrise” at Angkor Wat.
At least the water lilies opened up for us.
Bayon
Despite the sunrise fail, we were still at Angkor Wat very early and there weren’t many other tourists around. Hong took us next to Bayon, the main temple within Angkor Thom. Also known as the “Smiling Buddha Temple,” Bayon is often described as many tourists’ favorite spot in the area. While it’s hard to pick a favorite, this is definitely one of the coolest places we saw. There are hundreds of smiling Buddha faces throughout the temple – you see one practically everywhere you look. We explored this temple for about an hour, at which point many more tourists began to show up so we decided to move on to the next one.
On our way to Bayon we stopped at Angkor Thom’s south gate for a picture. Most of the statues here are very well preserved, as opposed to Victory and Death gates (where almost all the statues are missing heads and one or more limbs).
Sarah and one of the smiling Buddhas.
Like I said, smiling Buddhas everywhere!
All smiles.
Hong said this “nose-to-nose” shot is very famous, maybe on the cover of a Cambodia guide book? Regardless of its notoriety, still a very cool shot.
How many faces can you count in this photo?
Looking back at Bayon from just outside the temple.
Baphuon and the Royal Palace
Our next stop in Angkor Thom was not far at all: after a two-minute drive we arrived at Baphuon. Hong likened this temple as a “mountain” and I think that’s a pretty good description. It’s also notable for the long walkway leading to the temple’s base. Hong walked us around the grounds for a few minutes, but declined to hike up to the top – it’s a pretty steep climb and he’s done it hundreds of times before so I can’t say I blame him!
Walking to Baphuon.
The sun almost came out on our way up to the top.
View from the top of the temple, looking back on the walkway.
We met Hong back on the ground and he took us to the grounds of the Royal Palace. There isn’t much left here, unfortunately. This area, even more than others, was dug up by people looking for valuables after the temples were discovered. Hong knows a friend-of-a-friend’s-grandmother who found a gold ring here (or so he says). Regardless of his story, it’s obvious that the grounds have been thoroughly picked over. Phimeanakas Temple is still standing as well as some of the gates, but we weren’t as impressed by this area as some of the others we saw.
Hong snapped a picture of us in front of Phimeanakas.
Some of the destroyed statues nearby.
The Royal Gate.
The wall surrounding the palace was pretty cool – elephants were engraved along almost all of it.
Hong dropped us off back in Siem Reap to get some breakfast and relax for a few hours. Our tour would resume at 2:30pm – just enough time for some food and quality pool time. We had brunch at Sister Srey, which is owned by some Australians who imported the wonderful qualities of Australian brunch to Cambodia. They even had flat whites! Definitely a must-visit if you’re craving some western comforts in Siem Reap.
Prea Kahn
Hong picked us up right on time and we headed back to the temples for the last time. Our first stop this afternoon was Prea Kahn, also known as the “Sword Temple” (because that’s what its modern name roughly translates to). Similar to Ta Prohm, this temple has trees growing throughout and, in many cases, the trees are an important support structure that keep the temple walls from collapsing. We also thought this temple was interesting because it had basically a Hindu side and Buddhist side. It was originally constructed as a Buddhist temple but Hindu features were added on after it was completed.
We walked to the temple through the west gate because not many tourists visit this area. Hong really knows the area well!
Standing by one of the many trees throughout the temple.
Walking through Prea Kahn.
Panoramic shot of the temple’s main grounds.
One more with a tree (and its massive roots!).
Ta Som
I think Ta Som was the most recently restored temple we visited – the World Monuments Fund just completed work here in 2012. It’s not a big temple, but we didn’t mind because that meant there weren’t many tourists around. We strolled around for half an hour or so before heading to our final destination to watch the sunset.
Standing by the west gate, which has almost entirely been taken over by a tree.
The west gate from the other side.
Ta Som temple.
Pre Rup
Our tour concluded at Pre Rup, a medium-height temple made of brick that is a popular spot to watch the sunset. Hong has led us to all the best places for the last two days, but we were both a little disappointed by his choice to end here. We still enjoyed exploring the temple as the sun slowly set, but we both thought it would’ve been better to see the sunset at one of the larger temples. Can’t really complain though!
Pre Rup. The brick makes the temple appear very red at sunset.
One of the many lions around the temple.
Watching the sunset.
Our time in Siem Reap was incredible (albeit a little bit tiring!). Angkor Wat (and the temples around it) deserves its spot on many people’s bucket list. We had a great time and would highly recommend it to everyone!
Tomorrow we’re taking a taxi to Battambang, a smaller town in western Cambodia. We’re both looking forward to having a slower couple days there after the hectic schedule we had here in Siem Reap.