Angkor Wat, Cambodia I

We arrived in Siam Reap after a 6 hour mini van ride from Phnom Penh. Unlike the comfortable bus we’d previously taken to Phnom Penh, this journey was something else. The first sight of the battered old mini van sent shivers down our spine but that’s okay, it may be okay on I’m the inside. Wrong! To make matters even worse we were allocated the back seats. A bolt upright seat, if you could even call it that, without any neck support crammed shoulder to shoulder and without air con (travelling in afternoon sun)! The journey was a nightmare and never have I been so excited for the next toilet stop.

Angkor temple complex in Siam Reap, Cambodia is a 400 km2 area containing a vast number of temples built during the 9th-15th century and contains the largest religious monument in the world, Angkor Wat which was built in the 12th century. The site is typically visited over a three day period although as we’re pushed for time we opted for a two day pass.

We started the morning with Sovann, our private tuk tuk driver picking us up at 9am from our hotel. We booked him for 2 days and were happy to accept his daily rate of $20/ £16. He took us to drop of laundry then out to breakfast before taking us to sort Angkor Wat tickets. We started the ‘short loop’ day tour at 11am and began with the main temple Angkor Wat.

The temple was just stunning although I’m not surprised as it took over 300,000 people 35 years to construct. Every square inch of every block showed extreme detail, all carved by hand. The architecture was phenomenal, becoming even more impressive the further into the complex you walk. The central temple is built raised from the ground and the central tower built raised even further. It was impossible to capture the entire temple (google Angkor Wat aerial photography) but walking through the grounds gave an appreciation for the immense scale. We wondered for hours and could easily spend hours more. Unbelievably complex by modern day standards let alone being built in the 12th century.

Following Angkor Wat we spent the afternoon driving from one complex to another including Bayon temple and Ta Prohm Temple (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). Each temple built differently but clearly a family showing similarities despite being built over a 600 year period. Like Angkor Wat, all temples were stunning and we wish we could have stayed longer. We ended the day at Phnom Bakeng, a 60m high mountain temple to watch the sunset before Sovann finally dropped us off at 7pm.

The evening was spent at Pub Street enjoying rice and noodle street food for $1.50 however an early night was on the table as we wanted to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

The following morning Sovan picked us up at 4.40am so we could get to the temple for sunrise. It was a little strange walking around the temple corridors in darkness however, we made our way to the temple front beside a pond facing east ready for the sunrise. Unfortunately the sky was mostly covered in cloud but despite this the sunrise turned the sky orange and pink.

After spending another few hours around Angkor Wat, we continued the tour this time around the ‘big loop’. Again, each temple was impressive and one a home to a family of monkeys that had an interest in Jess and I. You can imagine Jess’ face when a small monkey suddenly jumped on her!

An absolutely beautiful temple complex and I would genuinely recommend a visit to Cambodia just to see this alone.

Lots more photos and videos to follow and I’ll add a few video clips to this post later on.Read more