Cambodia

Angkor Wat ("Capital temple") is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres). It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple of god Vishnu 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 in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaiva tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

One of the main tourist attractions is, watching the sunrise over the temple. As I understand, there are no religious significance to it but just a cool thing to see as the sun basically rise behind the temple with the temple reflections seen in the pools of water at the front if the temple.

Our guide Samueth picked us up at 5am in order for us to get to the temple, find a good sport for photos in time for sunrise at 6:30am.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, after the mile walk from the Tuk Tuk we found good spots on the edge of the reflection pool on the right side of the temple. For some reason 98% of the tourists go to the left pool as that has more water than the right one, but ironically has more water plants so the better reflection was where we were.

Samueth's local knowledge and a specially camera angles where very helpful here. He used to be a photographer by trade but now does temple tours with photography tours as one of his options, for a couple of extra dollars. We chose this option which basically worked out only a few dollars more than just getting a Tuk Tuk to the temples and back to the hotel.

The sunrise was a bit disappointing after the very beautiful sunset we saw yesterday. There were just not enough clouds to make for an array of colors but was still special to witness the sunrise.

The temple itself is extremely impressive inside with beautiful carvings everywhere, all of which has a mean or tell a story. Probably the most striking carving was the "Churning of the Ocean of Milk" is one of the most well-known legends of the Hindu mythology and of the Cambodian culture. That story is depicted on a 49 meter long carving on the wall of the east gallery of Angkor Wat temple. Its basically a picture of angels and demons holding a tug of war with a snake. I am not so much convinced by the story but the artistry is amazing!

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