Global Moorings: Days 46-48 (Apr 20-22 2013): Siem Reap (The Temples of Angkor)

The Quick Facts:

* Took the ~5 hour van ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (and, yes, it was as uncomfortable as it sounds)
* Spent the first afternoon getting our bearings in Siem Reap, and visiting some of the more modern temples in town
* Days 2 and 3 were dedicated to exploring the temple ruins in Angkor, which is a short taxi or bike ride away from Siem Reap; Day 1 we took a tuk-tuk to some of the temples further away, Day 2 we set out on mountain bikes which was a lot of fun
* Stayed at the Shadow of Angkor II which, despite a bonehead manager, proved to be a decent place from which to base our operations

The Good:

* The temples! They really are amazing feats of architecture and engineering, not to mention beautiful in their jungle setting

The Bad:

* It being the hot season here, we had to set out early in the morning (6AM) so we could be back by 1PM or 2PM because it got too hot out there

Not much to say other than we spent two days exploring the temples in Angkor. The temples were all built in the 800 – 1100 AD range by Cambodian kings, then abandoned as Thailand invaded/raided, then “rediscovered” after the fall of the Khmer Rouge empire. It is now a popular tourist site. There are over 100 temples in Angkor spread over ~3000 square kilometers, the most famous being Angkor Wat, which is the largest (it means “city that is a temple”) and is really an accomplishment of architecture and engineering.

Here are the picture highlights, starting with Angkor Wat:

This is the gate to Angkor Thom:

These are from Bayon, which is in Angkor Thom…I like the faces, which are not in too many of the temples we visited.

This is from Pre Rup, which has a temple at the top of some fairly steep and tall stairs, making it a popular destination to watch the sunset (which we did of course!).

These are from Banteay Srei, which is unique for its red color (a wonderful contrast against the dense green jungle):

And these are from Ta Prom, famous because it is slowly being “reclaimed” by the jungle. When we got there, it seemed as if the temple had been reclaimed by Asian tourists!

With so many, it was only possible to take pictures of the tourists at times. Here is my favorite: an Asian woman holding a camera like it’s some photon gun from Star Trek while sporting pink heels (you know, what *else* are you going to put on your feet while exploring temple ruins in the jungle?!?).