The Best and Worst cont Temples of Angkor

17/4 Angkor Wat

One of the most amazing sites I’ve ever seen. Massive crumbling temples built in the 12^th century with the most intricate and precise sandstone carvings imaginable.

• visiting Ta Prohm, the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed. Gigantic tree roots that I could barely hug had grown between the rocks over time, forcing themselves through and pushing the rock walls over and completely down. The temple was gorgeous in its destruction and had the most character of any building I have ever seen. Its strength, resilience, and beauty shone through the decay and made it an incredible temple to see.

• - Joy went to bed at 8:30pm and left Nate and I to go out alone. It was still great though, we saw little seller kids take a break from business to dance in the street, grinning and laughing and just being kids- despite holding heavy baskets of sales items at 1am

18/4 Angkor Temples

(Bayon)

We rode bikes around the ‘Grand loop’ of Angkor, visiting many famous and relatively unheard of  temples: Bayon, Preah Palilay, the Terrace of the Leper King, Prasat Suor Prat, Angkor Thom, Ta Keo etc. it was 98 degrees and we went off roading on dusty roads to find even smaller, crumbling temples. The 3 of us shared Joy’s first beer tower (Angkor beer).

• Bayon Temples- over 200 faces of an ancient king tower over the temple, looking down from columns from each cardinal direction. Climbing over broken walls of decorations to climb crumbling stairs.

• Watching the sunset over the leper palace and moat with monkeys everywhere

-Staying up so late drinking (3:30am) that I never heard my alarm (4:30am) and Joy decided not to wake me up so all of us missed watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

-Accidently tearing my entrance ticket into 2 pieces which apparently was unacceptable so I had to hire a motorbike taxi to find tape- waste of everyone’s time.

19/4 Angkor Temples

Biked around even more obscure temples and got lost early on. 105 degree heat and we were all sweaty beyond belief. We were always dripping sweat and our water was always hot and never lasted long. We biked 44K on single gear beach cruisers and slept in the shade at a temple before climbing the stairs to the top. We found that one temple covered interiorly by holes was made specifically to echo. Even pounding on your chest made a spectacular resonating sound in the room. We slept in local peoples hammoks after lunch and coconuts.

            Standing in a gigantic stone window frame at Angkor Wat, fingers tracing 800 year old carvings, watching the sunset over the temple gates and the moat, sunset reflecting beautifully on the water making my entire view a splash of red, orange, pinks, yellows and blue.