The Temples of Angkor

After a slow 6 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, we landed in Siem Reap, a town known almost exclusively for the large stone temples that sit in the surrounding coutryside. The afternoon we got into town we headed straight for a sunset viewing, along with about 500 other tourists... that was a bit disappointing. Sunset was OK, but it was just a sunset on a hill...we were expecting some dramatic sunset over a temple. The next day, we hired bicyles and headed out on a 30 km loop ride that took us to many of the more famous temples.

Some of these temples are almost fully restored, such as Angkor Wat and Ankor Thom, while others have been left to the jungle. It is a nice contrast. Angkor Thom, built in the late 12th century, was our first stop and is the largest complex, covering over 3km^2. It is known for hundreds of large faces carved into the towers. (37 towers, each with four faces facing the points on a compass):

A close up with one of the smiling faces (not a word about the hair, Em requests..)

How many faces can you see?


Next was several smaller, athough still huge, temples that are not as restored. Larger silk-cotton trees grow from the ruins and in some cases, support the walls and entryways, making for great scenery:



After seeing the temples on our loop, we headed back to town, the last 12 km stretch. It was hot.....about 95 degs, but felt hotter. A cold shower felt nice. The next day we hired a tuk-tuk and went to temples a little further out. After a trip back to town for lunch and a shower we headed out for a late afternoon and sunset viewing of the most famous, Angkor Wat. Almost fully restored, Angkor Wat gives some glimpse into how the temple might have looked in its heydays:

Em caught a great shot at dusk on our way back:

Overall, the temples we very,very impressive. It hard to imagine the modern world creating something as lasting and as decorated.