The Temples of Angkor

From Siem Reap we made our way to the Temples of Angkor each day. This was definitely one of the best things I'd seen so far, they're amazing and nothing prepares you for the scale of some of them. The temples are spread over 300 square kilometers and some are over 1000 years old. This was the Manhattan of south east asia back in its prime.

We hired a driver for the two days to bring us around. 13USD for a day - not bad. We were in a tuk tuk for the first day, but we went a lot further the next day so it was myself, Nici and the driver all on the back of a motor bike for the second day! That was fun ;-).

I won't bore you with the details of every temple we saw, but here's some of the highlights below ...


The Angkor Wat

This is the postcard temple and you might have even seen it before. The thing is huge (63 meters tall!) and the approach is so long - first it's surrounded by a gigantic moat, followed by a massive outer wall, with the temple itself deep in the center.

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

Angkor Thom

Lying north of the Angkor Wat is a much larger, walled collection of temples called Angkor Thom. Very impressive. The centerpiece temple, Bayon, is covered with very errie carved faces looking in all directions. This is repeated at the entrance gate. Imagine how intimidating this would have been if you were a visitor coming here a thousand years ago.

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

Banteay Srei

This temple was a lot further away but worth the visit. Made from a red sandstone, the temple has very nice and very detailed carvings everywhere. It's strange how things change - Rob visited here six years ago and the temple was virtually untouristed. Today this was very much part of the beaten track and pack to the brim the day we visited.

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos

Kbal Spean

Further still past Banteay Srei was Kbal Spean. This isn't a temple, but a series of carvings made directly into the river bed. Quite nice. The river was one of the water sources for Angkor. The idea was that as the water flowed over the carvings it would get blessed, before flowing into the city ... I like it.

From Cambodia Photos

Ta Prohm

This temple is worth a mention as it looks like something from Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. Just look at how the Jungle has taken over the temple.

From Cambodia Photos

From Cambodia Photos