Angkor wat, Cambodia (aka:longest post ever)

After Malaysia I flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit the largest religious temple (complex) on earth, Angkor Wat! Its so large and spread out that I needed (at least) a three day pass just to see the main temples. I traveled by good ole fashion bicycle my first and third day and hired a moto driver for the day in between so that I wouldnt kill myself in the heat biking to the outlying temples. I've only put up pictures of my favorite temples so to try and not bore everyone so i hope you enjoy......

this is a map of the main temples of Angkor...there are so many more outlying temples in a 10km radius around the main complex but I stayed mostly in this main area and only went to a few outlying temples (ie:womens temple)

my first view of the famous Angkor wat temple (most of the temples were built between the 9th and 15th centuries, so all of them have similar architectural features but have some unique features depending on which period they were built)

this is probably my favorite picture...it is a great illustration of a typical scene at Angkor wat

part of the bas reliefs that run along the whole lower level of Angkor wat temple. they are intricate rock carvings that illustrate different wars with the gods and important stories of the Khmer civilization.

a typical buddist shrine in almost every temple

Ta Prohm temple, one of the few temples that the govt is not restoring bc it illustrates how most of the temples were found after being "forgotten" for thousands of years. the silk trees are actually ruining the temple bc they grow under and between the huge rock blocks and topple the structure.

the enormous silk trees over taking Ta Prohm

inside Ta Prohm temple (just trying to change up the "normal" picture poses)

Ta Prohm temple


one of the numerous ladies that care for the buddist shrines in all of the temple, i paid tribute to the dead by lighting an incense and she tied a red piece of yarn around my "right"wrist (the left hand is considered dirty(used in toileting only)...sorry lefties!) for good luck.

atop the highest temple in Angkor, watching the tourist ride the elephants to the top of the hill.

this is a must see/do while visiting Angkor, go to Angkor wat for the sunrise. so i dragged myself out of bed at 5am to rush to the temple along with thousands of other people to see the sunrise over the ancient temple.

while i was trying to plan my next course of action after the sunrise, a lady came up to me while i was sitting on this temple and said that she just took my picture bc it was the typical traveler's pose (sitting in a corner reading a book, trying to find their way) so she offered to take the same picture with my camera...this is pretty much what i did throughout my tour of Angkor, find a quiet shady spot to read about where i was and to try to figure out where i was going.

entrance to the woman's temple....it wasnt as large as the other temples but the carvings were much more detailed and preserved. I couldnt stop admiring the craftsmanship! it was one of the only temples that had barriers stopping people from touching and walking on certain parts of the temple.

women's temple


women's temple

the women's temple

bridge over the moat of Angkor Thom, the tuk tuk in the pic is the preferred method of travel for tourist viewing the temples.

my favorite temple, the Bayon temple. It had so many different tunnels and corridors and the huge faces throughout the temple made it stand out from all the temples of Angkor. I had my fortune told by a Cambodian monk inside...he kept emphasizing that I was going to have a good marriage and was going to be very wealthy and make millions...my response to that was, "you probably tell everyone that!" but he insisted otherwise so i guess we will see...hahaha

a resting (probably korean) tourist...it was funny to see these tourist wearing the cone hats, they looked so out of place!

i was constantly amazed at how intricate the stone carvings were in all of the temples...it must of taken ages to carve such detail.

inside the Bayon temple, near a buddist shrine

one of the dozen enormous faces throughout the temple

inside the Bayon temple

Bayon temple, if you look closely all the large faces have different expressions

Bayon temple

Bayon temple, buddist shrine

begging children, arent they so cute? i wanted to buy something from all of them...


Baphuon temple, inside Angkor Thom

walkway to Baphuon temple

Elephant terrace inside Angkor Thom

"my world" for two (out of three) days....a mountain bike and Cambodian mango served in a plastic bag (scrumptious!)