Cambodia: Siem Reap Temples (AM)

So, I decided to split today's blog into two parts, since I took so many pictures and there was so much to see! First, I should start off by sharing what I thought Angkor Wat would be, and then I'll explain what it's really like.

I thought Angkor Wat was one big temple in the middle of the jungle, with trees and plants and moss, etc. growing on it. I knew there was another temple nearby called Angkor Thom. I thought the whole thing might cover 3 or 4 square miles or so. I was wrong.

The complex is made up of hundreds of temples and temple ruins. It would take you weeks to see everything. (Sidebar: the Russians are satan's gift to tourism. It used to be the ugly American tourist that people hated. Russians have moved into our territory and are pushing the limits far further than we ever dared.) So, we started the day at the temple they used to film the movie "Tomb Raider" staring Angelina Jolie. It wasn't very crowded, since most visitors do a circular route starting with Angkor Wat. The trees covering various parts of walls and temples were unreal. The symbiotic nature of their relationship is really a beautiful thing: the temples are held up by the trees and the trees use the height of the temples to be closer to the sun. Much of the temple was under construction, since they are reconstructing the dancing hall.

After exploring the Tomb Raider Temple, as it is now widely known, we hopped over to another temple, that was the private worshipping temple of the king back in the day. All of the temples in this region are from the "Golden Age" of the Khmer kingdom (11th and 12th centuries). This one has 54 spires, one for each of the 54 provinces of the Khmer kingdom at the time. Each if the spires have four faces on them, one facing each direction of the compass. It is called the Bayon Temple. It was incredible how so much of the carvings have been preserved for almost a thousand years.

We then walked into the royal grounds and saw the remains of the palace, and then over to the elephant terrace, where the king would address his troops or citizens. It is estimated that during that time over one million people lived in this former capital city, making it one of the largest cities at the time.

We then stopped for a quick photo stop to take pictures of the entrance to the old capital city, where 50 gods and 50 demons sit on opposing sides of the bridge. After that, we drove on to have lunch at a local restaurant! It was a needed break from the heat!