Angkor Wat, a symbol that is so iconic that represents Cambodia is nothing short of amazing.
Being able to see, touch and stand inside Angkor Wat gave me a feeling that is hard to describe in one word.
Angkor Wat at sunrise.
It feels like history being brought back to life in front of my eyes. Every piece of stone, every bas-relief, every wall and every statue seem to have their own untold stories waiting for me to discover.
I can’t help but to be amazed by the scale of this temple and the intricate artworks done by the ancient Khmer people.
However, like many others, I didn’t know that Angkor Wat is not the only temple in Siem Reap before this. In fact, there are over thousand of temples, big and small all over Angkor.
Map of Angkor.
While Angkor Wat is the most famous temple, Angkor Thom is the biggest temple complex.
Angkor Wat
We arrived at Angkor Wat 5:30 in the morning so that we could catch the view of sunrise.
Angkor Wat under the night sky.
Too bad the sun was hiding behind the clouds and the sunlight only pierce through the clouds when we were about to leave.
Angkor Wat over rising sun.
All of us after sunrise at Angkor Wat at 6:30 AM.
Path leading to the entrance of Angkor Wat.
Impressive bas-reliefs on the exterior wall of Angkor Wat.
After visiting Angkor Wat, we went to several other temples. I won’t go into details and I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Preah Khan Temple
Path leading to Preah Khan Temple at Angkor.
Entrance gate of Preah Khan Temple, Angkor.
Inside Preah Khan Temple.
Prasat Banteay Srei Temple
Prasat Banteay Srei Temple, Angkor.
Detail stone carvings at Prasat Banteay Srei Temple, Angkor.
Me and a carved doorway at Prasat Banteay Srei Temple, Angkor.
Prasat Pre Roup Temple
Prasat Pre Roup Temple, Angkor.
The tallest tower at Prasat Pre Roup Temple, Angkor.
Gate of Angkor Thom and the peak tower at Prasat Pre Roup Temple.
Ta Prohm Temple
The famous Ta Prohm Temple where trees grow on top of the temple.
Bayon Temple
Bayon Temple famous for its stone faces.
At the top of Bayon Temple, Angkor.
Happy Special Pizza
After a long day hopping from temple to temple, we had this Happy Special Pizza for dinner.
It seems like having pizza becomes one of the tourist attractions in Siem Reap.
Happy Pizzas at Siem Reap town.
Why having pizza? Because people want to be happy. Why happy? Because it’s special. What so special? Well, because they put some special herbs *ahem* ganja *ahem* into the pizza.
Ha… now you know why. But the truth is, none of us were happy or high (not even close) although we asked them to put in more “herbs”.
The Myth
After a long day visiting temples in Angkor, I must say that the architecture was eye-opening, the carvings were nothing short of remarkable and the amount of efforts put into building each of the temples were just jaw-dropping.
That leaves only one question, how did they managed to build these impressive temples thousand of years ago? And how did they even managed to bring those gigantic stones up to the hills?
Well, I think I have solved the myth. They did it with the help of an extraterrestrial creature came from the outer space.
The creature provided them with technologies so advanced even nothing in the 21st century can compare with.
So until today, they still worship the statue of the creature.
They call it Stitch.
Cambodia Series
