Angkor Wat

Angkor has always been in my tick list of places that I would go to… So, I was very happy that, finally, I was able to check Angkor in my list, a few weeks ago.

While walking towards Angkor Wat, I asked myself, how on earth did they do this? The place is huge. Its mind blowing, really… but then again, so are the other temples, like Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, etc. Personally, I liked Banteay Samre, a temple about 35+ kilometers from Siem Reap (photo.) Maybe because it is not a major tourist site, so my friends and i were able to enjoy the tranquility of the place.

If you want to explore the temples, I advice you to take it slow… maybe a week in Siem Reap would be enough… otherwise you might feel templed out.

Too much temples, if you’d been in Asia before – You’ll not be surprised.

This has to be one of the most fascinating, magical, surreal places I have ever heard of. I truly believe it would be much like walking through a place reserved only from dreams….

On a recent trip to Angkor, we woke up at the ungodly hour of 4AM because we were afraid of missing the Angkor Wat sunrise to get to the temple at 5AM.

Since it was just a day after a full moon, the light of the moon was very bright and we got to explore the temple by moonlight. It was eerie but also sublime. I can’t recommend it enough.

Worth and afternoon of strolling around. Thankfully, it’s pretty huge, so your not always hustling around with other people… you can actually have a bit of peace in the outer corridors.

Also worth getting up early for the sunrise… down by the pond are where the best shots are at.

Unfortunately like a lot of Cambodia, the serenity is broken by people trying to get you to give an offering, only to then snatch it away when you leave.