'Round the World with Sarah and Matt!: Angkor, Day 2

The entire next day was devoted to the temples. We hired our airport pickup guy, Sanuk, to drive us around in his tuk-tuk for the day. He'd stop at a temple and we'd get out and explore to our heart's content, then we'd hop back in and head off to the next one. It was a pretty relaxing way to cover such a large area. At each stop we'd have to run a gauntlet of women and children all persistently selling trinkets and books, which was stressful -- but at least they weren't begging. Ironically, since most of them are direct descendants of the people who built the temples, they have more of a right to be there than anyone else.

We visited many temples, including several inside the Angkor Thom complex. The first place we went to was Bayon Temple, definitely one of the more interesting ancient temples I've ever seen. The whole thing is made up of small domed hallways and lofty towers (54 of them) that feature 4 two-meter tall faces carved on each-- a face in each cardinal direction. The effect is that no matter where you are in the complex, you are watched over by at least a few of the carved heads. Creepy!

A somewhat blurry photo of a monk on some ruins, Ta Prohm Temple

Another highlight was the Terrace of the Elephants, a long, intricately carved platform from where the god-king would review his troops or have court. Across from there were a series of towers were disputes were settled. It's thought that the two opposing sides of a dispute were made to sit in their own tower until one of them died of disease or starvation. The other person was considered in the right since the guilty person would obviously get sick first. Makes sense, huh?

One of the most amazing temples was Ta Prohm. This is the temple that is featured in the movie Lara Croft -- Tomb Raider. The jungle around here has been minimally removed, so it has a much more abandoned feel than the temples that now have grass lawns all around them. Many of the biggest trees are still around, with some of them sprawling over the walls or tops of the temples. There were definitely more people wandering around here than at some of the other temples, but it was easy to see why. Very cool place.

Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor

Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor Wat

another straggler fig at Ta Prohm Temple, Angkor

The actual temple of Angkor Wat was something of a let-down after all the rest of the temples that day. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty amazing, but others beat it out for mood, setting, or stone carving. The amazing thing about it is it's size; it's supposedly the largest religious building in the world, whatever that means. It's also in really good shape -- unlike most of the other temples in the area, Angkor Wat was never truly lost or abandoned. It even managed to survive the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's.