A trip to the past - Angkor

Since yesterday we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia (after an 8-hour bus ride with a border crossing). The city itself is very poor but has experienced a small boom due to tourism. The main reason for this is the archaeological park Angkor near Siem Reap.

Today, we started our journey to the temple area early in the morning by TukTuk. We bought a three-day ticket, which is even personalized with a photo. We continued on a bumpy dirt road through a mangrove forest. Small huts and stalls of locals selling clothes, art, and food are lined up along the roadside. Our first stop is Banteay Sei - opposite is a small artificially created lake. Then we continue to Ta Prohm. There are still some smaller temples and arches until we reach Angkor Thom, the largest complex in the park.

The temples, which were built from the 9th century by the kings of the Khmer Empire, served mainly religious purposes. The rulers repeatedly built capitals with a central temple on a total area of ​​200 square meters. These were made of sandstone and were intended to serve as an eternal home for the (Buddhist) gods.

Today, the temples are only ruins, but still very well preserved. Smaller and larger trees grow everywhere, their roots wrapping around the buildings. Especially at the larger and well-known temple complexes, you have to beware of large Chinese tour groups. With some time, however, you can find quieter places where you are almost alone. The size of the structures and the entire area are impressive. And with imagination, you can perhaps imagine how magnificent the temples looked almost 1000 years ago.

Definitely a very worth seeing attraction.