#23: Angkor on the Small Circuit

07/02/2020

Today, one of the highlights of our trip is on the agenda, namely the visit to Angkor! Angkor is home to over 1,000 temples, some of which are over 1,100 years old, on an area of over 200 km² and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This includes the very famous, largest temple in the world, Angkor Wat, which is very well-preserved. Angkor is located about 4 km north of Siem Reap.

Since the temples are located 2-3 km apart, we will explore Angkor today by Tuk Tuk. The Tuk Tuk drivers offer various tours that include different temples. The driver always waits at each temple until the guests are finished there. Then it continues to the next one. Today, we want to visit Angkor on the 'Small Circuit' tour, which includes five (we will visit seven) of the most impressive temples and see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

True to the saying, 'The early bird catches the sunrise over Angkor Wat', we have to get up very early today - the alarm clock rings at 4:20 am. So we struggle to get out of bed and get ready. At 5 o'clock, the Tuk Tuk with the driver is waiting at the door and the journey begins. We quickly notice that it is still quite cool at 5 o'clock in Cambodia even with a t-shirt in the wind, and we feel the frost on our skin for the first time in 3.5 weeks. When we stop at the ticket counter, we have a moment to thaw out and get the tickets. We decide on the 3-day ticket for a proud $62 per person.

Then the journey continues and we arrive at Angkor Wat at 5:45 am. The temple complex is surrounded by a moat and has huge dimensions. After crossing the moat, we position ourselves by the lotus pond to admire the sunrise. The view is spectacular and getting up early was definitely worth it. Due to the size of the temple, the first visit takes 2-3 hours.

Afterwards, we visit the other six temples one by one. Our Tuk Tuk driver always waits at the vehicle and is already eagerly waiting to drive us to the next temple as if he had been watching the exit the whole time.

Each of the visited temples is amazingly unique, so no temple is like the other, and each visit is exciting. Angkor Wat impresses us with its size, Bayon with its faces and details, and Ta Phrom (where Tomb Raider was filmed in 2001) with its atmosphere. For example, there are trees on the buildings of Ta Phrom that are partly 250-350 years old. Nevertheless, this 1,000-year-old temple still has some buildings with roofs.

After taking 1,600 photos and having a very exciting but also long day, we finally arrive back at the hotel at 5 pm after 12 hours. We shower and end the evening early with dinner and cocktails in a restaurant.