Undoubtedly, the temple city of Angkor was one of the highlights of our trip! We opted for a 3-day ticket to explore the largest temple complex in the world. We stayed at our hotel in Siem Reap from 08.05. to 12.05.
Mister Souen took us from temple to temple in his Tuk Tuk. He always provided us with cold water and refreshing towels. Mr. Souen also had good information about the temples.
We don't want to overwhelm you with lengthy descriptions of each temple, but it is important for us to provide you with some information ℹ️.
BanteayKdei is a Buddhist temple that is not in good condition due to poor construction and fragile sandstone. When we entered, we met a man who showed us a short Buddhist prayer 🙏 We knelt in front of a Buddha figure and bowed three times: once for the mother, once for the father, and once for oneself. The nice gentleman showed us the best spots for photos.
Ta Prohm is one of the most famous temples of Angkor, which represents both Buddhist and Hindu elements. This temple became extremely well-known through the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It is impressive how nature has reclaimed its kingdom here. Ta Keo made us sweat as it is a Hindu temple-mountain. It was built over 1,000 years ago and is older than some of the more famous temples. Baphuon was built in Angkor Thom, the former capital of the Angkor Empire. This temple-mountain has its roots in Hinduism 🕉 View on the first floor of Baphuon. Bayon is one of the temples that impressed us the most. That's why we visited it twice. The large stone face towers are outstanding, reaching up to 7 meters in height. There are about 200 faces on these towers. Mr. Souen told us that the faces symbolize compassion, empathy, equality, and love for others. Like many others, Bayon is still being restored. Ta Som didn't seem so impressive at first, as we had already visited many others. Then we were lucky that a police officer there showed us some beautiful reliefs and a great photo motif: And at the end of the site, nature takes over the architecture again. Banteay Srei is a Hindu temple ruin where many reliefs have already been restored or replicated at the time of our visit. The name translates to "Citadel of Women" or "Beauty". Mr. Souen referred to it as the Lady Temple. We were impressed by the different depictions of Hindu gods and the guardian figures. We really recommend watching a few documentaries about the temples of Angkor before visiting. Unfortunately, we only did this after the second day, but it made us appreciate Banteay Srei much more. And here's what everyone has been waiting for: Angkor Wat The largest and most famous temple of the ancient Khmer Empire, which we also visited twice. The exact completion date is disputed, but it was around the 12th century. It took about 37 years to build - an incredibly fast time if you compare it to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican: that took about 120 years to build and was completed much later. As we visited during the low season, the mass tourism was only hinted at. In May, more than 1 million people had already visited Angkor! Many tourists came for the sunrise 🌅, seeking to capture the photo of the year - just like us 😅 These 3 days left a lasting impression on us and inspired us to learn more about the history of the Khmer Empire. We would recommend everyone to visit Angkor! And in the end, we have to admit that some special residents captured our hearts: the monkeys of Angkor 😍 🐒The little ones: The big ones: The boss... ...who stole Colin's water and was very uninhibited: Cheers: And during their daily grooming: Thank you monkeys 🐒, thank you Angkor 🙏
