Tuesday 29 March 2011

Temples of Angkor


My first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap, famous for the temples of Angkor - an ancient temple complex heralded as one of the wonders of the medieval period.

There are various ticket options for visiting the temples, depending on how much time you have and your level of enthusiasm for ancient ruins. We went for the one day ticket which allowed us access after 5pm the first day for sunset, which was disappointing, and very early the next day for sunrise, which was worth the pain of waking up at 4.30 am. As we made it up for sunrise we also had the added bonus of avoiding the worst of the crowds.

All the temples we saw in a day were very impressive, particularly when you consider they were constructed a thousand years ago from limestone that was quarried miles away and floated to the site up the river.

Surrounding the stone temples at Angkor Thom used to be wooden huts which housed a city of a million occupants at a time when London could only boast 50000. In addition to the sheer scale of the civilisation that was built around the religious buildings, is the impressive nature of the irrigation system that was designed to support the city. The people of Angkor successfully harnessed the power of the river to fulfil all their basic needs.

The highlight for me was Ta Prohm, a temple that has been overrun by trees and moss, and made for many Lara Croft style photo ops (possibly not my most culturally sensitive behaviour). Another high point was the Bayon, covered in the faces of a god, said to resemble King Jayarvaman (the driving. Force behind the bulk of Angkor's construction). By this point in the day I was, unfortunately, flagging after a bit too late night spent St Angkor What? bar on Pub St so felt the need to end the trip there, but there is plenty more to see for fans of temple architecture and decoration. It is, however a hot and sweaty day with a fair amount of climbing, so for lazier visitors 6/7 hours is definitely enough!

Overall it is an experience not to be missed, and you might be able to chat to some of the visiting monks who want to improve their English. Just be prepared to be approached by many child vendors selling postcards and bracelets, many of whom will be able to tell you an alarming amount of facts about your own country in order to charm you into parting with a couple of dollars! 

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