Siem Reap’s Angkor Wat was a place that we have been wanting to visit while we were in Southeast Asia; the only debate was whether to go there from Hanoi or from Bangkok. Since we never made it down to HCMC (Saigon) and since it was much closer from Bangkok, the only decision we had to make was whether to fly there or take the bus. After hearing some horror stories about the abominable road conditions, we decided to take the short 35 minute flight from Bangkok. There were many group tours available to us to choose from, in order to visit the numerous temples, palaces, and ruins of Angkor city, but we decided to go on our own. Having become emboldened with the great way our travels have been turning out, we wanted to rely on our own method for exploring the sights. After getting only 2 1/2 hours of sleep, thanks to the noisy partying that went on in the next hotel room, at 5:15AM our taxi driver (Vanny) picked us up. We had met Vanny on our way in from the airport to our hotel, and we had hired him to drive us around for the whole next day.
The first stop of our itinerary was watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat temple. When we arrived at the temple, it was still pitch dark but a throng of people was already gathered there. I took this picture because I thought this view was more interesting while we were waiting for the sun to rise.
To everyone’s disappointment, instead of seeing the sun rising over the temple, what we saw instead was just the gradual brightening of daybreak, due to the heavy clouds covering the sun. We even felt some drizzle, but it lasted only a short while.
The day turned out to be very hot and sunny and this was Angkor Wat under the bright light. This is one of the grandest temples ever constructed with the volume of stones equaling that of the Egyptian pyramid of Choeps.
Angkor Wat temple is surrounded by a huge moat which we had to cross on this bridge.
Once inside the wall, there is a long walk to the actual temple. The temple grounds were tremendous in size and we saw many people showing signs of exhaustion under the hot sun. Once inside the temple, it was nice and cool from the massive stones.
There were walls and walls of beautiful intricate carvings. Our guide told us that this “apsara” (dancer) is unique in that she’s the only one out of thousands with a wide open smile showing her teeth.
There were miles of wall carvings depicting battle scenes, mythology, and history of the Khmer kingdom.
In Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, there were hundreds of buddhas but most had been destroyed – most of them were without their heads. This was the rare one that we saw with a head, but we couldn’t tell if all of the parts belong together.
This is the south gate entrance into the ancient city of Angkor Thom (The Bayon temple, The Elephant Terrace, and the Terrace of Leper King are located here). This Khmer city was founded in the 12th century and remained the capital until the 17th century. On the top of the gate entrance were four huge faces pointing in four different directions. We saw many statues and carvings of elephants but this live one just walked thru.
The Bayon was the state temple for Jayavarman VIII and is famous for the unique "faces towers" (37 towers are still standing). Most of the towers have four faces (facing four different directions) carved in stone.
The Elephant Terrace is at the heart of Angkor Thom and marks the entrance to the Royal Palace. The terrace was once reserved for royal receptions and entertainment.
This three headed elephants was at the center of the terrace flanking the center steps leading to the palace.
The next stop was Ta Prohm. It was my favorite temple because the gigantic roots and branches, which were intertwined with the stone structures, left such a memorable impression on us. This one, in particular, looks like a gigantic boa constrictor.
Ta Prohm temple was left in the natural state as an example of how most of Angkor looked, upon its rediscovery in the 18th century; they were covered with vines and trees. The guide told us this is where Angelina Jolie’s movie the “Tomb Raider” was filmed.
Just the weight of the tree alone, seems to be enough to crush the stone structure and yet ironically, the roots are holding it up at the same time.
I didn’t know that Kobe was once a revered buddha in Cambodia. We saw this large painting in the restaurant where we had lunch. Maybe he was reincarnated to play basketball. Go Lakers! May the power be with you this year.
Banteay Srei is a temple built largely of red sandstone and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. We saw intricate carvings that were just beautiful.
Like most of the temples in Angkor city, Banteay Srei was also badly ravaged; but the light pink color of its sandstone and its carvings made it stand out from the rest.
Our guide was Mardi, a 25 years old young man, who wanted us to meet his mother (seated). She sells waffles at a local market (his younger sister was helping to make them after school). It was mixed with coconuts and tasted very good. We suggested that instead his family selling them to the locals for 10 cents a piece, that he set up the cart near the temples and sell them at a higher price to westerners; especially when they gather for the sun rise. Joanne gave him the recipe and the name for them, and his eyes lit up. If you see the “Fresh Fruit Waffle” stand when you visit Angkor Wat, you will know where that came from.
The first stop of our itinerary was watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat temple. When we arrived at the temple, it was still pitch dark but a throng of people was already gathered there. I took this picture because I thought this view was more interesting while we were waiting for the sun to rise.
To everyone’s disappointment, instead of seeing the sun rising over the temple, what we saw instead was just the gradual brightening of daybreak, due to the heavy clouds covering the sun. We even felt some drizzle, but it lasted only a short while.
The day turned out to be very hot and sunny and this was Angkor Wat under the bright light. This is one of the grandest temples ever constructed with the volume of stones equaling that of the Egyptian pyramid of Choeps.
Angkor Wat temple is surrounded by a huge moat which we had to cross on this bridge. 
Once inside the wall, there is a long walk to the actual temple. The temple grounds were tremendous in size and we saw many people showing signs of exhaustion under the hot sun. Once inside the temple, it was nice and cool from the massive stones.
There were walls and walls of beautiful intricate carvings. Our guide told us that this “apsara” (dancer) is unique in that she’s the only one out of thousands with a wide open smile showing her teeth.
There were miles of wall carvings depicting battle scenes, mythology, and history of the Khmer kingdom.
In Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, there were hundreds of buddhas but most had been destroyed – most of them were without their heads. This was the rare one that we saw with a head, but we couldn’t tell if all of the parts belong together.
This is the south gate entrance into the ancient city of Angkor Thom (The Bayon temple, The Elephant Terrace, and the Terrace of Leper King are located here). This Khmer city was founded in the 12th century and remained the capital until the 17th century. On the top of the gate entrance were four huge faces pointing in four different directions. We saw many statues and carvings of elephants but this live one just walked thru.
The Bayon was the state temple for Jayavarman VIII and is famous for the unique "faces towers" (37 towers are still standing). Most of the towers have four faces (facing four different directions) carved in stone. 
The Elephant Terrace is at the heart of Angkor Thom and marks the entrance to the Royal Palace. The terrace was once reserved for royal receptions and entertainment.
This three headed elephants was at the center of the terrace flanking the center steps leading to the palace.
The next stop was Ta Prohm. It was my favorite temple because the gigantic roots and branches, which were intertwined with the stone structures, left such a memorable impression on us. This one, in particular, looks like a gigantic boa constrictor.
Ta Prohm temple was left in the natural state as an example of how most of Angkor looked, upon its rediscovery in the 18th century; they were covered with vines and trees. The guide told us this is where Angelina Jolie’s movie the “Tomb Raider” was filmed.
Just the weight of the tree alone, seems to be enough to crush the stone structure and yet ironically, the roots are holding it up at the same time.
I didn’t know that Kobe was once a revered buddha in Cambodia. We saw this large painting in the restaurant where we had lunch. Maybe he was reincarnated to play basketball. Go Lakers! May the power be with you this year.
Banteay Srei is a temple built largely of red sandstone and is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. We saw intricate carvings that were just beautiful.
Like most of the temples in Angkor city, Banteay Srei was also badly ravaged; but the light pink color of its sandstone and its carvings made it stand out from the rest.
Our guide was Mardi, a 25 years old young man, who wanted us to meet his mother (seated). She sells waffles at a local market (his younger sister was helping to make them after school). It was mixed with coconuts and tasted very good. We suggested that instead his family selling them to the locals for 10 cents a piece, that he set up the cart near the temples and sell them at a higher price to westerners; especially when they gather for the sun rise. Joanne gave him the recipe and the name for them, and his eyes lit up. If you see the “Fresh Fruit Waffle” stand when you visit Angkor Wat, you will know where that came from.
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