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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
I just don't understand people taking selfies at places like this. I don't have any issue with people taking the odd photo, with the (in this case) temple in the background, I'm talking about the type of person that we encountered as soon as we walked into the grounds. She was standing against the completely non-descript wooden door, and taking her selfie. There was nothing whatsoever to indicate that this was Angkor Wat - or even Cambodia for that matter. What was the point?
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
Anyway, she wouldn't be the last selfie taker, selfish photographer, or irritating 'one stands right in the way of the thing that everyone else wants to take a photo of, and stays there forever, while someone else spends twenty minutes fiddling around to take the picture' combination, that we would encounter today. Irritated me? Just a bit! You see why I try to avoid the crowds.
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
It is the largest temple here, on a site of around 200 hectares, and with the tallest tower reaching a height of 213 metres. It is a 12th century temple, but by King Suryavarman II, and it is a temple mountain design, where the towers represent Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods. The temple is unusual because it is the only one that is positioned to the West, and the bas reliefs are designed to be walked through anti-clockwise, which is linked to death. For this reason, they believe that Angkor Wat was turned into a mausoleum for the King.
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
The water in front gives a nice reflection, and the bas reliefs are apparently some of the best. There is no doubt that it is impressive, so it is worth seeing. But if you want to climb the many (very steep) steps up to the top levels, do allow plenty of time. When we were there, at a comparatively quiet time, the queue was an hour long, and they were have to wait in the glaring sun. We didn't bother.
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
Our next two temples of the day were the supposedly twin temples of Chan Say Tevoda and Thommanon, which are sited across the road from one another. In fact they were built separately, but they do have a lot of similarities. The former still has its library - which wasn't for manuscripts apparently - and the latter is still very well preserved. They are a nice pair to stop at, and not generally that busy.
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
Finally we paid a flying visit to Ta Keo. We had seen it going past previously, and whilst we didn't feel like the climb up, we were interested to take a quick look, just because the style was a little different. It is made of green sandstone, unlike the others, and has a very pyramidal look to it.
Apparently it was never completed, supposedly because it was hit by lightning, so it has no carvings.
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Angkor Wat, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Chan Say Tevoda, Siem Reap |
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| Thommanon, Siem Reap |
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| Thommanon, Siem Reap |
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| Thommanon, Siem Reap |
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| Thommanon, Siem Reap |
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| Ta Keo, Siem Reap |
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| Ta Keo, Siem Reap |
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| Ta Keo, Siem Reap |
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| Temple area, Siem Reap |
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