Sunrise and Temples

Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight and the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally founded as a Hindu Temple for the Khmer Empire, gradually transforming into a Buddhist Temple toward the end of the 12th century. More than 1 million tourists visit Siam Reap every year to see the temples.

Entrance into Angkor Wat

Apparently, the best way to witness Angkor Wat for the first time is by watching the sunrise behind it. Caley and I had our tuk tuk driver ( our guest house assigned us a very nice driver) pick us up at 4:45 am. We were very excited because we had googled the sunrise and the colors were incredible.  When we arrived we took a seat alongside all the other tourists who were searching for the same experience.

What we envisioned (curiosity of google image)

What we actually saw (still pretty cool)

Although the sunrise was not exactly what we had envisioned it was still pretty cool. And, it got us up and out at a very early hour. It was already pretty hot by 8:00 am so we were happy we had gotten an early start. As we went into each temple, our tuk tuk driver waited outside with all the other drivers. After Angkor Wat we went to the Bayon Temple (the temple with all the faces).

Bayon Face

After the Bayon Temple, we visited Ta Prohm, the temple with the trees( or the Tomb Raider/Angelina Jolie temple).

One of the ” famous trees ” at Ta Prohm.

I found this massive tree in the woods away from the big temples and decided to sprinkle my Dad’s ashes. I had brought them along thinking that the temples might be a cool place to leave some of Mitch.

Sprinkling my Dad.

Mitch 🙂

The temples were incredible and Caley and I had a blast. I think my favorite Temple was actually Angkor Wat. I loved how massive it was. Even with all the other tourists, it never felt crowded and I was able to deserted areas. I also loved how we were pretty much able to wander wherever we wanted. We only spent half a day exploring three of the temples and that was perfect for us. I am sure that there are archaeologists all over the world who would cringe at the fast paced way that we explored the temples but it worked for us. There are many more temples and people spend days visiting them but Caley and I are not going to be doing that 🙂

Hot and silly from the sun and all the temples!