Trip of a Lifetime Round 2 (Cambodia: Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor)

Well after some action in Phnom Penh, I headed north west to the town of Siem Reap, which is also the launching point for the 8th wonder of the world, the Temple Valley of Angkor. Upon my arrival in Siem Reap, I checked into my hostel and then headed out to check out the town. Siem Reap is much smaller than Phnom Penh and so it didn't take too long to cover the town. After an amazing local Khmer dinner, I headed back to the hostel to catch some sleep before my LONG day at the temples the next day. Before I went to sleep however, I hit the internet cafe. While I was in the internet Cafe, I happened to sit down next to someone who was also gonig to be headed to the temples the following day. After introducing ourselves and discovering that we were both from California of all places, we decided to meet up the following morning to go to the temples together.

The next day, my new friend, Lance, and I woke up at 4:30 AM in order to head to Angkor Wat (The main temple in the valley) to watch the sun rise. It happened to be fairly cloudy on the day that we went to the temples but it was still an amazing sight. I have never been to the Taj Mahal but I have a feeling that seeing Angkor Wat for the first time brings up the same sort of feeling. Upon my arrival at Angkor Wat, I was literally stunned at the immense beauty of the temple. The temple has an outer wall that has many incredible carvings in the stone. Inside the wall, the temple itself has four massive towers that mark the four corners of the complex. Sitting in the middle of the four towers is one massive central tower. After walking around the temple for a while and marveling at its sheer beauty, Lance and I decided to head to the next temple.

The next temple that we decided to go to was a set of temples known as Angkor Thom (pronounced like Tom.) The main temple in this complex is actually a temple called Bayon. The main marvel at this temple are all of the various "faces" that are carved into the stone. These faces are incredibly detailed and it was really an amazing site to see. After walking around Bayon for a while, we headed to the surrounding temples and then decided to move on.

The next temple that we went to was a temple called Ta Phrom. This temple was my favourite of all. The thing that is special about this temple are all of the trees that have grown into and around the rocks and stones that make up the temple. (Check my pictures to see what I am talking about.) I literally felt like I was in an Indiana Jones movie (I actually watched one later that night to stay in the spirits!) Apparently I am not the only one to see the movie potential for this temple. There was actually a movie called Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie that was shot at this very temple. After this temple, Lance and I decided to head back to town to go for an afternoon swim and to get some lunch. After our VERY refreshing swim and delicious lunch, Lance and I headed back to the temple valley to watch the sunset. After the sun went down, we headed back to town and called it a day.

The next day, instead of going to the temples again, Lance and I decided to go and check out a floating village that is located a few miles outside of Siem Reap. Upon our arrival, we boarded a boat and took a tour of the village. It was really incredible to be able to see how these people literally LIVE on the water. They get around only by boat or swimming. While it was really interesting to see, it was also somewhat sad. These people drink, bathe, and go to the bathroom all in the same water. It DEFINITELY puts things into perspective. After the floating village, we headed back to town and just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon.

The following day, I decided to head back to the temple valley by myself to check out some more of the smaller temples. It was a good day but the temples that I saw the second time, while very beautiful, were nowhere near as impressive as the ones that I covered the first day. After the temples, I once again came back to the hostel and called it a day.

Finally, Saturday rolled around and it was time for the Hostel's weekly Pub Crawl. Everyone met in the lobby of the hostel and we hit the town for some fun. It was really fun getting to meet all of the people staying at the hostel and great times were had by all. The next day, it was time to say goodbye to Siem Reap and head to my next destination Bangkok and the AMAZING country of Thailand!