Skip to main content

Angkor temples pt.1

Today was the first day we went to see the famous, UNESCO world heritage site, Angkor. Note, Ankgor Wat refers to one of the temples specifically (which we are seeing at sunrise tomorrow!)

Day started with a nice breakfast of eggs benedict, the delicious fruit  was extra!


Our tuk-tuk driver took us around 6 temples today. Roads often do not have any markings, but people drive sensibly, so the ride is quite enjoyable. Essentially a carriage attached to a motorcycle.



It is technically incorrect to refer to every site in Angkor as a temple, since some of them were also universities (but admittedly the term is convenient, hence we will also use it).

We saw 6 temples today, of different historical background and style. Most of them were from late 12th century, and, in many cases, started out as Hindu temples but later converted to Buddhist shrines.

The intricacy of detail (eg carvings) is amazing, especially when considered against the sheer scale and size of the buildings. The work required to build these in the jungle must have been staggering!

We’ll let photos speak for themselves.















One of the security guards was kind enough to take photos of us and suggested lots of great spots. His mastery of iPhone panorama feature was quite impressive! I wish we took his name. Actually, people have been really friendly and welcoming. Amazing experience so far.




Comments

Unknown said…
Amazing photos and a good write up. What is the temperature like?
Keen to see photos of the Angkor Wat temple you will be seeing tomorrow at sunrise.
A sunrise /sunset photo of any place is awesome.
Thanks for this update, M & R:-)
Dad
March 12, 2019 at 11:52 AM
Roman said…
Temperatures are high! Low of about 27C at night and up to 38C during the day!
March 14, 2019 at 11:40 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Angkor Wat: Sunrise

4.15am wake up was needed to catch the Sun rising up over the most well-known and, arguably, the most beautiful temple. Our normally laid-back tuk-tuk driver, Mr Sak Sak was putting pedal to the metal and overtaking everyone else, in order to get us to the temple as early as possible. It was interesting to see the city’s nightlife winding down, at the same time as shop owners were setting up their stalls for the day ahead. The air was refreshing, and, at 25 degrees C, this was the coolest temperature we would likely experience for a few weeks.  Sunrise was due for 6.12am, and temple access is available from 5am, which explains our driver’s determination to get us to the front of the queue. We got a pretty good seating (on rocks) and viewing position. Our photos won’t do the temple justice, but here they are. As a brief historical note, the Ankgor Wat temple is built on a square man-made island (surrounded by a literal square moat). The island is approximately the size of Manh...
5 comments
Read more

Osaka.... Arrivederci

Osaka was amazing. We went to a cat cafe by mistake (looking for dog cafe as Roman’s allergic) but wound up being fun... ... And just a few antihistamines later he’s all better! Also water critters And castle At the airport now, sad to be leaving Japan (esp via >20 hrs travelling) and back to the grind!
3 comments
Read more

Ha Long Bay

otherwise known as the bay of the descending dragon, it’s one of the more stunning sights so far. A series of islands that’s really only easily seen via ship. Difficult to describe so here are some pictures: Also many caves exist of which we visited one: Further updates on Hanoi to come!
2 comments
Read more