First published: 16/01/07.

Els Slots 5.0

Angkor

Angkor (Inscribed)

Angkor by Els Slots

Angkor possibly is one of the WHS that attracts the most visitors. The nearby town of Siem Reap is packed with hotels and other amenities for every budget. And still, it's not enough, cause a lot of construction is going on to create even more of this. I stayed there for 5 days and made 4 separate visits to Angkor. I had bought a 3-day pass (for 40 US dollars), but I easily could have stayed longer cause there's so much to see. In all, I took over 300 pictures, a personal record of one site. The good thing about Angkor is that it's very diverse. So the 7th temple still is interesting.

In my first round I did it on a bicycle. I followed what is called the Mini Tour (or Small Circuit). This mainly focuses on Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the two sites closest to Siem Reap and possibly the most impressive. Angkor Wat is the famous building that's on Cambodia's national flag. One of the temples in Angkor Thom is the Bayon, the one with the large smiling Bodhissatva faces.

The next day I went to Banteay Srei, one of the more remote temples. It stands out because red sandstone was used and the carvings here are very delicate. It's a smaller temple than most, but extremely pretty and in very good condition.

On the 3rd day, I decided to check out the famous sunrise at Angkor Wat. So I jumped on the backseat of a motorbike at the center of Siem Reap at 5.30 in the morning, and off we went. The now-familiar road to Angkor was buzzing with all kinds of transport, hundreds of people on their way to see the sunrise. The spectacle itself I found a bit disappointing, but it's great to be out there among the monuments so early in the morning.

In the afternoon I did my final round, the Grand Circuit. This takes you along some smaller temples. One of these is Neak Pean, a circular temple in an artificial lake.

Comments

No comments yet.

Log in to post a comment