Siem Reap, Cambodia
NOVEMBER 24-26,
2009
A bit tired, but not too
bad after our 3 day bike trip through the Mekong Delta,
we took a flight over to Siem Reap in Cambodia. The city
of Siem Reap is highly touristy, with lots of shops and
restaurants, most likely of course due to its biggest tourist
attraction - Angkor Wat, one of the Wonders of the
World. Really, most people who visit Siem Reap are generally
coming to see the ruins, and not necessarily the city, But
for people who plans to visit Siem Reap may actually be
surprised as they are building and expanding the city to
make it a nice place to stay while visiting the temples
of Angkor.
Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century by Suryavaram
II, honoring the symbolic representation of Hinduism
and the God Vishnu. It took almost 4 centuries to complete
the entire area, and several Khmer kings later. The temples
of Angkor are truly stunning, magnificent pieces of architecture.
You see it on photos, however it is so much more impressive
in reality, Such remarkable details, such a surreal place.
We also took a big balloon up to view the ruins from up
above - very exciting perspective! Angkor Wat should be
on anyone's list who is visiting Cambodia. Loss of words
on this one (and that doesn't happen that often...)!
'Temples of Angkor
Wat
The temples of Angkor Wat are absolutely stunning!
These are almost 900 years old. WOW!
I think this was my favorite temple - Banteay
Srei,
the details and carvings of are absolutely marvelous.
Johann showing off his meditation skills
on an ancient lotus flower.
Check out these spectacular stone heads,
reaching high up in the sky.
We decided to take a very early balloon
ride (we had to get up at 4:30am or so, ouch!)
in hopes to get a different perspective of these massive
archeological ruins.
This photo was taken using the zoom lens
as we really were not that close to the temple.
A different view indeed, a quite magnificent
one that is.
Take a look at those tree roots - they were
huge at least when comparing to the two of us.
WoW! This carving just blows me away!
These temples are just so incredible and
massive...
Uhh, hubby, do you know that water buffalos
don't have the greatest reputation
when it comes to friendliness???...
It's amazing that these ruins are still standing
today, Look at the
craftsmanship of this entrance.
Johann taking a break - we only walked for
about 8-9 hours straight for 3 consecutive days.
And our guide had a PhD. in history and archeology, specializing
of course
in the Temples of Angkor Wat. We can definitely say that
we learned quite a bit.
Now to remember all of these new wisdoms, well that's a
different matter...
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