SE Asia Day 37: Siem Reap

/ alliwanders

A 4:45am departure to get a good spot to see the sunrise at the main attraction of this trip: Angkor Wat. We entered the complex from the west in the pitch dark using our phone flashlights to find our way.  The goal was to get to a good viewpoint for the sunrise, which we did (with plenty of time to spare) but it didn’t really materialize.

Within the walls but still quite a ways from the main temple

Background: Angkor Wat was built 900 years ago by a young king who wanted to become a god-king and a grand temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu would surely be his ticket to the afterlife. AW and Siem Reap thrived until the 1400’s when years of a mega-drought + invasions from enemies caused it to be abandoned. A hundred years later it was revived as a Buddhist temple, and thanks to being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and made famous through movies like Tomb Raider, up to 5,000 people were visiting per day pre-COVID (~2,000 now).

At 7am we broke for the breakfast our hotel had packed for us and once recharged we set out to investigate inside AW.

Entering from a side way on the north edge
Hindu carvings on pretty much every inch of wall
My pre-dawn pics taken beyond the left edge of map. Top photo is entering from top/left yellow line, below photo is 1 of 4 equal pools in small quadrangle before main temple (encircled by dotted yellow)
The central point of the 4 pools was exactly aligned with the 4-axis of the compass
Past pools and into the main temple area. Top floor reserved for the king, 2nd floor was off limits today as was a Holy Day
Only monks allowed to ascend to next level
Wooden stairs as ancient stone ones are 70°!!
One of the 2 libraries within the inner walls
The best view was after exiting out the east gate

This Angkor Wat is huge but this “little” temple is only part of the whole Angkor area. More temples tomorrow!

We had the afternoon free then met again at 7pm to go to a special Cambodian dinner. It was another “G for Good” moment: we had women Tuk Tuk drivers take us to the New Hope project. From our itinerary: “The New Hope Vocational Training Restaurant, an initiative kickstarted by G Adventures, provides skill-building opportunities to marginalized community members. The project also funds the adjacent free community school and health centre.” Delicious and a good cause.