The famous temples surrounding the town of Siem Reap bring millions of tourists to the area every year. There are many more temples than the well-known Angkor Wat and many of the others are actually more impressive than the star attraction.
Angkor Thom is a much larger complex with several temples, libraries and other important buildings than the one at Angkor Wat. A tuk tuk for the half hour drive from town to the ruins only costs a few dollars. It is interesting to see the driver stop for gas at a roadside ‘station’ where a ten year old boy dispenses it out of liquor and pop bottles.
Angkor Thom is famous for its many towers each with a face carved into the stone and looking to the four cardinal points. The visages are graced by a faint smile providing a very unusual atmosphere to the experience of walking through temples built over a thousand years ago and being stared at by so many eyes!
Nature Takes Over at Ta Prohm
The ruins at Ta Prohm provide amazing visuals as tree roots envelop ancient buildings as the jungle reclaims the land taken by the Khmers over a thousand years ago. Fichus trees have been particularly adept at wrapping their roots around enormous stones as well as splitting the building blocks of this temple. While the temple may not have been as important as some of the others in this area, it did provide for very interesting proof that the jungle, when left to do what it does, will take over anything humans may build.
Angkor Wat – the Final Wat
Angkor Wat is the most famous of the ruins of the temples and palaces built during what is known as the Angkor period (years 802 to 1432 A.D.). It isn’t just one monument as most people believe, but some 40 sites spread over an area of 200 square kilometers (77 square miles).
A popular excursion is to go there late in the day in order to still be there for sunset. The buildings here feature some beautiful galleries full of bas and haut relief sculpture depicting historical and mythical tales of the great Khmer empires of old. These remain in very good shape as they are inside the buildings and are protected from the rain, wind and sunshine.
Citadel of the Women – Banteay Srei
This Hindu temple, dedicated to Shiva and built in 967 A.D., is one of the best preserved monuments in the area. The Indian influence is apparent in every decoration as these depict epics from the sub-continent, especially the Ramayana.