Hey everyone! Remember me? My god, it’s been nearly 2 weeks since my last post... so I guess I understand if you’ve totally forgotten about me. If you’re reading this blog for the first time, welcome! I’m Belle, a 22 year old solo traveller from the UK backpacking my way through SE Asia and moving to Australia to do my working holiday visa. It’s been a whirlwind of a time so far. For my first post about Cambodia, I thought I’d briefly write about the temple which seems to be on everyone’s bucket list. What was it like exploring Angkor Wat?
Arriving in Cambodia
After the deadness of Don Det, we were all ready to cross the border into Cambodia and drive to Siem Reap. Crossing the border was easy. Visa on arrival will cost you around 30 US dollars, so it’s always good to have some dollars prepared beforehand. They also take dollars everywhere in Cambodia. After getting our visas, we said goodbye to our driver from Laos and met a new Cambodian driver.
Right, so, I know these drivers are totally experienced and have driven the same route tons of times... but my god, this dude drove like a madman. That being said, compared to the rigorous rules of the road back home, most people drive like a madman here in SE Asia. There aren’t really any rules... anything goes and it’s every man for themselves. Because everyone is used to driving like this, there are surprisingly very few accidents. If anyone was going too slowly for this guy he would beep his horn and swiftly overtake whilst fast oncoming traffic was coming towards us. I just closed my eyes and couldn’t watch the road! Despite the manic driving, I still felt safe. He knew what he was doing I guess (nervous laugh).
Oh yeh, and on the way to Siem Reap we stopped of at this random stand on the side of the road and our tour leader asked us if we wanted to try rat. Yes, rat. I
was super hungry at the time so decided to be adventurous and give it a try. Now these aren’t rats you find in the sewer... these are like organic rats... and they’re actually a popular Cambodian delicacy! I had a tiny bite. Let’s just say it wasn’t the best and it wasn’t the worst thing in the world (probably wouldn’t try it again).
A day at Angkor Wat
Enough about rats, Angkor Wat! In the northern province of Siem Reap, there’s Angkor, an extremely important and historical archeological site in SE Asia. It’s about 400 square kilometres (bloody huge) and consists of loads of temples and hydraulic structures like basins and canals. Angkor was the centre of the Khmer Kingdom for many centuries. The main temples which exemplify traditional Khmer Architecture are Angkor Wat, the Bayon, Preah Kahn and Ta Prohm. They’re all linked together and symbolise social order and ranking within the Khmer Empire. So basically, Angkor contains all the ruins from the different capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to 15th century and an organisation called UNESCO has set up a programme to protect this historical site.
Angkor Wat is the biggest and oldest ancient monument in the world. The Khmer King Suryavarman II built it in the early 12th century and dedicated it to the Hindu god Vishnu. Towards the end of the 12th century, however, it was converted into a Buddhist temple.
With increasing numbers every year, Angkor Wat is visited by millions and is a must-see for tourists in Asia. In Khmer, ‘Wat’ means ‘Temple’ and Angkor means ‘City’ (referring to the city of Cambodia). Therefore Angkor Wat can be translated to ‘Temple City’, which is a very accurate description because it really is like a big city of temples. I mean, it’s literally huge. Covering it all in one day would be a bit of a mission, but you can also get 3 day passes if you want to cover most of the grounds.
We paid quite a bit for a private tour, but you can do it for a lot cheaper if you just make your own way there and go at your own pace. You could also easily eaves drop here and there into other people’s tours... I know, that’s bad. But come on, us budget backpackers have to save the pennies! A day pass will cost around 37 US dollars. Renting bikes is also a great way to get around and explore, but expect to get extremely sweaty.
Angkor Wat is the main attraction, but you can also go visit Angkor Thom (the one with the faces) and Ta Prohm (the one where tomb raider was filmed). We visited all 3! I think there was one more we could have seen, but after 3 we were most definitely templed out and dying of heat.
To avoid the hottest part of the day, there’s also the option of watching the sunrise. We were staying in a party hostel and drinking most nights so we knew waking up at 4am wouldn’t be the best option for us, but it’s a great option for early risers! One thing to note about Angkor Wat is that it will always be busy and hectic no matter what time you go. You’ll have to wait your turn to get your pic for the gram and people will start to frustrate you after a certain point.
Nevertheless, the astounding size and beauty of these magnificent temples made the tedious mission of walking around in the sweltering heat surrounded by hundreds of tourists worth it. The intricate level of detail within the structure of the temples is incredible. I kept trying to imagine what it must have been like all those years ago... a completely different world. Ugh, I wish travelling back in time was a thing sometimes.
You’ll see a lot of temples in Asia, but Angkor Wat (and the surrounding temples) will most definitely stand out and blow you away!
More to come soon:)
Big love,
Belle x
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