WARNING - the next few blogs with pictures may cause a sudden desire to hop on the next plane to asia to check out the Temples of Angkor. If you have ever had the desire to play on an Indiana Jones or Laura Croft Tomb Raider movie set for days (and if you are male, you have had this desire), then this is the place for you.Angkor was the capital of Cambodia's ancient empire, the Khmer empire. Between the 9th and 13th centuries, the Cambodian god-kings tried to better themselves in size, scale and symmetry culminating in the world's largest religious building, Angkor Wat. The Khmer empire once stretched from Burman to Vietnam and the city at its zenith boasted a population of over 1 million, impressive especially when you consider London at the same time had approximately 50,000 residents.
I arrived early Monday morning at Siem Reap, checked into my hotel, called my mom for mother's day and then was off to explore the temples. My first stop was the namesake Angkor Wat. The coolest thing about these monuments is that you can pretty much climb all over them with few exceptions. Climbing to the top of Angkor Wat was actually fairly difficult (signs everywhere climb at your own risk!) and required all fours if you know what I mean. Coming down was no picnic either. Angkor Wat was built by Suryavarman II (1112-52) to homor the Hindu god, Vishnu and for use as his funerary temple. It was constructed as a Hindu temple but has served as a Buddhist temple since Buddhism became Cambodia's dominant religion in the 14th century. The central temple is one square km and consists of three elaborate levels, each which encloses a square surrounded by intricately interlinked galleries. The walls of the temple are covered inside and out with bas-reliefs and carvings - almost 2000 aspara carvings. Rising 31M above the third level and 55M above the ground is the central tower. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall measuring 1300 meters by 1500 meters. Simply amazing.
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