Amazing Angkor Wat

On the very first to-do list we ever made for this trip, Angkor Wat was towards the top. Thus it was really exciting to FINALLY make it there, after traveling for over 5 months. We decided to get passes for three days and hire a tuk-tuk driver (he goes by 007, if you ever need a recommendation) to help us visit the overwhelmingly beautiful and expansive Ankor complex.

What was most striking about Angkor is how mammoth it is, and how diverse the architecture is. Over the course of three days we saw almost everything, but easily could have returned to some of the sites for a second and even third time, as the light really affects how you view the carvings and sculptures both inside and out. The buildings are SO large and SO intricately detailed, it's hard to capture all of that in a single picture. These serve as a small highlights reel, and there are many, many more in the second Cambodia album.

Ok, let's begin! On our first day, we met 007 at the painfully early hour of 4:30, in order to make it to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Unfortunately there was no dramatic music or mind-blowingly awesome sunrise, behind Angkor Wat, as you can see above, but it was great to get there early to explore the ancient ruins.

We were completely alone as we wandered through the mammoth temple, ooing and ahhing at bas reliefs and traipsing up and down the stone ruins. The first sounds we heard, after almost 30 minutes of silence, was this huge flock of birds swooping in loop-di-loops throughout the sky.
We left Angkor Wat to go to the Bayon, probably the second most famous temple in the Angkor complex. If you look closesly, you can see numerous faces carved throughout the stones.
The faces wind all the way up the towers, in varying states of collapse.
It was wild to see how trees had grown in with the buildings, most extravagently at Ta Prohm. Their roots formed even more elaborate frames than the ones carved out of stone, and enhanced the buildings in different ways than we'd previously seen.
This was one of my favorite buildings, Preah Palilay, it was buried deep in the woods and looked like a giant chimney. It was really fun to crawl up the building and look out at the forest from the top.
Beautiful stone carvings, like this one of a dancing apsar could be found in many of the temples we came across, but this one is from the Bayon.
Morgan as a lion in front of Thommanon.
The beautiful buddahs standing as sentries on the bridge that entered into the Bayon.
Hundreds of intricately carved deities on the hidden wall of the Leper King Terrace.
I loved the huge elephants, that were still relatively in tact, and guarding the four corners of the Bakong, the first "temple-mountain," ever built.
More beautiful elephant statutes standing guard by the Elephant Terrace.
The most exquisitely, detailed carvings we saw anywhere, like this door carving, located above one of many entrances to Banteay Srai. There were layers of carvings, and the curicues curled right out of the pink sandstone.
The second day at Angkor was the most memorable. We started by visiting Ta Keo, a giant "temple-mountain," made entirely out of sandstone.
007 drove us almost an hour, to the far reaches of Angkor, until we finally reached Kbal Spean. It was a moderate hike up to a branch of the Siem Reap river, where there were beautiful stone carvings hidden in the woods. A very sweet Cambodian man took us on an unexpectedly long tour, explaining to us the significance of the carvings and wiping away mud and dirt to reveal small details. Above, is the most elaborate carving, one of Vishnu reclining.
We walked alongside the river, until we reached the river of 1000 lingas (each circle = 1 linga). Lingas, as we learned, are stylized images representing Shiva. A small grouping of Hindu deities, we would have walked right past, if it wasn't for the help of our guide.
Last but not least, on the third day, we stumbled across Angkor Wat, BUT in miniature. Unfortunately, it looked like the buildings were being constructed by a group of 7-10 year olds, and were quite dilapidated. I'll save you the disappointment of the acutal structures, but I thought the sign was pretty awesome.
It's been an amazing trip, one that we're still processing, as we get ready to leave and come back home. We're excited to see family and friends, and regale you in person with all the tales that never made it on the blog....