My Tour Of Angkor Wat Temples In Cambodia
As I mentioned briefly in my last post about my stay in the capital city of Cambodia Phnom Penh, the major tourist attraction for visitors in this country is Angkor Wat. Upon arriving to Siem Reap after a short flight from Phnom Penh, all the tuk tuk drivers and hotel staff I encountered automatically asked me if I made arrangements to see Angkor Wat yet as it was assumed that this would be my primary sight seeing objective here. Angkor Wat is a UNESCO world heritage site and the largest religious structure in the world plus it’s also depicted in the national flag of Cambodia.
Sunset At Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is about 15 minutes outside of Siem Reap and instead of joining a group tour, I hired a private tuk tuk driver to take me to see not only the main temples during the next day but also include a sunset visit the night before as well as sunrise first thing in the morning in order to get an extra special experience. So my driver (who also worked part time at my hotel where his brother is the manager) picked me up late afternoon to first get a day ticket pass ($37 US for the next full day) which also entitles me entry for a sunset visit the night before the official visit date.
My driver took both me and another tourist I met at the airport to a small hilltop temple called Phnom Bakheng which is near the main Angkor Wat temple as this is the best spot for a sunset visit. He then brought us back to Siem Reap which is actually a pretty nice town much cleaner and less chaotic than Phnom Penh. My new tourist friend and I didn’t stay out long after dinner since I had to get up at 4:30 am for a 5 am pickup the next morning for the sunrise at Angkor Wat.
Sunrise At Angkor Wat Temple
When I arrived at Angkor Wat which is the main iconic temple of a large area of temples, it was still almost pitch black and I just followed the crowd, some using their cellphone flashlights. The main towers of Angkor Wat soon became visible and I made my way in front of the larger reflecting pool on the right where much of the crowd was already lined up (they obviously did advanced research or had guides on site direct them to the best spot). We can see the reflections of the Angkor Wat towers along with trees in the pool in front of us which are captured in the photo below. It was here where travellers from all around the world came to experience something very magical as we gazed in wonder as the sky gradually changed from darkness to light. It was quite interesting to notice that although there were probably thousands of people on site, everyone kept pretty quiet since this was such an amazing life experience with both nature and an ancient monument that was built in the 12th or 13th century.
I lost track of time as I don’t really know exactly how long this sunrise experience was but I kind of knew on the spot that it would easily be the highlight of my time in Cambodia and I’m sure many others felt the same. So was it worthwhile to drag myself halfway across the world to a country I’ve never been to before and get up at 4:30 am? Most definitely yes!
Gates Of Angkor Thom
As a strategy to minimize crowds, I decided to leave Angkor Wat right after the sunrise experience rather than follow the crowds into the main temple there upon daylight. Instead, I had my driver take me to see the other temples since the big crowds would still be at Angkor Wat. I’ll return to see Angkor Wat at the end of my day tour when the big crowds have moved onto the other temples.
Close to Angkor Wat is a large 9 square kilometers area known as Angkor Thom which is thought to be the location of a large ancient city. This city had several large gates around it and my driver took me to two of them. The gate that is preserved the best is the South Gate and as you will see in the video, there is a beautiful waterway just outside of it. The other one we went through was Victory Gate.
Bayon Temple
Almost in the middle of Angkor Thom is the Bayon temple which is one of the three main and most visited temples (with the other two being Ta Prohm and of course Angkor Wat). Bayon like most of the other temples here was first constructed as a Hindu temple and then gradually transformed into a Buddhist one over the years. This temple is characterized by giant faces at the top of towers.
The strategy to bypass Angkor Wat right after the sunrise visit worked out great for me as most of the time when I was at Bayon, I was usually the only tourist around. In addition to the big faces, there was incredible stone artwork along some walls that I captured on video.
When I got to the back of Bayon, I suddenly saw a whole bunch of macaque monkeys coming across the top of a structure. They ended up hanging out near this back area and were obviously not afraid of humans. I’ve seen temple monkeys on TV before but experiencing this in real life was really exciting. However, I wouldn’t say they were cute and cuddly creatures as some of them could be nasty. One of them tried to steal a bandana I had hanging from the side of my jeans while another showed his teeth to another tourist who got quite a shock from this. But still it was a really neat experience overall which added to the fact that the Angkor temples were built in the middle of the jungle.
Chau Say Tevoda Temple
After Bayon temple, my driver took me to one of the smaller temples which is not one of the big three on most tourist’s circuit. This one was called Chau Say Tevoda and I’m glad that we stopped there as it was a very quiet and peaceful site with nobody else there except for an Angkor staff member. Since it was so quiet and also quite scenic with the surrounding trees, it was a perfect place for me to have a moment to think about my late Lhasa Apso dogs during this trip (so far all other places in both Cambodia and Vietnam were just too busy).
‘Tomb Raider’ Temple Ta Prohm
The last of the big three temples at Angkor is Ta Prohm which is nicknamed the ‘Tomb Raider’ temple since the 2001 action film Lara Croft : Tomb Raider was shot here. This was my favourite temple at Angkor as it was the most beautiful one surrounded by trees, plants and ponds.
Also a unique characteristic of Ta Prohm is tree roots growing out between some of the stone structures. This made the temple appear like it had merged back into the jungle. Again, by the time I got to this temple, there were very few other tourists around since they were probably still at the main Angkor Wat temple. So I got to see two of the three main temples, Ta Prohm and Bayon, pretty well to myself most of the time.
Back To Main Angkor Wat Temple
It was approaching midday and I was glad that I took the private driver route rather than join up with a group tour. A group tour would have taken much more time since guides explained history at many different sections at each temple and transits would have been more complicated with more people. Although this would have resulted in a more informative and social tour, I would have been way too hot due to the typical daytime heat of southeast Asia.
A return to the main Angkor Wat temple was the last stop for me and this is when I finally explored it in daylight close up which I didn’t do during the sunrise visit first thing in the morning. I climbed up some pretty steep steps to an inner courtyard where the towers were. Inside much like at Bayon, were some really nice detailed stone artwork along corridor walls as well as some Buddhist statues. There were also some temple monkeys here too just outside.
In addition to the large scale of Angkor Wat and the grounds it is on, I was really impressed with the natural beauty of the surrounding area. Even the tuk tuk rides in between temples were really nice as the roads were not busy so my driver was going at a pretty good speed which resulted in much welcomed breezes. The entire Angkor area in fact was quite pretty with lots of trees and waterways. It was such a total contrast to Phnom Penh and all its crazy traffic. This was definitely the Cambodia that I came here for.
Overall, I found my visit to Angkor Wat to be just as magical as the Great Pyramids plus Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the Mayan city Copan in Honduras, the Great Wall in China and Machu Picchu in Peru all of which I’ve visited.
Practical Tips For Touring Angkor Wat
Here are some practical tips for touring Angkor Wat if you want to go to Cambodia;
- Hire a private tuk tuk driver if you want to see the temples at your own pace (my driver was Prak Thorng whom I totally recommend – prakthorng@gmail.com WhatsApp +855 11 355 669)
- Consider doing the sunset and sunrise visits in addition to a day tour for a fuller experience
- If doing sunrise visit, go see other temples right after sunrise then return to Angkor Wat main temple at end of your tour day to avoid crowds
- Respect the dress code for Asian temple visits, ie., no showing of shoulders, knees, elbows
- Bring snacks and water to leave in tuk tuks and vehicles
- Carry official pass tickets with you at all times during tour
Here is a full video of Angkor Wat showing lots of wide screen footage of the various temples I visited along with my commentary and practical touring tips.
I also produced a set of music videos for Unity Power Force called the Angkor Wat Set pairing up specific temples with songs that have related themes.
This completes my content from my visit to Cambodia and next country will be Thailand.
