Angkor Wat by Bicycle

Whoa! Angkor temples!

So Cambodian's ancient Khmer empire  (roughly 800-1500AD) is responsible for all these incredible temples. They were abandoned, overgrown by the jungles, and then "rediscovered" by a French man in 1860ish. 

Angkor Wat is the most famous. We did the obligatory sunrise trek - very cool, but it was hazy so not mind-blowing. We spent the rest of the day biking around with Grasshopper. 

There are a ton of library buildings around the temple complexes. Here's one. In general, I was shocked by how little it's regulated. You can almost go anywhere you want. 

Sam showed us around all day. He was a monk from age 11 until 22, then decided the monk life wasn't his calling and left to become a temple guide. This picture is Sam with carvings of dancers. They're all over the place and were clearly Sam's favorite so I have my own theory on why Sam left his monkdom behind. 

Below is a Khmer man taking a break. Please notice the detailed carvings in the stone that are like 800 years old.

We ate breakfast in the jungle and then biked to Ta Prohm. This is a famous site because Angelina Jolie was a tomb raider here whenever she made that movie. 

The moss and lichen cover the ancient stone, and I bet in the rainy season it looks even cooler. If you're wondering, the trees grew on/into/over the stones after the temples were abandoned, so they'd be about 400 years max. The general philosophy now for conservation is they only remove the tree if it's making the temple unsafe. 

The Angkor Thom complex is even bigger than Angkor Wat. Both have a man-made moat surrounding them, that is full of water even today. Look how wide it is!

We biked along the top of the gate/wall the encloses Angkor Thom. I was surprised to see small villages and homes within blocks of all these temples. 

Within Angkor Thom is Bayon, known for the 54 towers that each have 4 faces each (symbolizing charity, sympathy, equality, and compassion). That's over 200 heads carved! Check out the gate above for an example. 

Tips:

- 1 day temple pass is $20 cash. 

- 3 day pass is $60 cash, you can come and go.

- It's not hard to spend the whole day exploring, by 2 pm you'll be drenched. 

- Anti-recommend flip flops. Stone paths are uneven and lots of climbing involved. 

- Cover your shoulders and knees at Angkor Wat. 

- Water is for sale everywhere. Also souvenirs.