Temples of Angkor Part 1
For the next three days I will be writing about my visit to the temples of Angkor. To visit the temples you need to purchase a ticket which costs $20 for 1 day, $40 for 3 days or $60 for 1 week, the 3 day and 1 week option can either be used consecutively or over a week or a month respectively. I opted for the 3 day option and managed to see a lot during that time. My plan had been to get up for sunrise at Angkor Wat and then cycle around the mini circuit on the first day, but I was too hung over and didn’t make it out of bed until after 9 so for $15 I hired a motorbike and driver to take me to see some of the more far flung ruins.
Kbal Spean
Kbal Spean is an hour and a half from the main Angkor sites by motorbike and once you arrive there is a 2km climb to reach the river. Kbal Spean is the only site that I visited that wasn’t a temple or the ruins of a temple. Along the riverbed there are a thousand lingas’ as well as carvings of Buddha and Buddhist images. This would have been a nice break from the temples after a day or so, but it was the first place I visited and managed to sweat out my hangover on the climb up in the midday heat.
Banteay Srey
On the way back to Siem Reap from Kbal Spean, I stopped at Banteay Srey, which is perhaps the most ornate of all the temples I visited in the Angkor area. The temple is covered in beautiful, deep and intricate carvings of a Hindu origin.
East Mebon
East Mebon is a large mountain temple ruin, rising three levels and crowned by five towers. It was originally constructed on an island in the middle of the now dry Eastern Baray.
Ta Som
Ta Som was the first temple that I visited which has been taken over by the jungle, a huge tree grows from the top of the eastern entrance.
Preah Khan
After the huge tree at Ta Som I was already impressed at the jungle’s ability to consume the temples, but at Preah Khan it was on a much larger scale. Trees were growing all over the walls on each side of the temple. Preah Khan is a pretty big complex with lots to explore and many Buddhist carvings.
That was day one. Tomorrow I will cover day two where I cycled around the main temples of Angkor including Bayon and Angkor Wat.
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Wow gorgeous! Can't wait to see them in person. One question: how did you know which temples you wanted to see? Did you use a guidebook or did they give you information on site?
I spoke to the motorbike drivers at the guest house I stayed at (Garden Village) and got them to recommend an itinerary. I checked that against some locally produced tourist leaflets and decided that the advice was good so went with them.
I recommend getting a guide. They can be arranged to meet you at your guest house. Certified guides pay heartily to go to school specifically to be guides and end up taking a lot of pride in their status and knowledge of the region once they're done. I believe it's a great honor for them to achieve that status.
The guide I had was super friendly, a lot of fun and kept me engrossed the entire day through. For the $15 I paid, it was totally worth it for the in-depth history of the temples and the region for a day.