Temples of Angkor

Gigantic temples emerging from the jungle. Surreal. Awe-inspiring. Ancient symbols of wealth and power. Immense. Majestic. Ancient sandstone mazes. Concentric patterns.

The Temples of Angkor fascinate at every turn with their individual uniqueness.

Bayon–a huge temples of 216 large faces, all the same and bearing a strong resemblance to the Cambodia’s legendary king Jayavarman VII who built Bayon. 

Ta Prohm–crumbling in many places with nature being allowed to somewhat take over. Giant frangipanni trees grow up from the walls, draping their mammoth roots picturesquely over the walls, creating beautiful photo opportunites.

Bantaey Srei–meaning "the Citadel of the Women" is a Hindu shrine built to honor Shiva. A small, petite temple with intricate and ornate carvings.

Eastern Mebon–8 almost life-size elephants guarding the corners of the two concentric rectangles.

Angkor Wat–inspiring and powerful, surrounded by a large moat 190 meters wide, which forms a rectangle measuring 1.5 km by 1.3 km. It’s most inspiring features are the 5 symmetrical towers rising up to the sky. It is beautiful and magnificent.

What I remember most about Angkor Wat was climbing the stairs to the third level of the temples. The many narrow steps rose ladder-like about 40-50 feet with nothing to hold on to. About halfway up, I experienced a moment of fear as I realized going down was as frightening as continuing up. About that time, Orion asked me how I was doing, then asked me to stop as he took a photo of me.

As I continued up, I began to wonder if I could safely climb back down these steps. For the next 30 minutes or so, I tried to focus on the wonder of what I was seeing, rather than my terror at the descent.

I felt an immense wave of relief flow through me when we came upon a long line of people waiting to climb back down a different flight of stairs, this one with a small iron railing. After discovering this, I relaxed and enjoyed the awe-inspiring beauty of Angkor Wat.