Living the retirement dream

We are sharing our ideal retirement experiences.

Angkor Wat

This is probably one of the foremost tourist destinations in the world along with Machu Picchu, The Pyramids of Giza, The Great Wall of China and The Taj Mahal. There are many more with the list including things like the Eiffel Tower, the Las Vegas Strip and the Hollywood sign but we are referring to ancient wonders of the world. Angkor Wat is not included in the seven wonders of the ancient world but it is certainly high on many people’s bucket lists. Our bucket list tends to be much more practical, focusing primarily on cities and countries. That being said we did recently see Machu Picchu and do hope to someday see the Taj Mahal. But here we are at Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was constructed over 30 years during the reign of King Suryavarman the second (AD 1113) By some measures it is the largest religious complex in the world. Originally a Hindu Mountain temple aligned to the spring equinox, around the 16th century it was converted to a Theravada Buddhist monument, a capacity in which it continues today.

Today we met our guide in the hotel lobby at 4:45am as our sunrise tour starts before dawn to witness the breathtaking view of the tropical sun emerging from the iconic lotus towers of Angkor Wat. This photo shows our guide shining a flashlight to assist us on a long pitch black walk to reach the temple.
Our First Glimpse. We actually couldn’t see it yet but camera phones do see in the dark.
The reflecting pool in front of the main temple is considered to be the best place to watch the sunrising.
Angkor Wat is the number one spot for watching the sunrise in the world, depending on the weather.
Our experience was not optimal. The best time is the dry season that is early December until March. We were there April 4.
This was probably the most color we got.
Despite our 5:15 am arrival a massive crowd was already at the waters edge viewing point. Angkor Wat opens at 5am.
Here we are about to go inside to tour the temple. Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious sites in the world in addition to being one of the most mysterious.
Finally full sunrise at 6:45.
We explored the well preserved central complex.
And saw the bas reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu mythologies and battles of the ancient empire.
Originally everything was quite colorful but all of the paint has been worn away with time.
The monument is constructed of sandstone and laterite (a reddish claylike material).
The temple is dedicated to the deity Vishnu (the preserver god). Unlike most Khmer temples Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. Scholars hypothesize that it was intended to serve as King Suryavarman’s funerary temple. However he was never buried there as he was killed in battle before Angkor Wat was completed.
It is located on a site that covers over a square mile.
Angkor Wat is regarded as one of the best examples of Khmer architecture and a symbol of Cambodia. It is depicted on the country’s flag. This is the day view of the night time photo we took on our first glimpse of the temple in the dark.
We climbed these steep stairs that are at an incline of 70 degrees to reach the Bakan which is the third and highest level of Angkor Wat at a height of 213 feet above ground and offers scenic views for those visitors brave enough to climb them, which of course we did.😌
The final set of stairs to the top. We used the clean up app to remove all the people on the stairs for a better photo effect.
Going down was actually easier. Sandy never looked up going up the staircase as it makes you very dizzy.
The sandstone is starting to crumble and disintegrate due to the tropical climate and drought so a major preservation and restoration effort is now underway by German craftsmen and engineers.
It was much nicer waking through the forest when the sun was up.
The main body of water near Angkor Wat is West Baray which is a large artificial reservoir measuring 5 miles long by 1 mile wide. The reservoir keeps the water in the moats at optimal levels.
We took this lovely pathway which was a shortcut back to our van and the much needed ice cold face cloths and drinks to refresh us from the intense rising sun.
On April 5 we departed this beautiful Rice Paddy Oasis of Zannier Phum Baitang Cambodia. Interestingly enough we are writing this blog from Zannier  Bãi San Hô in Vietnam. Zannier has only five hotels around the world.
Goodbye endless wooden walkways
and massive water buffalos
Our guide and driver took us to the airport to fly to our next destination of Shinta Mani Wild Resort in the jungles of Cambodia.
We bid Lee hi ( informal form of Cambodian for goodbye) to Mr Chin our driver and K or as Jim called him Kahlua. Actually his Cambodian name was Mr Koeu Kheleur. All the guides have given us easy nicknames or abbreviated versions of their names to call them.
The guides accompany us inside to expedite our check in process.
It will be a short one hour flight in this turbo prop plane to our next destination of Sihanoukville. Despite business class seats the best we get is coffee and water. 😠

Living our retirement dream

,

One response to “Angkor Wat”

  1. Bill Boyle Avatar
    Bill Boyle

    Iconic sunrise.
    👍👍
    Bill

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Living the retirement dream

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading