Temples of Angkor - Part 1: Angkor Wat

It is reported that there are over one thousand temples scattered throughout the Angkor region! Needless to say, in three days (and 36-ish temples) I was only able to scratch the surface. Regardless, I had a blast just exploring the entire region and visiting as many temples as I could. I'm a huge fan of Buddhist and Hindu architecture and iconography, and so Angkor was heaven on earth for me. In these three days, I was out from sunrise to sunset and felt like Indiana Jones, just running around exploring as many temples as I could...making sure to check every corner and passageway to see everything. In the next few posts, I'll highlight my three favorite temples: Angkor Wat, Bayon, and Ta Prohm.

Angkor Wat

Spectacular! It was so beautiful that I had to visit this twice.

The temple of Angkor Wat just by itself would be enough reason for anybody to visit Cambodia. In terms of size and grandeur, it is without a doubt the mother-of-all-temples. No other temple in the world comes close! What really surprised me, however, was the incredible condition that all of the bas-reliefs and sculptures were in. There are walls upon walls of sculptures that remain completely intact and are absolutely gorgeous to view. And being a nut about Hindu art, I literally spent a total of 7 hours (in 2 trips) just walking around the temple and admiring all of the intricate details and stories. And I totally would have stayed longer had I not been pressed for time.

Random fact about Angkor Wat that I loved: So in college, I wrote a paper about the symbolism of Hindu temples as "cosmic temples", representing the home of gods (i.e. Mt. Kailasa as Shiva's abode). So it was pretty awesome when I learned that Angkor Wat and its 5 towers was built to represent the sacred Mt. Meru and its 5 peaks. I know...a total nerd moment that I embraced.

And while in Cambodia, I was very very happy to find an old friend....