Bayon Temple complex from distance.

It was April fools day, but everyone had forgotten - what a joke. We got up at 6:30 so that we could catch our early morning flight to Siem Reap near the Angkor Ruins. Our flight only lasted 45min. so we had an early lunch of some different Cambodian food than I had had the day before. It tasted great once again and I walked away very satisfied. I think that when I get back home I’m going to try to learn some Cambodian cooking.

Bayon Temple carving.

After lunch we were off and ready to see the amazing ruins that we’d heard so much about. Our first stop was the Bayon temple structure. The temple complex is made up of 50+ towers carved with Bodhisattva faces on each side. The temple itself is dedicated to the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and I believe it was built around the 12th century.

Statues entering Angkor.

I loved the complex not only for its beauty, but also for the fact that it was totally void of other tourists and we could just climb all over the temple and through all the little tunnels underneath it. At one point I almost got hit by a bat that was trying to fly by me as I was navigating through.

Statues entering Angkor.

It was strange to think that something so huge and amazing could have been lost and forgotten for over 400 years.

As I was walking around I noticed that I had drenched my clothes with sweat even though I wasn’t even that hot.

Outside Angkor Wat

The humidity there was so strange that it’s very difficult to explain. It’s jungle heat I guess.

After we finished viewing Bayon temple we went over to the most famous of all the Angkor temples; Angkor Wat. We had three and a half hours to spend there and I used every minute of it. It was a really mind-blowing place.

Skulls at the killing fields.

I took a ton of pictures that turned out really well, but I still think that none really do the temple justice.

Angkor Wat was built sometime around the 7th Century as a worshipping place for Lord Vishnu. The Khmer civilization had originally been Hindu and had converted to Buddhism sometime later.

Jungle covering the temple

It’s funny that since there are no Hindus around there anymore the only religious folk that hang around the temple anymore are Buddhist monks dressed up in their bright orange robes.

After I had climbed around a bit my friend Erik (a true Irishman) and I met two young monks who were just hanging out at the top of the temple. We talked with them for a while and them exchanged addresses and said goodbye.

At 6:30 we headed back to our hotel to wash up and get ready to go out for some dinner. At the restaurant I ate everything that they put in front of me and even ordered a few more orders of those tasty spring rolls. I was really satisfied once again.

Angkor Wat Sunrise