Our First Day at Angkor Wat

by Rachel
for Wednesday, July 17th

We woke up bright and early today (our driver picked us up at 4:40 a.m.) in hopes of seeing the sunrise at Angkor Wat, which is supposed to be absolutely spectular. However, it was cloudy, so we watched it get lighter, but we didn't see the amazing sunrise that we have seen in the pictures.

Once it was light we went and began exploring Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is actually a giant complex of temples and you have to have a driver to take you between the temples. Angkor Wat is also the name of the best preserved and largest temple in the complex. Built in the 12th century, it was originally a Hindu temple, but it was converted to be a Buddhist temple shortly after.

We explored Angkor Wat, the temple, first. There aren't really rules about where you can or can't go, so we got to climb up really steep stairs to explore lots of different parts of the temple. It was absolutely amazing. We climbed up to the top part to overlook the temple. Even this singular temple is massive. There also were monkey climbing around different parts of the temple. Baby monkeys clutched to their mother's backs and monkeys cleaned each other. They seemed very uninterested in the tourists.

in front of Angkor Wat

the view from the top of Angkor Wat

After exploring that temple, we headed to two more temple in the Angkor Wat complex. Both were a bit smaller. The first was called Ta Keo and had a bunch of really steep stairs that we had to climb up. Going down the stairs I was very afraid that I would fall down. 

climbing up the steep steps to the top of Ta Keo

The other temple was probably my favorite temple. Trees have begun to grow in the ruins and so there are tree roots in the walls of the temple and even a tree growing on top of the temple. It is actually the temple where Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom was filmed. I loved exploring around the temple, except by this point it was the middle of the day and very very hot. With 95 degree heat and 80% humidity, we all almost melted from being in the sun all day. I was actually greatful for the long drive in an air conditioned van to the fourth temple.

at Ta Prohm

the jungle has overtaken some of the temple at Ta Prohm

The fourth temple, Bantay Srei, was a smaller temple, but had lots of intricate designs. The detail in it was amazing and the heat while wondering around it was almost unbearable.

at Bantay Srei

After the temple, we headed to the landmine museum. The museum talked about Aki Ra who was the man who founded the museum. His parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge when he was five and he was taken by them. At age ten he was given a gun and taught how to lay land mines. He eventually switched sides and fought against the Khmer Rouge. Now he works to remove landmines from villages. During the war, millions of landmines were laid and many of them are still hidden throughout Cambodia. They are triggered by people or animals walking over them. Even though the war ended in 1975, there are still hundreds of civilians killed or injured every year from landmines and unexploded bombs. The landmines were originally designed to maim or seriously injure a person instead of killing them. The reason for this is that injuring a person slows down an army more because people stop to help care for their comrade. Aki Ra also takes children from poor families in the villages and cares for them and sends them to school. He currently has over 30 children and their stories are posted in the landmine museum for people to read.

After the landmine museum we headed home, which turned out to be a good thing because it started monsooning. In Cambodia, there is a wet season and a dry season. During the wet season it rains almost every afternoon. Luckily, the rain normally only lasts for a few hours so we were able to go out to see the night market before heading to bed.