A La Lara Croft in Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm & Bayon, Siem Reap

Now here’s the most anticipated tourist attraction in Siem Reap. On our next day, we visited 3 major temples – the famous Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm – popularized by the Tomb Raider movie, and the Bayon Temple.

There are many more monuments in the city but if you only had a short trip to Siem Reap, these 3 are a must-visit.

Trying the tuk-tuk is something I would recommend but not during your city tour. Not sure how many seasons does Cambodia have but when we visited way back in 2012, it was during the very hot summer and we were sweating like pigs. We took advantage of the comfort of this Mercedes Benz from the hotel which only Venus and I were occupying. 🙂

The admission fee for the temples is worth 20 USD. Our first stop – the breath taking Angkor Wat. I am out of words. It was BEAUTIFUL. I didn’t know the temple ruins occupied a massive land space in Siem Reap. You may wanna check this out to see how the Angkor Wat looks like from the top: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2317119/Machu-Picchu-Stonehenge-Worlds-incredible-ancient-ruins-seen-space.html

tourists. . We saw some couples having their pre-nuptials pictorial there. . hmmm, they gave me an idea. . hahaha!

this carved wall depicts some story of Khmer history. i forgot what it’s called but it’s something related to a battle. and this is a long corridor; that’s a lot of work there!

there are still monks who are living in the ruins.

Next stop – Ta Prohm. This temple has been made popular by Angelina Jolie’s movie Tomb Raider. Among the 3, this is my favorite. The ruins are nestled in the middle of the jungle. I loved the trees that gave shade on our way to the temple; it made the tourist attraction cool and somehow make you sweat less. haha! What’s more amazing with Ta Prohm is that the ruins are shrouded by Banyan trees with humongous roots. The roots and trunks of the trees twist along the pillars. I can’t describe if the trees were destroying the temples or actually creating it and make it a more interesting attraction.

on our way to the temples, this group of locals playing their native instrument. it was lovely!

Our final stop for the day, before we went on shopping, is the Bayon Temple. From afar, when i saw those giant faces, i was already mesmerized by it’s beauty.

Siem Reap is indeed rich in history, there’s a lot to learn from each of the temples alone. If you’ll go back packing in South East Asia, make sure Siem Reap, Cambodia is on your list and surely you’ll be blown away. I had been. ❤

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The Restless Firefly

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