Lone Temple Tour in Cambodia

So I recently went to Cambodia. It was one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Asia. I was expecting to be mesmerized by all of the history but I never anticipated that the place would leave such a mark.

To save up on my trip I took the red-eye flight going to Siem Reap at 1 a.m. Bias Cebu Pacific. I went there alone and only had my itinerary with me. I was warned to pack light because around this time in March the weather would be very hot. And so I went.

I took a taxi from the airport going to the Mad Monkey hostel located along Sivatha Road the costs 1100 pesos a night. It was a reasonable price considering that my priorities were safety inconvenience two the city.

I had a 3-day pass for the temple visits starting with Angkor Wat. In order to catch the best photo I was advised to be there before sunrise. Waking up wasn't as hard because I was too excited to be asleep anyway. As expected the weather was very hot So I dressed lightly but made sure I was wearing pants and had a scarf with me because I know that some temples required women to have fully covered legs and head.

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge history buff but after my first day my body was so sore I couldn't imagine going through it for another two days so if you plan to do Temple visits I suggest you think about getting the 3-day pass and just taking it one day at a time.

But if you're really interested to do the whole Temple tour, here's my summary of the three days starting with Angkor Wat.

ANGKOR WAT

Angkor Wat is the biggest temple complex in Siem Reap. It was originally built as a Hindu temple but then was transformed into a Buddhist temple right around the 12th century. You'll notice that a lot of the Hindu gods' faces have been chipped off because of the shift from Hindu to Buddhism.

The central structure was my first stop. It was surrounded by a terrorist that went all around the complex. Now I wasn't part of any tour group but I did manage to overhear that there were three layers to Angkor Wat. I did my best to get to the center and it took me about 2 hours to complete the central structure.

There were a lot of restoration then reconstruction around the temple which is why I ended my tour early.

At about 2 in the afternoon I went back to Mad Monkey to rest and rehydrate for the rest of the day.

BAYON TEMPLE

My second day was dedicated to Bayon Temple. It's the one with all the famous statues with faces. It was also transform from a Hindu to a Buddhist temple like many of the others. From what I overheard from the tour groups, this was a temple built t cater to one of Cambodia's most famous Kings. There are 216 gigantic face tattoos all around The Complex.

There were a lot of carvings on the walls most of which have been desecrated during the shift. You'll also see a lot of monks walking around because there is a settlement nearby.

Same as the first day the weather was very humid and hot which prompted me to keep the tour short. I did enjoy myself just wondering off to the little nooks of the temple wear your catch a cool breeze every now and then.

BANTAEY SREI

This is probably one of my favorite temples among the three. It's probably because it's dedicated for women and the carvings on the walls are the most pronounced and intricate out of all the temples I've seen. It's actually older than the two built during the 10th century and it was built for the Hindu god Shiva.

Unlike the other two the temple grounds relatively smaller but the details I really left me at an awe. They were in the lot of people during the day which me the tour more enjoyable. Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing what the temple was about unless I Googled it. I can only speak how about my walking experience for the day and I would have to say that if you were to visit any temple in Cambodia this should be one of them.

By my third day I had to catch an early flight because I had work the following morning. I rediscovered a lot of about myself during the trip alone. I know I could have done a better job exploring the city but I know that I could always come back.

#Cambodia #Tour #Places