I was getting more comfortable navigating Asia every day. I nailed the bus trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and an Uber to my hostel. It was almost like I knew what I was doing, which is rare for me.
I chose to stay at the Poolside Villas in Phnom Penh, which was phenomenal. The rooms were $21 a night, and the food/drinks were very cheap, with beers $1.50/$1 happy hour and most meals under $5.
As my travels take me into March, I am starting to feel the pressure of running out of time in Asia. I am scheduled to leave on March 21st, and I still have not done some things.
For that reason, I took Cambodia by storm and did as much as possible in ten days.
I want to share my day trip to Angkor Wat, which was amazing!
Angkor Wat “City/Capital of Temples”) It is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1,626,000 m2; 402 acres) within the ancient Khmer capital city of Angkor, it was originally constructed in 1150 CE as a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Vishnu. It was later gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century.
Angkor Wat was built at the behest of the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology, and is surrounded by a moat more than 5 km (3.1 mi). Enclosed within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west, with scholars divided as to the significance of this.
Here are some of the many videos I took, and the rest can be found on my YouTube channel by clicking here.
My tuk-tuk driver was amazing! He picked me up at the hotel in the morning, drove me to each of the seven temples one by one. He gave me clear instructions to navigate each of the temples, including pick-up after each stop.
It would be a lot more comfortable to spend 2-3 days, as I felt rushed towards the end and was worn out.