I often tell my husband @starthere that with all the natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and more becoming more frequent these days, that we should make it a priority to travel to places that have old structures while they are still somehow intact. Cambodia is just in our neighborhood and Siem Reap is the gateway to the ruins of the Angkor, the seat of Khmer Kingdom from the 9th to 15th centuries.
I did a little bit of study before we traveled, watched a lot of documentaries about Angkor Wat as well as the ruins that surround it. It got more and more fascinated and excited. I also did research on off the beaten path locations that would make the trip unique.
I will be sharing our 4 day Itinerary in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Day 1: Koh Ker and Bang Maleaa
We hired a car, a driver, and a guide for the entirety of the trip. We started on the first morning at around 8:00-8:30 am. First stop: a 2 hour ride out of town to see Koh Ker. It is said that only about two dozen monuments can be visited by tourists here because most of the sanctuaries are hidden in the forest and the whole area has not yet been fully demined.
Seven tiered pyramid at Koh Ker known as Prasat Thom
Khmer kids hanging out at the entrance of Prasat Thom
A Khmer woman sitting and stitching - also in the entrance of Prasat Thom
Kids playing hide and seek in the old ruins
Some smaller temples that can be found along the way.
There are no words to describe how beautiful these are or how brutal nature can be when it decides to takes over.
We took a break over lunch time and went into a local restaurant to try a famous Khmer dish, Fish Amok. A steamed fish curry served in a coconut. Served with a hot bowl of rice and it was delicious!
We went on to the next the next destination, Bang Maleea. Bang Meleea is a temple that was long lost and forgotten and it had completely fallen to ruins. The jungle nevertheless adopted the ruins and trees grew upon the ancient buildings. For years it was difficult to reach, but a road recently built to the temple complex of Koh Ker passes Bang Maleea and more visitors are coming to the site.
It is relatively peaceful and quiet, set amidst the shady greenery. Visiting the temple actually involves climbing over the rubble and ducking under the doorways.
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More Khmer kids plays hide and seek among these ruins. This is their playground.
Day 2 : Bantey Kdei, Ta Phrom, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Bayon Temples, South Gate Angkor Tom
Ruined Temple of Bantey Kdei. These saffron robed monks really makes the photo more interesting.
The question for someone visiting Siem Reap is: How many temples can you digest? (that's me by the way!)
Vendors selling colorful artworks at the entrance of Tah Phrom.
Ta Phrom was built around the late 12th and early 13th century. Fig, banyan, and kapok trees spread their roots over stones, tearing the walls apart.
Ta Phrom is quite famous because Tomb Raider was filmed here.
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Very old Sanskrit carved on the temple walls of Terrace of the Elephants
Phimeanakas was built around late 10th century and early 11th century. According to the legend, the King would have to go every night to the top of the structure alone where he would meet a Naga girl (a mythical Hindu serpent deity). If the king didn't show up to meet her, disaster would strike his empire!
Climbing at the top of Phimeanakas in the middle of the day wasn't the best idea. We went there around 11-ish so the sun was high and it was hot. Maybe if we went late in the afternoon,it would have been perfect.
Baphuon Temple. Look closely and you will see the face of the reclining Buddah.
Bayon Temple was probably one of my favorite. It just took my breath away the moment I saw it.
There are 216 happy faces carves on its temple.
Beautiful carved wall of Bayon Temple which shows the everyday life of the Khmers.
To end the day, we went to the South Gate Angkor Tom to watch the sunset, still saving Angkor Wat for the last day.
Watch out for the Day 3 and 4 itinerary at Siem Reap, coming soon!
Absolutely love this. I don't think I've seen any other post do as much justice to Bantey Srey and Ta Prohm. It's so lovely to see pictures outside the main angkor complex!
Thanks so much for the kind comment, great elephant profile pic! We love Siem Reap! Especially when we went a little farther away from Angkor Wat (we loved that too though) :)
What a beatiful place and great photos too
It is indeed a beautiful place. So many interesting things to photograph. I hope youll follow the rest of the trip itineraries. I will be sharing more photos.
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing your travels in Siem Riep, Cambodia. The temples are a wonder to see and you even tried the fish amok cuisine! It is an acquired palate.
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haha! Thanks! we just have to, its part of the travel or I guess we were just too hungry at that time that wed eat anything. Have you had fish amok?
I'v always dreamt of visiting Cambodia specially touring around Ankor Wat! It is the number in my bucketlist. Thanks for sharing your itinerary I'm totally psyched to save more for my cambodia trip 😁😊 the photos you took are breath taking I cant wait to see them all up close and personal!
hey @stephey!
I can guarantee you that its worth saving every penny for this trip. Cambodia is not an expensive country to go around and see. I hope you stick around and see the Day 3 and 4 of the itinerary because I will be sharing more photos.
Thanks for commenting. It means a lot to me and that's the purpose of this whole post is to interact with people.
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This is beyond lovely!! I LOVE the pic of the Khmer girl on day 1 playing hide and seek.
Which documentaries were your favorites? I remember watching some before I went to Machu Pichu, and it made all the difference in the world in my excitement level. I'm going to Cambodia sometime this year (I don't really plan...I'm in Thailand now, next stop Malaysia...who knows)... so I'd love to get pumped about Angkor Wat 'cause that's mainly what I want to see!
Also your pics are beautiful!! What camera do you use? Nice to meet you!
Thanks so much @nomadicsoul, you're so nice and nice to meet you too! we love Cambodia and the Cambodian people are very sweet, been there two times and hope to go back again. Ill have to look up the documentaries, I think I found some on YouTube but i found them very helpful before the trip.
MACHU PICHU! Very high on my list! I hope to get there soon! I havnt been to South America yet, just the US a few times with @starthere. If you have any questions on Cambodia, let me know we tried hard to get off the beaten path and I'm happy answer any questions. If you're still in Thailand, hi from Bangkok :)
For the camera, most of the photos in this post were taken with my Nikon and a few with my iPhone, but just switched Canon EOS 6D MARK II.
Thanks so much!!! Same with you if you have SA questions! Ahh how cool that your husband is your steemit travel buddy.
Still in Thailand, I'll be in Malaysia soon though! If I'm back in Bangkok and you're around it could be fun to meet!
Thanks for answering about the camera. Seriously your shots are amazing.
Plz let me know if you come through BKK, would love to meet, maybe lunch? I could take you to some of our yummiest spots!
Great photos!! Thank you for sharing these photos.
Hey @koto-art
Thanks for dropping by. I am happy to finally share them to a larger audience.:)
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Thank you!!!
Absolutely amazing content. Right up on my bucket list, this is one place in Asia that I'm making a high priority. Thanks for sharing!