Angkor Wat Temple Complex Part 1

The complex is huge... it's over 400 acres in size. Pretty much impossible to do in a one day visit, so they sell 3 day and 7 day packages as well. But, it's also pricey. A one day pass costs $37 USD ($50 CAD). And, you need to be able to get around the complex. We hired a tuk tuk driver to spend the day ferrying us around the various temples for a cost of $20 USD ($27 CAD) including tip. So for two people, $94 USD ($127 CAD). An expensive day out.

We got an early start to try and beat the crowds, and to a certain extent, it worked. We left the hotel just before 8am, and by the time we bought our tickets and walked to the entrance of the main temple, it was 8:30am.

There is a long walkway to get to the main temple...

The day started off overcast, but they weren't calling for rain.

Crossing the moat to the main temple of Angkor Wat.

Arriving at the entrance at 8:30am.

The main temple is what is actually called Angkor Wat, or Angkor Temple. "Wat" is the local word for "temple". 

The main structure was built over a 28 year period between 1122 and 1150.

But, what you've been seeing so far is only the gatehouse surrounding the temple!

Now, we head to the temple itself.

You can see what remains of paint in some areas.

All of the walls are intricately decorated.

Don't forget to look up!

Ruth, at the Southern Library.

The main temple on the left.

Serpent head.

The Northern Library.

One of the reasons the main Angkor Wat temple is in such good condition is that it was never completely abandoned after it was built. There was a period of neglect in the 1600's, but over the past 200 years it has been regularly maintained, and of course restoration and preservation continue today.

The first Western visitor to the temple was a Portuguese friar who visited in 1586 and he wrote that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of."

The original stairs up to the upper temple are steep and narrow.

Off limits to the public.

The public uses these (only slightly) more modern wooden steps.

View from the top.

We timed things pretty good.

Not many people around.

This section looks like it's been restored.

Quite a few people who didn't want to climb the stairs.

More decoration.

As we were leaving, there were hoards of people coming our way. 

This photo taken at 9:38am.

So the best time to arrive is no later than 8:30am. We went through the main temple fairly quickly... about an hour. I'm sure many people spend longer than that.

But we wanted to be quick because there is a lot more to see than just the one main temple.

The entrance is definitely busier than when we had arrived.

We made our way back to where our tuk-tuk driver Johnny was patiently waiting for us. We booked him for the whole day, but it's a set route that he follows called the "small circle". There is also the large circle, and the long trip. But each of the routes can only be done in one day.

We stopped by these big statues.

This narrow gate is still used by vehicle traffic.

Next stop was the Bayon Temple.

This temple was built in the early 13th century. It is famous due to the large four sided faces on the many towers, as well as the highly detailed relief carvings depicting every day life.

One of the many face towers. There used to be 47, but only 37 remain.

Much of it is not in great condition.

Pretty easy to feel like Indiana Jones here!

Or Lara Croft. 

In the entire year of 1993, a total of 7,600 people visited the Angkor Wat complex.

In 2001, a film called "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" had some scenes filmed here at the complex, and tourism to the area skyrocketed. By 2004, there were 1,500 visitors per day!

This number grew to 3,000 per day by 2007, and grew to 6,000 per day by 2012. Numbers peaked in 2019 at 9,000 per day. Then of course came Covid. Numbers have not recovered yet, so thankfully during our visit they are still relatively low, at about 2,500 per day.

Some reconstruction work ongoing.

Fantastic detail.

Too many photos... so we're going to leave this post as is, and continue part two of our visit later in the day!

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