Temples of Angkor - Cambodia

After hearing about the temples of Angkor Wat during my adventures in India, in May I traveled to one of the most well-known temple complexes in the world, near Siem Reap, Cambodia. Built over several decades in and around the 10th Century, the temples were mostly abandoned as the Khmer kingdom declined in the 14th Century, and rediscovered only 500 years later, after annual rainfall and generations of rainforest trees had enveloped the temples.



I spent a lot of time here inside my own imagination--not just Indiana Jones fantasies, but also wondering how, 1000 years ago, monks and temple carvers traveled from India and Burma to what is now Cambodia to design and build such massive religious monuments. I really enjoyed our guide's summaries reminding me of the Hindu stories (many from the Ramayana also very popular in southern India) and the basics of Buddhism, both of which were depicted in the temples depending on the era.



Even though UNESCO World Heritage status has brought hoards of tourists, it has also brought the funds needed to protect the sites from (more) looters. Many of the sites have been cleared of their trees, but we found a few that were still mostly unrestored. Click here for 46 photos of temples such as Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Banday Srei, and my favorite, Beng Mealea.