Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/380.html



Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world.

So we've given ourselves a few days to visit the entire complex, which is made up of several sites about 15 minutes north of the city of Siem Reap. It was a bit confusing finding out where to pick up tickets. The office is in a building somewhere between the city and the temples, and the signage is not very good. We rode up and down looking for the ticket office. We got a three day pass for $50 each. Pricey!


We've read that the main temple, Angkor Wat, is best viewed at sunset

So we hid out in our luxurious hotel room, waiting out the hottest time of the day, to venture out in the late afternoon, a couple of hours before sunset.

Parking is free for motorcycles! We just pulled up to where all the taxis were and stashed our bikes between a couple of tuk tuks. Camouflaged! I love traveling by bikes!


We met some of the locals of Angkor Wat

The site that the main temple is on is huge! The grounds are 1.6 square kms and it takes a long time to walk from the parking lot on the outside of the moat surrounding the site to the actual temple itself.

Also whoever is recommending visiting the temple at sunset is telling everybody they know, because it is friggin' crowded! I guess it is the #1 tourist destination in Cambodia...

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

We try to time our walks through the temples in the lull between tour groups


The lull between tour groups

The city of Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th century. These temples were built in the 12th century.


It is not just a tourist site, it's an active temple as well.
People come here to pray and burn incense sticks.

Angkor was founded on political and religious ideas from India. This explains why this statue has multiple arms, which indicates that it's a Hindu deity. The Khmer were a Hindu/Buddhist religion.

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

So I found out that these monks don't live at Angkor Wat,
they all make pilgrimages to visit the temple


Another tourist, just like us. But dressed more snazzy...


Interacting with the monks

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Walking a bit further away, we get a chance to snap the world-famous shot of Angkor Wat
reflecting off the pond in front of the temple. This is the picture on everyone's Instagram feed

What those Instagram photos never show you is where you have to stand to get the shot:


Seems so peaceful and serene in front of the camera, doesn't it?

I am fascinated with tourism.

Having traveled to many of the tourist hot-spots, there's often a sharp contrast between the marketing of a destination and the reality. Everyone's picture of the Greek island of Santorini shows the solitary blue domes on spartan white buildings against the wide-open Aegean Sea. There's never any other people in the shot. But the reality is that there are thousands of sweaty tourists all crowding each other trying to take that spartan shot. And *all of them* continuing to perpetuate the marketing myth that Santorini is a peaceful, solitary getaway!

Stonehenge backs up right against a major highway. In Pisa, we took more pictures of the tourists miming than the leaning tower itself. I've heard that the Sphinx in Cairo is being crowded by McDonalds and shopping malls (I still want to see it though!). But everyone wants a picture of how it was a hundred years or a thousand years ago, when there weren't cities and highways, shopping malls and parking lots, and acres of concrete, glass and steel all dominating our landscape.

I find that so interesting.


Here are two more of those sweaty tourists, lined up to get their picture taken in front of Angkor Wat

We've visited many of the "Top Ten" tourist spots in almost every country we've traveled to. Although we dislike crowds, there is a reason why these places are so popular. Angkor Wat is magnificent, due in part to the sheer size of it, but also all the way down to the well-preserved old grey stones and the odd monk walking around in orange robes (odd as in few, not weird).

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Neda spent a lot of time taking pictures of the lily pads on the pond in front of the temple


A horse is parked in front for more tourist picture opportunities.


So this is a thing now...

We've kept this blog going for so long that it's not only just a diary of where we've been, but it's also become sort of a historical record of worldwide fads and trends. Back in 2012, we returned from a six-week trek to and from the Arctic Ocean in Alaska, and our friends in Vancouver informed us that Gangnam Style had become a thing while we were gone...

So let this be a record. As of right now, "dabbing" is a thing.

Personally, I find it a bit odd. (Odd as in weird, not few)

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

More traditional dabbing going on here


Dabbing our sweaty foreheads because of the heat


Ah ha, the light is getting good!

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Sun is approaching the golden hour and everyone is flocking outside


The crowds outside the temple


Are these monks also walking outside to get a shot for their Instagram account?

Not joking! I've seen a few monks tapping and swiping on their smartphones. So apparently it's allowed.

I've heard that they have special Buddhist SIM cards for their phones. There's a guy who sells it to them, he's called the Chip Monk...

(insert obscure Asus Zenfone reference here)

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Temple silhouettes against the setting sun


Take our place in line across the pond


Gotcha. You're going on Instagram now!

We're saving the best temples for tomorrow!

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Just read your intro on Wild dogs, glad that things turned out ok

Wayne

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The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

I too find it odd (as in weird) that people want to visit the places they've seen stunning pictures of just to take similar (but usually of lower quality because the timing is not as perfect) pictures themselves. Strange to prefer the view through a 2" screen!

Thanks Wayne, hope things are well for you in the Land of Smiles!

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/381.html



Mention the Khmer temple: "Ta Prohm" to anybody and they'll just stare back at you with no recognition.

Then say "the temple from Tomb Raider" and their eyes will light up, their heads will nod and they'll normally drop a comment about Angelina Jolie's body...



So we're visiting the Tomb Raider temple today. Or I should say, we're visiting the temple *VERY EARLY* this morning.

Just like the Internet told us to go to Angkor Wat for sunset, we read that the best time to go to Ta Prohm is first thing in the morning, to catch the sunrise over the temple, but also to beat the crowds. They recommended to arrive for the opening at 6AM, and then watch the sunrise half and hour later.

So we drove in the dark at 5:30 in the morning, no headlights because I keep forgetting to plug the fuse back in. Who knew we'd be doing so much night-time driving?!? Also... it's COLD at 5:30AM!

We arrive a few minutes before 6AM. The dirt parking lot is entirely empty. Awesome! We hate crowds.

It was hard to find the entrance because there wasn't anyone lining up. We walked around the whole temple. By the time we came back to the parking lot, it was after 6AM. Still nobody at the entrance?

The sun was starting to rise and we were standing around waiting all alone in the parking lot. Well, not entirely alone. A stray dog came over to visit us. He looked at us quizzically. "Yeah, I don't know what we're doing here so early, either..."

Around 6:45AM, a security guard drove up in a pick up truck. We asked him when the temple would open. He replied, "7:30AM".

DAMN YOU, INTERNET!!!!!! You owe me an hour and a half of sleep!


First one through the entrance of Ta Prohm. And just one other couple (we'll just call them Mr and Mrs Smith) who arrived at 7:30AM. Obviously their Google-fu was better than mine...

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

The temples were interesting, but people visit Ta Prohm to see this: trees!


Or rather, they want to see the roots of these trees creep down into the stones of the temple

So photogenic and creepy! They look like alien ooze has dripped from an interstellar faucet above, cascading over the tops of the temples and then petrified over time.

Hm... that almost sounds like the plot of another Angelina Jolie movie...


Looking around for interesting things to take pictures of

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

So cool-looking!!!


The roots have clambered all over the temples walls, gaining purchase in the nooks and crannies in their thirsty march for nutrients, soil and water

The Khmer Empire fell in the 15th century and Ta Prohm was abandoned, left behind for the jungle to consume. Over time, these trees sunk their roots into the limestone to extract the moisture out of it, crawling all over the structures.

Today, there is scaffolding in place all around parts of Ta Prohm, as restoration work is ongoing to reclaim parts of the temple back from the greedy Ents. But they've left just enough of the tree roots to maintain the mysterious and atmospheric creepiness.


Hey, look who came in to join us! Our friend from (VERY EARLY) this morning! We nicknamed him, "The Bone Collector"

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com

Anywayz... back to the treez

I also found out that it's not one type of tree invading the temple. There are a few species that botanists have identified. I like the name of one of them: the Strangler Fig. That totally sounds like the title of an Angelina Jolie film. I'm going straight to IMDB to check...


The roots are so Maleficent-looking


Yes, we actually went inside the temple, instead of gawking at the trees. Neda is looking for a Tomb to Raid.

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Gene - http://www.RideDOT.com