The main reason for visiting Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat. We were all very excited about this day and honestly, couldn't believe we were actually getting see one of the 8th Wonders of the World! Our tour guide, Ravi, picked us up from our hotel at 8 am and we were off to start our whole day of exploring.
We arrived at Angkor Wat with masses of people. Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat, so we had to cross the bridge to get in. What I first noticed was the markings on the stones of the bridge. Ravi explained to us that Angkor Wat was built in the 11th century, later it was abandoned and not discovered until the 1700's. The place was completely covered by trees when it was rediscovered and most of the temples had to be put back together. The markings were numbers to help them piece the temple back together. Pretty amazing.
Looking out over the moat and towards the bridge.
Once you cross the bridge, you are at the temple gate which is pretty amazing by itself. The entire corridor is covered in carvings that explain the history of the king that had Ankor Wat built. It's absolutely incredible to think how long it would have taken to make all the carving and have these temples built. There are also carvings of Apsara dancers, supernatural female beings, who are superb in the art of dancing and also compared to angels. They are beautiful. The boys had fun finding all the Apsara that covered Angkor Wat.
Angkor Wat gate
Apsara Dancer
The first view of the whole temple
Carvings explaining the history
This whole hall had carvings!
More of the carvings
The boys inside of one of the ceremonial pools for the King.
Monkey outside of Angkor Wat
We spent a couple hours at Angkor Wat exploring and learning about the history. I was able to climb to the very highest point of the temple and look out over the whole complex. They only let adults and children over 12 climb to the top due to the steep climb. You also need to make sure you are dressed appropriately by having your shoulders and knees covered. I would have loved to spend more time up there, but raced through it so the boys wouldn't have to wait any longer.
Looking out over Angkor Wat
Tour guide, Ravi, explaining the temple to the boys
After Angkor Wat, we headed to Bayon. You may know this temple from all of the smiling faces that are carved there. Originally there were 54 heads, but due to the destruction from the trees, many of the heads are gone. But, even among the ruins, it is breathtaking. I was amazed to watch my boys, ages 3-8, climb, explore,and laugh and thoroughly enjoy themselves at Bayon. One of their favorite things to do there was to stack the stones into towers. There were hundreds of them on the backside of Bayon. They reminded me of the stone pillars that the Inuit would build as landmarks. They could have done it for hours.
The sign to the entrance
Stacking stones
We also explored the "Tomb Raider" ruins with the amazing trees that were growing out of the buildings. I feel like I keep repeating myself, but absolutely stunning. These trees are massive. Most of them are dead, but they are so beautiful against the ruins.
We also discovered Greyson's new passion. He took over 600 pictures at the three temples.
If you only have one day to spend in Siem Reap, check out these three temples. You will not be disappointed. Our first day at Angkor lived up to every expectation I may have had and is a very family friendly place to visit. We all learned so much and later that night the boys were asking to go back the next day! It really was one of the best cultural trips we have taken together as a family.
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