Cambodia

Cambodia — Day 1: Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia — the buildings — (part 1 of 2)

Nick Morris

Sep 14, 2015 — 4 min read

Stunning buildings but overall, not a great experience

September 2015

I had wanted to visit Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) for some time. I had seen dozens of photos of the site and thought visiting such an iconic temple complex would be great. I was wrong.

The Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) is in the Angkor Archaeological Park, and I needed a pass to gain access. Luckily, this was all arranged and dealt with by my tour guide. As we approached the park, we pulled up at the entrance, and my guide hopped out and picked up the required access pass.

There was no phone signal on-site, and it rained all the time I was at the temple. It rained most days on my four days of touring around the area.

The history of Cambodia is divided into three periods:

Pre-Angkorian (1st-8th Centuries)
Angkorian (9th-13th Centuries)
Post-Angkorian (14th-20th Centuries)

And Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) was built in the Angkorian period — the 12th century — around 1110 to 1150.

The Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) is old, and the site is big. The size of the temple complex was amazing.

For more information on Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), have a look at Wikipedia and UNESCO.

I entered Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត) via the completed west entrance.

The temple complex was busy and crowded, even on a rainy day.

Photo by Author — walking towards Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

Photo by Author — the moat at Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

The complex was stunning. It wasn’t easy to take it all in.

Photo by Author — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

Photo by Author — looking back from the western entrance — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

The place was incredible.

The time, effort, and money spent building the complex were unimaginable.

I was amazed at the quality of the craftsmanship. The work was breathtaking. The detail in the work was unbelievable.

Photo by Author — stunning craftsmanship — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

The precision in the work and the working of the stone showed the skill of the stone masons that constructed Angkor Wat (អង្គរវត្ត).

Photo by Author — stunning stonework — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

And I was particularly impressed by the long galleries and the intricate carvings in the wall reliefs. More on that in a later post.

Photo by Author — stunning work — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

Photo by Author — an impressive ceiling — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

Photo by Author — amazing galleries — Angkor Wat Temple (អង្គរវត្ត), Angkor Archaeological Park, Angkor, Cambodia

In some parts of Angkor Wat, restoration was taking place. With the size of the temple complex and the number of visitors it receives, even on a rainy day, I was surprised that more work wasn’t going on.