Siem Reap Angkor Wat

We saved the best for our last day in Siem Reap. We began the day with a 45 minute drive to Banteay Srei, considered the most beautiful temple, due to its unusual pink sandstone and extremely elaborate carvings. Literally every square inch of stone was carved with something. Funnily enough, this temple is actually quite small, both in area and in size, so it didn't take very long to walk through it all. But there was so much detail, it felt like you could stare at it for ages and never see it all.

I actually really enjoyed the drive through the Cambodian countryside, probably just as much as I enjoyed seeing Banteay Srei. It was very picturesque, with lots of rice fields and rural homes. We also passed by a local market where each stall had this large earthen fire pit with a large metal bowl on top. Turns out they are making palm sugar, which is sap from the sugar pam tree that has been mixed with some cane sugar, then boiled until it crystallizes. It is ridiculously sweet, and is the main sweetener for SE Asian cuisine. There must be sugar palm tree plantations nearby here. 

We saw some people driving around these weird contraptions seen below. They looked like a lawnmower atop a tractor axle connected by a large shaft to a cart. I honestly don't know if it's used more for transportation or farming. 

Then, of course, you still see scooters hauling all sorts of weird things in weird ways. Mattresses anyone?

On the way back to Siem Reap, we stopped at Banteay Samre, and I'm so glad we did. It was a beautiful temple that was almost completely empty! Apparently everyone takes the trip to Banteay Srei, but they don't have the time to stop at Banteay Samre. Utter shame; it was one of my favorites! 

Finally, we ended the day with the king of all temples, Angkor Wat. My expectations about this temple were not properly formed. It is absolutely humongous compared to every other temple we saw. It's at least 3 times the size of the next largest temple. These nagas marked the entry way to the Angkor Wat grounds. 

There is a large walkway covering a giant moat that represents the world's oceans. The inside is the Earth with the main temple being Mount Meera. The buildings you see in this picture are only the entrance gates. The main temple is beyond that even. 

Tada! 

On the lowest level of the main temple, the inner walls were covered in these 40 meter long elaborate carvings, each depicting a different famous Hindu scene. I was so glad we had the guide book for this, as it told us exactly what the carvings showed, and even pointed out the key figures within the carvings. This would have been much less meaningful without our guide book. 

This wall carving depicted final judgement, then the heavens and hells people would go to depending on their actions. In this specific hell, people have nails driven into every part of their bodies. Yikes! 

Here Drew is standing in front of the Churning of the Sea of Milk, or the Hindu creation story. The Sea of Milk is the bottom layer, represented by fish and other marine creatures. As you walk closer to the center of the carving, the fish change from being whole to being broken up into pieces, illustrating the violent churning action that was occurring. Poor fishies! 

We then had to climb up two more levels to get to the main temple. Again, very steep stairs. 

The main temple. 

This is a view of the entire Angkor Wat grounds from the upper level of the main temple. Huge huh? This is where I imagine the king would have stood to survey his lands!

Funny enough, it reminded me of the place in the Jungle Book where King Louie and the monkeys lived! "Oh do be do... I want to be like you...."