Apart from the ruins of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, Cambodia has a more recent history of Civil War. The Khmer Rouge were ultimately defeated after five years of fighting and around 600,000 casualties.
Travel
Stories of my travels around the world.
Siem Reap’s Butterfly Paradise
Given that I’ve become slightly obsessed with butterflies of late, I was excited to see that there was a butterfly sanctuary to the west of Siem Reap.
Ta Prohm: Tomb Raider’s Temple
Our last stop for the day would be a temple where they filmed the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie. This was of special interest to me, since I worked with some of the original developers of the game at my first job in Derby.
Ta Keo, the Sandstone Temple
Ta Keo is thought to be the only temple built entirely out of sandstone. Like Baphuon, it is another temple mountain, though this one is smaller than Angkor Thom’s temple. This was my first stop after leaving Angkor Thom.
The Terrace of the Elephants
Our final stop in our tour of Angkor Thom would be the Terrance of the Elephants, named for the elephant carvings eastern face. It was used by the king as a viewing platform, where he could watch his victorious army return home.
Baphuon: The Temple Mountain
After the Temple with Many Faces, our next stop in Angkor Thom was Baphuon, also known as the golden mountain. It is a three-tiered temple made to resemble a small mountain. Originally dedicated to Shiva, it now serves as a Buddhist temple.
The Temple with Many Faces
After exploring Angkor Wat our day was far from over. The ancient temple is only a small part of a huge ancient city that stretched over the land and I wanted to explore more of it.
I Finally Made it to Angkor Wat
Ever since I was a small child I had wanted to explore the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. During my travels around South East Asia I was finally able to live that dream. I found myself a guide in Siem Reap, and he took me around the ancient site.
The Angkor National Museum
After spending some time in Phnom Penh, it was time to move onto Siem Reap. Here I hoped to achieve a lifelong dream and visit Angkor Wat. But before that I had to prepare myself by visiting the Angkor National Museum.
Traditional Khmer Kickboxing
While in Phnom Penh I discovered that you could watch traditional Kun Khmer Kickboxing for free. I went expecting to see some amateur fights, but ended up seeing more than I expected. I got front row seats to professional bouts being screened to the whole country.