by Katherine
Angkor Wat is THE reason why I wanted to come to Cambodia. Its pictures looked frickin sweet and I love exploring old ruinous structures. It was so alluring and unique looking, it would be completely unlike anything we've seen in Europe. One of Rosie's friends had said it was more breathtaking than Machu Picchu (another must see on my list)! I was excited and I had high expectations! We decided that we would try and see the sunrise, something that everyone does, on our first day. The sun rises behind the temple and a reflection can be seen in the little pond that everyone gathers at. We had to buy our ticket to the Angkor park and try to beat the crowds, so we left the hotel at 5:00 am. Yeah, we didn't get much sleep; I was battling a cold or something and spent the entire night coughing, so I got like no sleep. The hotel was nice enough to pack us a breakfast before we left, which consisted of some fresh fruit and toast, so at least we didn't have to worry about getting some food after seeing the sunrise.
So we get there at maybe like 5:15 and it was already packed. There were virtually no good spaces for the optimal sunrise angle. Seriously, people get there probably at 4:00, or maybe even earlier, to grab a spot to set up their tripods, which I don't understand because the park supposedly opens at 5:00. By 6:00, there must have been at least a thousand people. I managed to squeeze in a spot on the side of the pond - not great for getting the reflection, but at least I only had one person sorta in front of me. So we waited and waited, and we started to wonder if the sun had already risen. Turns out, we picked a cloudy morning and the sunrise just couldn't be seen. On the one hand, it sucked because we had gotten up so early, waited a long time, and saw nothing, but on the other hand, the clouds offered a nice shading for the early morning; the sun is not fun, trust me. Brad still captured the awesome reflection of Angkor Wat in the pool, as the crowd died down. Not as cool without the sunrise behind it, but still pretty cool. And that was our only chance of seeing the sun; we weren't gonna get up that early again, especially with another chance of missing it.
So after the sunrise, many people go back to town for breakfast, but we continued on in to the main temple of Angkor Wat. I had read that you could spend days exploring the temple with all of its labyrinths, so I was pretty bummed to find out that Angkor Wat has a fairly simple setup. It's symmetrical, so if you've seen one quarter of it, you've basically seen it all. There's a few layers of walls to the temple, but once you get through the next one, it kind of seems like the last area you were just at. I was completely underwhelmed; the inside was really just plain boring. Angkor Wat is best seen from the outside for sure. Its uniquely shaped towers and the perfectly placed palm trees are what really make it stand out and seem so cool. The outline of the temple is perfect postcard material, but the inside leaves a lot to be desired. Angkor Wat gets all the fame, but there are far more interesting temples elsewhere in the complex.
One thing you do need to keep in mind is to cover your knees and shoulders. You will not be allowed up in the center, top set of towers if dressed inappropriately. This is one of the few places where that rule is strictly followed. The top of Angkor Wat did allow for some great views of the the temple grounds and the different sections of the temple itself, but that area is definitely swarming with people compared to the rest of the temple.
One thing's for sure, go to Angkor Wat early! As we were leaving, around 9:00 am, tons of people were arriving, just beat the main crowds. We spent about 2.5 hours wandering around, but part of the time was spent waiting in line to go to the top, and Laura also went to buy a book on the temples so we could get some history to go along with our exploring. In my opinion, the temple is pretty large, but there's not a lot of variance and intricacy. A lot of people think this is the one and only temple, the one that makes all other temples seem weak and small, so maybe you'll enjoy Angkor Wat. But I was disappointed!
One thing's for sure, go to Angkor Wat early! As we were leaving, around 9:00 am, tons of people were arriving, just beat the main crowds. We spent about 2.5 hours wandering around, but part of the time was spent waiting in line to go to the top, and Laura also went to buy a book on the temples so we could get some history to go along with our exploring. In my opinion, the temple is pretty large, but there's not a lot of variance and intricacy. A lot of people think this is the one and only temple, the one that makes all other temples seem weak and small, so maybe you'll enjoy Angkor Wat. But I was disappointed!
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