Happy Khmer New Year!

It's Monday, and the second of the three-day Khmer New Year national holiday.  Angkor Wat and most of the other temples are open.  Cambodians can visit the temples for free, but tourists pay $20 for a one-day pass.  A one-day pass is great if you want to hit the "high points," or those sites that are most popular.  However, if you want to see everything, and there are several temples, swimming ponds, trails to see in the Angkor complex, you'll need more than one day.

Our strategy was to see as much as we could but NOT in consecutive days.  We were advised by several of our friends that all the temples seem to run together if you see too many in one day, or among consecutive days. To really appreciate the different temples, in particular the carvings and features that help illustrate the transition from Hindu to Buddhist temples, more time to explore and then digest is necessary.  However, we did start with the largest and most iconic: Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world, and we saw it referenced (sources elude me - apologies!) as the eighth wonder of the world.  You have probably seen many pictures of the five domes/columns that make up the highest floor of the temple, and you could probably google prettier images than either of us could take!  We had fun walking along the halls and trekking up one of the steepest wooden stairways to the top floor.  However, it was very crowded due to the Khmer New Year, and rightfully so.  This plus the fact that Angkor Wat is one of the most exposed of all the temples made for a warm visit.  We saw what we wanted, or at least had our fill, and then moved on.  Not sure if this was on either of our bucket lists, but it is checked now.

One of my favorite things about Angkor Wat and other temples was the quest to find Aspara dancer carvings. This is not difficult, as they are everywhere: on the walls that surround the main temple, on pillars, in hallways, on walls of the temple...everywhere.

Ta Prohm.  I should say at this point that Angkor Wat might be the most well-known, but it is NOT the coolest or "best" temple as far as we are concerned.  Some of the smaller temples offer better carvings, prettier surroundings, or just something way beyond anything you've ever seen before.  Ta Prohm is one of those.  It's claim to fame is that it was used as a back-drop for one of the "Tomb Raider" movies, but among temple-goers it is perhaps best known as an example of what happens when nature and civilizations collide.  Most of the structures at Ta Prohm have been overrun by the roots of strangler figs and some other species of tree, and many of these trees are HUGE.  Some part of the temple have definitely lost this battle, but in places where the roots and the buildings are both still standing, the effect is amazing.

Banteay Kdei.  We will always remember Banteay Kdei because this is where we lost one of our cameras. Remember the camera that went swimming with Ryan, or more accurately, the one that was trapped in Ryan's pocket when he decided to jump in a freshwater pond in Kauai? Well, that camera survived our honeymoon, a few more months in the states, and more than six months in Okinawa, but Cambodia proved too much for it. Also, the fall from Ryan's hands to the floor of Banteay Kdei might have had something to do with it. Either way, the remainder of the day was documented with my large camera with the zoom lens.

Banteay Srei.  Our Lonely Planet guidebook observed that after Angkor Wat, temples like Ta Keo, which we would visit later in the week, just didn't have a chance.  I would agree with this statement for most of the remaining temples in the region with a few exceptions, and Banteay Srei is one of those.  Banteay Srei is a bit of a drive from the main Angkor complex, and offers some of the best carvings of all the temples we saw. There is also a little nature trail just outside of the main complex that takes you through a wetland area.  If you need to see something besides stone, this is a welcome change of pace.

No vacation in this Aylsworth family is complete without noticing some insects. We saw some impressive bee hives in a large tree at Ta Prohm and on one of the domed towers of Angkor Wat.

We finished off nearly six liters of water between the two of us today.  I attribute this thirst to the temperatures, close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit today, rather than the physical toll.  Other than the occasional staircase, we didn't really exert ourselves because we had a tuk-tuk waiting for us.  Although the two of us were mostly ignorant of the history of these structures, we loved walking around, seeing something new at every turn, taking pictures, and simply being there.  I'd venture that a visit to ruins of any kind in any country tugs at one's inner archaeologist, and there is always the hope that you'll lay your hand on just the right spot in the wall to reveal a secret tunnel or treasure.

We didn't find any secrets, archaeological or religious or otherwise, but we had a glorious first day at the Angkor complex.  We have plans to visit again, but not until after the New Year holiday.  The buildings at Angkor Thom were closed to tourists for the Khmer New Year so that Cambodians from all over could come to celebrate the Year of the Snake.  We saw license plates from Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Battambang, and even a few from Thailand (not Cambodia, for the record).  It must have been quite the party, for we heard lots of it from loudspeakers that carried over and through treetops.  As for us, we enjoyed the breeze from our tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel, and then made our way to pub street, still glowing from our first day with the temples.