While in Siem Reap, we experienced an Apsara dance performance, craft shops, the rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages, a land-mine museum, and, of coarse, “the ancient city in the jungle.”
Our first temple stop was the incredible Angkor Wat.
The 12th century city of Angkor covered an area of over 100 Sq Kms with a population of over 1 million. Angkor Wat, the Worlds largest religious building covers one and a half square Kms and contains more stone than was used to build the great pyramid of Giza. The 200 meter wide moat and causeway with the 350 meter entrance portico is impressive enough, but the grandeur within its square mile of walls is truly stunning. Over 1 kilometer of spectacular carvings lie within its outer galleries and a vast labyrinth of passages, courtyards and the distinctive five lotus flower towers at its center.
On the way to the top...
The view from the top...
A local child at the east entrance.
