02/27/2023 Temples Day 3: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Bayon Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Temples (Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Bayon Temple)

I jolted awake to my 5:00AM alarm, full of eagerness, excitement, and energy for the morning. I had spent the last two days exploring 9 temples of Angkor, but today is the grand finale and my final day visiting temples. I had saved the best for last: Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Angkor Wat is the world’s largest religious building, considered unofficially considered the 8th wonder of the world to some, and has a reputation of being most stunning at sunrise.

I hopped on my rented motorbike and road 20 minutes to the parking lot of Angkor Wat. I’ve read and heard from other travelers that it gets very crowded in the mornings and can be difficult to find an optimal place to watch the sunrise close to the temple. I found a good spot just outside the temple boundary walls with an East facing view in front of the temple’s pond. I sat here for a little over an hour in seated meditation, admiring the waving spectrum of beautiful colors streaking the sky as I recorded a time lapse. After the sun was high in the sky, I crossed the bridge and headed through the main gate to within the temple walls. Upon entering, I was blown away with the expansive space of the courtyard within the temple’s walls. It took about 7 minutes to walk from the main gate to the actual temple. I took my time exploring the many areas within Angkor Wat while avoiding the countless tour groups, then eventually made my departure.

Having skipped breakfast to catch the sunrise at Angkor Wat, I fueled up with a vegetarian noodle soup and an iced coffee from a local vendor before grabbing the motorbike and moving onward. The next stop, Angkor Thom and Bayon Temple. Angkor Thom is the last great capital of the Khmer empire and home to Bayon Temple, the state temple of King Jayavarman VII with 216 faces etched in stone. The faces were visible and very remarkable, but I didn’t attempt to count all 216. It’s likely not all faces originally etched have stood the test of time. Thankfully, at each temple I have visited the last 3 days, all have ongoing restoration efforts that are sponsored by countries including but not limited to China, Korea, India, and Japan.

I gave Bayon temple a long final glance of appreciation and gratitude for all of my amazing temple adventures from the previous 3 days before making my departure. Once back on the motorbike, I did 3 laps around Bayon Temple before realizing the main exits back towards Siem Reap were all closed off. Instead of taking the exit North, the opposite direction of Siem Reap, I cut over east on an off-road dirt trail through the woods. It was a bumpy yet scenic detour through a tunnel of trees for about 5km until I finally returned to paved road. Perhaps this off-road riding on the motorbike would be good practice for the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam coming soon.

I will stay filled with gratitude and appreciation for my experiences in Siem Reap and each of the fascinating Angkor temples I was fortunate to visit. I recommend exploring the temples for about 4-5 hours over the course of 3 days to not overload a single day with temples or rush through them. Apart from the single day pass, the 3 day temple pass is the next option and the ideal one in my opinion. Just be sure to buy your pass at Angkor Park Pass Ticket Counters in Siem Reap before heading to Angkor.

Afternoon

I returned to the hostel, returned the motorbike, and grabbed the computer then headed into town for lunch and place with consistent WiFi. As much as I’ve enjoyed the Funky Village hostel’s visitors and vibe, the WiFi is not a strength. I landed at Red Apple Bar & Restaurant for lunch and my first Hanuman beer, to pair nicely with my new Hanuman sak yant tattoo.

Evening

I tapped into my inner Ernest Hemingway as I drank a few beers and wrote travel stories, and then made my way back to Funky Village Hostel. Here, I continued to fight the heat with cold beverages and dips in the pool, enjoying the company of fellow travelers. Eventually night fell, and a group of us went out to dinner together before making way back to Club Temple. It was many of our last nights in Siem Reap, so we played some games and danced the floor until making way back to the hostel.