Everyone who comes to Siem Reap comes here for one reason; Angkor Wat and all the surrounding temples. And so we were here, doing the same. The temples are a real lifeline for Cambodia and pull in about 2 million foreign tourists a year, bringing in a lot of cash and creating a lot of work. As was the case with Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, the tourist crowd was very different here; a lot of very pricey hotels, a lot of older, wealthier folk; not just the backpackers.
There's really not that much point in describing all the temples, and impressive thought they are they start to blend into one at the end of the day. At least for an uncultured idiot such as myself. They all date from between 11th and 16th century, and many of them are still in pretty good nick. The central area just outside Siem Reap is about 10km by 8km and home to about 50-60 temples. More temples are found outside this area, extending for some 40km. Maybe more. It's a lot of temples, it really is.
We were given a booklet at the hotel with selected itineraries of which temples to see, so decided to stick to it. We saw about five before finishing at Angkor Wat, the biggie, for sunset - like the booklet said. To be honest, I thought it less impressive than some of the others we saw today, but then what do I know? Angkor Wat is big business. As a result, lots of things are named after it, from pubs to hotels to other tourist type things. One of the two most popular beers here is called Angkor. Its pronounced as you would say "anchor". This is a problem, as the other one of the two most popular beers is called Anchor. This is, predictably, pronounced as you would say "anchor". Either one was just trying to steal the other's market share (in which case, good job) or someone needs sacking.
So sad that after a day of seeing the temples of Angkor this is what I bring home. More thumbnails ...
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