The Anderson's Target Asia - Part 2: May 2018

Day #2 started at one of the most famous temples, Angkor Wat

Temple # 12 - Angkor Wat

This is "the" standard photo of Angkor Wat with the reflection in the lower pond. We had to wait our turn... The lighting wasn't great, unfortunately, but you get the idea.

One of the libraries.

This day was a holy day and not all areas of the temple were open to the public, so we could not climb to the top for a wider view. More to come in the next blog... we came back.

Temple #13 - Preah Khan

Temple #14 - Neak Poan

This temple was in the middle of a lake / reservoir. The cool part was before they created a foot bridge for the tourists, it was only accessible by boat (or I suppose you could swim).

Temple #15 - Ta Som

Lunch

We ate at another local restaurant within the temple area. This one was air conditioned - which felt amazing. Another different local beer.

Spring rolls to share, green curry for Gwen, and mango salad for Patrick.

After we were done eating, we found our driver and guide resting the the hammocks in front of the restaurant. Cambodia is very hammock friendly - we passed a lot of people in hammocks. They seem to be outside most restaurants, and the tuk tuk drivers will string one up under the canopy of the tuk tuk for a nap.

Temple #16 - East Mebon

Temple #17 - Prea Roup

The climber.

Our guide was having fun with my phone and making multiple Patrick's climbing the temple - one Patrick is enough.

Day 2 ended with pool time for Gwen and another massage for Patrick. We had dinner at the hotel to rest up for our last day.

Getting to Siem Reap was pretty uneventful via Vietnam.

The majority of temples in Siem Ream are all within one huge "park", so we started our trip with ticket purchasing. We got 3 day passes.

We took 995 photos taken on 3 devices, and we took a bunch of video. A bit overwhelming. The decision was made to select 3-5 photos only from each of the 22 temples we saw. This is the best of the best of the best. If you want to see more - let me know, and I can make it happen. Some of the pictures show the temples as they were originally found, but most of the pictures are of the temples in their currently restored states. Almost every temple has at least one international charity and/or UNESCO assisting with restorations.

We had an amazing English-speaking guide that gave us a lot of detail for each location. I did not include any of the history below in the descriptions. If you're interested, a quick Internet search can get you up to speed. The history is amazing if you're into it, but for now, enjoy the pictures!

Temple #1 - Banteay Kdei

Temple #2 - Ta Prohm
The temple we photographed the most at 106 - narrowed it down to 6. This one is known for the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and the famous tree.

Carvings like this have a lot of people confused, including scholars. It was carved in the late 12th century, and it looks like a dinosaur.

Proof it was a hot day. Confirmed cotton is not perfect for Siem Reap.

Temple #3 - Ta Keo

We climbed to the top. It's much more challenging than it looks from this angle. It's very steep, the stairs are tall and uneven, and they're slippery. Once you go up, you must come down.

Well-deserved coconut treat after the climb.

Temple #4 - Thommanon

Temple #5 - Chau Say

Temple #6 - Victory Gate

It's sad that a lot of the Buddha heads (not just here) and carvings were removed by trophy-seekers and some were destroyed when the country was divided by Buddhism and Hinduism.

Lunch

We arrived at a local spot for lunch, and the sky opened up for about 45 minutes. So we hung around while while it passed. Unfortunately, this hindered climbing later in the day. Our legs were happy for the break though.

Temple #7 - Terra of the Leper King

Temple #8 - Terra of the Elephant

Temple #9 - Phimeanakas

The kids in the corner of this photo were taking advantage of the recent rain. They had a ton of toads they had recently caught for dinner and a scorpion that was resisting being caught (We kept our distance).