Welcome to historic Angkor Cambodia ... or at least my virtual tour of it!

Angkor consists of dozens of temples and other structures, spread over a wide area, built between the 9th and 13th centuries by the mighty Khmer empire which, at the time, dominated southeast Asia.

Angkor Wat, seen here, is perhaps the largest and most impressive of the temples, but it is far from the only site worth seeing!

 Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for buildings a thousand year old, the structures are amazingly well-preserved. The nearest town, only a few minutes away, is Siem Reap. Not surprisingly, the town has plenty of hotels and restaurants, many of which seem to have opened only in the last few years. Perhaps the easiest way to get here is via air. The small but modern Siem Reap airport has direct flights from a number of cities, including, conveniently, Bangkok, a
major regional hub.

 Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for buildings a thousand year old, the structures are amazingly well-preserved. The nearest town, only a few minutes away, is Siem Reap. Not surprisingly, the town has plenty of hotels and restaurants, many of which seem to have opened only in the last few years. Perhaps the easiest way to get here is via air. The small but modern Siem Reap airport has direct flights from a number of cities, including, conveniently, Bangkok, a
major regional hub.

 Most people visit Angkor for 1, 2, or 3 days. Passes to the Archeological Site are available for 1, 3, or 7 days. In one day, you can hit the main highlights. I'd recommend at least two days, though, which lets you see a lot more. There are a number of ways to tour the sites. An awful lot of folks visit here as part of group tours. Better, in my view, is to hire a car and driver for the day and go at your own pace. By Western standards, that option is remarkably cheap here, typically around $25 a day. Most, if not all, hotels can arrange it. 

 One of the most amazing things about Angkor are the beautiful and intricate carvings, which have survived surprisingly well over the last 1000 years! (I suppose it helps to be surrounded by jungle, not urban pollution.) It's useful to have a guide to point out some of the best carvings and explain the meanings. It costs about $25 a day to hire a guide, and the guides are all government trained and certified. (You can recognize them by their matching shirts with the official patch on the sleeve!) According to my guide, they have to go to school for two years to be certified.

 It helps to be in good shape to visit Angkor. Many of the temples have very steep steps, and some of the best sites require a healthy uphill climb. According to my guide, the steps were made deliberately steep and narrow to force worshipers to ascend slowly, with proper respect.

 It never hurts to remember to be careful! (I don't know what the health care is like in Angkor, but I wouldn't want to find out!)

 The good thing is if you make it to the top of the steps, the views are very impressive. As we will see later, some of the best views at Angkor are not only from the tops of the temples, but also from the tops of hills where some of the temples are located.

 Throughout Angkor, one sees many steles and walls covered with ancient writing. I have no idea what they say, but they certainly look impressive.

 The temples of Angkor are a mix of Hindu and Buddhist. Every once in awhile you will find a little shrine that is still in use, like this one.

 Although the temples today are of plain stone, in some places you can see hints of color, a sign that when they originally were built, these places were a lot more colorful and, thus, even more spectacular to behold.

 Many of the carvings give you a good idea at what the Ancient Khmer's wore. If you want an even better idea, around some of the sites you will find entrepreneurial Cambodians dressed in ancient costumes. For a small fee, you can take their picture, or have your photo taken with them.

 This is perhaps the most famous view of Angkor Wat, from the front with its reflection in the lotus pond. In the morning, when this was taken, the temple is somewhat backlit. The view is supposed to be even better in the afternoon, but that is also when the largest crowds arrive! Now it's time to leave Angkor Wat and move on to some of Angkor's other highlights.