Far Eastern Delights

Cambodia is often a staple on the backpacker’s itinerary but can sometimes be left in the shadows of its neighbouring countries - Thailand and Vietnam - as a holiday destination. The magnificent temples of Angkor are reason alone to visit the country, as two million people do every year. Cambodia Tours are a great way to see this UNESCO World Heritage Site, and they take the stress out of arranging everything when you arrive.

Angkor is one of Southeast Asia’s most important archaeological sites. The region served as the seat of the Khmer Empire from the ninth to the fifteenth century, and the ruins of the temples which remain show the different parts of the Empire which were at one time or another its capital. Photos cannot do Angkor justice, and only when you travel around the site and are stood gawping at the sheer size and extravagance of the temples can you get some idea of the extraordinary wealth and power the Khmer Empire must have had. It makes sense really, for an empire which managed to rule for over 600 years and at times included what is now Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma (Myanmar) and Malaysia.

The complex itself, Angkor Archaeological Park, stretches over 400 km2 and contains over a thousand temples in different states of preservation; some no more than piles of rubble. Researchers think that Angkor was likely to have been the biggest pre-industrial city in the world and could have been home to up to a million people.

Angkor Wat is the most famous temple of all and the closest to the city of Siem Reap. Built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II as his personal temple, the walls are nearly half a mile long on each side. Suryavarman II dedicated Angkor Wat to the Hindu god Vishnu, and inside you will find reliefs showing Suryavarman in his court as well as mythological scenes. A bit of an action man, he is said to have jumped on a rival claimant’s elephant to kill him and retain the throne.

The Bayon Temple is another must-see at Angkor. Built during the late twelfth to early thirteenth century as the state temple of the Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, it stands in the middle of Angkor Thom – the last capital city of the Khmer Empire. The Bayon Temple has 216 huge stone faces carved from its towers which look suspiciously like Jayavarman VII himself; the Khmer kings were certainly not the most modest bunch and thought of themselves as ‘god-kings’.

Remember to take a hat and water, and as you are likely to be there for the whole day there are areas with restaurants where you can sit in the shade for lunch. The tuk-tuk drivers which transport you around the site and wait for you whilst you explore the temples are often very knowledgeable about the area’s history. If you are lucky you might bump into some of the Buddhist monks who visit and are sometimes keen on having a chat and a photo taken with you.

Katherine Conlon likes to a get a feel for the history of the places she visits, and seeks out the bits which reveal something about the culture in different areas of the globe. She has travelled in four different continents and is looking forward to exploring the rest.