Angkor Wat Tourism – A Trip Into The Khmer Empire
The Angkor Wat Temple is the best preserved temple in the Angkor area. Built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II. It is dedicated to the the Hindu God Vishnu and is Cambodia’s prime attraction for tourism. The design of the temple is set to represent Mount Meru, which is the home of the hindu gods. Located in Siem Reap, it is the symbol of cambodia and also one of the greatest architectural buildings ever constructed.
You all know me, I love travelling around the world and visiting all the wonders and heritage of different countries. Angkor Wat is defintely one of the MUST.
Took flight from Singapore into this history and culture rich state of Cambodia. The sad thing is, the flight was delayed for a full 3 hours.. talk about ruining a perfect vacation… hah
I was pleasantly surprise at the warmth of the welcome in Cambodia. The people there really gives you a sense of “importance” with their greetings and I must say, that quickly erase all the flight delaying issue.
We bought a 2 day pass to enter the Angkor site. Angkor Wat, the most famous temple of them all, is only one of many temples we see around the site. That is to say, with the day pass, you can visit unlimited amount of temples within the Angkor site and these will include The Bayon Temple, Terrance of the Elephants and the Ta Prohm, a temple made famous by the movie tomb raider.
Do note however, that the temple are NOT located closely with each other, you might need to hire a taxi to get you between temples. The good thing is, the prices of these transportation is highly affordable and you may even hire a driver for the entire day while you map out the places of which you wanted to visit. In fact, you may even choose to ride on an elephant while going up some of the routes towards the temple !
One more trip pointer to take into consideration… the steps are steep and unusually high. You will be surprise how difficult it is to move up and down the temple steps… a little frightening and a little exciting. You have to see to believe it.
The weather over there is rather humid, so I would suggest that you bring along pleanty of water as you go along touring the sites. There are lots of handicrafts made by the locals that you can buy as a gift to your friends and family back in your hometown. The gifts are cheap and it is their source of income to make a living. In fact, you might even see children as young as 6 years old trying to sell you one of them. If you do have change, it would be nice to purchase a gift or 2. After all, it does not cost more than a dollar and does set its exclusivity as a handicraft of the locals.
After all the walking and climbing, you might want rest your feet and body at the service of a masseur before ending your day at a local restaurant.
If there is one thing that is keeping this tourism market going, it is the history, culture and beautifully preserved buildings that is drawing visitors to boost the country’s economy. Though much is spend on the preservation of this history rich temples, no leverage is being done on the profits earned through tourism to boost the overall economy of the country.
The Angkor Wat Tourism market is uniquely low keyed as compared to other holiday destinations that features theme parks and stuffs.
Set in a laid back village setting, as simple as they may be, the people over there in Cambodia really gives their best to make you feel special and that alone really sets the tone away from the busy and hectic city life.
By the way, stay around for the sun set, you will get a stunning and romantic feel around angkor wat temple. You are probably in for a surprise of the magical sensation and colour that surrounds it…