The first time I ever heard of Cambodia was Angkor Wat, thanks to the aforementioned Placebo live concert.
Tourist attractions are often letdowns, overphotographed and overcrowded. I did not feel that way about Angkor Wat. It was incredible in scale and breath-taking in design. It truly felt like a monument.
Today’s blog post will be heavier on the photos rather than words. I have never been that interested in ancient history or religion so my focus waned during the explanations. I was just soaking up the awesome beauty of the complexes and their age.
We’re blessed with three lady tuk-tuk drivers today, part of an Intrepid initiative for the “power of the lady”.Taken from outside Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was a 12th century city. It had an inner protected area for kings and royalty. The rest of the population lived within the outer walls (pictured), which themselves are surrounded by a huge moat.Taken from within Angkor Wat, looking at the inner walls, protecting supreme leaders from their subjects.Taken from the top of the inner sanctuary, looking back into Angkor Wat grounds (where the general public would have lived). In the distance you can see the end of the outer fortifications. If taken from a higher distance above ground you’d be able to see a large moat trace the perimeter around that. The jungle around Angkor Wat is stunning and unbroken when viewed from this small elevation.Restorations. The temple has had many lives, including being shot at in the 1970s to hunt out the Khmer Rouge that were using it for refuge.Resting. Angkor Wat really was worth coming to Cambodia to see. The Khmer people used to control far more of South East Asia than they do now and Angkor Wat is a tribute to a history that stretches far beyond the current country borders.Second temple sight, after Angkor Wat. There are many more relic sites in Siem Reap, not just Angkor Wat. Siem Reap used to be the capital of Cambodia way back when. ‘Siem’ refers to that nation that is now Thailand and ‘Reap’ means what it sounds like, so ‘Siem Reap’ literally means ‘the eviction of Thailand’. These two countries have been in conflict so long that their kingdoms both had completely different names when it began. This is called Smiling Budda temple. I’m a bit tired here and it’s getting hotter in the day. Explore.Our little tour group has a bit of a revolt and demand lunch after the second temple (the schedule has us going straight to a third). Our tour leader submits to the power of the lady and takes us for a ‘local’ lunch nearby. Lady drivers join us for lunch too. They can’t speak a word of English but they aren’t shy at the skewer-based lunch, picking bones of little BBQ’d fish cleaner than street cats. Pictured are frog skewers stuffed with pork mince. They’re very flavourful. There’s a bit of confusion over how to split the group bill so I cover everyone. This grants me more goodwill than expected. The lady drivers give me a very happy ‘or-kun’ (thank you) and bows. The Canadian lady interested in temples almost falls over herself happiness when I suggest that she donate her costs to a temple when she tries to insist on giving me cash later.Third temple, known affectionately by Cambodians as Lara Croft Temple after a section of Tomb Raider was shot here. Our tour leader served Angelina Jolie dinner in her hotel room while she was shooting the movie and says she was very beautiful. A tuk-tuk driver told us, eyes sparkling with reverence, that he drove her once. The Cambodian people love Angelina Jolie.The temple is amazing and well justified to be a movie set. There are trees everywhere growing in and out of it. Some of the trees have destroyed the buildings, some of the tree roots are the only thing holding others together. The gold patina is completely natural and looks almost metallic in the sunshine.Back in town, I make a bad decision and get a brownie smoothie before dinner. It’s terrible, of course. I only finish half and am totally full. The book selection at this cafe was equally as atrocious – on one shelf a Wiccan handbook sat next to a Prince Harry autobiography – but it’s nice that they tried.I know I shouldn’t just have a brownie smoothie for dinner so I power through and order Big Bone Noodle Soup (translated). I can only finish half and I am near bursting.
What an incredible day! So proud and happy that you got to go there and and stoked that you liked it so much. Photos are wonderful and I love that you got pictures of yourself.
Favourite photos: the two with you in them ❤️ and the golden tree.
Most surprising photo: the brownie smoothie. A very surprising decision.
Tastiest photo: those beautiful herbs and shoots with the big bone noodle soup. Me wantee. Reminds me of lunch in Marrickville. You needed Declan there to share.
Enjoy your goodwill. Always a big believer in pay it forward.
Happy Pi day.
Love you and love your blog. Can’t wait to hear all about it when we see you next xx
Thanks for taking the time to do the blog.
Not sure if I will ever get there but the photos and comments are an immersive experience.
You sitting on the timber steps and looking down the hallway are super photos.
I am constantly amazed at how people could build such stunning structures with primitive tools in such inhospitable environments.
Do they have any idea how many people lived there back in its heyday
Do they know how long it existed for before it was abandoned
Wonder how long it took to complete all the infrastructure and why it eventually failed.
Could you hear Brian singing as you explored the grounds.
Wonder if any of the locals remember placebo being there.
Must admit I would remember Angelina if I had the pleasure of meeting her.
I agree the photos of you sitting on the steps, and looking through the door down the corridor, are excellent. Great framing.
Lara Croft = 2001
Placebo = 2008
25 years later the locals are still talking about Angelina
18 years later I doubt the locals remember placebo
Listening to the concert now. They were in fine form.
Caitlin = 2026
You will be revered by the locals for decades to come
Mum: I knew brownie smoothie decision was wrong the moment I ordered it… I think I was a bit confused and tired and thought I’d just have a quick snack.
You would have liked the bone soup.
I miss not having Declan to split a meal with. I am throwing away half of a lot of food.
Glad you’re enjoying the blog 🙂
Dad: you’ll have to include it as a sight on your next around the world tour.
The structures are really something special. It’s hard to visualise how they managed to get built.
Our tour leader (the one in the photos) did say that around 1 million people were estimated to live in the Angkor areas (but that includes more adjacent temples than just Angkor Wat – we visited just three this day out of many).
Angkor Wat is actually unfinished, work ceased when the main king died. The greater Angkor area was abandoned in the 15th century. But I am sure that’s a very rough figure. So approximately more than 500 years until it became a UNESCO World heritage site.
I did feel as though I was communing with Brian. That would have been an historic concert to attend. I’ve looked it up and, as far as I can ascertain, only one other artist has performed there. Really quite special.
Leo: thankfully some others in the group are sharing some of their incidental photos, and then the tour leader is taking some too if we ask.
Dad: 20 Years is done so well as the closing song in the set. Such a dramatic climax. I never used to appreciate that song until that concert.
I read they had to strip out potentially offensive lyrics and weren’t permitted to wear their usual stage make up.
I’d love to meet one local who went to the show, surely they’d have good English skills if they were interested in that.
I’m always perplexed by olden times.
1 million people in the jungle.
They all had to have fresh water, fresh food and their toilet waste had to be safely disposed of.
I’m assuming mosquito borne diseases were around in those times and they lived in open housing with no chemical protection and yet somehow they survived and prospered.
If the one main king started the project it’s amazing how much they built in one lifetime considering most people had a shorter life span back then.
Interesting facts about the lyrics and makeup. The concert was very restrained and respectful which for me made it more impactful and memorable.
What an incredible day! So proud and happy that you got to go there and and stoked that you liked it so much. Photos are wonderful and I love that you got pictures of yourself.
Favourite photos: the two with you in them ❤️ and the golden tree.
Most surprising photo: the brownie smoothie. A very surprising decision.
Tastiest photo: those beautiful herbs and shoots with the big bone noodle soup. Me wantee. Reminds me of lunch in Marrickville. You needed Declan there to share.
Enjoy your goodwill. Always a big believer in pay it forward.
Happy Pi day.
Love you and love your blog. Can’t wait to hear all about it when we see you next xx
Thanks for taking the time to do the blog.
Not sure if I will ever get there but the photos and comments are an immersive experience.
You sitting on the timber steps and looking down the hallway are super photos.
I am constantly amazed at how people could build such stunning structures with primitive tools in such inhospitable environments.
Do they have any idea how many people lived there back in its heyday
Do they know how long it existed for before it was abandoned
Wonder how long it took to complete all the infrastructure and why it eventually failed.
Could you hear Brian singing as you explored the grounds.
Wonder if any of the locals remember placebo being there.
Must admit I would remember Angelina if I had the pleasure of meeting her.
I agree the photos of you sitting on the steps, and looking through the door down the corridor, are excellent. Great framing.
Lara Croft = 2001
Placebo = 2008
25 years later the locals are still talking about Angelina
18 years later I doubt the locals remember placebo
Listening to the concert now. They were in fine form.
Caitlin = 2026
You will be revered by the locals for decades to come
Mum: I knew brownie smoothie decision was wrong the moment I ordered it… I think I was a bit confused and tired and thought I’d just have a quick snack.
You would have liked the bone soup.
I miss not having Declan to split a meal with. I am throwing away half of a lot of food.
Glad you’re enjoying the blog 🙂
Dad: you’ll have to include it as a sight on your next around the world tour.
The structures are really something special. It’s hard to visualise how they managed to get built.
Our tour leader (the one in the photos) did say that around 1 million people were estimated to live in the Angkor areas (but that includes more adjacent temples than just Angkor Wat – we visited just three this day out of many).
Angkor Wat is actually unfinished, work ceased when the main king died. The greater Angkor area was abandoned in the 15th century. But I am sure that’s a very rough figure. So approximately more than 500 years until it became a UNESCO World heritage site.
I did feel as though I was communing with Brian. That would have been an historic concert to attend. I’ve looked it up and, as far as I can ascertain, only one other artist has performed there. Really quite special.
Leo: thankfully some others in the group are sharing some of their incidental photos, and then the tour leader is taking some too if we ask.
Dad: 20 Years is done so well as the closing song in the set. Such a dramatic climax. I never used to appreciate that song until that concert.
I read they had to strip out potentially offensive lyrics and weren’t permitted to wear their usual stage make up.
I’d love to meet one local who went to the show, surely they’d have good English skills if they were interested in that.
I’m always perplexed by olden times.
1 million people in the jungle.
They all had to have fresh water, fresh food and their toilet waste had to be safely disposed of.
I’m assuming mosquito borne diseases were around in those times and they lived in open housing with no chemical protection and yet somehow they survived and prospered.
If the one main king started the project it’s amazing how much they built in one lifetime considering most people had a shorter life span back then.
Interesting facts about the lyrics and makeup. The concert was very restrained and respectful which for me made it more impactful and memorable.