Originally built as a Hindu temple in the early 12th century, Angkor Wat transitioned into a Buddhist religious temple in the late 1100s. Like most other Cambodian tourists, we visited this beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is the most well-known of the numerous temples in the 400-acre Angkor Archeological Park. Separate posts will highlight some of the other unique temples. At Angkor Wat Temple we especially appreciated the grandeur of the buildings and artistic details on the interior and exterior.

• 

• 

• 

We visited Angkor Wat Temple on three different occasions. The first morning we arrived just before 5:30 am in order to photograph the buildings at sunrise. Yes, getting out of bed extraordinarily early was definitely worth it! (One of our best sunrise photos is at the top of this post.) After our dawn picture-taking session with a hundred or more other tourists all wanting to stand in the same spot, we ate a quick breakfast and then spent a couple of hours walking through the temple complex with a tour guide to learn about the history and relief artwork details. 

• 

• 

• 

Two days later we returned in the early morning for a few more first light photos and to take another look at the temple buildings, this time without a guide, but surrounded by even more fellow tourists. 

• 

• 

• 

Our third visit to Angkor Wat was in the late afternoon so we could see the temple complex in different light. Unfortunately the park closed before the sun actually set, so no great temple-at-sunset photos for us. But we did really like the look of the buildings near the end of visiting hours. 

• 

• 

• 

During our afternoon visit we saw about 150 to 200 colorfully robed young monks looking at the temple too. We were amused watching them as they walked through the grounds and buildings while taking pictures of each other using their cell phones.

• 

We saw a few monkeys on the temple grounds as they sat and gazed at the many tourists walking by. Our most entertaining animal moment was when a monkey on a stone railing realized that a young black and white cat was about 10 feet away and then repeatedly tried to frighten the stubborn kitty to move off of the monkey’s railing. The kitty eventually complied. 

• 

• 

•