Angkor Wat (literally “capital city temple”) is a towering collection of awe-inspiring ruins located just outside of Siem Reap in Cambodia. Designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1992, Angkor Wat sees countless visitors every day and for good reason.
The ruins themselves consist of stone bas reliefs and ornately carved towers and sculptures depicting the asparas (female divinities) and the varied stories of the gods. The ruins date as far back as the ninth century and were the stage for countless battles and raids until they were eventually abandoned in the fifteenth century. Today, the ruins are covered in moss, and overrun with vegetation, giving the site an incredibly ancient, mythic quality. The stone pillars are intertwined with the giant roots of trees, and in some places it’s hard to tell that a civilization ever could have thrived in this wild environment.
This past month, one of our own Realtravelers, Shaun’s Dakine, stopped in Angkor Wat while visiting Siem Reap and spent the day enjoying the rich cultural history of the temple, and at one point, even found himself the star of a cultural show,
“Somewhere in the middle of the 10 or so acts was one called Fiance Choosing. This was a funny act about 3 guys woeing the town girl to try and prove their worthiness as a husband and she was supposed to choose between them. Each one danced, fought, touched, flirted, and snuck in to her home, only to get beat, smacked, Muay Thai’d and discarded off the side of her bamboo home. Then when I thought it was over, one of the men came to me, pulled me behind the stage/wall and said (while the crowd of 500+ cheered and laughed and my heartbeat tripled as did the sweating.”
“So they told me to take off shirt, remove shorts and put on a few patches of fabric, traditional beads, head band, you kow the typical Fiance choosing fashion of the day. Out I jumped from the discreet changing quarters to a standing and cheering crowd of people everywhere but from the US.”
“After some kneeling, praying, walking, more dancing, sweating and laughing I was to go to her house with her where I of course, did not get beat up, instead I waved goodbye to the losers, winked at the crowd, bowed to my new wife and climbing the shoddy stairs to her bungelow at Neverland Ranch. Afterwards I was shaking with laughter and my new fame. The rest of the day everyone looked at me knowing this little stunt and Seng felt like my manager. It was absolutely grand and made my day, my trip.” (more…)
Angkor Wat is a great destination for anyone interested in ancient architecture. The setting is incredibly serene and with Siem Reap close by, accommodations are easy to come by.
