Angkor Wat was my first stop on the small temple loop. I spent the first 20 minutes of my visit just walking the southwest walls that adjoin the West Gate. I had the walls almost to myself, since most visitors quickly make their way through the gate to the central temple area. If/when I make it back to Siem Reap, I’ll take more time to explore the entire Angkor Wat site. While the walls are not easy to traverse, they are a peaceful area for exploration and reflection, and I think it would be fun to see the interior temple and other buildings from the perspective of multiple places along the walls.
In the gallery below, I’ve included pictures in the approximate order I explored the site. At the central temple area, I walked through the galleries first, looking at both the bass reliefs and the exterior views. Then I visited the central temple and climbed the temple tower. After taking in the vistas, I made my way back out to the exterior of the central temple area, taking pictures of two of the corner views before being distracted by the mischievous monkeys. Finally, I walked along the pools before returning to Pich’s trusty tuk tuk.
Click on any image for a larger view.
