Sunday, June 19, 2011

angkor, angkor, angkor.

So this obviously occurred a while back (and unfortunately, I didn't find the time to get this posted before), but Angkor Wat proved to be such an inspiring sight, I couldn't not document our time there!
So here is a brief description and photo breakdown, enjoy!


4.8.11 – Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Angkor Wat.
What to say about Angkor Wat?! …GO THERE, perhaps.
Haha but seriously…you should at least consider it!  Angkor is a beautiful site with so much history; it is truly incredible.  I feel extremely blessed to have been able to visit such a place.
We spent three days touring around looking at as many of the big sites as we could squeeze in.

All three days spent at Angkor were incredibly hot and humid, but thankfully we all survived intact.
We were constantly wiping sweat from our faces, downing lots and lots of water and always dashing for every little bit of possible shade.

One thing that is definitely notable about Angkor Wat is ALL of the people, both young and old, who want to sell you things.
Based on my experience thus far, Cambodians definitely get the award for “Persistence and Relentlessness in Order to Make a Sale.”
After a while it becomes next to impossible to say no, even when what they are selling is something you don’t even need.
Most of the items are going for a mere dollar: a pack of 10 postcards, two bottles of water, two Angkor Wat refrigerator magnets, two bracelets, a souvenir t-shirt, a bag of cut up pineapple, a grass bracelet with accompanying flower (not even kidding! It was truly quite beautiful though :] ), a wooden recorder WITH carrying case, and the list goes on.
You ask yourself, “What’s a dollar?!  Especially to a person in need?”  Although it is only once all your dollars are gone you realize how quickly they add up!
But in all reality, I may have spent way more than I planned on in Siem Reap, but it was well worth it.
There’s no doubt about that.
As was pointed out to me, once I leave Cambodia, I won’t be able to go back and redo it or buy a vast majority of the neat things that I did.

Here is a little taste of some of the sights we were able to enjoy during our three day visit to Angkor:
(I took over 1,000 photos there so picking out just a few was rather tough)

Day #1
  
Day #2


Day #3