Things To Do

Angkor Wat Temple combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres...

The Bayon Temple or Prasat Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own...

Siem Reap is the northern city home to the Great Angkor Wat Temple, the most popular destination for tourists in Cambodia. People usually know about Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom which are the well known temples rather than the many smaller gorgeous temples around the area. I was particularly impressed by the temple called Ta Prohm or Tree - Strangled Temple. This temple is 800 years old and has lots of enormous beautiful trees...

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The crowds who come to Cambodia’s Angkor region are spoiled for choice when it comes to temples to visit. Within kilometres of the tourist town of Siem Reap are dozens of sites which can take days to explore. It’s no great surprise that visitors feel there’s enough to see without venturing too far – and fair enough, a lot of these people don’t have much time to spare. But the Angkor region is by far the biggest tourist drawcard in Cambodia and now attracts about two million people a year. So it’s hard to escape the tourist masses and find a site less trodden. That’s why the trip to Beng Mealea is so worthwhile. An hour in the car from Siem Reap Is all it takes to discover a temple far from the crowds and in such a state that you can believe you are the first to find it, hidden and lost in the Cambodian jungle. I arrive in the late afternoon with a guide and two other tourists. We are literally the only people here. The sun at this time of the day is low in the sky and is casting an orange hue across the land. But the colour is struggling to break through the trees. In the years Beng Mealea was abandoned, nature took its course and the whole site has been overrun by plants. Trees grow out of stone, vines are wrapped around gateways, and roots have stretched through walls. Combined with the parts of the temple which have collapsed from neglect, it creates a sense of romantic rustic ruins. Exploring the site is an adventure in itself. To access the best parts, you need to climb over piles or stones, scramble up walls and swing around trees. This is not Tombraider – this is the real deal. As my guide, San Park, puts it – you need to “rock and roll”.

The site consists of a series of stone carvings in sandstone formations carved in the river bed and banks. It is commonly known as the "Valley of a 1000 Lingas" or "The River of a Thousand Lingas". The motifs for stone carvings are mainly myriads of lingams (phallic symbol of Hindu god Shiva), depicted as neatly arranged bumps that cover the surface of a sandstone bed rock, and lingam-yoni designs...

The new road winds its way through some spectacular jungle scenery, emerging on the plateau after a 20km ascent. The road eventually splits: the left fork leads to the picnic spot, waterfalls and ruins of a 9th-century temple; the right fork continues over a bridge and some riverbed carvings to the reclining Buddha. This is the focal point of a pilgrimage here for Khmer people, so it is important to take off your...

So you’ve seen Angkor and are now wondering what else to do in Siem Reap. “Go visit the Floating village” is the most common answer you’ll get from fellow visitors, tuk-tuk drivers and travel agents alike. And we agree! Going through an authentic Siem Reap floating village is a real treat for those who have never seen similar things before...

KOH KER was briefly capital of the Khmer Empire in the tenth century, when Jayavarman IV – who was already ruler of his own state here when he ascended the imperial throne – .......

Preah Vihear Temple (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ) is a Hindu temple built during the reign of Khmer Empire, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site....