Temples of Ankor

So in January I had a break from class so I convinced my fellow SALTer Katelin to come with me to Cambodia. We flew into the capital Phnom Penh and my first thought was, am I in Europe?! I guess it's been easy to get used to the small, laid back capital of Vientiane. I was totally overwhelmed by the tall buildings, traffic and noise of Phnom Penh. It was so great to hook up with MCC Cambodia people there and have not only a free place to stay, but fun tour guides!


After a few days we took the bus up to Siem Reap, the gateway to the ancient temples of Angkor. These temples were built between the 9th and 14th centuries when the Khmer civilisation was at the height of its power. After its collapse, Angkor was abandoned and the temples were covered by the jungle. They were rediscovered in the 1860s by the French. There are around 100 temples spread out over this site and are a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was so crazy to see how the jungle was literally reclaiming the temples. Although they are falling apart faster than they can be restored, the structures and detailed carvings were fascinating.