The temple ruins of Siem Reap rise from the jungles of Cambodia like a gift from the past — a gift for all the wide-eyed visitors, but also for the local people. For a country that has seen three decades of war, genocide and poverty, the wonders of Angkor bestow strong cultural pride and a new economy of tourism.
People from all over the world travel to see these massive ancient ruins that were erected more than 1,000 years ago. Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, covers more than 300 square miles. It was the epicenter of the Khmer Empire, which ruled from the 9th to the 15th centuries. It is a marvel of architectural and cultural accomplishment that features temples, water reservoirs, canals, terraces and amazing artworks. The majestic conical towers, hefty sandstone blocks, and spacious courtyards are countered by intricate carvings, venerated statues, and intimate spaces for prayer and reflection.
The temples are stunning and awe-inspiring. Walking among them takes you to another time and place that you try to imagine, but cannot comprehend. The perfect alignment of monstrous stone blocks, the countless number of detailed carvings, the multi-level terraces — it is mind-boggling that these feats of engineering could have been accomplished without modern-day equipment.
There are so many temples that we didn’t even try to see them all. But the ones we did see were amazing and remarkable in their own ways. The Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom is distinguished by the immense faces that adorn the four-sided towers. Banteay Srei is a smaller temple, but has the most detailed and well-preserved carvings that depict traditional Hindu stories. Ta Prohm, featured in the Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie, is unique in that the jungle continues to envelop the crumbling structures. Spindly, elongated trees have grown to cover and adhere to the temple walls like hardened candle wax. It is beautiful and eerie at the same time.
Angkor Wat alone covers about 500 acres of land. The outer walls of the temple are completely covered from top to bottom with bas-relief carvings of Vishnu stories; battle scenes and soldiers; trees and elephants; heaven and hell. The towers rise above the fortress like guards standing at attention. When you stand inside one and look up, you can see the sandstone blocks stacked and tapered gradually inward to create the pointed shape. It is a wonder they haven’t collapsed.
A present from the past — seeing the temples of Cambodia should be on everyone's wish list.
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
4 days ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.
Mary Warren
5 days ago
Jess was very easy going and answered all our questions. It’s not easy dealing with 6 people at once but she did an outstanding job!
Diane Foster
1 week ago
Kassandra and the Adventure Life team have been incredible! Kassandra was very knowledgeable and attentive to our asks while making sure we kept within our budget. This was our first experience with a travel agent and we were blown away by the booking/initial exploration service. We will use Adventure Life again.