Cambodia: Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Angkor Thom

Okay, we are a couple of posts in and it's pretty evident that the trip my Mom and I took to Southeast Asia was epic. While brief, our detour to Cambodia was every bit as delightful as Viet Nam. Here are a couple of airport pics: the Noi Bai (Ha Noi) airport was clean, modern, comfortable and spacious.

 The Siem Reap airport was also nice, just much smaller.

We flew into Siem Reap to visit the ancient temples of Angkor, something that has been on my bucket list ever since my mission in 2000. On my mission, I grew very close to some amazing women from Cambodia who came over to the United States as widows following the Khmer Rouge regime. Later, I went back to record their stories for my Honors Thesis, paying particular attention to the role of the arts in their survival, as the arts were targetted by the Khmer Rouge regime. With all that in mind, it was pretty special when we attended the Phare Circus on our first evening as the purpose of this circus is to support the next generation of Cambodian artists.

As much as we enjoyed our excursions in Cambodia, our experience with the "Yellow Natural House" homestay was probably the highlight of our time in Cambodia. If you ever find yourself in Siem Reap, you should experience it--seriously.  But why? While the rooms were clean and comfortable, they weren't fancy. The location was fine, but on the outskirts of town down a bumpy dirt road.  The view from our balcony was interesting, but certainly not as dramatic as the mountains of Ninh Binh. 

The Yellow House stood apart because of its exceptional hospitality. Our hosted Navy helped us arrange a private car for the hour-long trip from the airport. As soon as we arrived in our room, she brought up fresh papaya drinks and helped us make arrangements both for the circus that evening and for our tour of Angkor the following day, helping us secure a tuk tuk driver. Then she let us know that if we ever wanted, she and her mother would gladly prepare breakfast, lunch or dinner for us for $5 USD per person. We should just let them know a little ahead of time so they would have time to go to the market.

And wow, am I ever grateful we took them up on their offers for homecooked meals. They were incredible! For breakfast fwe had noodles, dragonfruit, and sticky rice/bean paste steamed in banana leaves.

Shortly after, our tuk tuk driver arrived to chauffeur us. For $25 USD, he transported us wherever we needed to go for the entire day. A quiet and kind man, I feel terrible that I can't remember his name! Still, I remember his face and am grateful for his help.

In case you are wondering what a tuk tuk is, it kind of looks like this--a motorbike with a carriage on back for passengers. Ours was made out of wood and a bit more traditional in appearance.

I could spend days writing about the temples of Angkor, but since many learned scholars already have, I'm going to speed through the pictures fairly quickly.  Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage site encompassing over 150 square miles of archeological treasures. Of these, Angkor Wat is the largest and most well-known. Because it was the first and most significant temple of our visit, we went ahead and paid a guide to explain more about this massive temple's history.

Angkor Wat was orignially constructed as a Hindu Temple between 1113 and 1150. It's astonishing that it was constructed in even less time than the Salt Lake Temple! The largest religious complex in the world, it was later converted to a Buddhist Temple, with most of the statues of the Hindu gods being replaced with those of Buddha. Since then, Angkor Wat has had a tumultuous path with many envying its bounty. When Angkor was seized by the Thai in 1431, the capitol of Cambodia was relocated to Phnom Penh. Throughout the whole temple complex, you'll find statues of Buddha missing his head, as the sculptures were carried off by the Thai or by French colonizers or sold on the black-market.  

You can also see gunshots in some of the walls from the Cambodian civil war. Our guide also explained that the king of Thailand actually wanted to move Angkor Wat to Thailand and started disassembling some of the enormous towers. When that was thwarted, parts of Angkor were cluster bombed.

I would do your own research and fact check this--my brief internet queries suggest that while some parts of Angkor were indeed disassembled, the Thai did not deconstruct the towers of Angkor Wat itself. Still, our guide's recounting reflects the depth of the animosity between these countries. I hadn't realized how active the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand is, but relations are dangerously strained, especially since 2025. For me, it became easier to understand why it was sometimes difficult for members of our Southeast Asian branch to connect. Our Relief Society consisted primarily of Cambodian women, but the Relief Society President was Thai. In my youthful naivete, I kind of assumed everyone got along since the two countries were so close geographically, and more importantly, both loved sticky rice. While we Americans lumped everyone together (Cambodian, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Hmong, Korean, Chinese, etc.), there were many difficult cultural and national differences that had to be overcome for everyone to connect as brothers and sisters in Christ's church.

Anyway, enough of my pontificating. Here are some more photos.

The bas relief carvings on every surface were so intriguing! Many of them told stories of the Hindu gods and their struggles for power. There was so much I wished I understood better! I desperately wished I recalled more from the BYU classes I took in World Religions and Asian Humanities.

It was also fascinating to see all of the beautiful Cambodian couples taking wedding photos at Angkor. Most all wore traditional clothing. I'm told that the man's clothing represents a lion while the woman's clothing represents a dragon.

The guide insisted on taking photos of my Mom and I as well.

Royalty and monks would have ascended to the inner sanctum of Angkor through this gate. So many steep stairs!

From above, you can see the immensity of Angkor Wat.

Last but not least, Angkor Wat (the temple city) still functioning as a temple.

The next temple on our interary was Ta Prohm, completed in 1186. As a nature lover, it was probably my very favorite with all of the mossy overgrowth and enormous trees growing right out of the ruins.

These tree roots are also referred to as the Anaconda. Note that they now have some steel reinforcemtns holding the tree roots in place so the structures below don't collapse.

Wild. Absolutely wild.

Okay, this echo chamber was remarkable. The acoustics were such that if you thudded the hollow of your chest, you could actually hear the sound reverberate across all four walls. I've never experienced anything like it!

Move over Angelina Jolie, we are the new Tomb Raiders.

Also, check out the carving in the middle. Can anyone explain the 12th century carving of a dinosaur?

In Ta Prohm and other temples, we found external supports like this one helping to hold the building up.

After all, the mossy stone piles are cool, but it would be so sad to lose all of Angkor to ruins.

Angkor Thom

From there, our tuk tuk driver drove us to Angkor Thom, or the Great City. This 3.5 square mile complex with four main gates contains multiple temples and other archeological wonders, the most famous of which is Bayon, built in the early 13th century by King Jayavarman.

The most distinctive feature of the Bayon is all of the smiling stone faces carved into the towers.

Also, this is where I saw a monkey run up to a man and start aggressively pawing his legs because he was drinking out of a coconut. I guess the sign wasn't kidding!

Next stop, the Baphuon Temple.

Terrace of the Elephants

Terrace of the Leper King. I still can't get over how many intricately carved figures!

The Royal Palace.  Okay, this one was spooky! Kind of at the edge of the Angkor Thom, I found it by wandering a short way down a forgotten path. I was absolutely astonished by how quickly it felt like I was in the middle of the jungle. The sound of the insects and birds and monkeys was intense, and even though I'd left my Mom sitting on a bench just a minute or two earlier, everything was so overgrown. Coming across these ruins felt like I'd trespassed into another age.

Luckily, I made it out alive and celebrated with some fresh coconut juice. When I told the woman that I didn't love coconut water, she promised to pick me out a good one. She succeeded--it was ice cold and delicious. We also found a couple pair of elephant pajama pants for Annika and Eila.

Exiting Angkor Thom through the Victory Gate.

Our last temple on the day's itinerary was Phnom Bakheng where we hike to a templed atop a hill to watch the sunset. Here's the trail to the top.

With five different levels, there were plenty of stairs at the temple as well.

Some heavy cloud cover blocked most of the sunset, but it was still a cool experience.

In truth, the clouds were as spectacular as the sun. It's fun to think of all the sunset this temple has seen over the ages.

Arriving back at the Yellow House, we were tired but Navy had dinner all prepared for us. This Chicken Amok was my favorite home-cooked meal.

Potato chips are fine, but crispy green plantains with lime leaves are even better.

Stay tuned for the next day's adventures touring Angkor's Grand Circuit.

More Adventures in Vietnam: Ninh Binh

Stage 2 of our adventure!

Following our overnight boat cruise, we boarded a bus that took us to Ninh Binh Province, a piece of countryside so beautiful that it's been called "Ha Long Bay on land." Feeling frugal, I'd opted for a mid-level ride instead of paying a few dollars more for the "limousine bus." I was rather regretting our decision until the bus arranged for drop-off right to our AirBnB instead of ditching us in the center of town.

Our Ninh Binh Greenland Homestay was fantastic--I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling in the area. Our host Long was helpful, our room was comfortable, and the views from our balcony were remarkable. There was a lovely pool and breakfast made to order every day. Free bike rentals were available, plus you could opt to dine with the other guests in the evening for a small extra charge. We felt so pampered!

Here we are sharing a meal with a fun couple from Australia. Many of the tourists we met were traveling for extensive periods of time, often for months on end.

While not busy, the surrounding neighborhood definitely catered to tourists with massage parlors on every corner. Fun as it looked, we never pampered ourselves. After all, I was a bit nervous about getting my hells heels rubbed.

Our view of the mountains in the morning.

Our homestay was just a short bike ride from Trang An, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Knowing that the lines can get long, we arrived around 7:30 am and hopped aboard a boat rowed by the sweetest woman. After I spoke to her a tiny bit in Vietnamese, she assumed I could understand most everything. I certainly didn't, so the rest of the ride included some extensive games of charade.

While our boat guide didn't speak much English, she had mastered one phrase: head down! She used it often as we journeyed through the various different caves, including Dot Cave which spans more than a kilometer. Considering how often we needed to duck, I can only imagine what it must be like when the water level is higher.

There are actually three different rowboat tours you can take at Trang An. We opted for Route 3 since it included the longest cave, plus it rows past the set for King Kong: Skull Island. Still, it makes me excited to think that if I ever go back, we could opt for an entirely different experience.

Truthfully, no matter what route you pick, the journey will be stunning.

Photography at Ninh Binh was huge. Soooo many people (including our boatmates) were dressed to the nines so they could have their picture taken.

My Mom and I may not have been fancy, but we sure were happy!

Plus apparently it's not just romantic couples that give smooches.

With so many boats on the lake, it was incredible that when we went through the 1000m cave, it felt like we had the entire place to ourself. Our entry was timed such that we hardly saw another boat for the entire journey,

Amazing.

Toward the end of our tour it started to rain so we pulled out the umbrellas--such a picturesque ending. It's easy to understand why Ninh Binh is so popular with both locals and tourists alike.

Also, kudos to my Mom for hopping on a bike and cycling through traffic in the rain. That takes courage for anyone, but especially for a person who hasn't ridden a bike in quite a while. Her hair may be silver, but my Mom is an adventurer at heart!

On the way back, we encountered this woman riding her horse along the shore. The experience felt majestic. Back in the year 1000, Ninh Binh was the capitol of Viet Nam. Witnessing this ride, it felt like I was peering back through time at royalty. 

Later in the day I climbed 500 cragged stone steps to the top of Hang Mua Mountain and peered down at the terrian we rowed.

There is a lying stone dragon atop this panoramic overlook that is both awesome and ridiculously crowded.

Fortunately the crowds disperse if you work your way farther down the spine.

From the top, you could see that the wooden walkways below had been shaped like a lotus.

I even spied workers caring for the fields with their conical bamboo hats.

While we'd ordered a "Grab" to get to Hang Mua, my Mom and I decided to walk home instead. Imagine our surprise when a herd of water buffalo popped out of the alley right in front of us, completely blocking traffic for a time! Sometimes life is so unexpected that all you can do is laugh.

For dinner, we stopped at a cute little place called Riverside Restaurant Thien De where we enjoyed some delicious spring rolls and papaya salad. Plus a mango smoothie, of course.

While we would have loved to stay longer in Ninh Binh, we had flights booked for Cambodia and needed to get back to the airport in Hanoi. Our final adventure was figuring out how to wash laundry. Even the simplest tasks can take quite a bit of problem solving in an unfamiliar setting. The washers and dryers hadn't been connected in the first laundromat I found, so I had to bike for a while in the rain before I found a new place that  was open. Much to my surprise, this laundromat even accepted credit cards.  In general, credit cards are rarely used in Vietnam, so most of the time we exchanged US Dollars for Vietnamese Dong.

With clothes that were both clean and dry (the laundry on our balcony had gotten soaked overnight), we were ready for the next stage of our journey. After three shuttles and a plane flight, we showed our Cambodian visas and arrived at Siem Reap International airport. It was still another hour drive before we made it to our AirBnB in the yellow house, but certainly worth the effort. Can't wait to tell you all about Angkor!