On the recent trip with my family to Thailand we visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok, as detailed in this post.  At the Grand Palace, among all the tall reaching temples, is a model of Angkor Wat…the amazing temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia!  Like the Ta Prohm temple, it’s incredible, but Angkor Wat is THE TEMPLE you travel to Siem Reap and Cambodia to see.  So we did just that!

The words “Angkor Wat” mean “City Temple” and once you arrive you realize how vast this structure truly is…it’s actually the largest religious building in the world!  Construction of this temple took place in the 12th century and although it was abandoned for a while, just like Ta Prohm, the moat surrounding the temple’s structure helped provide protection from the jungle taking over, as you saw in my pictures in this post.  Today, Angkor Wat is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, which provides funding along with encouraging the Cambodian government to protect the site.  Although it was an extremely hot day in Siem Reap when we visited, my family and I really enjoyed walking the grounds and taking in its glory.  I hope you enjoy the pictures below.

The REAL Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

These women were cutting the grass with machetes!

One of Angkor Wat’s local residents.  Check out those teeth…thank goodness for zoom lenses on cameras!

Hiking up the temple…boy, was it steep!

I love how they covered the body of the statue…I guess it was too sexy.

Some more local residents that stole my dad’s coke and enjoyed a little sip for themselves.

Gotta love the Coca-Cola goatee!

What a memorable trip to Angkor Wat!  To see more pictures of our day, please check out my Facebook page and don’t forget to LIKE Wrinkled Chiffon!  Thanks so much for sharing in my travel adventures!