Diary Entry: A Little Taste of Tomb Raider - Angkor Wat

by Bats Mohsinali


After about five days of being in Cambodia, we finally visited the most anticipated visit to Angkor Wat. Yes, the same Angkor Wat that was featured in the movie Tomb raider, starring Angelina Jolie, and Daniel Craig released in 2001.

When I initially watched the movie, I was truly flabbergasted. It was magnificent. The fighting scenes were amazing and the temples that were featured were breathtaking. After watching the movie, my expectations of Angkor Wat were very high.

Today, what I saw in the cinema came true to life.

Scene at Ta Prohm made famous in Tomb Raider

We started our journey before the crack of dawn, meeting up at the guest house lobby at 4:15 am, with the intention of arriving in time for the sunrise. Soon we were off; it took about half an hour to reach. Along the way we saw a different side of Siem Reap, the more quiet side to it.

At the entrance of the Angkor district we paid USD 20 for the single day pass. However, two day and up to one week passes were available for purchase. After receiving our ticket, that covers entry into all the parts of the Angkor district, we were stopped at the main gate, while our tickets were checked. This is the case with all the entrances that lie in the Angkor district. Each time you enter a new temple there are guards to check your ticket. So, it was wise it to keep it at an easy reach.

Since it had rained the night before and heavily I might add, the ground was still moist. So for those who were there with their flip-flops I can say for a fact that it must have been really hard, because even with sneakers, the wet ground was hard to walk upon. Although most of us were running on low energy and sleep deprivation, the sight of the Angkor Wat as we reached made all of us giddy with excitement. Giddy, because we had lack of sleep from the night before.

As we reached the Angkor Wat, I was amazed to see how the sunrise brightened the temple, no one could have painted a better picture. Although the sunrise was blocked by the surrounding trees and temples, we still managed to get some brilliant pictures. As dawn broke and the light began to settle in, we made our way into the temple.

Sunrise over the Angkor Wat

The intricate and detailed carvings on the stones have been part of the splendor that makes the Angkor Wat. Each stone has individual motifs and unique details. One of the carvings told a story of the many wars fought by the King Suryavarman II, about the losses and battles won. We did not dwell on the temple Angkor for too long, in search for knowledge about other temples in Ang Kor. A central theme of carvings was the Apsara dancers, a traditional dance of Cambodia. Many small carvings of Buddha in different positions graced the walls that in turn make it a very classical style of Khmer architecture.

After breakfast at one the many restaurants there, we made our way to the Bayon temple. This is another one of the most famous temples, in the Angkor district. The highlight of Bayon is the giant faces that are carved on all four sides of the stone temples. Not all of them have the four-sided face, yet the ones that do are believed to be either the faces of Loksvara, or perhaps a combination of Buddha and Jayavarman VII. The centre of the Bayon represents Angkor City, while the 56 temples around the Angkor City represents the total number of provinces at the time it was built. However, to date, there are only 24 provinces.

Bayon's many faces

A lot of attention and care had to be taken as we walked around and climbed through the temples, the mossy grounds were slippery. If one does not pay attention, he or she are more prone to accidents, such as slipping or missing a step. A recent incident that occured happened to a man while he was climbing down one of the steep steps in the Angkor temple. Sadly, the man died. As such, there were certain areas of the Angkor Wat that was sealed off to the general public. Apart from that, the steep steps can a bit unstable. It makes it harder to get to your destination.

The Elephant Terrace, can be easily identified in the Angkor district by the elephant carvings. The name was derived from the sport that was played there during the time of the King Suryavarman II, where he would sit on a high pedestal with his ministers and concubines to either sides of him, as they watch elephants battle each other out. This is a massive area and the open space has now been housed with parked vans, tuk-tuks and vendors.

The Ta Prohm, the third temple of our visit was the temple that was featured in Tomb Raider. A key scene in the Angelina Jolie movie was featured there. Here, the temple blends in with Mother Nature as big trees grow through the temple carvings further deteriorating the temple, but somehow it looks natural, and also very beautiful. It is the perfect setting to take pictures.

After the Ta Prohm, we went to the Bat Chum, which was not much of a sight after the three other temples, so we didn’t really stay for too long. The only thing about this temple was the sense of serenity from walking through its walkways.

After a tiring day of climbing, running, and walking I had no energy to go to the last and final sight, the Bakheng Hill, where we can see the entire city of Siem reap. The main attraction here is the setting of the sun, but with the rain clouds, nothing could be seen.

“It was a spectacular view of Cambodia, from a bird’s eye view” said Max Tan, a student of Monash University.

Although I didn’t go to that, I didn’t miss much, the main attractions were enough to satisfy me and it was a perfect end to my journey here in Siem Reap, Cambodia.