The Top Five Ancient Temples of Southeast Asia In reviewing my 20 years worth of content and photos for the rebuild of this site, I thought it might be a good idea to summarize my favorites in a single article, to give you some travel inspiration. In this first list, I've selected some of the most memorable historic sites.
Angkor Thom The Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom in Cambodia. Angkor Thom is a large moated royal city, measuring three kilometers on a side. The complex was actually the last capital of the ancient Khmer kingdom, built by the great King Jayavarman VII around the turn of the 13th century.
Angkor Wat Temple The eastern fascade of Angkor Wat temple. The "mother of all temples" - Angkor Wat. No photograph can quite capture the immensity of this monument (which may be a tomb as well as a temple.) Some of the apparent grandeur of the complex is due to clever perspective.
Angkor Wat Temples There are more than 40 accessible sites in the Angkor Wat area. The following selections highlight the most interesting as well as the most commonly visited. If you need help sorting through it all, here's some very rudimentary advice: You must visit the temples of Angkor Wat and the Bayon, or you haven't even been to Angkor.
Siem Reap Town Beautiful downtown Siem Reap, near the old market. Siem Reap is the town closest to the ruins of Angkor Wat, although it's more than just a place to sleep and catch a plane. The city has developed into one of the more pleasant tourist towns in Cambodia, if not Southeast Asia.
The POSH Guide to Angkor Wat & Siem Reap The eastern causeway entrance to Preah Khan temple. The capital of the Khmer kingdom in northwestern Cambodia remains one of the most outstanding legacies of the ancient world. Many have the impression that Angkor Wat is a single temple, when in fact there are more than 40 sites still recognizable to this day.
The Roluos Group Bakong temple from just inside the main gate. Before Angkor Wat was built, before the Khmer capital was was moved to the area around Phnom Bakeng, the center of the kingdom was located around the present-day village of Roluos, about 12 kilometers (7 1/2 miles) from Seam Reap.