I’m gonna be honest. When I finally pulled out my camera and uploaded my Angkor Wat photos onto my laptop, I felt super disappointed in how they turned out.* The day I visited this enormous world-wonder-worthy temple complex it was hazy, hot, and crowded. The temples were incredible, massive, ancient, and amazingly spiritual, as expected, but I just didn’t feel like I captured them adequately.
But worst of all, I didn’t feel like I appreciated my experience there nearly as much as I should have. And I feel guilty about that. Why? Well, while trying not to sound like a completely ungrateful brat, here’s the reality behind my visit to Angor Wat through photos… photos that, full disclosure, are pretty heavily edited.
* Okay, okay, I’m feeling a bit better about these pics since culling the 250 shots that I took, running them through Lightroom, and putting them away and not looking at them for a while.
black and white covers a multitude of sins
Up at Sunrise
Temple game plan wise, my new hostel friends and I were on the same page. We were all down to purchase a one-day pass to the temples and pay the tuk tuk driver for a half-day of sightseeing. Angkor Wat is a bucket-list item for Southeast Asia travelers, but after several countries of impressive scenery, you can easily get temple’d out. We knew our limits.
Our group of four ambitiously decided that we’d get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. Umm yeah, I don’t have a lot of sunrise photography under my belt for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, we woke up at 4:40 AM to head out and begin our expedition.
absolutely loving it // not sweating at all // are you grasping my sarcasm?
A little background: our group did absolutely no planning. The temperature exceeded 100 degrees (38 Celsius) every single day of the week I spent in Siem Reap. We did not take this into account. And it was absolutely sweltering! Thankfully, I’d made the important decision to book a hostel with a big pool – appropriately named Pool Party Hostel – where I could lounge or swim when it was too hot to get out and do touristy activities… or anything for that matter. And it was always too hot. But we had to brave it one day. For the temples! Anyway.
So typically when I arrive somewhere at 5 AM, I expected to be rewarded for being the early bird.
NOT!
I have no idea how early these people got up, but jeez Louise, they must not have slept the night before! Seriously, the entire edge of the pond in front Angkor Wat – all of the prime photography real estate – was completely taken up by bodies, tripods, and selfie sticks before we arrived. Our entrance seemed laughably late. It was still dark!
Taking Hundreds of Photos
Yet, in the face of adversity, I snapped away. I’ve really got to stop taking hundreds of photos, only to struggle like hell later when I go to edit them and try to differentiate between eight photos that look exactly the same. But you just don’t know how they really turned out until you see them on the computer screen!
before the sun made an appearance // lots of contrast
We eased our way around to the left side of the lake where the crowds thinned a bit and we could get a couple of pics without stray humans in them. Surprisingly, I was able to make my way through the masses to go from shots like this…
To this…
That’s a little better. How bout some lotuses?
Or maybe the temple with the contrast turned up and the shadows turned down? Better?
And I mean, all that matters is that we got this (uber-serene-traveler-staring-off-into-the-beautiful-scene-like-I-have-no-clue-there’s-a-camera-behind-me) shot… right?
done. even though there’s a tree growing out of my head // note to self: work on that hair
Okay, enough trying to capture that iconic temple photo, let’s move along. But first, a pro tip: Get a girl to take your photo if you want something like this. Guys won’t tell you if you need to stand up straighter or if you have the fat arm.
Going Inside
After the sun came up and the hoards of people dispersed to different regions of this humongous complex, we grabbed breakfast at a nearby restaurant. There are around ten outdoor, numbered “cafes” literally right in front of Angkor Wat, all with pretty identical menus. Pancakes were a solid choice.
After our first coffee of the day and regaining some strength, we headed into the interior of the main temple.
On to the next… Prasat Bayon
Also known as the temple with all the giant faces. Our tuk tuk driver whisked us here, about five minutes down the road, where he dropped us off to explore.
I’m actually shocked that I was able to take so many photos without people in them at Bayon. This temple was super close to Angkor Wat, and thus a popular second destination choice for many tourists like ourselves.
Our group soon grew a little weary. The sun rose higher in the sky, and the heat, humidity, and dust kicked it up a notch. All of us started to get really sweaty. And frustrated.
Reciting the mantra I’m lucky to be here, these temples are incredible, I pushed onward to the elephant wall that our tuk tuk driver also told us to check out..
Full disclosure: There might’ve been one other thing that contributed to my personal discomfort and short attention span on this particular morning. Would you like to hear too much information? If not, skip ahead, and you’ll just never know what this random photo of curry below means…
Let’s just say that I’d eaten some delicious and very spicy Thai food the previous night out in Siem Reap. It wasn’t food poisoning or anything, but my stomach was not loving me at this point in the day. It made for a painful few hours of walking around in the heat, popping Imodium, and praying. I’m still puzzled by the awfully low ratio of toilets to tourists.
Who says travel isn’t glamorous?!
The Tomb Raider Temple
Ahhh, Ta Prohm, everybody raves about you… and they are RIGHT! This one, the crumbing temple covered in vines and trees, was definitely my favorite. There’s rubble and roots everywhere!
I promise not to use the phrase “nature is taking back her own” here, but she is…
And here’s a second photo of this tree because it’s so amazing. It is roped off and there was literally a line of people waiting to take their photo in front of this doorway. I happen to think it looks better without red-faced me cheesing in the foreground though.
After wrapping up our roaming through Ta Prohm, we all ran back to our tuk tuk man, who happily discovered that he’d be receiving his agreed-upon half-day’s pay (about $20) for a few less hours of work than we’d originally planned. Thank goodness everyone in the group was of the consensus that we’d had our fill of the temples and were ready to head back to the city… and our refreshing pool.
We were eager to hop back in our ride, say goodbye to the throngs of other tourists, and stick our heads out into the breeze as we flew down the street.
What I’d Do Differently
If there’s ever a next time for me at Angkor Wat, there are a few things I’d do differently. (Well, besides not eating a flaming hot curry the night before my visit.)
I’d go at sunset. I think the photography-hungry crowds still swarm the pond in front of Angkor Wat, but it’s not quite as crazy as sunrise. It would also undoubtedly be cooler outside. I cannot overstate how much the heat added to the level of our eventual misery.
I’d go on a weekday. We visited on a Sunday, which definitely contributed to the crowds. In my defense, I’d made friends who’d already planned their visit to Angkor Wat, and I didn’t want to go alone, so I just jumped in their group.
I’d plan to be in Siem Reap when it wasn’t so damn hot. I went at the beginning of April, and even the locals complained of the oppressive heat.
I’d do a little more research or even consider hiring a guide (not just a driver). The temples are beautiful and impressive themselves, but rarely did we know exactly what we were looking at. Having a little background on their construction, history, and usage as Hindu and later Buddhist temples would have been enlightening.
Still, you can’t NOT visit Angkor Wat. There are so many temples in the entire complex and I saw only the three most popular. While I do think I got a few decent photos out of this whole experience, if I ever return, I’ll be prepared for the overwhelming nature of this wondrous, ever-popular place.
We visited Angkor Wat in February and were thrilled to have cool weather and overcast skies for much of the day. I often have that feeling that you describe, of not being wholly “present” as I travel this world. I think sometimes I have some guilt over not having “properly” prepared for the trip. I do a LOT of homework before I travel, but I am still overwhelmed by what I don’t know or don’t understand when I travel. Letting go and just immersing yourself in the experience is half the battle. Because my photography is so important to me, I often find the most pleasure comes once I am at home and editing away. I don’t think that is a bad thing. IG @mollyinthedetails
I totally have the whole “am I really appreciating this because I’m taking so many pictures and wondering if I’m getting anything Insta-worthy?” moments. I need to work more on being present. Now if I could just get more pleasure from the editing process! (But now that you mention it, I actually don’t hate editing – it’s culling the photos down to the best ones that’s the hardest part.)
I agree with so much of this. I did no research before going to the temples, and so I didn’t understand the significance of anything. And there’s no way you can get me up that early for sunrise! Don’t worry, you didn’t miss out on the sunset. The famous temple to see the sun set from was super super crowded too and it was not fun waiting to see just a mediocre sunset. And your pictures honestly don’t look bad at all.
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Ahh thanks for that reassurance – I was certain that anything had to be better than the crowds at sunrise! But yeah, it would have been so great to know what the carvings and statues and well, anything(!) meant as we wandered around. But of course we were too cheap to hire a guide and we didn’t want to commit to too many hours of touring and listening.