Angkor What?

Holy Moly...this place was huge, overwhelming and busy busy busy! We were suprised about how many people were there...Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia. Stretching over some 400 km2, including forested area, Angkor contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. They include the famous Temple of Angkor Wat and, at Angkor Thom, the Bayon Temple with its countless sculptural decorations.
The history of these temples is a little hard to comprehend, some as far back as 800....basically Angkor Wat was the last and biggest temple built in this city of temples. The name seems to now encompass the whole city of temples although each one has its own name. Angkor Wat was built in the 1100's and was dedicated to the buddhist deity Vishnu. The city of temples was preceeded by the last king who built Angkor Wat by 3 others who built their temples to not rival each other but in their own styles and sizes relative to their own empires at the time. We have spent 2 and a half days here. Again one of those places to get lost and imagine being here a thousand years ago, imagine building these amazing structures, imagine this being a city of 1,000,000 people as it once was. With more than 2 million people visiting and making pilgramiges here each year it does make you wonder how much longer it will last? Aside from unsafe areas, we were free to walk around and explore freely...amazing!