"Siem" means Thai and "reap" means to flatten. So the city of Siem Reap refers to the place where the Thai armies were flattened in a battle nearing a thousand years ago. Surrounding the city are many ancient temple cites from the great Angkor civilization that are open for visiting.
Angkor Wat is the largest single stone structure there and according to our tour guide it was built by 200,000 slaves in 37 years. It is the symbol on the Cambodian flag I believe because it shows how great the Khmer people once were and is a source of hope that they can again be great.
My favorite part of Angkor Wat might have been the surrounding walls that had stories engraved throughout. It was awe inspiring from far away and from close up because of how detailed every wall in the complex was.
This was a view from the inside of Preah Khan temple
We rode an Elephant!
This is Bayon Temple and each of the statues has four faces French direction.
Posing with the tigers at the entrance to a mountaintop Buddha shrine before...
We went to a giant waterfall at Kulen Mountain!
This is a failed attempt to jump in front of a tree at Ta Promh Temple that I have seen in many pictures in Khmer houses.
This was our meditation tree.