Cambodia: The Kingdom of Wonder
After thrilling voyages to Vietnam and Thailand, Cambodia was next on our summer tour. We had heard amazing things about Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world at 401 acres, and had daydreamed of seeing it all year. Prior to arriving, I had perused travel blogs in search of information regarding Siem Reap, the town adjacent to the monument, and had only found rather discouraging reviews with a somewhat morose depiction of the area outside of Angkor Wat. To our delight, Siem Reap was much more than what we expected, far cooler than the reviewers had let on. And in the end, I was shocked to learn something I read on the internet wasn't true! ;) Our first full day in Cambodia brought us here to Angkor Wat, about a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride from Siem Reap. Built in the 12th century, Angkor Wat was originally a Hindu temple likely dedicated to a King Suryavarman II for funeral purposes. Sometime in the 16th century, the temple slowly transcended into a Buddhist