One of the big attraction to Cambodia, is the temple ruins of Angkor. There are a number of ruins, with one being visited the most.

With my new hummer bicycle, i decided to cycle to the ruins, after all, the map application says it is only a 22min ride away. Well, I use 5 different map applications on my iPhone, depending on where i am going, and this one as it turned out, showed the route for a bike, like in motorbike. So it took me around 40 minutes or so to reach the ruins.

As i was cycling down a very nice road, towards the ruins.
Road to the ruins

A officer of some kind suddenly jumped out from behind the bushes and tried to stop me. Well, from years of motorcycle riding, I did what comes naturally to me, go faster. I got about 60 ft further when my keen eyes spotted two more officer on scooters way down the road. As i stopped and turned around (with loads of local people passing me) I note that the officer has pulled off two more tourists on bicycles behind me. I cycle back and he politely asks me to buy an entry ticket. For what I ask. The ruins.

So, in stopping people from taking pictures of the ruins without buying a ticket, they have a checkpoint up about 3km before the ruins.
Ticket booth and checkpoint to the ruins

I got a month pass, with 7 entries for $60. The most economical one. Your picture is taken with a webcam, then a pass is printed and laminated on the spot for you. Each day of the month is on the back of the pass, with the start date and expire date of the pass. Almost like a passport. After leaving the ticket booth, another officer checks your pass just before you can join the main road again, and punches out the current day. When you eventually get to the ruins, your ticket is checked again. Since your picture is on the pass, you cannot transfer the pass.

The ruins itself is an impressive design of military outlay. Considering that this was a temple, they must have really been expecting attacks.

The ruins are surrounded by waterways, that is accessed by a long pathway.

High walls surround the inner complex, that is accessed through a number of narrow entrances with steep steps. Original steps are covered with more tourist friendly steps.

Once through the fist entrance, you come into a large open area with the main building a distance away.

Following this pathway, you eventually come to the inner building. Build in a squire, with walls all around, and a number of narrow entrances.

You can walk all around the building on the outside, with a terrace build all on the outside of the building.

There are engravings all along the walls, with even some on the roof of some of the passages.

Once you pass through the second entrances, you come to the inner courtyard. Here is the most sacred building, with access by stairs. The original stairs are too steep, so more friendly steps was added for tourists.

Stairs to the innermost building
Inside the top building is a number of shrines, and statues. It is interesting to note, that although the temple was originally build for Shiva, it was later taken over and dedicated to a temple for Buddha. Yet, i did not see any Buddha statues, only a bunch that looks like they could be of Shiva. Yet, almost all of the statues had their heads and most of their hands cut off.

View from the inner building, showing the distance to the outer Temple walls in the far distance
There are a number of other temples and ruins that I will visit later on.