This Cambodian Temple is Even Better than Angkor Wat

I'll admit it: When I told my husband I wanted to make a detour to Siem Reap during our Thai honeymoon, it was purely to see Angkor Wat. During our three days in the province, however, we saw A LOT of temples, and this one took the cake.



I enjoyed Beng Melea (also spelled Beng Mealea or Bung Mealea) the most because this temple has not been restored, so we were literally trekking through the jungle to explore the temple. When we first arrived, I was tsk-tsking at all the completely disrespectful tourists wandering off the path to climb on the rocks. The nerve, right?! That is, until our own guide hopped off the wooden platform and beckoned us to follow him down into the ruins. Don't mind if I do....

Banteay Srei, Siem Reap, Cambodia

After exploring the temples of Angkor Thom on our first full day in Cambodia (including Bayon Temple, which I shared last week), we headed out to Banteay Srei in the afternoon. It's a bit of a drive from the city of Siem Reap, but it is definitely worth the extra time because of the intricate nature of the carvings.



Banteay Srei means "Citadel of Women," so named because the temple seems to have been built by women. This is because (1) the carvings are very intricate and detailed, which is considered to be more feminine, and (2) the temple is built to a smaller scale than most temples in Cambodia, which hints the buildings may have accommodated women better than their larger male counterparts. Here are just a few examples of the delicate carvings at Banteay Srei:

Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom, Cambodia

Last November, my husband and I honeymooned in Southeast Asia. We visited both Cambodia and Thailand, and though Thailand was the main part of our trip, I actually ended up loving Cambodia so much more. One of the first temples we visited was Bayon Temple inside the Angkor Thom complex. Whereas Angkor Wat, the largest and possibly most famous Hindu temple in the world, is one huge temple; Angkor Thom is one huge complex with multiple temples inside, including this one.

5 Fun Things We Did on our Honeymoon

My spanking-new husband and I just returned from our honeymoon on Monday evening, and though I definitely plan to share more photos and stories in upcoming posts, I wanted to give you a little sneak peek to enjoy this weekend. :) We decided to visit Asia for the first time for our honeymoon and split our time between Cambodia (Siem Reap) and Thailand (Chiang Mai, Railay Beach and briefly Bangkok). Here are five fun things we did during our adventure: