20 photos to inspire you to travel: Siem Reap, Cambodia

Cambodia has been on my travel radar for as long as I can remember. In fact, I recently discovered in my high school yearbook that I’d written Cambodia as one of the places I would visit in the years following graduation. Seven short years later, I made it to Siem Reap and ticked Cambodia off my bucket list. (Although, I wouldn’t mind travelling back to see more!)

Siem Reap, known for its ancient religious landscape and – of course – the filming location of Tomb Raider, lived up to every expectation I’d had in anticipation of travelling to Cambodia. From the temple of Ta Prohm, where the Cambodian jungle has snaked its roots around crumbling stone walls and through fractured pathways, or the natural sky shows behind Angkor Wat, one of the largest religious structures on the planet, to the floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake, Siem Reap is by far one of the most fascinating places I’ve visited in my travels thus far. Here’s a few of my favourite photos from my trip:

The smiling faces of Angkor Thom Temple 

A golden sunset over Tonle Sap Lake

The Cambodian jungle snaking its roots around crumbling stone walls and through fractured pathways.

Floating lotus flowers at the Angkor Palace Resort and Spa

A tall web of roots have spun their way from the temple floor

Prayer stone piles stacked at Angkor Thom

The sun setting behind the entrance gate to Bayon

One of Angkor’s most intriguing mysteries: Did the Khmer’s discover the stegosaurus or is the carving a hoax?

Ancient structures being weighed down by strangling tree roots have been reinforced with steel beams

The remnants of columns and carvings of Angkor Wat

Reflections at Angkor Wat – the largest religious structure on the planet

Touching noses with a smiling face at Angkor Thom

Near a floating village on Tonle Sap Lake, this little boy navigates the murky waters in a large metal bowl

Carved temple walls of Ta Prohm

Ancient tree roots escaping the grounds of Ta Prohm

Home time for these children attending one of the floating schools on the Tonle Sap Lake

Ancient stone carvings on the walls at Ta Prohm

The magical trees of Ta Prohm Temple

Giant tree roots have grown over an ancient building at Ta Prohm

Siem Reap street views from the backseat of a tuk-tuk