Bayon Temple Siem Reap

Unlike most of you on Boxing Day who were sat in front of the tele, eating left over turkey and playing with your presents - as it should be. We were sat on a bus worrying that Brad was going to be deported from Cambodia.

On Boxing Day we started our journey to Cambodia - our final destination. On the bus Brad was asked if he had another …

This morning I was wide awake and raring to go at 6:45am! I was very excited about exploring and seeing the temples. Today was going to be a highlight of my trip and something I had been looking forward to before we left England. We met our Tuk Tuk driver at 8:45am and then drove for 20mins to the entrance gate where we bought our tickets. It cost …

On todays planning was the exploration of Angkor area, which most famously includes the temple of Angkor Wat. We got up at around 9 and headed out to get some breakfast, after which we went and picked up our bikes which we're using to get around the Angkor area. The ride to Angkor Wat was about 6 Km, in a straight line, but on the Cambodian road …

We essentially did the Angkor Small circuit. We saw the sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was super packed, but still pretty. We then went in and walked around Angkor Wat - it was truly awe inspiring to stand at the foot of the prangs on the third level. We learned a lot about the battle between heaven and hell in hindu lore, the Asparas (dancing woman …

Early to rise this morning! Woke up at 4.30 to get the Tuk-tuk from outside the hostel at 5.00. Didn't take too long to get to Angkor - about 20 minutes. The roads were fairly quiet although there were plenty of Monks out for their morning duties.

On arrival at the Angkor Complex we had our photos taken for the temple pass and then Niam, …

I organised a bus with a travel agent to take me from my hotel to Siem Reap. I'd heard the border was fairly dodgy so I did a bit of reading up about it first so I'd know what to expect. The bus picked me up at 7am but it was practically empty so I managed to lie down and sleep the first 4 hours to the border. The bus, which i had presumed …

This is our second visit to Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat and the infamous Pub Street. And it can now boast as being the place where Marne and I got engaged!


The Golden Banana

After an early flight out of Pakse we were warmly welcomed back to the Golden Banana. We stayed with these guys last time and loved the hotel and …

Two months ago I suspected that Siem Reap would be the highlight of our journey but I never expected it to exceed my expectations like it has. The people here make me feel at ease after the stress of Pattaya and Bangkok. Our last 3 weeks has been a perfect example of the extraordinary contrasts of South East Asia. It's hard to imagine that after a …

The title of this entry is Siem Reap's translation. Strange name for a place so close to Thailand! Siem Reap was nice if not oppressively hot! But I had a full 6 days here which meant I could move around slowly and really soak this place in while seeing most of the temples at Angkor Wat.

Staying at My Home Tropical Garden Villa was great …

13/04/12
After seeing the sunrise over Angkor Wat, you can understand why this place has become a symbol for Cambodia and is featured on everything from the National Flag to Beer and Cigarettes. In order to capture the sunrise, we awoke at 3.30am which neither the girls nor I were particularly pleased about especially when we had only gone to …

... Angkor Thom complex. The day began hot and continued to get hotter as we trawled around the complex from building to building. The Bayon Temple, a major part of Angkor Thom, has an eerie quality with its giant carved faces on each side of each tower, as ...

... only 10 Bart (GBP 0.15) each, so we squeeze on board, hoping that we can change our flight time to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to something earlier than 3pm. At Bangkok Airways ticketing office we collect our (expensive) USD$120 tickets and find that there ...

... After spending a couple of hours at Angkor Wat we moved onto Angkor Thom which was the old Khmer capital. First we headed for the Bayon temple which is more ornate than Angkor Wat, but it looks more ancient due to it's dilapidated state. It's also a lot ...

... 9th century onwards is awe-inspiring. The number of temples are endless, with craftsmanship that is way beyond their years. My favorite was Bayon Temple, created by the 7th King of Angkor, in which he places faces of himself on all 52 towers- looking out ...

... of the time, bland overcast conditions prevailed. However, these spectacular temples and monuments transcend the weather so enjoy anyway. Bayon temple - The Big Heads From a distance this temple looks like piles of nicely stacked but well weathered ...

... a popular term here in Siem Reap!). On our fourth day, we hired a tuk-tuk to drive us to the north of Siem Reap to visit the temple of Banteay Srei and the mystical ruins of Kbal Spean (a 100km roundtrip). The drive to Banteay Srei was very scenic. ...

... the worship of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu, he made Mahayana Buddhism the primary religion of Angkor for the first time. And the Bayon Temple became his state temple. He also built the temples of Prah Kahn (dedicated to his father) and Ta Prohm ...

... . Some temples, being isolated in the middle of the jungle, are pretty much in the same condition as when rediscovered. Bayon temple is noteable for its giant sculpted heads smiling enigmatically from the towers and walls. Angkor Wat itself is stupendous ...

... Thom - 'The Great City' in the Angkorian period comprising of enclosed walls 3km long on each side. The centrepiece is the Bayon temple, comprising of giant faces which represent a former King of the region. Then we visited Ta Keo, which is really ...

... veg and it was SO yummy. Moori picked me up and after watching tv and adding 3 blog updates, I fell asleep. Best: Bayon Temple was my favourite I think Worst: losing Moori for several hours Beautiful: sunrise at Angkor Wat. Ps anything named Angkor has ...