Around the temples of Ankor Wat...
Trip Start
Jun 26, 2008
1
7
67
Trip End
Ongoing
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Friday, July 4, 2008
After a lazy afternoon after the boat trip, it continued that way. We had intended to get out to see some of the temples but kim was feeling a little ropey and i fancied a day of doing nothing so thats what we did. Popped out to eat a couple of times, succoming to western food after a week of thai/cambodian was welcome. While kim had an afternoon nap i went out and about in Siem Reap including the food market which was much like the one we had experienced in Battambang. Bought a book about the killings of the Khymer Rouge and had a beer at a cafe - a little taste of what it might be like to do this by myself and i'm still glad im doing it with Kim.
We planned that evening to get up really early and see the sunrise over Ankor Wat which meant a 4:30am start so we headed to bed real early too. Up before dawn and ready to go, we managed to get a moto driver (one guy on moped and we both get on with him - bit scary at 40mph in the dark) and got to the temple complex ahead of the stream of tuk tuks, as the sun rose. Now i had been expecting something awe inspiring and i have to say it fell a little short. Don't get me wrong the fact that they managed to build these temples with the level of detail is still hugely impressive but the overall effect wasn't stunning. The temple complexes themselves are huge as most of the larger temple grounds take up 1 sqkm each but most of the less well preserved ones look like a pile of rubble until you get up close. We decided to walk around the closest of the major attractions which ended up being around 10km in total in the realtive cool of the morning. Bayon - another of the major temples was the highlight for me with 16 passive faces smiling down on you as you walk around. Ta Prohm is another famous one only for the fact that the jungle has all but reclaimed it, with giant trees growing right out of the walls. It also featured in Tomb Raider apparently.
We got a tuk tuk back and had another chilled out afternoon in the westernised area of Siem Reap. The town really has prospered but i think it has at the expense of its cultural spirit. Later that evening we went to get a massage from a place that wasn't a brothel - not an easy task. One company has been set up to help the blind people of Cambodia by teaching shiatsu massage and this is where we went. I was slightly unnerved it being my first massage esp as the place was a ;ittle on the dingy side and it was going to be two buys administering the massages, howevert it was actually incredily relaxing and i will be going for another once back in thailand.
The following day was more temple viewing but this time by bicycle. Its around 5km out to the closest temple and then a considerable distance around the rest - i think we did around 35km in total during the day at the hottest part. I won't comment much on the temples as they were all pretty much the same - being 'templed out' comes pretty quickly apparently and i thought i was such a cultural type, oh well.
We went back to 'bar street' for dinner and got chatting to a bunch of kiwis who were currently living in Singapore and teaching in Cambodia. Great banter, with the australia vs france rugby match in the background, was great fun - and if you reading this Paul we will be taking you up on your offer of a place to stay in singapore when we pass through!! :-)
Next - on to Phnom Pehn (capital of cambodia) briefly and then on to the beach which i am very much looking forward to.
