Angkor Wat - No really W(h)at were they thinking

Trip Start Jul 07, 2008

Trip End Jun 20, 2009

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Where I stayed

Babel Siem Reap Guesthouse

(Siem Reap hotels)

Flag of Cambodia Siem Reap, Cambodia
Friday, December 12, 2008

We'd been to the 'Heart of Darkness' and into the depths of Cardamom jungles so what could Cambodia have in store for us next?! We left Phnom Penh on the Mekong Express, which was entertaining for a while with local karaoke and free refreshments on board. As we approached our destination, Siem Reap, it was growing dark and the constant overtaking and dusty roads were wearing thin. Then I remembered that we were on our way to see the Wat of all Wats, Angkor. Legendary home of Buddhist deities for over, in some cases, a thousand years. What (excuse the pun!) was I even slightly tired for, this place has me at Hello! We'd organised a pick up with our hostel and we met Mr. Jeat for the first time. Looking back was he happy to give us a free lift because he's a lovely guy or did he see dollar signs in our eyes....? Either way we got to Babel (name of the guesthouse) and met lovely Tom from Manchester along with Katrina, from Spain.

We had a spot of food and then headed into town, Bar Street, for some drinks. After the Capital we were well aware of what to expect but we were not expecting all the bars just to be full of Farangs and no locals at all. I think my jaw hit the ground at all the backpackers we were surrounded with, heads in buckets of Thai rum and coke. I seriously hadn't seen anything like it in all the time we had been travelling. I wasn't too impressed to be honest and apart from another couple of meals out in this area we kept away from it. We did however have a few drinks that night so that getting to Angkor Wat the next day was some what delayed.

We were re-introduced to Mr. Jeat the next day and found out that for the next three days (a typical pass to explore the temples $40) we could hire his tuk tuk type carriage to get us about for about $15-$20 a day. We could have hired bicycles as well but that would have cost $10 still...so guess what we did? Yes the easy option of course, the chauffeur! The area of the temples used to house over 1 million people in its hey day so it is vast and some of the furthest Wat's were over 40 k's from Siem Reap itself.

For the next three days we were pretty blown away, with some of my favourite and most impressionable moments as follows: (if anyone wanted to hear the full version it could take hours and some of you will be relieved by the following summary I'm sure)

First sight of Angkor Wat itself - felt sick with anticipation and humbled and very lucky to be there - sob sob.
Bayon Temple first encounter and at Sunrise the next day - wonder and delight and great peace, eerie morning faces with jungle noises all around Ta Phromn (tombraider temple) and Ta Som - nature in harmony with man's endeavours. Trees beauty amongst old stonemasonry and haunting light and shadows.
Not sharing temples with anyone else - Dean and I got lucky on so many occasions, where we were left to explore on our own, very special and spiritual.
Sitting in the tuk tuk and seeing Cambodian life fly past - early queue for the children's hospital, children cycling to school in their hundreds, houses on stilts and open clay ovens

OK enough already it's bringing it all back! I'd already left my heart in the jungle with the local Khmers and now Angkor was after my soul - a sense of heightened awareness and emotions that you don't get that often and not normally in such a short amount of time.