|
  | |  |
Angkor Wat
Entry 9 of 24 | show all | print this entry |
Our day started at 5.00am today (yes, I CAN do it!!) and we travelled by tuk tuk to the Angkor Wat complex to catch the sunrise.
We had been warned that this is a serious tourist trap, but it's just something you have to do. Fortunately, it's the low season, so it's not as bad as it could have been. The sunset itself wasn't too spectacular but I took a bunch of photos anyhow. We then spent the next hour or so wandering around the temple complex. It's absolutely amazing when you look at the incredible detail that went it producing the carved reliefs that tell stories around the entire complex. Not to mention the process of lugging these sandstone blocks down from the mountains, chopping them into square blocks and building this most amazing structure, perfectly - over 700-800 years ago! How come we can't build a house or building these days in NZ without it suffering 'leaky building syndrome?!
I won't go into detail about each temple complex because it's really just something you have to see. For those that are familiar with them, we went to:
* Angkor Wat
* Bayon
* Elephant and Leper Terraces
* Ta Phrom
* Kabal Spien
* Bantay Srei
They were all so very different, and so amazing in their own way.
But it was hot. And I mean hot!! We were dripping in sweat by 9am. And it got worse. The only relief we had was in the tuk tuk rides between each of the temples.
At the end of the day we visited two temples that were another 30-40 kms out of the main Angkor complex. So again we went by tuk tuk. Whilst that is a fun way to travel, it is perhaps not the smartest way to travel long distances along dirty dusty bumpy roads! We had to breathe through spare shirts that we had with us most of the way. Cars and trucks would pass on at a rapid speed stirring up all the dust. We had put on some extra strong mosquito repellent in the morning which was a bit sticky - which meant our bodies were now coated in a fine layer of dust. And the moral of the story - NEVER wear a white top when riding a tuk tuk. It doesn't stay white! :-(
One of these distant temples was basically carvings in a river bed. To get to it you had to trek about 1.5m up through some Cambodia jungle. (Well, OK it wasn't a jungle in the true sense - we had a dirt track to follow most of the way - and some boulders to clamber over in parts). It sounds reasonably easy - but it was at the hottest time of day, we were walking up a hill, and we were carrying packs. It was so blessed hot. But we had visions of this nice river.... (how dirty can it be up at the top of a remote hill?) and heard that there was a waterfall that we could have a little swim under.
So we trekked up this hill, counting the signs telling us how many meters left to go, avoiding the centipedes and other creepy crawlies - with visions of a glistening, refreshing waterfall at the top. Oh, and some interesting, ancient carvings in the riverbed stone.
Well, we got to the top. And we saw a little pool of water. But no worries - a guide appeared out of no where and told us that we were mistaken, the waterfall was just a bit further and he promised us we could have a swim. Thank goodness for that - we were SO hot. Our backs were drenched with sweat where the packs were sitting on our backs. He escorted us to the said waterfall.
Well! This glistening waterfall wasn't much of a waterfall. And it certainly wasn't glistening. We just stood there mouths agape. We were gutted - it was a trickle of water, if that, and it was a colour that probably would have added even more colour to my already grubby white top even further. After getting over our disappointment, we just burst into laughter - thinking how silly our expectations were in the first place.
After admiring the interesting carvings in the riverbed, we made our way back to the waiting tuk tuk which we then rode back home again - and adding another layer of dust on to the one that we were already wearing!
Oh well - the joys of travelling! Lucky for us, the hotel had a pool - and it was actually blue today!
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from Cambodia or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
7 votes 
