Day 3 - Roluos Group and Angkor Wat
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
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Trip End
Ongoing
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Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Friday, November 23, 2007
This is our 3rd and last day of touring the temples around Angkor Wat. Today we visited the Rolous Group and Angkor Wat itself. Yes, we've been in Siem Reap for over a week, but procrastinated on seeing the most beautiful temple in the world until the very last day!
Rolous Group
We got a late start in the morning and went out to see the Rolous Group -- three temples that are about 13 kilometers east of Siem Reap. The Rolous Group consists of: Preah Ko, Bakong, and Lolei. All were built in the late 9th century as the first major capital of the Khmer empire. The group is named for the Hari-Hari, a synthesis of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishna. Preah Ko and Bakong were very interesting to visit. Lolei, though, was a disappointment as it was cluttered in trash.
Boat Races and Car Accidents
After the Rolous Group, we took our tuk-tuk back into Siem Reap for lunch. Today is the Boat Festival, also known as the End-of-Rainy-Season festival. We walked along the Siem Reap river to check out the boat races. The streets were packed with Khmer families spending the day in the festival.
We ran into our friends Karen and Brad, an Australian couple who is staying at our hotel. They told us that they just got into ANOTHER car accident. A little background info: They recently quit their jobs and packed up the house to go travel the world for a year +. (Sound familiar). They are about a month into their year-long trip.
Angkor Wat - adding new stairs
They just arrived in Siem Reap a few days ago, after a rough trip across the Thailand border in which their taxi rolled off the road - down an embankment - and flipped upside down into the river! Luckily, they managed to climb through the windows and escape. Today, they took a tuk-tuk to see some of the temples. The driver took them down a side road full of rocks and potholes. The ball & joint that connects the tuk-tuk carraige to the motorcycle shook loose and they went flying backwards! Luckily, again, they survived with just a few bumps and rattled nerves.
Nevertheless, they are one intrepid and fearless couple! Check out their online journal if you have a chance -- their adventure in Laos is fascinating! http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/roamingmonk/roamingmonk /tpod.html
The Grand Finale - Angkor Wat
After lunch, we finally made our way to the main temple at Angkor Wat, really the reason we came to Cambodia. It did not disappoint at all. The temple is surrounded by a square moat and wall that about 1.5 kilometers on each side. The temple itself is 1 square kilometer. Inside is a massive 3-tiered pyramid surrounded by 5 lotus-like towers that are 65 meters tall. We easliy spent a couple hours wandering around the temple. It was a beautiful sights, especially in the orange glow of late afternoon sun. Just look at the photos.
Cheers,
Kay
