The temple grounds of Angkor Wat cambodia is a place that will blow the mind of all who visit. From the towering faces of the Bayon to the amazing craftsmanship of the Terrace of Kings. If you are into History, Archeology, Photography, or Nature, this wonderful place will not let you down. Go early to less popular sites for some time alone among the ruins, stay late to witness the setting sun on the amazing Angkor Wat or another site of your choosing. The deeper you dig, the more you will be wowed. Enjoy!!

After i spend 1 days in the bus and another one day finding the accomadation and survey Seam Reap city. IT's time me to heritage Angkor wat from nowon.

Today i plan to have a small circle tour as heritate all Angkor wat and some part of Angkor thom..Are u ready to heritage with me?! Here we go!!

First of all of my trip!! i need to say Hello to Angkor Wat!! How can i do that !!

5.00 A.M. is the suitable time that our tuktuk driver suggests us to catch up the sunrise at Angkor Wat!!

Oh my god, i am so lazy to push my ass from the bed, but i should do. I am still sleepy eventhough sat on the tuktuk.Ohhh..it's very cold this morning....A minute later i was awaked up by the light from big bus..hrr..how's come ..it's taffice jam @ 5.00 AM in Seam Reap. Please try to image all of bus and tuk tuk are out from all of hotel and guesthouse at the same time!! Yeah..heaww...we are not lonely...a lot of friend here!!

Again and again..surprise again when u arrive Angkor wat... oh my god, a lot of tuktuk and big bus are ready parking, i cannot guess how can i find my driver after i leave Angkor Wat...however, Let 's drop another question here..remember, i need to say hello to Angkor wat with sunrise firstly..so!! go go go ..eventhough its still dark and i have not lighting..let's catch another person shirt!! hehehe... 

How many OMG i spend in this page..this another OMG that i have to say again..I know and u know how big of Angkor Wat, but u will not know how big group of traveller come here. I am not stuitable place to stand to catch up the sunrise of Angkor Wat.. how can i do!! 

Let's see the place that i try to avoid all of travel head!!..only one square ft for me to stand and try to catch my shot with Angkor Wat!!

However, it's really feel good that wow...we are the same team to come here..wake up too early to Say Hello Angkor Wat and take a pic with her!! Flash Flash ...shot anymore.

Now i just feel, Angkor Wat likes the top supper star, many flash from all of traveller to wake Angkor Wat todaY...Flash Flashhhhh..Wake up wake up Angkor Wat..We are here with you !!

Again and again of surprise...after the sunrise 5-10 minute late, look!!!! u will find that most of ant(traveller) are leave from Angkor Wat very fast..I ask all of them where are u going?  They said i will have breakfast...ho ho ho..i am so hungry too..but i am better to start to survey my Angkor wat...first of all...

Wow..Angkor Wat are waiting me to entry and heritage his beside now!! It's so cool that it's no crowd now..yohoo!!..take a look how's nice biside Angkor Wat as my pic na. (^__^)...

Aow..i spend 3-4 hrs only in Angkor Wat..it's very hug and incredible place, it's hard to imagine how they carry of a million block to build and aow.. it take 30 years to complete Angkor Wat! So amazing!!

What's next in my plan?? Here we go Angkor Thom..to see Bayon!!

I spend only 2 hrs or less than that at Bayon, All of face at Bayon is so difference. As i have been read a book, they said we should find the great smile and take a photo with..it will bring us lucky all year.. so ..i try to find..but i dont know which one is the greatest smile..okey!! i shoose one!!I dont know whatever will happen in this year.. but i will smile...hehehe..turn to my sis..what's wrong to my sis!!

OMG!! (It would be the last OMG that i will say today) my sis is pale, then vomit!!..Unlucky  today, my sis's health condition is not quite good, she is dearrhea and vomit because of she ate ice yesterday..Oh pity gal..so i have to finish all...back guesthouse!! (i said)....and spend in the afternoon in the town and take care my sis till she is get better..

So, i will start my full next day with a big circle tour!!...are u ready?? here we go next page!! 

Note: If possible, please avoid to eat ice,eventhough the restuarant that u think it's clean...

4am start (do I need to keep complaining?) today, pick up at 5am in time to get to the Angkor Wat complex, buy a 3 day ticket ($40) and get to the infamous Wat itself in time for sunrise. Angkor Wat is the biggest religious building in the world and the silhouette against the lightening sky looked more like sunset in purples and pinks.

No time to look around properly though as we moved on to the Bayon temple and Anghor Thom complex. I had low expectations of all this temple-exploring, and when the tuk-tuk driver said that most people spent 3 hours exploring my initial thoughts were that there was no way I would spend that much time here without getting bored. But very soon I found I was fascinated in spite of myself! The Bayon temple has 216 giant faces of the ruling king (at the time) and thousands of bas-relief walls in 'rooms' around the temple. The temple isn't much to look at from the outside but inside we spent a happy hour exploring the reliefs, dechipering them and speculating when we didn't have any detailed information.

From here we walked across to the Baphuon which is approached by means of a long, raised causeway bringing to mind processions of soldiers, heroes, monks, or royalty filing in front of crowds of thousands all cheering and waving banners. Feeling like something out of Gladiator we walked the causeway towards the looming 'temple-mountain' - so called because it was built to represent Mount Meru in the 11th century. It is also known affectionately as the Biggest Jigsaw Puzzle in the World as it was taken apart by archeologists before the civil war but the records were lost during the Khymer Rouge years and has been restored only after excruicating research. Many pieces still lie around the site, presumably awaiting a home again (we had a go but didn't get far) and the back of the temple was under scaffolding as people worked on the construction and restoration. Again I was taken with the temple, more than I expected and had a lot of fun wandering around this and the surrounding ruins though my vertigo was well and truly in operation...

Both temples lie in the old city walls of Angkor Thom, so we then explored the other ruins and the city walls themselves; Phimeanakas, another temple mountain that I refused to climb on account of the prohibitively narrow steps (you can't convince me people worshiped up on top in days of yore, the architect either had a sense of humour or had no feet), though Richard toiled to the top balancing precariously on the stone ledges only to discover stairs on the other side (I joked that there would be). And also Preah Palilay which was my first look at a "tree ON a temple" which is really, really cool the first time you see it. It begs the question, how is this possible? Since stone is hardly nutritous enough to support a tree, however the revelation that the temple had been covered with soil for many years cleared up that little puzzle.

One city gate we had entered the complex through by tuk-tuk, and the gates were surrounded by statues of soldiers holding back a long Naga (7-headed snake usually depicted over Buddha meditating) on either side of the approach like a stone tug-of-war. The opposite gate we would exit by on our way round the temple circuit. In the centre was a huge wall of bas-relief carvings, originally used for watching public ceremonies and parades with processional steps in the centre. The walls and steps were beautifully set in the landscape and we sat at the top for a bit marvelling at the magnificence of everything. From here we could imagine the grandeur and spectacle amidst the ancient forest setting. These were supported on either side by the Terrace of the Leper King and Terrace of the Elephants (we missed the first one), and faced another temple, Prasat Suor Prat which had two towers at which the king would either have watched tightrope walkers perform, or would have incarcerated suspects of crimes. Much like the medieval logic on witches, which ever poor sod died first was the guiltless one, and the other would be put to death.

A quick stop at Thommamon & Chau Say temples, which are basically identical but for the fact that one is in a serious state of disrepair, and the other undergoing a vigorous programme of restoration. In years to come it will demonstrate what they both would have looked like back then.

After here we drove to Ta Prohm which is perhaps most famous for it's use in the films Tomb Raider and Two Brothers. This crumbling ruin has been grown over by trees that also are growing ON the walls, not just through the temple itself. I wanted to see this especially because I heard the 'tree temple' is on the 'last chance to see' list. The trees are growing so big that they are destroying the temple, and the choice is to save either trees or temple and the temple won. Personally, despite this being the temple I most wanted to see, I was under-whelmed by it, by contrast to the others that I had low expectations of and loved. The temple itself was a maze of ruins, the carvings weren't as spectacular, the layout was confusing. I didn't 'get' anything from it really, though the trees really are impressive. I would save them personally....

Amazingly we managed to squeeze another two temples (before the Big Kahuna) into our jam-packed first day; Banteay Kdei and Sras Sang. The first we swung round quickly to escape the large group of Japanese tourists who stamped and waved at us to get out of their photos (after which we made very sure we loitered enough to ruin as many as possible). The second one I liked the windows, and we spent much time trying to get cool photos of the endless door frames stretching into the distance but being repeatedly foiled by a women with a large blue umbrella. Karmic retribution I guess.

By now we were near exhaustion, but we finally returned to Angkor Wat for a proper explore and to see the sunset. Angkor Wat looked just as beautiful under blue sky as under pink (the real spectacle is from a distance) though the lack of shade between the inner and outer areas made our movements rather sluggish and our comments and speculations nonsense as our brains melted in the heat.

We started by walking around the outer 'cloisters' which had walls of beautifully carved bas-reliefs depicting parts of the Rayamana which is a much-loved Hindu story about the hero Ramana and his wife Sita. If I'm not hazy on details, Rama, leader of a far-flung kingdom and storybook bad guy fell in love with Ramana's wife Sita. He appeared to her as an animal and tried to convince her that Ramana had tricked her into marrying him but she refused to believe and slapped him. So he kidnapped her and when Rama found out he got all his monkey armies together to storm Rama's kingdom. So Rama appealed to his daugter, the Princess of the Fishes to dry up all the seas so Ramana and his army couldn't get to him. When Ramana saw this, he sent his Monkey Army Chief Hanuman to seduce the Princess. When she agreed to marry him he asked her who her loyalty was to; him or her father and when she told him she was honourable to her husband he asked her to prove it by giving back the oceans. Ramana reached Rama and he won Sita back, but then Rama appeared to Ramana and convinced him his wife Sita had not been faithful, so Ramana decided to have her killed. She fled, and only returned by proving her fidelity by growing a lotus beneath her when he asked. She came back but then fled again, but then he coaxed her back before they lived happily ever after. The story is like the Indian Hindu story the Mahabharata but for some reason the Mahabharata has disappeared in Angkor Hindu history.

2 of the walls depicted scenes from this story, with Vishnu and Garuda, Hanuman and Ramana fighting the war for Sita. The other walls were of the King's (current at the time) army; the rank and station of the army chiefs being depicted by the number of parasols they had above them (the King had 17 I think). And the other was the famous 'Churning of the Sea of Milk' which depicts the 88 demons (asuras) and 92 gods (deva) churning up the sea to extract the elixir of immortality.

We then walked to the inner mountain temple (again a representation of Mount Meru) which we walked around with increasing slowness. We could not climb the last central tower sadly, though heaven only knows how I would have got up it anyway. It may be due to the many accidents that have occurred here over the years, or may just be due to the time of day as accidents would no doubt increase as the day dwindled! By now we were talking almost no sense at all, and climbing stairs, or picking our feet up to climb over the uneven ground was proving more and more difficult. We went outside again to watch the beginnings of the sunset, when the low sun sets the temple stones a rich orange. But we didn't wait for the whole thing, and walked back out through the grounds, stopping only to take photos of monkeys that I unfortunately got too close to and hazarded a mildly terrifying attack. Lucky I had my plastic ping-pong fan to deter him. But he followed us across the grass, and it took a while for me to feel reassured that he was not following me and planning a second attack!

After motoring back we swung past my hotel first for me to grab swimming stuff and then went back to Richard's hotel at the FCC for a well-needed swim at dusk. The FCC is pretty snazzy; big white parasols and deck recliners around a smartly-designed saltwater pool. The lights from the surrounding rooms and the under-water spotlights casting a yellow glow and deep black shadows. Bats squeaking from the trees above, the musky smell of anti-insect candles, and the sound of music floating over the breeze from the distant restaurant. Not to mention how wonderful it felt to slide sticky, tired bodies into the cool, cool liquid...

After a cool swim and a hot bath I felt truly zen and we decided just to eat at the hotel. We had a Khymer sharer plate of Amok, Cambodian curry, spring rolls, fish cakes and steamed rice and then I caught a tuk tuk back to my hotel for a bit more sleep before another long day climbing round temples.

The main reason for me to be here in Cambodia is to see the incredible temples near Siem Reap. I'll spare you the history, and just tell you that this was where the Khmer Empire built most of the royal palaces in their heyday.

World famous, and you can see why! I have been lucky enough to see some great historical sites: Machu Picchu; Tikal in Guatemala; Chichen-Itza in Mexico; the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, etc. But the Temples of Angkor MUST rank at or near the top of my list. So incredible!

 
I am really tired now, so I am seriously considering ending my journey soon. It's been two months on the road, but I really miss Mano, and my comfortable life back home!

For Cambodia trip, it's very easy me to get the VISA, it's take only 1 day by a lot of agency @ Khao San Rd. (1,200 Baht). I go to Seim Reap by booking the bus @ Khao San Rd cost @ 500 Baht per person. It's seem quite cheap ticket. The bus will get u @ guesthouse in Khao San since 7.00 AM but bus will leave on 9.00 AM. please dont beleive that the bus will arrive as the schedule. As the schedule the bus suppose to arrive Seip Reap @ 5 or 6 PM..but u might not belive it!! 

I arrive Poipet @ 3 PM and reach Siem Reap @ 11.30 PM. How crazy bus too late. Note u: It's the tricky of the bus to arrive Seim Reap too late becasue they would like to take you to their contract guesthouse.  You will not know where are u now, and i am sure that if u were all of traveller in the bus as us you will not move to anywhere til tomorrow morning.

 For my case, Approached guesthouse by the bus is not too bad, it 's quite cheap (really cheap)..so it's not dififcult me to overnight here (Winter Guesthouse). Aha..not only me..but all passenger stay here. .. so tried for the frist day of trip...

In early morning i suppose to get moody coz this guesthouse is out of my plan but so surprise with all staff are very friendly, it's so warmful..it's quite impression for me to continious staying  here. After i survey around my guesthouse and find that it 's quite far from downtown as old market that i can enjoy nightlife and hang out here. So i decide moving my ass to Old market where i can find a lot of guesthouse. However, before i leave from Winter Guesthouse, i have a chance to survey a big wet market (really local market, not same as old market anymore) Wow, i 's stuck me, it's the real life, u can absorb the local life. Everything in the market is very cheap. U know i find the snake in the market as trade as pork meal or beef meat. It's also Bowl fish!! Oh my god it's so dangerous to eat fish here!! i remind myself.

As it 's a very big wet market, that 'a why there are a lot of thing here, and i can get a new backpack bag here, everything is same as i buy Alpha North in BKK but Waaow..it's cost only 15 US$, on the hand i spend over 100 US$ for the sameone in BKK. How cheap!!

Okey ..it's time to leave here, i take the tuktuk from winter guesthouse drop me @ Oldmarket, and as i feel the driver looks so kind. Therefore i ask them to service me for all this trip to Angkor Wat.

Note u: All of guesthouse will have the tuktuk belong to them, because u can be sure that u are safe because the tuktuk will not give u some tricky because u can comment all to guesthouse. Anyway, all tuktuk charge can negotiate!!

My approach to Angkor Wat was to see as many of the main sites as possible with the least crowds. I also wanted to start with the smallest sites first so their impact wouldn't be dwarfed by the larger sites. I decided to see the River of 1,000 Lingas (Kbal Spean) first. The site is a creek bed whose rocks have been carved with intricate figures. Some of the rocks in the creek itself are carved with the water rushing over them. It's about a 45 min moto drive from Siem Reap. You have to walk 1-2 miles up to the site from the parking lot through some pretty (but not terribly impressive) jungle. I went during the heat of the day (noon) while most bus tours and individual travelers were escaping the heat indoors with a nice lunch. I had the creek and waterfall to myself for the most part. On the way back was Banteay Srei. This temple is small, exposed but intricately carved. I wasn't able to avoid the crowds but listening to the nearby live local music drifting through the temples was wonderful. Around 2 or 3 the clouds that have been billowing all day start to open and that's when I head back to the hotel to sit on the balcony with a fruit shake and listen to the thunderstorms in the hammock. Although my guidebook recommended to not take a bicycle from Siem Reap to Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom because the heat and distance I did exactly that the next morning. I really enjoyed it and would recommend it for anyone reasonably active. It's nice to watch the scenery unfold slowly and to stop whenever you want. Just bring (lots of) water. Angkor Wat is the central, largest and most visited temple in the complex. The shear size, layout and preservation of the site are remarkable. I came here at sunrise and there were still plenty of people about. But even the crowds can't take away from it's atmosphere. From there I rode my bicycle through the gates of Angkor Thom to see the Bayon. Although it is famous for it's upper floor of large carved faces , it was the bottom most layer I enjoyed the most with it's labyrinthine hallways with sunlight pouring through to illuminate ancient statues covered in moss. I saw a few more temples in the Angkor Thom complex before the heat started wearing me down and I headed back to the hotel for a nice cool shower. The next morning I headed out before sunrise. I wanted to bike all the way out to Ta Prohm. This temple is in contrast to a majority of the sites that are so well preserved. It's also one of the most famous for having huge tree roots dripping over the walls and roofs of the temple. I was happy to arrive so early, I was one of the very few at the large site and it was unbelievable to be in and around the ruined temple with the sounds of the jungle all around me. I ran around excited like a little kid taking pictures and breathing it all in. I completed the rest of the little circuit on my bike enjoying going through the huge stone gates again on my bicycle and stopping at a few smaller sites. On the way back I donated blood at an international clinic in Siem Reap. Drowsy from the bloodloss and riding in the heat I had a lazy nap as the afternoon rains began.

Most Amazing of sites! so much to see, could easily spend 2 or 3 days here and still miss structures. I absolutely love this place, its the Indiana Jones adventurer in me. wonderful place to imagine living in its heyday.

Rediscovered in the late 19th Century from beneath the overgrown jungle the “lost city of Angkor” is one of the worlds most spectacular sites. Built some 800 years ago by the Khmer kings, Angkor boasts the greatest concentration of religious monuments in the world. It took 25,000 workers over thirty seven years to complete the construction. Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire, and is in the Province of Siem Reap. The jungle setting enhances the mystery of this ancient civilisation. There are over 100 magnificent temples, but the colourful, intricate complex of Angkor Wat is the most visited. Use Siem Reap as a base to visit Cambodia’s biggest attraction. ANGKOR WAT. The five mighty pine-cone tall towers of Angkor Wat itself – every inch adorned with superb carvings – are mirrored in the waters of wide moats: the effect is simply stunning – watching the sun rise or set over the ruins is unforgettable. As the world’s largest religious building, this is the mother of all temples. Built in the 12th century, the temple has unbelievable majesty and stunning architecture of carved sand stone walls. It is the world’s largest religious building. Nearby, see the grand ruins of:- ANGKOR THOM,the mighty walled city of Angkor’s greatest king, Jayavarman V11. THE BAYON. Set in the centre of Angkor Thom is the enigmatic Bayon, with 54 towers, bearing 216 huge heads glaring down from every angle. These heads bear more than a passing resemblance to the great king Jayavarman V11. TA PROHM. This is one of the most atmospheric of the temples of Angkor. It has vast trees growing over it and every year the jungle tightens its grip on the temple of Ta Prohm. Left as it was ‘when discovered’ in 1860, tentacle-like tree roots are slowly strangling the surviving stones of this exotic temple. Built in 1186 during the reign of Jayavarman V11, the temple once housed 12,640 people, according to a Sanskrit inscription discovered chiselled into one of the vast stones. Ta Prohm is a reminder that while empires rise and fall, the riotous power of nature marches on oblivious to the dramas of human history. This temple was featured in the ‘TOMB RAIDER’ film. Beyond the central city of Angkor, lie hundreds more temples, forgotten in the forests of Cambodia for more than five centuries..... still to be discovered!

Right outside of the main ruins of Angkor are several shacks.  The people who live there sell anything from drinks to film and some fix meals for anyone willing to sit and eat.  I was getting hungry  My companion and I went to one of the shacks where this lady who might not have been older than me fixed some whole chickens and rice for us.

We sat in the patio furniture and talked.  Being a "shack," no one could expect anything fancy -- there was no floor only dirt.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a little girl staring at me with a big grin on her face.  I looked and waved at her.  She went to my friend and told her, "He's really handsome." 

I responded with mock shock and asked, "Why are you telling her that I am handsome?  You should be telling me."  This ganish a laugh from the little girl.  Then, she told me "You are eating in my house." 

The little girl and I continued to talk.  Frankly, I was amazed at how well most of the people in Siem Reap spoke English.  She asked me if i was married and I told her that I was not.  She then asked me to marry her.  She told me she was eight and I told her that in 10 years when she could marry me I would be really old and by that time she might think that I was too elderly for her.  She smiled and said that she would wait.  She was really sweet.

i asked her about where she lived and she told me she lived in the shack.  I asked where she slept and she pointed to a bed proped up on tree stumps and said "there."  I asked her where her mom and dad slept and she said in the bed too as well as her brother and sister.  Her older brother soon joined in our conversation and he was convinced that I was a professional wrestler.  I did not want to lie to the kid, but how could I let a kid like that down?  So I stretched the truth and said that I was a trainer of future wrestlers, which was really not a lie because i was a teacher at an inner-city school.  Kind of funny thinking that in Cambodia people thought I was a pro wrestler and in the States when I had really long hair, some homeless guy was convinced that I was Jesus.

The thing that really got me was how happy these two kids were.  They had basically nothing and were so excited to have me eating in their little shack.  They didn't ask me for anything and seemed to have a greater sense of contentment with just me talking with them.  For me, one of the greatest things about having the opportunity to travel is it puts my life in perspective.  One can have many materialistic items and be miserable.  At the same time, one can have nothing and be happy.  There was just something about being with those two kids and seeing their happiness that made me realize I have nothing to complain about.

The skin of the trees is shine under the sunshine. it look like silver.  you don’t know why, many things here arevery strange, the root of old trees extended into the stone, you cant separate them.

At Angkor Wat, there were kids everywhere trying to sell stuff. $1 was the going rate for almost everything. These kids were from age 6 and up. They spoke fluent English and I overheard them speaking enough Korean to get their selling point across. It was ridiculous. A lot of them dont' go to middle or high school b/c they can't afford it. Elementary is given free

We flew from Ho Chi Minh City straight into Siem Reap.

The Tuk Tuk drivers in these south east asian countries are fantastic.

They get a commission for pretty much everything they take you to.

Once you understand how it all works, and learn how to let them know that you are actually in charge, you can really make the system work for you.

We had our driver take us to a place that he recommended but under the guise that we already had another hotel that we had booked and wanted to go to. This gave us leverage and we soon found ourselves checking into his ‘preferred’ place with a considerable discount and it was a very nice hotel.

We spent a day and a half touring all the temples. It was hot, humid and it involved a lot of walking and climbing. It was totally worth it! Angkor was the capital of the region for a long time and is still, to this day, the largest religious complex in the world. The temples were all varied in size, style and detail and made for some fantastic photography.

We were all templed out after two days at Angkor so we took a side tour to a nearby fishing village on water. The entire village was on water: the houses, school, basketball court, everything! It was an interesting ride and we got to go out on a houseboat where we played with crocodiles and snakes and encountered more beggars.

A typical interaction goes like this:

“Hey mister, hey mister! Where you from?”

“Australia”

“Oh…ok…G’day mate! My name John Howard. I your Prime Minister. I live in Canberra. Australia have 20million people. Australia have kangaroo, koala, wombat, snake, lizard, crocodile.

Mister, you buy postcard from me?”

Their knowledge wasn’t restricted to Australia either. They were versed on every major visiting nation.

After such a pleasant little surprise like that, how can you resist? This little 8 year old Cambodian just demonstrated more knowledge about Australia than almost any other foreigner I’ve ever met.

Only after I got her to promise to stay in school, and she told me that she wanted to pursue a career in tourism, did I buy her postcard.

Another scam involves them asking you for any foreign coins you may have. So you happily give them away - I gave a couple aussie dollars. Then the next kid I met at the next temple says 'Mister, where you from?' and then once he discovered I was Australian says 'I have these Australian coins, but I cant use them, can you please change them for me?'

Again, I knew I'd been scammed, but the ingenuity of it was just so simple and beautiful. What surprised me even more was how good their maths skills were and their conversion rate knowledge. I was more than happy to sweeten the deal for them....as it's such damn good fun talking and bargaining with them.

It can be a bit overwhelming, as there are literally tens of them in groups that swarm you wherever you go. The most disturbing thing for me was the large number of deformed and maimed people crawling around the streets. Life has been cruel to these people. But they still seem happier than the average man on the street that I’ve ever met in any western city…. it seems, that often in life, the people with the least reason to be happy, are in fact the happiest.

I'm often reminded that the beauty of a happy child is one of lif'es most precious gifts and these children are certainly no exception.

If travelling has done nothing else for me, it's always made me more humble and appreciative of the fortunate life that I have....

... was my first question when i read about angkor wat a few months ago... not another temple please. but why am i even in cambodia if not for visiting angkor wat?

so i bought a 3 day pass right after arrival today (first evening, i.e. sunset visit after 5pm, is free!). a ton of temples, sunburnt & sweaty me, a 3 day pass and a tuktuk driver... this must end bad

but it turned out really well to my surprise... this place is really stunning & beautiful.. i just visited the angkor wat itself today and even that blows macchu picchu away in a split second... way more impressive

you charter a tuktuk driver from your guesthouse (4usd for the evening, 12 for the day) and get driven emperor style from temple to temple... very nice as everything is spread out over a few km

i plan to do 2 full days of temple sightseeing before heading back to bangkok and the first glimpse today was already amazing.

getting the 3 day pass was a quick thing, no problem if you dont have a pic... angkor wat was full with tourists but it was still possible to take pics without 100 people in it.

i climbed up the VERY steep steps up the central towers and got a nice view over the temple. after climbing down i spotted a monkey! unfortunately he spotted me too and got into teeth-fledging berzerker-charge mode and nearly jumped me before i ran away screaming 'get away devil of rabies!!!' 

it’s really long time ago, but I still remember something about there, fromPhnom Penh to Angkor wat we took a very small flight, it’s a horrible experience, some cloud came into flight from the gap ,all the customer kept silence, really worry about the small flight would be crash. Only good thing is the airhostess is very beautiful, her smile give us some comfort, some costumers even took photo with her after the flight safe landing.

To start the day, we packed-up all of our things in anticipation of moving to a new guest house or at least a different room.  After talking to the lady at the guest house and looking at a room with a worse fan, Arum agreed to stay where we are as long as they clean the room (especially the toilet).  We had breakfast of fried rice and noodles with tea.  We got our bikes from our guest house that we asked for the last night.  They turned out to be alright but not the best.  The bikes were pink and blue but I ended up using the pink bike since the seat on the blue bike was tilted really far up in the front, which I didn't like.  The brakes on the pink bike didn't really work but it was ok.

We rode to the Angkor temples and bought our $20 day passes.  The Lonely Planet guidebook said anything less than 3 days would be an injustice but we seemed to see everything in one day without a problem.  All of the temples were spaced out so the bikes were needed and a good choice.  First, we saw Angkor Wat, which is the pride of Cambodia.  It is on their flag and is the name of their national beer, etc.  It supposedly is the largest religious temple in the world but that might be just counting the 1 square kilometer that the temple sits on.  There is a large rectangular moat surrounding it and then the exterior wall.  Once you get inside, there is a huge courtyard but it is so big and filled with trees it really isn't a courtyard.  Before entering the actual temple, I had to use the restroom and after using the outside urinal some guy appeared asking me for money but I refused and walked away since it seemed pretty sketchy.

On the outside of the bottom of the temple is a series of bas relief carvings that were pretty neat.  A whole ton of carved figures all around the bottom.  After circling it, we climbed up the first flight of 'stairs.'  All of the temples today had stairs that were so steep that sometimes they were more like a rugged rock wall.  The temple had three levels that you kept climbing up and some beehive structures on the very top.  It was impressive since the whole thing was so massive.  After Angkor Wat, Steve went up a really steep hill to a temple on top where you could oversee the whole area.  Arum didn't want to climb all the way up so she waited.

Then, we went to Angkor Thom, which was a big city enclosed by a wall.  Inside of the wall, we passed a group on monkeys in the road.  There were at least 20 and one snuck up behind me and jumped on the back reflector of my bike.  We went to the main temple there, which has more bas relief carvings on the bottom and a couple levels you climb up.  A neat feature were 30-something rock pedestals that had rock faces carved in on all 4 sides.  Everywhere you looked there were these rock faces looking down at you. 

Arum had to go to the bathroom so after finding out they put the bathroom ridiculously far from the main attraction, we biked to it.  Then we had lunch and upon walking near the restaurant area, three people with menus came running at us.  Arum couldn't decide between the three menus while the employees competited for our business by lowering their prices and offering us free fruit with our lunch.

After lunch, we went to another temple in Angkor Thom.  Except for one side, it had ridiculously steep steps, which were an adventure to climb.  We rode our bikes around looking for what was labeled the 'Royal Palace' on the map but didn't really find anything.  We left Angkor Thom and went to another tall temple that had almost no detail in it and climbed to the top.

Finally, we got to the last of the three most popular temples.  It has not been reconstructed and the forest is not cleared away from the temple.  There were a lot of trees growing on the temple in crazy ways that you wouldn't think was possible.  Apparently 'Tomb Raider' the movie filmed at that temple.  We went to a similar temple but it started to rain.  Our long bike ride back to our hotel was an adventure since it was raining most of the way.

We returned our bikes at our guest house and changed.  We had dinner and used the internet.  Then, it was time for bed.

Steve