Khmer Family Restaurant

river

8pm

after resting back at the guesthouse we decided to go for some dinner. everywhere seems to be pretty packed at night and finding a place within our budget is a little hard. we didn't want any western food, or anything we could get back at home. so off we went, past the indian and western food right into the Khmer Family Restaurant. the food was alright over there, we took the second storey seat and chilled around a little, but the atmosphere didn't feel as good as The Touch. it felt sort of, family, with checkered tablecloths and vase, as the name would have told you by now. we were getting a little worried by now over our tight budget and had to decide whether to take that trip to kbal spean on the 4th. in the end, we decided back at the guesthouse to just spend a little lesser on shopping (not like we did that in the end) and just dive in for the trip since we are already here. had a pretty late night and ended up with a few hours' sleep before the alarm went off again.

6pm

a small distance away from the red piano guesthouse, free tours of the Artisans d'Angkor workshop are conducted upon arrival. superb worksmanship from the workers in the workshop studios, every line seems perfectly carved in front of your eyes. even though they are taught the art of carving and making a living for themselves, one can't help but wonder if they do get all the money from the sale of their items, since they are really priced at a very high price. across the road from the workshop is a retail shop selling the items that you just saw being made. items like silk, wood carvings, stone figurines, lacquer wares and coasters are sold throughout the store but prices are incredibly scary for the budget traveller. the only thing i could afford was a small A4 file so be warned if getting budget and cheap souveniers is your priority in the visit.

ta prohm

1pm

finally! We had kept ourselves from entering Angkor Wat for a day, only passing it when we drove pass towards our guesthouse, giving us only a glimpse of the majestic palace. we had wanted to give ourselves time to adapt to the whole environment, building up from the smaller ruins and temples. when we entered the side entrance into angkor wat, such awe! if the entrance was beautiful, the main palace was downright mystical. the whole road leading towards the palace just added to the whole atmsophere. it was like discovering something for the first time, like nothing you've seen before. being the largest religious building in the world, angkor wat does live up to its name. after strolling around for some time we just sat at the back of the temple, legs dangling, looking at the agrdeners trimming grass with this sickle in their hand under the big sun. we later moved to one of the libraries and just layed there, looking at the ceiling and wondering if we were dreaming. the whole feeling was just so mystical, from were we were, overlooking the angkor wat.

12.20pm

Located opposite the Angkor Wat, we were recommended to eat here by our driver. from the looks of it, its either our driver loves to eat here alot or it's an arrangement between the driver and the restaurant, each bringing customers to each other. but it doesn't really matter, since the food was quite good and we quite enjoyed the whole environment. we decided to give our driver a treat (drivers usually sit by the side on another table and pay for their own food, which we didn't know beforehand) and he ordered a plate of lok lak while i ordered a fried yellow noodle with chicken, which is essentially fried instant noodles. throughout the trip i think i fell in love with eating fried instant noodles, since that seems to be the most common food after fried rice and lok lak that you can find.

12.20pm

we stopped by the spean thma for a few minutes before leaving for lunch. we had no knowledge of it before our driver pulled over and said it's a bridge ruin. and since it was quite small and we weren't fainting from hunger just yet, we decided to climb around somemore and see what else there is to explore. literally translated as 'stone bridge', the spean thma is the remnants left over from an ancient bridge over the siem reap river. the river now runs beside the bridge instead of under it, showing the movement of the river over the years, possibly caused by the sediments and obstruction that build up under the bridge. a few steps right over the river was a big water wheel which seemed like it hadn't been used in a long time. or maybe we were just there at the wrong time.

10.30am

thanks to our remorque-motor driver it didn't take long for us to travel from one ruin to the other. next up is a much more plainly decorated alternative to Pre Rup. Ta Keo, also known as 'the mountain with golden peaks', is a temple-mountain dedicated to shiva. constructed totally in sandstone, this temple was built under the reign of 3 different kings. it was abandoned for unknown reasons after the start of its ornamentation, leaving it in a plain unfinished state. which is actually quite sad considering how much effort was already put into building the whole temple. on the top of the temple was a platform with a few unfinished towers, which really resembled blocks stacked onto each other without further carvings except for the doors. the steps up are steep and it's really quite high up (22metres, that's about what, an 8 storey flat?) when you reach the top.

9.30am

this must be the most fully packed ruin of all. you can't take a single picture in the main spots without a thousand eyes staring at you. everywhere we went we had to jostle with tour groups. there was definitely more than 8 of them srteaming about at the saem time. the english, chinese, italians, japanese, koreans, hongkies, everyone was there. my friend didn't know where we were initially and our driver simply told him "tomb raider". that was all that was needed to catch my friend's interest, and the interest of the thousands of tourists who flock in to see it every other month. there, i learnt that one of the trees was not one, but three trees, where a bird flew over one of the threes and dropped a seed on it, which grew like a parasite on top. now repeat after me, three trees!

angkor wat

8.20am

walking across the street we come across a large complex with trees very similar to the ones you see in Ta Prohm but without the amount of tourists. this, is Banteay Kdei. we were one of the handful tourists strolling around at a little after 8am. functioning as a buddhist monastery under King Jayavarman VII, the whole structrue of the building is quite packed and currently under restoration. many of the Buddha images are sadly in vandalised states over here. because of inferior grade sandstones and poor building techniques, some severe deterioration can be seen around the monastery. some areas have also been blocked off due to these deteriorations. by the time we had finished with the building, tour groups could be seen streaming in. time for the next destination!

Artisans d'Angkor

8am

leaving at 7.30 am after our breakfast from the Red Piano Restaurant, we reached Srah Srang by remorque-motor at about 8am. being one of the first tourists to reach the site, we had the luxury of strolling around and taking pictures along the way without other tourists blocking our view. Srah Srang is a small baray opposite the east entrance of Banetay Kdei. decorated with naga balustrades and guardian lions, it is a very picturesque quiet spot, perfect for a quiet rest by the lake. we took quite a few pictures over here since the hordes of tourists weren't here yet and the sun hasn't gotten all warm and sticky on us. once away from the baray and next to the stalls beside, the locals once again chases after you to get some of their stuff, with one of the teens cheekily calling,"sir! come back! can i love you?"

Artisans d'Angkor

11.50am

by the time we reached Baksei Chamkrong, it was almost time for lunch and we were starting to feel a wee bit hungry. but we didn't really want to stop since we wanted to stick to our initial timing and see as many temples as we can before we leave the place. the Baksei Chamkrong is a 12 meter tall brick and laterite step pyramid constructed in the mid 10th century. it is a hindu temple which used to house a golden image of shiva. meaning 'the bird who shelters under its wings', the Baksei Chamkrong came to being from a legend where the king tried to flee Angkor during a siege and then a huge bird landed and sheltered him under its wings. i don't think i went up the temple, but my friend proceeded up and said there wasn't really much to see up in the room anyway.