Angkor- Wat can you say about this central area of Cambodia other than maybe....sensational? A glimpse at an ancient civilisation through it's numerous sandstone Khmer temples all within a short cycle of the easy going, fun filled city of Siem Reap.

The most famous temple is the huge structure of Angkor Wat, believed to be the biggest religious structure in the world. Having been cared for and not left to the mercy of the elements since it was built in 1113-40, Angkor Wat is the best preserved of all the Kymer Temples.

The entrance to the city takes you across the moat offering an immaculate reflection before passing through an impressive city gate. Once through your eyes are immediately drawn to the main temple and it's distinctively shaped towers which stand imposingly as a feat of perfect symmetry at the end of the cobbled walkway. Dominating the vast rectangular acres of the city grounds of Angkor the sheer size of the structure is jaw dropping. The inevitable remark of 'wow' follows and like the Great Wall of China you immediately realise what all the fuss is about!

Within the temple structure itself are large courtyards, prayer and debating rooms all surrounding the central towers. The inner walls of the galleries within Angkor Wat contain detailed carvings depicting triumphant battles and other stories central to their religious beliefs. Tourists can take the steep steps to the top of the central towers to be rewarded with outstanding panoramic views of the city grounds.

Due to its size and significance, Angkor Wat is the most famous temple but for us the Temples of Bayon and Ta Prohm were even more spectacular. The Ta Prohm temple has quite literally been swallowed up by the jungle with 'ent' like looking trees flexing their destructive roots on the ancient Temple walls. They may need a lot of time, but when given the opportunity trees can be surprisingly powerful. Growing from a seed left by a bird many centuries ago, silk or strangler fig trees roots have deposited themselves within the Temple walls. Initially providing support to the structures overtime the roots have died, leaving the walls unsupported and crumbling into heaps of boulders. Under the growing rainforest the Temple has become more sheltered and with vegetation all around is certainly pleasing on the eye and camera! Clambering across collapsed boulders and through narrow maze like chambers, under the shelter of the jungle canopy, it is impossible not to think of Indiana Jones or Lara Croft, with an added flavour of Lord of the Rings, it is a memorising place!

The temple of Bayon is the highlight of the ancient 10 square kilometre city of Angkor Thom. Roads enter the city from the North, East, South & West, where immense gates with faces of a legendary King stare down intimidatingly as you pass through. The Temple itself lies in the exact centre of the city and contains numerous gothic towers. Up close you again can see that each of the towers contain more faces of the King.

The vast majority of temples and ancient ruins of the Khymer civilisation are contained within the national park with all the temples linked by a network of roads accessible by car, tuk tuk or in our case bicycles. Once you leave the busier city centre roads of Siem Reap a pleasant cycle along flat roads cutting through the forest awaits leading to easy access to the roadside temples. We purchased a 3 day pass that allows unlimited access on any 3 days over a one week period. Fearing we would be 'temple'd out' after 3 days we thought this pass would be fine but in hindsight the 7 day pass at an extra $20 would have been a better option. There is so much to see and in the sweltering heat spreading the visits over a week would have allowed for more bite sized visits rather than frantic long days.

The relaxed bustle free city of Siem Reap certainly draws you in to making a longer stay than originally planned. The central markets, shops and traffic free aptly named 'pub street' are a prefect place to wander around night after night with regular stops at outside bars or restaurants all offering fantastic food and draft beer at 30p a glass certainly went down well. After a tough 6 weeks of traveling, within 5 mins of walking through the city centre the decision to settle for 10 days over Christmas and New Year had been made, such was the immediate attraction to Siem Reap.

Christmas eve kicked off nicely with a spectacular view of the sun setting over Tonle Sap lake from the top of Phnom Bakheng Temple. Unfortunately we weren't the only ones to have this idea and after a frantic dash up the hill and a climb up the narrow steep steps we had to share the viewpoint with a thousand other tourists. It certainly made for an interesting if somewhat precarious descent of the ancient hilltop temple, before joining the procession of Tuc Tucs back to Siem Reap and the eagerly waiting chilled beer barrels of pub street.

Christmas morning we returned to the same temple except this time were surprisingly alone. This left no option than to go to town on the Santa hat and sunglasses photography under the scorching sun. A quick cycle to Angkor Wat followed for more priceless Christmas day 2010 moments. After a few afternoon beers by the pool, Christmas dinner involved that traditional classic Spring Rolls to start followed by beef in cashew nuts and rice. Sat outside in the street in shorts and flip flops, despite adorning a Santa hat it may as well have been July!

We really enjoyed our festive period in Siem Reap and although it may not have seen any snow it was certainly one we shall never forget! Siem Reap was the last stop on our 6 week overland loop across Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia. We now head back to Bangkok for a few days before taking a flight to Kuala Lumpur.