Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor

My $4 ticket afforded me a rather large and rather comfortable brightly coloured bus. I met a grumpy accountant from Krgystan called Mathis and then a cheerful Australian called Nadia, who teaches English in Phnom Penh. We ended up sharing a tuk-tuk into town when we arrived, and I walked with Nadia toward the guesthouses I was thinking of staying in. I had timed things badly, with a half marathon being run the next day there were many many people in town. Therefore, the place I tried first was full. Luckily Nadia had already booked a twin room and I was able to share with her. The hotel was lovely.

That evening I shared a few beers with Nadia and her friends, but was in bed early. I was going to join her and two other runners in a tuk-tuk to the temples at 5.30am, so I needed some rest.

Temples Day 1

The runners were late and I missed sunrise! This was not suce a disaster as I arrived at the magnificent Angkor Wat just as the big tour groups were leaving. Once I had fought my way through the thousands of runners bouncing up and down on the approach to the outer walls (very surreal), I almost had the place to myself. I explored inside for an hour or so with only a handful of people for company. Probably the most impressive feature, other than its remarkable size, is a relief that runs all the way around the building. Incredibly detailed and beautifully carved, and so extensive.

I had hijacked the moto driver (Mr Kin) for the day and he drove me around some of the more central temples. Considering the mass numbers of tourists that visit the area each day, I was very lucky to have some of the smaller, but not necessarily lesser, temples all to myself. This is when the magic of the place really shows. I felt as though I had entered some other world. The way the sun trickled through the surrounding jungle, illuminating the red and green hue of the ancient brickwork, and highlighting the astonishing number of carvings and details, was extraordinarily beautiful. Upon approaching some of the larger and more impressive temples are truly awesome. My jaw really did drop! Bayon was perhaps the most stunning of all, with 54 towers, each with four faces. They filmed the Tomb Raider film here. A good choice.

I tried to catch a sunset from the top of one of the small mountains in the area, but the weather had other ideas. I have a feeling that I had not missed much in the morning either.

Tired after a long long day of excited exploration, I made plans to head out for sunrise again the next morning.

Temples Day 2

This time I was up and away by 5.00am! Me and Mr Kin joined the sleepy procession of tuk-tuks meandering their way toward Angkor Wat. This time it was still dark when I arrived and crept carefully along the causeway through the moat. The atmosphere was electric and everybody was talking in whispers. I was lucky to find a good spot by the pond in front of the temple. The most popular spot for sunrise. I managed to take 55 pictures of Angkor Wat alone!

For the rest of the day, Mr Kin drove me around the grand circuit to see some of the outer temples. We visited a large pyramid style monument early in the morning just as the sun was gaining strength and the light was wonderful. The views from the top were magnificent. It is important to point out that Angkor is a vast area, once home to a city of over 1 million people when London was home to just 50,000. The UNESCO world heritage site alone is 400kmsq. So, from the top of Pre Rup temple I coule take in much of the surrounding rice fields, and jungle, with the tops of distant temples poking out above the trees.

It was another fantastic day of pretending to be Indiana Jones and I was in bed early again, feeling pretty happy.

Temples Day 3

After two early starts and long days, I took it easy. I had seen my fair share of temples by now, probably enough to last a life time, and so I had a lazy morning. In the afternoon I made the effort to go out to a seperate area of smaller temples. It chucked it down! It had also rained the previous day, but I had timed my lunch break impecibly. When it rained again that afternoon it only seemed to add to the mystery and wonder of the place and when the sun broke through again it bathed the temples in a whole new light. This time I just got wet!

The sun did eventually win the battle, but I headed home anyway. I bumped into my English friend Danny and Sara again in the evening and joined them for a drink. I cant remember if I have mentioned them already, but we met on a night bus in Vietnam and have kept meeting ever since. They told me how they had gone out in Siem Reap with another English couple one evening and had been drinking a fair bit. Danny was the first to get ill and had gone back to the hotel earlier than the others. Suddenly they had all become unwell and Sara, the worst affected, had ended up slumped in a corner in the bar. Danny had woken to find himself alone and had understandably been very worried and upset. The other couple didnt know what had happened to her as they had been in a bad way themselves. Their room had vomit everywhere! He had approaced the police who didnt really care, but found the tourist police to be really helpful, ringing hotels and hospitals where eventually they found her. She had been in a drug induced coma!

Thankfully she recovered to tell her story, but it was a scary reminder to all that there are some nasty people out there and of just how careful you have to be. Always keep an eye your drinks!

Hmmn, rather than finish on this low note I will switch back to the temples. I had been really excited about visiting Angkor and yet it had exceeded all my expectations. I found it a most magical of places and I would recommend a visit to anybody.