Siem Reap

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I arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia on the 18th of December around 4:30 pm. George picked me up from the airport. We immediately went to Angkor Wat to catch the sunset. It was amazing. The weather was much cooler than Thailand and much dryer, I was surprised by this, I was actually feeling cold.
The next day we woke up at 4:30 in the morning to tour the temples all day. After a cold shower we met our tuk tuk driver at 5:00 who was already waiting for us, they are never late. George and I cuddled in the back of the tuk tuk on the way to the temples, it was very cold, we had wet hair and no warm clothes ( I didn't bring any with me). We arrived at Angkor Wat again and walked to the court yard, it was still dark. Basically we stood around freezing for and hour and half waiting for the sun. We tried to occupy our time by taking photos but not being a professional photographers, it didn't work with the lack of light. Finally the sun did come out, and we started exploring. I was surprised that you could touch all the relics and climb on anything, not like the U.S. where your are prohibited by ropes and insurance liabilities. It was fantastic.
Then we traveled on to the entrance of Angkor Thom, passing through this gate was passing through time. Nothing around but temples and the jungle. Oh, and of course the kids trying every means possible to sell you something. They come in packs and surround you and even follow you. By the end of the day, this became very tiring and it was hard not to be rude.
The next temple was Bayon, which the Japanese are repairing. There were many Japanese tourist visiting the site as well. This temple is know for the 54 Gothic towers decorated with coldly smiling, enormous faces. It also had numerous fights of stairs.
Most of the temples had very steep stairways and very high, I was surprised that many people climbed them. The down climb was scary and very dangerous. I was very careful and always looked for the simplest route down.
I am not going to wright about every temple since I am behind in blogging anyway. I had a great day here and was exhausted by 3:00pm. Merry Christmas, its Christmas day for me today.

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Photos

Angkor Wat
it is the largest religious structure in the world.

Angkor Wat
is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city.

Entrance to Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII

Angkor Thom
At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon.

Bayon
The Bayon is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia. It was built in the 13th century as the state temple of king Jayavarman VII

Bayon
The giant stone faces of Bayon have become one of the most recognizable images connected to classic Khmer art and architecture

Ta Prohm
Unlike most of the other Angkor temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

Comments

[Mark]

WOW!
What a fantastic place! Great pics Maggie!

[Amy Herbert]

Cambodia temples
Maggie, So very interesting! The trees growing on and through the temples look like the monsters in "Pirates of the Carribean." How many temples are there--one large one or several small ones? Good photography.