Siem Reap and the Temples of Angkor

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Our next destination was Siem Reap toward the northwest of Cambodia. We arrived late at night after a 5 hour bus journey from Phnom Penh so pretty much fell in to the first guest house we came to and headed straight to the roof top restaraunt after dumping our bags in the only room available (not the best so far to say the least!). An hour or so later we were reunited with Emily and Paloma, a couple of girls we had met in Vietnam and had lost contact with. It was really great to catch up with them and we've now made plans to meet up with them for the Full Moon Party at the end of the month in south Thailand - we can't wait!

After talking to a few people in the restaraunt we decided to make a start on the Temples of Angkor the next day - afterall, it was going to take us at least three days to cover them all! Collectively, the temples of Angkor are the capitol of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, a series of temples dedicated to religious gods by various kings between AD 802 and 1432 with each king striving to better their ancestors in size and scale resulting in the world's largest religious building - Angkor Wat. At the height of the empire Angkor boasted a population of one million compared to London's 50,000 at the time.

We left our guest house in a tuk tuk at 9am on Friday and began the 'Grand Circuit Tour' (26km) at Angkor Wat. The greandeur of Angkor Wat hits you the moment you step on to the sandstone causeway at the main entrance. The temple design is based on the idea that King Jayavarman II had established himself as a 'god-king' and thus embraced the godlike qualities of Shiva. Shiva is thought to dwell at the mythical Mt Meru, the holy mountain at the centre of the universe thus Jayavarman II based the design of Angkor Wat on this with the 50m high temple-mountain at the centre of Angkor Wat, surrounded by courtyards to replicate the continents and a moat sybolising the oceans.

Throughout the rest of the day we covered another 6 temples, all with similar designs to Angkor Wat on a smaller scale (see photos!).

On day two we woke up early to collect our bicycles before heading off on the 'Small Circuit Tour' (17km). Only half an hour passed before Kirstie's rear tyre punctured and we had to make a pit stop! Fortunately it happened only a few kilometers down the road from a repair hut. Then we were back on the road to our first stop, Angkor Thom, which is another of the larger temples. After a couple of hours here we continued on our way covering another 3 temples including Ta Phrom which has become overgrown as the jungle encroaches further and further upon it. 17km from Siem Reap we decided to head back to our guest house before dark and as soon as we set off the heavens opened! An hour later, drenched from the pouring rain and with sore bums, we finally arrived at our guesthouse!

Day three involved a 4am start in order to make it back to Angkor Wat in time for the sunrise - definately worth the lack of sleep! We couldn't face riding the bikes again so we got back in the tuk tuk and drove to the oldest part of Angkor, the Rolous Group, before heading home around 10am for a well deserved nap!

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Photos

Ta Phrom
The tree that Lara Croft picks a flower from before falling into the middle of the Earth in Tomb Raider One