Our 1st anniversary at Angkor

Not a bad way to see in one year wed!

Wow! Not many people will be able to spend their 1st wedding anniversary wandering around the temples at Angkor, so we were really lucky to spend a special day in such a special way. The temples are vast and definitely have a certain mystery about them that draws you in.

From Kampot we had to head back to Phomn Penh for a night (which we ended up staying in a windowless room in Rory’s Irish Pub - not really recommended) and then up early to get the ferry to Siem Reap. The guide book had said the boat trip was not to be missed as it traversed Tonle Sap, the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia. To be honest, the bus is 1/5 of the cost and probably a better bet as you really don’t miss much.

We’d booked into a nice hotel for a couple of days (and then somewhere a bit more realistic for our 4 nights in Siem Reap) and spent our first afternoon overlooking Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakeng, which is a temple on top of a hill. Our first glimpse of the temples was everything we expected to be, with the terraces and distinctive towers. About 500 other people were also up on the hill but you can’t let small matters like that spoil your enjoyment!

On the day of our anniversary we headed out fairly early to Angkor Thom and the Bayon. This place is spectacular. Angkor Thom is the old walled city and has walls 3km long surrounded by moats. The entrance gates have the famous faces carved in all four directions, which are meant to be Jaravayaman VIIth, one of the rulers. Inside, there are lots and lots of different temples but the most famous is the Bayon. This temple is the one with carved faces everywhere but from a distance you can’t make them out and it is only when you get closer that the faces come into focus. Apparently the Bayon was added to by successive Kings, so it doesn’t really follow any symmetrical plan but is stunning. What we didn’t realise was the extent of all the bas reliefs on the walls of the temples. To have come across this from out of the jungle must have been proper Indiana Jones stuff.

Words can’t do the Bayon justice but suffice to say of all the places we’ve been to over the years this ranks pretty near the top. The rest of the early afternoon we spent exploring other areas within Angkor Thom and came across trainee monks messing about in one of the water pools that served the temple complexes.

Angkor Wat was the afternoon’s destination. This was very different from the Bayon but equally impressive. It is far more ordered and is supposed to symbolise Mount Meru, the centre of Hindu mythology. The central tower is supposed to be Mount Meru itself and the four other towers are the mountain ranges surrounded by the ocean (i.e. the moat). All in all it was a great way to spend your wedding anniversary!

We spent 3 more days exploring the temples with our Tuk Tuk driver called Mr David. We’d bought a guide book (from one of the many scally wags trying to seel you drinks and books outside of each temple) and this gave us more than enough info on each temple and a nice route through each to see the highlights. We got to explore some of the outlying ones called the Rolous and a miniature version of a temple at Bantreay Srei. Ta Phrom is the temple you see pictures of with all the trees growing through the walls. The French who found and restored a lot of the temples left this as it was found to illustrate the state of the temples.

Apart from the Bayon and Angkor Wat, my favourite was probably Banteay Samre. You have to see the place though to appreciate it and despite the fact Europeans were building vast cathedrals at the same time, the scale of the buildings and the water works to support it are awesome.

Siem Reap is also a really nice little town. It has a great area with lots of chic restaurants and bars and is definitely worth heading to for a few days. We spent 4 days there and by the end we were definitely “templed” out, but it was one of the best ways we could have spent our anniversary. Our 2nd has a lot to live up to!

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