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Published: August 31st 2006
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Sunrise
View of Sunrise from Angkor Wat Moat Hello everyone!!!!
Well as we ended the previous travelblog we had just arrived in Phnom Penh (difficult to say...easy to write though!) Our first night involved some re-introduction to the drink and alot of squelching around through the mud (it had been raining incessantly throughout our journey!) Pauly and I found this quite satisfying but we seemed to be on a bus with the most dull travellers known to man, and even woman!!!! So, very muddy, we began our evening of cards and drink! We met a little gay man called Biggie who we taught 'Snap' to.
The following morning as we were changing hotels we met two matorbike taxi drivers who succesfully did the 'hard-sell' on us to take us out for the day. First stop was the 'Killing Fields'-if anyone has seen the John Malkovich film with the same title you will know how harrowing this all was. (Sorry Alex....no cow suits and drunkeness!!) We visited the mass graves of all the innocent Cambodians who dies during the genocide that happened here when the Khmer Rouge were in power...only about 25years ago or so. It was very sad and they have exhumed the bodies and keep all
Sunrise
Sunrise over Angkor Wat main temple their skulls in a big commemorative tower- pretty horrifying! From there we were taken to the Tuol Sleng prison where the prisoners were taken to be tortured before their inevitable death. You see the photos of those who died and the tiny cells they were kept in and leave feeling pretty horrific....but well informed-I guess that's the idea.
Anyway on a lighter note... we then made the journey to Siem Reap to begin our culture fix at the Temples of Angkor. Ancient ruins - some 1000years old - of temples and palaces biult by kings around 900-1200s!!! All the kings have funny names that in ...varman. Cannot differentiate who built what od who lived where but lets just say they were all built by '...varman' when '...varman' lived there during the reign of '...varman!!! It makes it all so much easier!!!
The entrance to the Wats (temples) was pretty extortionate for our budget for a ticket for 3days so we cut down the price by hiring bicycles instead of a moto-taxi driver. 'Wheel-son' and 'Wheel-ameena' teehee! Our first day we were the fittest people in the world... by the second I nearly died and the by the 3rd
Angkor Wat
South Entrance to Angkor Wat I think I could've been heard saying silent prayers for the end!!!!!! Still we managed to cycle the whole thing which by the end of the 3rd daqy we worked out as 150kms or thereabouts!!!! Very saddle sore too!!!!
On our first day we visited (I will list...) Angkor wat (which was the biggest and pretty spectacular with alot of it's carvings still intact 1000years on!), Angor Thom, The Bayon - built with towers and huge Buddha faces carved into it, Bapuon, Thommanon and it's twin building Chao Say Tevoda, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm (which was amzing looking as trees and roots seem to have taken over the ruins - not great for the building though I imagine) and ended at Banteay Kdei!! Phew! This was just the first day so that night, having met two girls on the bus, we just went into town for dinner and passed out asleep!
Next day we were fully prepared for the day having bought the most unnatractive rain macs in the world - it had poured down the previous night, Cambodia is just like a big puddle in the rainy season!!! The bike ride was tough going today as the
Angkor Wat
1 & 2: Internal Ponds
3: Man Praying
4: Apsaras Carving (sadly a lot was destroyed during the revolution, here was reconstructed) sun was scorching but we made it to Pre rup - our starting point. Here there was a funny incident where me and Paul somehow got onto the words you use for parts of your anatomy... at the wrong moment I seemed to say "front bottom and back bottom" just as an enormous tour, complete with guide, arrived next to me!!!!!!! We were pretty inconsolable for about ten minutes but it seemed to bring us back to life for the next leg of biking! We then visited (...more listing) East Mebon, Banteay Samre, Ta Som, Neak Pean and ended on Prah Khan! Got all that????!!!! We were very happy today as the rain bucketed down so we got to wear our rain macs ....any street cred I had before is long gone!!!!
Next day we got up for the sunrise... 4am!!!! The most difficult thing ever was the bike ride where I forgot the burn of too much exercise... we were more concerned for our lives as we couldn't even see the road infront of us as there were no lights whatsoever. Naturally, I fell off my bike as probably could have been forseen as clumsy as I am!!!!!
Angkor Wat.
1: Angkor Wat corridor
2: Distant view of Angkor Wat - within grounds
3: A Ruin
4: An Angkor Wat Internal Pond
5: Judgement of Yama (bas relief) - Khmer Foot Soldiers
6: Heavens and Hells (bas relief) - Hells picture
7: Sanskrit Script
8: South Entrance to Angkor Wat - and Nat
9: The Steepest Staircase in the World. Anyway it was all worth it as the sunrise was incredible over the Angkor Wat background! OOhhh we sound so cultural now!!!!! (again sorry Alex!)
Anyway there saw the end of our temple touring and we headed for the Thailand border again on the bumpiest EVER bus journey where I spent most of it with suitcases falling on my head (why do travellers pack lead poles in their bags I wonder!!!!??????)
Anyway we now find ourselves on Koh Samet (an island just South of Bangkok) awaiting the arrival of Tessa and Georgie...............Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
More next time!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Hayleyyyyyyy
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wow
I do love reading these. You make them very funny. Miss ya everytime i read them. Great photos. toodles. I had to comment cos no one else had yet.