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Published: January 3rd 2007
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Angkor
sun just coming up around angkor There are some things in life that are worth a sacrifice, angkor is one of them. after arranging a tuk-tuk to angkor for the sunrise, i crawled, i mean that literally, out of bed at the ungodly time of 4am and met Rowan and Jude for our fun in the sun. the lovely lady at the guesthouse (more on her later, fucking witch) informed me that the sun comes up pretty quickly and that we'd need to head off no later than 4.30 to catch the sunrise. she lied.
instead we left at 04.50 with Baloo (driver) to humanity's greatest religious buildings, still dark as hell, and arrived not long after. there was one factor none of us (well ok, me and rowan are the dumb ones) really took into consideration. it was colder than a witches' tit. that and the sun didnt actually rise for another hour at least. we made our way down the massive causeway, across the massive moat and into a massive gatehouse (you can see where this is going), catching only a slight silhouette of angkor wat. after slowly coaxing my testes back out of my body (that cold) the sun started to rise and
Bayon
The giant faces of Bayon the grand scale of this building soon became apparent. the place is the worlds largest religious building and one grand example of khmer architechture. we were positioned next to a pond and spent the next hour or so simply taking pictures of the silhouette and the ever changing colour of the sky. it was unfortuantely not as special as i had presumed. it was only later on that baloo mentioned they never had good sunrises this time of the year. bugger.
after heading into the main complex, we went exploring. i expected it to be bigger when i got inside, despite being 200ft tall, i was surprised it didnt tower over me more. but it is a fantastic place and i'd happily go back. the only worry is that the steps are so damn tall and steep, those type steps that you know humpty-dumpty wouldnt want to go anywhere near. after making it to the top, the views are pretty damn staggering and you realise some poor bastards had to build this thing. we wandered round for a few hours or so and finally warmed up, checking out the awesome stone carvings on the bas reliefs. real damn impressive
Angkor Wat
same same, but black and white in fact. the next temple we went to i think was the bayon, the one with all the faces. that was pretty damn impressive too, probably my favourite out of the lot. i dont recall the names of all of them, we saw a shitload of temples, but later in the day, we finally hit the tomb raider temple -Ta Prom. i havent actually seen tomb raider, only number 2, but it was such a pile of shit, i'll cut out my eyes if i have to see it ever again (just you watch, it'll be on the plane home). but for obvious reasons, ta prom has become better known as 'that one from the film'. it doesnt dissapoint either, the place is a mixture of temple, ruins and jungle. apparently it was used in raiders of the lost ark too. i did feel like indiana jones wandering round (and not because we both share dashing good looks and a sense of adventure
) but because massive trees sprout out of the temple and you actually have to explore some of it.
i love computers here, so much so i dont even get mad when they wipe everything Ta Promh
massive roots at ta promh you've just written. oh joy. here goes again (may be a lot more dirty words this time round)
the second day at angkor was spent doing the same as before, temples, avoid little kids selling things (though coconuts are great). we visited bantray svay? (spelling?) which was about an hour up a bumpy road. however, it was great to see the countryside and the water buffalowsnjust stiing around doing jack (me at home rings a bell) no idea how bur rowan managed to fall asleep in the tuk-tuk while me and jude both wondered exactly how long it would be before he fell fully out of the carriage. that night was a great one. i took the guys to a street food vendor and we ate something less memorable that the fact the guy had to walk to a shop to buy the beers we ordered (including 100% markup). thaqt night was spenf drinking in the dead fish bar, one awesome place. they had a guitar, seizing the moment i went and borrowed it, only to find tuning was non-existant and the high E consisted of two broken strings tied together over the 5th fret. seriously. early xmas present.
not only do you get to play a dead guitar, you get tetanus thrown in for free. it was a cool place though and i had a really fun night, especially after rowan told us there were live crocodiles next to the toilet. i guess it's true that the fun depends on who you spend the time with. the next morning was an abandonment of angkor (3 day passes) and we headed to the land mie museum. this place, down a seriously bumpy track, was great. but great in that way that means you learn something which isnt good. like visiting auswitz, good to see history and realise what people are capable of (see disneyland too for similar). our guide was a victim himself and lost a leg as well as half his family. i was more than happy to donate some $ to the place.
the other sad point of the day was the fact that rowan and judith were going to thailand. i'd been with these guys since saigon after our initial meeting in nha trang and quite honestly i've never met nicer people (fit too. includes you too rowan 😉 ). i had such a good
Angkor Wat
grand old place time and really got on with them that i'm sad i dont live in scotland. well actually, change that to 'they dont live in wales'. after saying our goodbyes, i then had the twat from the hostel taking the piss for the rest of the day (lets not go into details). alone again, i actauly decided to see what siem reap was all about, apart from proximity to angkor. answer = very little. honestly there is bugger all here, but the place is actually nice. i spent the next 4 days here, completely silent. sadly the lack of backpackers and the overwhelming number of package and older tourists meant i just read, had a beer and ate around town. i spent xmas day just heading from bar to bar, all surprisingly unoccupied, and ended up in an irish bar listening to the drunken proprietors singing along to edith piaf at full volume. oh joy. nah xmas wasnt bad, sun, good food and guinness jst made it any other day. before i move on, i'd like to say thanks to all the people (especially katie) who helped me a few days before xmas when i had a real down moment and
Bayon
The giant faces of Bayon wanted to come home.
as a christmas gift my guesthouse evicted me that night (23rd) , immediate of the following morning. i had made the mistake of helping two finnish people being ripped off by 30$ by the guesthouse. an hour later, the wicked witch of the east (asia see) told me i had to leave the next morning (it now being 11pm) because the place was full. merry xmas. so i went next door and got a better room with hot water and cabloe for cheaper. their loss. thankfully, my four days of nothingness in siem reap passed uneventfully and i booked my flight to laos for boxing day.
first impressions of laos: it's hot here.
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Niamho
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Happy New Year
So I text you new year and got nothing back! Cheers bro, only joking. Mum vaguely told me what yours consisted of...sounds interesting. I'd just like to say, can you stop bloody putting yourself down you idiot. 'Me spoling the view' bla bla bla, you're like a bloody broken record. Shut the fuck up! So my new year was neither here nor there, played in Cardiff Barfly with a full band (drums and bass!!!) and it was really cool. Got a free bar as well but somehow didn't get drunk, why does that always happen?! Lydia and I are going to Russia, wanna come? Love you x