Sunrise at Angkor Wat

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Forgive me dear friends for the huge delay in updating my blog since I arrived in the UK. I will reward you all for the wait by not writing any long-winded babble like I normally do and instead enlighten you with fantastic pictures of Angkor Wat. Cambodia was the last destination on our SE Asia trip and whilst we only had five days to enjoy the sights it was a truly rewarding trip.
For those of you (or maybe that should be singular) that actually enjoys my random babble I can ensure you that my Italy blog will be live tomorrow. So whilst enjoying the spectacular Wat, please stay tuned for more.

For those of you not familiar with Angkor Wat: Angkor Wat is a giant temple complex part of the Angkor World Heritage site by Siem Reap, North Cambodia. Angkor Wat is one of the seven man-made wonders of the world. It was built in the 12th century for King Suryavaman and is typical for Khmer architecture (sandstone foundation). It has some of the most amazing decorations and bas-reliefs I have ever seen.

The trip highlight was definitely getting up at 4am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. I had goose bumps all over when the first red light appeared and you could slowly make out the contour of the giant temple. It was only when the sun really broke throuhg that I realised we were not alone. In fact it was a giant tourist spectacle and as far as I could see there were sleepy tourists all wanting that "my sunrise over Angkor Wat" photo. Well to hell with it. I got mine.

Siem Reap is a tourist trap unlike no other. It is a huge contrast to how poor the rest of the country is. I was reading the English newspaper one morning and nearly choked on my baguette, espresso and emmentaler when I saw a full-page ad from Red Cross announcing "Skip a meal, Save a child's life". It appeared that there is a huge rice shortage in Cambodia, so much, that children are starving to death every day, so they were suggesting that everyone skips a meal. Oh dear. Where do I donate? To be honest, I was deeply troubled by the sad history of the Cambodians yet the amazing smiles on their faces despite everything they are going through. Perhaps it is easy to be a rich traveller and come here and eat all their food, but I hope somehow the money I spent there helped someone.

The one good thing about Siem Reap is that the beer is cheap - 50cent draft beers, you cant complain about that. Another round sir?

Oh what did I say earlier? No babbling on Vicki OK so just enjoy the photos and make sure you add Cambodia on the list of places to go before.....you know!

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Photos

Ta Prohm
Probably my fav shot - 200 years plus old trees grow through the ruins of Ta Prohm temple

Bayon Temple
Trying to be a bit artistic here - I welcome praise

Bayon Temple
These giant faces are probably 10m tall. How they built them beats me

Srah Srang
This means royal bathing pond. No I didnt give it a go. Didnt bring my goggles!

And here are the crowds
all wanting the same shot of the sunrise!

Tuk tuk driving in Siem Reap
A great way to see the temples

Treating ourselves to a five star hotel
After staying in a horrible backpackers for four nights we treated ourselves to the Royal Angkor Wat which was the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in. All in Khmer style interiour decoration. Incredible - except the food!