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Published: August 31st 2007
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Hello everyone, hope you are all well and haven't missed our blogs too much-it's been a busy month or so and we are a little behind (not for the first time we know!).
So, after an amazing time in Laos we decided to travel through Thailand in order to reach the Cambodian border and visit the temples of Angkor. We stopped for a couple of days in Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand and then briefly in Bangkok where we met up with our friends from the U.S Matt and Steve (whom we first met in Japan and had just arrived in Thailand from China). We decided that what with all the hard travelling we had experienced in Laos and Vietnam (poor us!) we would also treat ourselves to a few days on the island of Koh Samet S.E of Bangkok and not far from the border with Vietnam and Cambodia-it was a pleasant and relaxing stay and there we parted ways with Matt and Steve before they left for the U.S again.
That was a quick summary as we really didn't try and see much of Thailand as we were to subsequently spend a lot more time
sightseeing etc. after Cambodia.
Anyway, we arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia after a long bouncy journey in a rickety minibus packed with other, equally uncomfortable and sweaty travellers. The drivers succeeded in ensuring that we arrived in the dead of the night so that the only guesthouse that was open was the one they wanted us to stay at (think commission) amazing how dumb they think us (having said that Janice and I were the only ones stubborn enough to not stay at that place). A good sleep, shower and breakfast later and we were keen to get out and about and see the city. We spent the first day just getting our bearings and we also met up with some friends from Canada-Amanda and Andy whom we met first on our trip to Halong Bay, Vietnam. The next day was to be the first of three that we would spend exploring the temples that are all within an hour drive of the city, we were very excited and also happy that we would have the company of our friends at least for the first day.
We decided to see the temples in a build up to Angkor
Wat on the third day. First on the circuit as dictated mostly by our lovely tuk-tuk driver Bunlong was Pre Rup, built in 947 AD to be used as a royal crematorium. Coming from the UK means that occasionally we aren't that blown away by old architecture as we have a pretty large amount of our own. I can assure you however that these buildings really do strike you as being truly ancient and the best part is that all of them are unique and have exceptional histories.
Next up was Banteay Srei "citadel of the woman" a small and intricately decorated pink sandstone building that was built in 967 AD. It is said that the carvings are too small and precise to have been created by males, hence the name.
Last up on our first day was Banteay Samre and this temple brought new meaning to the word "Tranquility". We arrived late in the day and must have been exceptionally lucky as there were just a few tourists around and we had much of the temple to ourselves at sunset. When we left we all felt like we'd been asleep for a few days-all of us exceptionally
chilled out and just happy that we'd scored an almost perfectly peaceful experience in an ancient Hindu place of worship-a rare treat. Any peace and quiet in South East Asia is however always sent well and truly packing the second a local spots you and realises that you may be just the punter to buy one of their homemade products for an inflated price-a polite no or ten did the trick and we all went to dinner happy.
Next day we were on our own as Amanda and Andy had now had three days of visiting temples and were "all templed out" if I may coin the phrase. Janice and I got to it and saw a large variety of temples from varying time periods and of myriad construction styles. A particular favourite of both of ours was Ta Prohm-from the pictures some may recognise this temple from scenes in a certain movie (answers in a message and the winner gets a free t-shirt when we get back HINT: the answer is Indiana Jones, Temples of Doom). The special thing about this temple is that it is the one building that has been left to nature's wrath as deemed
Ta Prohm
Nature 1 - 0 Humankind by the French explorers who rediscovered it in the 19th C. Trees are literally tearing the temple to pieces-no doubt who wins in the Nature vs Man battle! This day was cut short as nature decided to give us a dose of her wrath in the form of a spectacular tropical shower. We were caught halfway up the path to the Ancient Palace of Angkor Thom (lit:Angkor City) when it belted it down. We tried to take shelter under a small hole in a wall but were washed out and had to make a dash for more substantial shelter a good 200 metre sprint away-it was quite a lovely experience as everyone else had managed to get to shelter already and so it was just Janice and Adam running in the rain down the path of one of the most ancient cities on the planet-nice.
Next day we woke at the crack of dawn to get to Angkor Wat at sunrise. We certainly weren't alone (I think the Japanese must have invaded Cambodia that very morning) but this experience didn't disappoint either-the pictures do only slightly more justice than I can with words but still fall significantly short, either
way I'll leave it to you to check them out rather than carry on rambling. The history of Angkor Wat is long and complex and basically I don't know it, breifly; it was built by Suriyavarman II and finished by Jayavarman VII (after a gruelling 37 years) as an exact replica of the Hindu universe with the sacred Mt. Meru at it's centre representing the centre of the universe and the moats outside representing the oceans. To give an idea of how advanced the civilization that built it was, at the same time London had a piddly population of 50,000 but the City of Angkor boasted 1 million!!! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!
Anyway, I have to apologise for the length of this blog however this was one of those times that the only way to get across how great it was was to really spell it out! I hope I haven't bored any of you to death but then I guess if you're dead then you can't read this so really I'm sorry for your relatives.
We really do miss you all despite the comment that our friend Miss Mohindra posted! Hope you are
all in good health, our love to all of you.
Janice and Adam.xxx
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Liisa Bevan
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Lucky Pups!
You sure do know how to make someone envious!! Continue to enjoy your trip and we'll continue to enjoy your blogs. Take care, Gail and Liisa PS. The twin visits are missing you!!! LOL