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Published: January 7th 2006
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Well guys its all been a bit hectic since we arrived in Bangkok, Elton my travel buddy ended up in hospital with an eye injury from a contact lens which unfortunately ended up being worse than we all thought. At present though he is recovering well. To catch up the group i flew from Bangkok airport to Siem Reap, as it happens avoiding one of the worse bus rides of all time. The original flight i had booked was cancelled which meant that i had to wait till 7pm that evening to fly. On arriving in Siem reap i met a chap from Carlisle who was heading in the same direction i was = to Angkor village. We shared a taxi which by the way had no number plates and arrived at my destination atlast!
On the way it was evident that the scenary had changed with the roads being much less developed and less well lit.
My Hotel - Khmer memory house was empty when i arrrived, with just one staff on who was unaware of my plans and spoke little English. I was lead upstairs after failing to find out if the rest of my group were here
to a great room all to myself. I saw the bed and cant remember much else. Early the next morning i arose to the sound of birds in the trees, sweeping trees and an intense ringing noise in my ear which was my phone that i had slept on. At breakfast i thankfully met some of the group who gave us an idea of what wat to see and when to see each wat and whats at each wat! *ill never get tired of that joke
I hired a tuk tuk grand tour for the day- it was leather and had a sunroof- well it had no roof.
The Khmer civilisation centred on Angkor was one of the most remarkable to flourish in se asia. Between 8th and 13th centuries a sucession of hindu and buddhist kings created magnificent temples in stone. Their elaborate carvings and intricate architecture anazed the first Europeans who visited in the 19th century. After many years of political turmoil Angkor is once again accessible. Many of these temples lay in the jungles undiscovered for years which amazed me as there huge!
I know what your thinking! Has Rob joined me again on
the trip with this elequant dialect.
First was Ta Prohm which was the most in need of a visit from changing rooms. This reminded me immediately of a set from Tomb raider
(educated as i am} and as it happens apparently much of it was filmed here!
The jungle seems to be slowly swallowing the huge spread out temple becoming intertwined with its foundations bringing about some amazing sights. Strangler fig trees and other vine like trees slither among the passageways eerily, bringing walls down and anything that lies in there way.
Next Mr Tuk Tuk took us to Angkor Thom (there gonna keep coming} This was one of the largest temples ever built and covered an extensive area. Cavings of elephants went on forever on the terraces as faces peered at you from every angle, smiling as if amused by the stupid englishmen and his tiny bottle of water. Lions protected the temple in a spooky ghostbuster kinda way. This is where i was abruptley introduced to stairs the khmer way. Why make big stairs when its much more simple to do incredibley narrow pencil like eroding ones, and hey lets make them high high
high so that in 800 years time tourist will never be able to climb them.
The Bayon was probably my favourite temple with 37 seperate towerscarved with 4 faces on each cardinal point. there are many levels to this temple with a basement and engravings throughout showing previos battles, and the ways of life, cicuses, wrestlers etc.
Despite some temples being busy you could simply lose youself in this mazelike temple - i scampered along the basement for 30 minutes - turning down hidden coridoors and jumping holes and didnt see anyone for 30 mins atleast. Bats or something screeched above us in darkened tunnels and i passed many statues that lay half missing or broken on the floor. Fantastic experience, youll never forget it!
Then after a few other different but spectacular temples was then the most infamous of all Angkor Wat. This is by dar the most impressive and intact of them all. Surrounded by a moat representing the earths ocean its breathtaking!
On climbing another life threatening climb to the top i chanced on a Monk at the top! Suprisingly quiet i chatted to him for a good while and learnt a lot about
the temple and his own background. He even had an email address and invited us to visit his home temple.
I asked why the stairs were as steep as they were at which he could not answer- im guessing its to prevent the monks from leaving once there in the temple.
I left Angkor Wat to return to the hotel at which i was to then catch the group up at the mekong delta river. This trip included a bike/ a boat and a non existent road. On the way up the mouth of the river i couldnt believe how the locals were living. Basically on hundreds of open tiny river huts on stilts that could be moved from location to location. Children begged on the river using bin lids as a boat and driftwood to paddle- they begged for not just money but water and food it was such a poor area. Many had fled to this area to avoid the war which the cambodian people have been plagued with over the years. Many limbless from the surrounding landmines and traps that have been left. Crocodiles also inhabit the water in the marshy areas.
we toured
the Mekong and then returned for a great meal costing about 1 dollar with drinks included. Our guide Bol is Cambodian himself and grew up on the Mekong fishing and doing whatever he could to get by , hes a fascinating guy and am sharing rooms with him as am on my own.
Well thatll do for today = now for tomorrow.
ps good to chat to you today mike and he wishes everyone happy christmas and a happy new year for 2006!
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JNW
non-member comment
Wots wot
Sounds like you are enjoying a restful few days as per usual. All sounds phen-ominal. Hard to imagine just how much there is to see in the world. Enjoy. xxx and x