Advertisement
Published: April 22nd 2007
Deep in thought
Phnom Bakheng sunrise
Jordan Clark Welcome to the largest religious temple in the world, Angkor Wat.
Greetings all! Don’t forget there are many pics so there is more than one page to view, enjoy!
It has been a very busy last couple of days here in Siem Reap. I have toured the temples of Angkor and a temple tucked away in the jungle, overgrown with nature.
I stayed at the best guesthouse in Siem Reap, Prince Makong Villa, run by a Swiss guy. The rooms were 4 dollars a night, which included: free breakfast, first laundry, free water, use of the kitchen (if you wished), free use of a bike whenever you wanted and your first beer was Free! When we arrived he only had one room left; so he gave up his own personal room top me! It was sweet my own desk, TV and huge bed!! He also gave us the best directions for a tour around the temples that wouldn’t be crowded by Japanese tourists! What a guy!
On our first day we were up at 4:30am to catch the sunrise on the Phnom Bakheng. Today’s tour was done by bicycle. It was beautiful, watching the sun uncover the
tips of the temples out of their slumber and into the day. From there it was a short peddle to the next temple, and the next and the next. The list of temples for the day are as follows:
Phonom Bakheng
Ta Prom Kel
Baksei Chamkrong
South Gate of Angkor Thom
Beng Thom
West Gate of Angkor Thom
Bayon
Central Square of Angkor Thom
Victory Gate
Thammaron
Spean Thomr
Ta Keo
Ta Nei (very special)
Preah Khan
Ta Prohm
The condition of the temples varied by their tourist interest. The ones that were visited most were in the best condition, where the ones off the beaten path were left quite natural, Ta Nei. The highlights of this short circuit were Bayon, the temple with 54 large faces. At the peak of the Angkor civilization each face faced one of the 54 states in Cambodia. The gallery was quite impressive with battle scenes, worship and everyday life. The faces gave the temple an eerie feel, well, like you were being watched. Ta Prom was the temple that Tomb Raider was shot in. It had massive trees growing up from it, pushing very heavy stones from their positions. Quite
The Duo are back at it
Jordan and Corey at Banteray Kdei entranceway amazing. A 20 min bike ride from Ta Keo led us to the romantic temple of Ta Nei. We had this temple all to our selves for the entire duration of our visit. Great sculptures, gallery, but little in the way of preservation. Just natural, quite and good for thinking.
We finished up the day by logging over 40km on the bike and 20k walking. Not too hard to believe since the roads around the temples are all flat. Quite the work out and my ass was soooo sore after the ride.
Later that evening as I was coming out of my room I ran into a familiar face...Corey Rich walked around the corner! What a surprise! WE reminisced and had a phat BBQ and many beers! It was sweet to see him and hear all about his journeys through Viet Nam.
In the morning we all piled into a tuk-tuk and ventured off to Angkor Wat to do yet another tour. It was Corey's only day so we were determined to hit all the good temples in one day. We started off with the tour of Angkor and from there:
Angkor Wat
South Gate of
Angkor Thom
Bayon
North Gate of Angkor Thom
Preah Neak Pean
Ta Som
Eastern Baray & Eastern Mebon
Ta Prohm
Banteray Kdei
Sra Srang
On this tour I was more of a guide then a visitor since I had already visited some of the temples. Taking a tuk-tuk was a great idea since you wouldn't want to bike this tour, let alone walk it. Got some great pics and visited some temples where we were the only ppl there. Many drinks this evening and some good farewells Corey was off. Good luck buddy, stay safe and it was truly a pleasure traveling with you!!
The last day was just a visit to the temples that we enjoyed. Bayon, Angkor. I love this place!!
On our last day in Siem Reap my German friends (G-star, Ingrid) and I rented a tuk-tuk and drove 80km to the jungle temple of Beng Mealea. There has been no upkeep done on this temple and is almost exactly the same way it was when it was found in 1878. It was free range for where you could go on this temple (as with many of the temples of Angkor). Our guide didn't
New Years Dinner
Pushed this girls Mercedies into a gas station and she asked us to dinner. Had a great time and what a way to celebrate a diff new years and authentic Cambodian cuzine. Great food and only one of them could speak english! even protest when I climbed on the roof of one of the temples to get a nice shot!
Angkor was an amazing experience that I will never forget. The pictures and postcards can’t do this place justice.
I hope everyone is doing well and getting pumped for summer. I will be back in Canada on May 20th and back in the horse on the 27th. Looking forward to playing some disc golf and being back with my girl Nicole! Miss ya lots!
Take care, gotta go
Your Guide Jordan
Xo
Love you lots Mum
Advertisement
Tot: 0.151s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 15; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0665s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Trena
non-member comment
you make me want to travel so bad!
Jordo, two things... 1. Awesome pics, you have to tell me what kind of camera you have, I am in the market for a new one. Looks like you had an awesome time at all the temples...can't wait to hear more about your adventures... 2. Shave your moustache, you look creepy!! love ya tmac