1200 Pictures and Still Counting...

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I think its safe to say I have well and truly tested out the new camera now. In the two days I spent out at Angkor Wat and the other temples I managed to snap over 1200 pictures... admittedly they weren’t all great and there were a lot of double ups but its safe to say I now have every angle covered!!

Now its been really hard to choose which ones to include and which ones to leave out so I have put a small collection together for you that will hopefully give you a good summary of all the other temples in the area. As you'll see some of them are amazing and in my humble opinion even better than the great 'Angkor Wat'. I know thats a big call but go there and you'll see what I mean.

Two in particular are worth a mention. The first in Bayon which is very close to Angkor. Its the one with all the faces in it. Each massive stone pillar has four faces carved into it, with a different face looking north, east south and west etc. I think I read somewhere it was to do with protecting the Wat/Kingdom from unwanted visitors... with hundreds of faces looking out in the different directions towards each gate.

Its quite an impressive sight when you walk up to it for the first time. And as you can also see, there getting the full bang for buck too with the tourist dollars and offering the obligatory elephants rides around the place... needless to say I didn't part take in them and I don't think they're the way to go. The other thing that’s interesting about Bayon is that you can literally get up and in amongst the entire place. Its a case of access all areas again and if you dare to go there you can. There was something really special and clambering all over the stones that you know have been there for nearly 1000 years..

The second place that’s worth a mention (and was my favourite overall) was Tah Phrom (know I'm definitely sure I spelt that one wrong). Its better known as the 'Tomb Raider' temple as I believe the last one was partially shot there. And when you get there you can see why, I even made Carla who I was travelling with plat her hair in the signature Lara Croft braid for the occasion just for a laugh...

Now this temple was originally a monastery from memory and its still in its original state. Its the one covered in massive trees and roots. Its the only temple in the area that still in its 'as is' state. Apparently they worked out they couldn't remove all the trees and roots when they were restoring the other otherwise the place would literally fall down. The trees are so old and embedded now that they are literally holding the thing up. Once again its an OH&S officers dream, you can pretty much go everywhere around it and this one is literally ready to fall down. Every now and then they are a sign saying 'danger' and that’s its.... you'd never get away with that in a western country... But I guess if these things were in a western country they'd also have a theme park and luxury resort right next door too hey!

Also Siem Reap itself is also worth a mention. Its quite a nice little town and its set up really well for tourists. Its even got a street called 'Bar St' and yes you guessed it, its simply lined with bars and cafes for the lucrative tourist market. The food was also brilliant... some of the best western food I have had yet. Now I need to confess a little something hear too.. I've kind of stopped eating Asian food lately... after 3-4 months of noodles and rice I'm finally over it. So Siem Reap was the right place at the right time. One thing that will surprise you too is that I had a meal of ostrich there, and it was the best I've ever had to be honest... Ostrich you say... trust me I've had a lot of it in the past (its a long story and I'll fill you in another day..).

So for me Siem Reap and the kingdom of Angkor gets a massive thumbs up. I wish I had of had the energy and desire to keep exploring all the other temples around the area but after about 10 of them they all started looking the same. If your even in Cambodia or nearby make sure you add it to your to do list.

No more temple pictures for a while, I promise! haha...

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