Angkor WHAT?

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Siem Riep is a slow paced city with old school charm. It is geared up towards the tourism industry so there are lots of Western type bars and restaurants dotted around the place. The locals are pretty friendly and quite laid back. Well apart from our tuc tuc driver that we got from the bus station. He said he would bring us anywhere we wanted to go, but this turned out to be anywhere as long as it was his mates guesthouse, when we wanted to go see a few other places he kicked up such a fuss I thought he was going to get physical with one of the guys in our group, you could almost see the steam coming out of his ears as he reached boiling point. We felt that life is too short to get worked up over such things so we ended up staying in his friend's guesthouse in the end. It was pure luxury compared to what we had been staying in Phnom Penn. The toilet actually flushes using a handle! Not to mention the air-conditioning and cable tv!

I tried the local Cambodian Curry which is delicious! Think I may have had it for dinner on most nights...it is similar to an Indian Korma in flavour except alot hotter with more spices. It is served with steamed rice and is absolutely moorish. One of the nights we ate on the street as I have pretty much become accustomed to in Asia. One of our group didn't like their food and within seconds there was a little boy there willing to gobble it up hungrily. Made us happy to give something to him but also sad that it may be his only meal for the day. There is alot of poverty on the streets and it seems to be common practice in Cambodia to send your children off selling and begging. Child exploitation is a huge problem here. There are many really good organisations here that are trying to make a difference, like "Friends" in Phnom Penh, but I guess it is an ever growing problem.

Of course the major attraction in Siem Riep is Angor Wat. A positive legacy left by the Cambodia of old. This is a history that many Cambodians can embrace, take pride in and forget the negative impact of the Khmer Rouge.

We heard through the grape vine that if you buy a one day pass after 5pm you can use the same pass for the whole of the next day too. We made arrangements with two really friendly tuc-tuc drivers for the two days and set off to go see one of the Wonders of the World. The rumours proved to be true and we got to experience both a sun set and sunrise over Angkor Wat...it was absolutely wonderful. I feel a strange sort of insignificance around these buildings; I am just enamored by the sheer scale and beauty of them. They are just so grand and there is so much detail crammed intro every square inch of it. We were able to avoid the croud somehow when we made our way around the sites. Loved the many faces of Bayon but my favourite of all the sights was definately Ta Prom. I love the way that nature and architecture have combined, the roots and vines of the trees encircle and wind their way through the hard cold stone.

It amazes me that humans were able to construct builings such as these and the like of the pyrimids all those years ago without the use of a crane or heavy machinery, it really makes me think that we are so inguinitive and clever. I have great pride that man can create such beauty, and that when we pt oru minds to positive things we can really accoplish so much!

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Photos

Sunrise in Angkor Wat
Woke up at the crack of dawn, it was beautiful.

Talk to the Face
The many faces of Bayon

Magic Tree
The trees are beautiful

It's all in the Detail
It just amazes me how much detail went into each and every square inch of the place!

Tree
I love the way the trees grow over the builing, so majestic.

Comments

[James]

correction
Correction, we can accomplish a lot when we put our minds and slaves to it ;)

[auroracamel]

haha
you have a point!

[Brad]

There is nothing more amazing than being around the temples of Angkor at either sunset or sunrise.The word majestic doesn't even start to describe the beauty or can make one understand the complexity of the masonry displayed at this amazing place.To see an age old jungle taking over what was once a pristine place of worship is an experience I will never forget.To see the bullet holes left by the khmer rouge trying to suppress any type of religion was more than moving.After seeing the temple of elephants and of the leper king,which I must say were 2 of my favourite,the temple of Bayon was one that really stood out to me.I chartered a helicopter to fly over the ruins and it wasn't until we were way up that it was pointed out to me that the mountains that seemed like a blur on the horizon was actually where all the stone had come from for these amazing structures.I have worked in many different trades and I feel I would be hard pressed to find someone that could carve stone with the complexity that these people did hundreds of years ago

[auroracamel]

Wow
You chartered a helicopter! How fancy! Yeh I felt the exact same as you, didn't put it as eloquently though ;)