Vinny & Dogs Epic Trek Part 7: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and Angkors away

---

Making it to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh was an interesting and uneventful bus ride. If you think barreling down a mostly paved road in a runaway bus dodging people, motorbikes, other buses and wild dogs is uneventful that is. I arrived at Siem Reap in order to see some of the ancient city of Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. I chose to start with a day of exploring the smaller temples, nicknamed the Big Circle. I hate to admit I don't recall some of the names, but some included Ta Phom, Ban Teay Kdei, Sasong, Ta Som, Pare Rup and Pra Khan. They were simply amazing......some instances you literally have to climb through the doors and hallways as they are overgrown with trees, moss and other types of plantlife. Others allowed you to walk in the middle almsot creating a window for you to pose in. Many of the trees were a cluster of trunks rising from the stones and from within the halls of the temple. In many instances, the trees caused the temples to crumble and collapse, whereas in some instances, the trees formed around the blocks and created some weird shapes and countours almost reinforcing the structure. They could be looked at in so many ways, and could be photographed fram any angle, creating numerous looks and possibilities of art. One of the temples with a tree growing from it was featured in Tomb Raider and had Angelina Jolie climbing on it. That was a real crowd pleaser!

The next day I headed to the Small Circle, which include Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. (I had them change the itinerary to only do the smaller temples one day and the two more important ones the following day, which turned out in my favor) So I had the tuk tuk driver and guide pick me up at the hotel at 0500 for a chance at a sunrise over Angkor Wat. Both the guide and I seemed very lethargic as it was still fairly dark out and neither of us had eaten anything. We got through the check-in counter (when you buy your Temple pass, they take your photo and it is printed on your paper ticket, which you must present entering all temples!) with no problems and proceeded to Angkor Wat. It was so dark and all you could see was the lines of tuk tuk and motorbike headlights heading in the same direction! We climbed out of the tuk tuk and crossed the bridge to enter the mystical walled complex, hoping for a spectaular sunrise. My guide claimed it was clear and going to be a nice sunrise, but as I looked up, I told him I didn't think it was going to be good as you couldn't see any stars! Then I joked he was crazy or still asleep and needed to snap out of it either way. Good thing he was easy going or he was in for a rough day! We made our way via flashlight into the complex and headed across the lake from the temples. He stated it was the best place to catch the sun behind the temple and get a nice reflection on the water. We waited for a bit as it started to get lighter. As we were waiting for the sunrise I was approached by an older women who asked me for some help. (Apparently I was wearing a camera repariman shirt and didn't realize it as she asked me to 'fix' her camera.) It was also a Nikon DSLR and all she needed to do was change her settings. After a few minutes, I was able to help her out and she sat next to me happily snapping photo after photo with her 'fixed' camera, proudly showing me each successful photo. (I just turned it to night mode and turned her flash off so it would pick up the ambient light and told her to hold it still when she shoots....VIOLA!) Then after a few minutes the older gentleman on the other side of me turns and asks, 'Since you seem to be the camera repairman, can you fix mine as well?' Again, turning the flash off was all that was needed. Two for two, I am on a roll! It continued to get brighter and brighter, but no sun. It was overcast, just as I told the guide. I was still able to get some remarkable photos, which could either be enlarged and framed, or used for postcards. We went around and through the Temple itself and I continued to take numerous photos. My guide told me things regarding the temple and the people who made it, pointing out a number of interesting or significant things chiseled into the surface. During our time inside Angkor Wat, it started to drizzle. By the time we were walking from the temple to our tuk tuk, it started to rain harder. When we got to the tuk tuk, it began a thunderous downpour only to get worse once we got to our destination. It was a good thing we were only going across the parking lot to grab a bite to eat. The storm turned outrageous and you couldn't even see across the street at the temples we just came from and we ended up staying at the restaurant for twice as long as originally thought.

When the rains slowed, we then headed to Agnkor Thom, which is another complex of temples, just behind Angkor Wat. It includes Bayon, which many claim to be the most beautiful temple in the area. It boasts a ridiculous number of faces carved into the stone, each rising above and overlooking the temple area. There are some areas where you can see numerous faces in a row and some where you can put your face at a certain angle and it looks like you are making out with the carvings. That photo will get posted as soon as I get a chance! By this time the rain had stopped and we drudged through the soggy temples and surrounding grounds. We walked through Bayon, with a kitten in tow. (it was meowing, and when I would return a meow, it followed us. It continued with us throughout most of the temple complex, climbing over door frames, and under fallen debris to get to my meow! It was such a wet little mess of a cat too, it was almost cute!) We completed Bayon along with the hundreds of other tourists and walked to another overgrown area of debris. After climbing to the top of the pile and getting an ariel view (maybe a hundred feet above) we trotted off to the Royal Palace ruins. It wasn't much to see, however the pools were pretty interesting. The King's pool was small in size, whereas the female pool for his queens and concubines, was almost 4-5 times the size. Must have been nice to be the King, but the nagging.........geesh! The sky had cleared up and was as blue as I had seen in a while, so I asked if we could return to Angkor Wat. The driver and guide obliged and so we headed back to get some better photos with a blue sky background. We made it through the day and traffic and headed home after a small but filling lunch. It had been a long day already and was only 1:30 pm. Upon returning to Siem Reap, I did a bit of shopping, picking up a few local paintings and then proceeded to the hotel. When I got there, I showered and laid down for a bit. Little did I know I was to fall asleep for a well deserved nap.

A few days later I headed back to Phnom Penh via bus and awaited my trip to Delhi. Delhi should be in interesting place. I will update you when I get some time and experience!!

Cheers~!

---

Comments

[D]

Sounds great!
Sweet! Sounds awesome. Save pictures.... C ya around.