Christmas in Siem Reap - one to remember

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We arrived in Siem Reap early on Christmas Eve and got a tuk tuk to our hotel, which we were really looking forward to as we treated ourselves for xmas and books a really nice hotel. When we got there it was just gorgeous and the service was great- it’s so nice to have a bit of luxury every now and again! We had arranged with our tuk tuk driver to go to Angkor Wat that evening, the oldest temple in history, to see the sunset so had the whole day to ourselves, and as it was early we went into the town to try and book somewhere for Christmas dinner the next day as we both wanted a traditional roast. We found an Irish pub called Molly Malones which was doing a roast so we booked in there and went for some breakfast.

We had decided that instead of buying each other xmas presents which we didn’t really need, we would spend $10 each and go to the local market to see what we could find! So we went our separate ways as we wanted the presents to be a surprise, and met up an hour later trying to hide our purchases, before going back to our hotel. It was really hot and sunny by this point so we spent the rest of the day by the swimming pool which was lovely before going to get ready to see the sunset, as when we got back from it at 6.30 the hotel was holding a Christmas party/buffet which we had booked. When we went up to our room to change the bed was covered in rose petals spelling out ‘Happy Honeymoon’ and there was a cake and candles and more rose petals in the bathroom – we looked at each other in surprise thinking the maids had got the wrong room, when Scott remembered that when we booked the hotel, he sent them a message saying it was our honeymoon with the hope of getting a better room!! We laughed for ages about this before having some of the cake and getting ready to go to see the sun set.

The tuk tuk driver came as arranged and we went to Angkor Wat to buy our tickets, as we had decided to see the temples on xmas day, so we would see the sunset that evening for free but we had to have tickets for all the temples for the next day. We were then dropped off at the bottom of a hill and our driver told us to walk right to the top and climb the steps to see the sunset. We set off on the climb which took a good 20 minutes before reaching the steepest steps ever. It was so busy as everyone must have had the same idea of watching the sunset from here on xmas eve, so it took a while to get to the top and get a position, but once we did and the sun stated to set it was amazing. It was one of the most amazing sunsets we have seen, bright orange then pink and the setting was incredible, with all the temples and ruins surrounding us.

We then went back down to meet our driver and went back to the hotel, agreeing with him to meet at 5am the next morning so we could see the sunrise. When we got back to the hotel we quickly freshened up before going downstairs for the reception of the party they were holding, and in no time we had consumed way to many canapés and more than our quota of cocktails – you were supposed to have just one each for free but we ended up having about 4, and this as before dinner! There was a big xmas tree in the middle of the lobby, staff dressed up as Santa’s and xmas songs playing so we really got in the festive mood for the first time. We then went through to the buffet which was a huge spread of all different foods and watched several performances of local dances from our seats outside in the hotel gardens which was fun, before deciding to go into town for a few drinks as we had seen various bars advertising for xmas parties when we went in the day.

The town was busy and had a good atmosphere so we stayed for a while playing pool and having some drinks but didn’t want to have a late one as we had to be up by 5am to go to see sunrise at Angkor Wat, so we headed back to the hotel around 11pm after a great Christmas Eve in Siem Reap, excited for Christmas Day, our first one away from home.

So our alarm is set for 4.30am xmas day and after we had snoozed it a few times we had planned to get up so imagine the shock when Vic turned to Scott and asked the time and it was now 5.55am – We were both worried that we would miss the sunrise and/or the tuk tuk driver would not be waiting, so Vic’s quickly jumped up, ran to the elevator and went downstairs and to her surprise the driver was still there tapping his watch as he had been waiting well over an hour. Luckily it was still dark, so after a quick change we headed downstairs still half asleep and were quickly speeding back towards Angkor Wat which was about 15k away.

We arrived just as the morning was starting to break and within 20 minutes the sun started to rise over the back over Angkor Wat. The sight was absolutely breathtaking as the sun rose perfectly behind this ancient temple and with the huge lake in front, everything was perfectly mirrored and the orange colour from the sunrise reflected back off the lake onto the temple, illuminating it in the most amazing colour.

We then spent a further 2 hours exploring Angkor Wat itself and the ruins, marvelling at how something so amazingly big and detailed could have been built between 1113-1150, in the middle of a Cambodian jungle. Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation — first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture, and it has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag; it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple"; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word 'nokor' which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital or city. Wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of its founder, Suryavarman II.

We then made our way back to our tuk-tuk and decided that the next temple we wanted to visit would be Angkor Thom – this one has a big reputation amongst other travellers we had met for it’s entrance gate, which is famous for it’s carvings of a huge Buddha face on the side, as well as being the only temple which has not been restored and still contains all of its original features. On the way in we saw several small monkeys and when Scott decided to throw some small bread from the back of the tuk-tuk we had about 10 chasing after us – funny but slightly scary as they were very fast and almost made it in at one point!

After an hour or so at Angkor Thom and passing some smaller sites on the way back to our tuk tuk, we decided we would like to see the Ta Prohm Temple which is famous for both the giant tree roots which have started to climb up the sides and through the middle of the site as well as being the backdrop to the famous Tomb Raider films staring Angelina Jolie, so that was pretty cool.

By 11am we were done and headed back to the hotel, after an awesome morning at the temples. We then remembered we hadn’t opend our presents yet! So we swapped the presents we had bought for each other at the market the day before; Scott got a gold plated waving cat (traditional Asian good luck thing), an Angkor Beer t-shirt, some (fake) ray bans and a Santa hat which he was over the moon with, and Vic got some Cambodian spices, a pink cupcake and a cute purple dress – who needs Topshop! We also got each other proper xmas cards, and altogether it was really nice and just goes to show you don’t need to spend a fortune on presents!

We had a quick breakfast buffet then spent the afternoon baking in the sun by the swimming pool and drinking cocktails, before having massages in the afternoon and then having a little Christmas nap – such a stressful day! Around 7pm we headed into town to the Irish pub for our Christmas dinner and were both surprised to find that it was proper roast turkey with all the trimmings – even stuffing – which was brilliant and just what we wanted. Then it was time for an early-ish night as we had been up since 6am and were pretty tired out after a long day – relaxing as it was. Although it was a little strange being away from home and our families for the first time, we both had one of the best Christmas’ ever and its certainly one to remember!

The next morning we had a bit of a lie in, had breakfast then spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool again topping up our tans as it was another gorgeous sunny day. That evening we had dinner at the hotel (as we had a complimentary meal included with our booking) which was quite nice (local Asian foods), although not one of the best meals we have had in Asia, and it probably cost a lot more than some of them, but it was free so can’t complain. We then packed up our stuff as the next morning we had an early flight back to Bangkok – which would be our 3rd time back in the Thai capital in a few weeks, but luckily we like it so were quite looking forward to going back.

Christmas in Siem Reap was amazing and really special; we both had a great few days and it was brilliant to have xmas in the sun! We really enjoyed our time in Cambodia, its an amazing country with friendly people and so much history - one day we hope to return.

Next stop – Bangkok for 2 days, before heading down to the Thai Islands for New Year and the last 2 weeks of our trip!

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Comments

[mummy]

Christmas in Siem Reap
hi baby and Scott. WOW! That sunrise looks incredible so beautiful Sunset 2. How was your Honeymoon, cheeky or what! Xmas