Saturday 24 November 2007 Travelling is tiring, so we had a small sleep-in before heading to the temples of Angkor. All the superlatives in the various guidebooks, websites and blogs do not exaggerate the wonders of this World Heritage site. Mr Sopheak, the tuk-tuk driver arranged by the hotel, proved an excellent guide suggesting a temple itinerary that yielded the best visiting opportunities, dodged the peak tourist overloads, and yet still covered all the main temples. Our first temple was Ta Phrom. Partially restored, it suggests that the jungle is only lending us the temples, albeit for 800 years. Huge tropical trees and strangler figs emerge from the ruins (photo), yet centuries-old intricate carvings remain (photo). The next temple was Banteay Kdei, whose entrances, like most of the temples, are guarded by lion and snake-like figures.
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