Today is the day we have been waiting for, the visit to the Angkor series of temples. These are said to be on a par with the Pyramids and Machu Pichu in terms of wonder, so expectations are very high!
The day starts with an alarm going off at 4am! Coach is going to leave at 4:30am. This sounds harsh but enables us to beat the crowds and get a good spot for the sunrise at Angkor Watt, the largest temple and for many, the most impressive.
Its a short ride to the temples from Siem Reap. We purchased our temple passes which have a photo of us on, Anna’s is very funny. It costs $40 for a three day pass, which enables you to come and go when you please to all of the temples, great way of doing it if you ask me.
As we get off the coach and walk towards our spot its still very dark, the stars are stunning due to low light pollution, we can see the Milky Way easily. We have to use torch to see where we are going but our guide knows exactly where to go. Its hard underfoot and feels paved, at one point we step up into the east gate of Angkor Watt which echoes our foot steps, still can’t see much though except whatever our torches eliminate, very x-files!
After a bit more near blind walking we bear left down onto grass and are told to sit up on the steps of a smallish old temple, later found out to be the South Library. Still can’t see much except the stars, and more people trickling in.
We have some horrible tea for 1 dollar, most things are 1 dollar here, but at least it was warm. The temperature is not cold, but slightly chilly. Anna and Bouna would say it was freezing though! We are both looking forward to the warm sunshine rays to come over the horizon as we have dressed for hot weather that is a certainty in a few hours.
The outline of Angkor Watt is now just about visible. This is a really fantastic way to see Angkor watt for the first time! Here are some photos of the sun rise:
This is where we were sat on the left hand steps, a stunning building in itself! See cold Bouna in the foreground, he is Cambodian after all:
Just before the sun moves over the top I moved position to get the reflection on the lake and shots of the sun rising over the temple: 
Quite a breath taking hour or so in retrospect!
As most people are now either disappearing back for breakfast or to go back to bed we are going to do our tour of the Watt temple as it will be relatively tourist free. We wander up the rest of the cause way then around to the right (north) of the main temple.
The temple is about 1000 years old and is staggering. Like all of the Angkor temples, It was abandoned, then lost to the jungle for centuries and rediscovered in the early 20th century! What a find. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the explorers who re-discovered it. It’s real life Indiana Jones stuff.
Once in the outer ring our guide tells us the stories which are told by the ‘Bas-Relief’ engravings. This runs around the whole outer ring! 
Some photos of the outer ring:
We make our way inwards into the next section:
Now into the 3rd level:
Unfortunately due to the amount of accidents on the steep steps you are not currently allowed onto the final top level. But they are in the process of adding safer wooden steps, you can see these in the next photo. Oh well we have a reason to come back!
Our tour guide is full of information about the temple and can answer any questions we have, no matter how silly.
Here is our group, plus a random lady that joined us for a bit..
We took 100’s of photos inside the temple, however It’s difficult to shoot and capture the scale when your near. The temple looks at its best either very close when your admiring the detail in the carvings, or at a distance. It meets the hype to me, which is massive.
Right, time for breakfast as its nearly 8am! On the way we get mobbed by kids trying to sell us stuff like bracelets and post cards for a dollar. They are very cute, and not as poor as they would like us to think they are! As a general rule we are advised not to buy stuff from the children as they should be at school, but opt not to go if they can make a few dollars instead, also if you buy off one, they ALL go crazy. They did make us smile though!
After a very nice omelette for breakfast we move onto the next temples!
No comments:
Post a Comment