After an agonisingly slow bus journey through the heart of Cambodia, we arrived to a very dark and dusty Siem Reap. As happens wherever we go, we were instantly surrounded by tuk tuk drivers offering to drive us into town. I still cannot get used to this - arriving somewhere new (in the dark) feeling very disorientated and confused, the last thing you need is a Cambodian man in your face yelling "tuk-tuk?"
We did however, agree to a ride with a very 'special' Cambodian guy, who then tried to get us to agree to hire him for the next few days to take us around the temples of Angkor. We had both lost patience by this point and told him sorry no, we didn't need a driver. He then started to mutter under his breath, no doubt something offensive about tourists (this is turning out to be another of my pet hates!)
On the plus side, our guesthouse was lovely and we were greeted by friendly staff with cold water and towels. They also arranged our next three days for us, planning daily tours of the best temples to see in Angkor and a tuk tuk driver for each day. For this, we were so grateful and eager to get started the following morning.
Now I might seem a bit 'special' but before arriving in Siem Reap, we were under the impression that Angkor Wat was the only temple to visit here. Turns out that we couldn't have been more wrong! There are lots (not sure of the exact number!) of temples in the Angkor grounds, which is why more than a day visit is recommended so that you can see as many temples as possible. Which is why we both decided on a three day pass so that we could take our time.
We began the 'mini tour' the following morning with a tuk tuk driver named 'Spider'! He drove us to the ticketing booths on the outskirts of Siem Reap where we had our photographs taken and scanned onto our passes (very technical). Having gained our entry stamp for day one, we drove on towards the major atraction, Angkor Wat. Spider dropped us off and pointed out where he would wait for us - these guys are the kings of waiting! They do so much waiting around whilst tourists are in the temples, they have hammocks to hang up inside their tuk tuks to get some sleep!
So we headed into Angkor Wat and the photographing frenzy began, mostly by me I should add! The place is just amazing to look at and the carvings and detail in the various buildings are so well preserved you just had to take pictures! You just can't imagine how such huge, intricate buildings were built or how much time it took either. We had opted to not join a tour or have a guide to show us around. Instead, we went DIY - we bought a guide book to all the temples and became our very own tour guides! Tom mostly reading aloud as we wandered around - I think he secretly enjoyed it, maybe he has found a new calling in life!! We eventually made it to the top of Angkor Wat, where the 5 tall towers are. There was a queue to enter the middle tower so like typical Brits we joined the queue! Only to be told that we were not wearing the appropriate clothing to enter the sacred temple - school boy error really but on a day so hot, the prospect of wearing trousers and a t-shirt with sleeves had not even entered our heads. So we had to miss out on what lurked inside! We explored almost every inch of Angkor Wat and took a shed load of photographs to prove it. After a couple of hours, dripping with sweat (I honestly think we chose the hottest possible day), we walked back to our waiting tuk tuk and headed off to the next temple.
The Bayon group of temples, including Angkor Thom is just as impressive as Angkor Wat. In actual fact, I think we both preferred these. They were more 'ruin like' but still had the detailed stone carvings intact. My favourite was at Angkor Thom, where Buddha faces are carved into the huge blocks that make up the towers at the top. There are four faces on each side of the tower, which again made for some fab photographs! I was refused entry again to one of the temples (my shorts needed to be knee length!), so Tom went in alone to check it out. Throughout the day, we were plagued by small children carrying baskets full of bracelets, postcards, magnets (everything really) to sell, mostly for 'one dollar'. We caved in on a few occasions, buying fruit and a pretty cool bamboo flute from two small boys. They even gave us a demonstration! We just couldn't buy something from everyone, no matter how much you want to and the children are just so cute it makes it even harder to say no. I suppose that's why they do it though. We finished in the final temple for the day as the sun was beginning to set, perfect timing! Hungry from all our 'templing' we headed out for some yummy Khmer curries and local beer, both well deserved after a busy day!
Our second day of 'templing' followed a similar pattern of being driven around in a tuk tuk (no Spider this time!) The 'big tour' took us to temples further out of the park but again, were equally as fascinating to stroll around and explore. Several of the temples had been turned into ruins due to trees and their roots. We took some amazing pictures of walls with trees growing over them and in one case, out the top of the wall! Huge piles of rubble, carefully numbered, were piled up, ready for the restoration that appeared to be happening at most of the temples. For most of the day, we felt as though we were wandering through the set of Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones - awesome! As there were fewer temples to visit today, we had half a day left to fill. After lunch, we went for a wander around the centre of Siem Reap, stocking up on postcards and nosing through the many alleys of shops and street stalls.
That evening, we made it to one of the night markets and found an outdoor bar with a pool table lurking at the very back! We chilled out here for a while, reminding ourselves how rubbish we are at pool then callled it a night as we need some well deserved sleep before our 4am start tomorrow to see sunrise at Angkor - I'm sure it will be worth it but I miss my lay ins!!
Much love Shell xxxx
No comments:
Post a Comment