October 19, 2013 – Siem Reap

I am templed out. The day started at 5AM when I met my tuk tuk driver to take me to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. After a quick drive through the dark Siem Reap streets we arrived at Angkor Wat. It had rained the night before and, in total darkness, I stumbled my way through the puddles and uneven stones to the best picture place available. The experience summed up in two words? Worth it.

I then continued on the explore Angkor Wat. The temple was massive. Absolutely massive. The architecture was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The temple itself is suppose to represent the world with the centre towers representing the Khmer equivalent to Mount Olympus. Working your way out wards you pass through the courtyard and towers (represents the continents) and finally the moat the surrounds the temple (the ocean). Other than the vastness of the temple, the thing I found most impressive were the murals carved into the outer wall that surrounds the temple. Each wall was divided into two sections and each section depicted it’s own story. The stories ranged from great battles to the creation of the universe.

There were also sculptures of deities and of various creatures all over the temple. The most common of these were the naga. These multi headed serpents controlled the rain and where everywhere on the temple.

After grabbing a quite bite to eat I met up with my tuk tuk driver and set off to see Bayon. While not as impressive as Angkor Wat size wise, it was completely different in design. This triple tiered temple is littered with the face of Avalokitesvara (no idea who that is, I’m just referencing my guide book).

Next on the list was Angkor Thom, the great Khmer city. I started off at the a temple, followed by the royal palace, more temples, the courtyards, more temples, the terrace and finished off with a jungle temple.

At this point it was around 11PM and time for lunch. After lunch, I has enough in me for one more temple and it was an easy choice for me; the tomb raider temple (parts of the movie tomb raider was filmed there). Ta Prohm serves as a reminder of how awesome nature is as the temple is slowly being overtaken by the jungle. The temple itself was in dire need of repairs. The walls and roof had collapsed and trees were growing into and through the walls. Overall it made me feel like I was in an Indiana Jones movie.

After 7 hours after temples I was done. I headed back to my hostel to take a quick break and enjoy a cold beer. I then rented a bike and took it for a spin around town. I started at the Siem Reap old market and then made my way south along the river and then back up. After grabbing some dinner I headed down to pub street (which is exactly what it sounds like) and watched a a bit of the Liverpool vs Newcastle match before returning home and crashing.

Tomorrow I bus back to Phnom Penh and say good bye to Cambodia as my flight out to Kuala Lumpur is the next day.