Sunrise over the massive Angkor Wat Temple was a sight to behold - we weren't on our own here as its the real touristy thing to do, but still it was so awe inspiring. It really set you up for the day (or 2) ahead of temples, temples and more temples. Each has its own personality and there are hundreds of them! The temples are the heart and sole of Cambodia - don't even consider just "doing them in a day" - that would be sacrilege!
We stayed at the Ivy Guesthouse in the heart of the Siem Reap old quarter (ivyasia@hotmail.com). It has a lively bar downstairs and is right in the heart of all the restaurants and shops in this part of Siem Reap. Its situated on a corner of a road junction, so is easy to find and all the tuk tuk drivers know where it is as its an old favourite with travellers - get there early though, its only got 7 rooms!
We came to Cambodia to see the millennium-old temple ruins of Angkor, and we spent some rather busy, intriguing and exhausting days doing just that. Despite a preoccupation that this type of historical architecture was of no interest to me I found my self strangely excited as we rode the tuk tuk to Angkor Wat for sunrise. The ruins really are a sight to behold, but I found their awe grew on me and it was not an initial amazement that struck me. I found the more you look and the longer you look the more incredible they become. The extent to which these 9th and 12th century AD monuments have been preserved (especially considering they are constructed from damp –intolerant sandstone) is unbelievable and contrasts starkly with the destruction caused by the sprawling and invasive jungle at some sights.
Angkor Wat (picture above here), including its outer walls and moat really is a giant complex and one can imagine it as the city in its prime. The sun rose in orange waves over the temple throwing glowing orbs of light on the eastern facing temple tops. We toured the Grand Circuit anticlockwise and it was blissfully quiet leaving Angkor Wat at 6:30am. We visited most of the main temples and a lot of the smaller ones.
Over the following days we went further a field to Banteay Srei (picture above here), Kbal Spean and Beng Milea.
A partiular favourite of mine was Ta Prohm (picture above) - it was used in the filming of the first Tombraider film and you can understand why. Whilst other temples remind you of the amazing architecture and skill with which they were built, Ta Prohm reminds you of the power of the jungle. The huge trees that are enveloping this temple are trying to reclaim what belongs to them. Absolutely amazing!
All the temples we saw were interesting and unique – the Grandeur and scale of Angkor; the giant carved stone faces (pictured above) and has relief carvings of battles everyday life at Bayon; the huge entrance gates (gopura) of Angkor Thom with the causeway lined by 54 Gods and 54 devils heads; the beautifully carved terrace of elephants; the isolation and wilderness of Preah Palilay in the shadows at the back of the Royal Palace; the bizarrely repetitive Terrace of the Leper King; and the wonderfully grand terrace of elephants’ the unbelievably oversize trees straddling stonework of Ta Prohm; the huge elephant guardians of East Mebon, so wonderfully preserved; the small and rewarding Ta Som; the unusual dried up pools of Neak Pean; dark vaulted corridors, fine carvings and towered enclosures of Preah Khan; the beautifully small fairy-land like Banteay Srei; the riverbed carvings deep in the jungle at Kbal Spean; and last but most certainly not least, and probably the most atmospheric and incredible temple – experience of all – Beng Mealea with its enormous fallen stone block work, crumpled central tower, maze of stone, roots and vines, eerie pitch black corridors and wondrous historical importance – Angkor Wat prototype and centre of an ancient road connecting several Angkor Cities as well as Northern Vietnam. The list of descriptive superlatives one could use to ramble about the temples is never ending. After some very long days I really felt as thought I’d come a long way, and seen something that really was very special!
