Day 35

Angkor

After living the 2 wheeled life in Thailand, it was time to mix it up. 2 wheels but no engine it was time for some cycling. After some waffles for breakfast (barely anywhere was open) we went to a local rental place and got a couple mountain bikes. It was either mountain bikes or a city rider - unfortunately no road bikes. I got mine for 3 days whilst Alfie got his for only 1, meaning I paid 4 bucks per day whilst he paid 5. Not wanting to leave our passports behind as a deposit we went to an ATM and got some money out and then we were good to go. With our bikes, helmets and locks we headed towards the Angkor site.

Angkor is famous for Angkor Wat but the whole area has many Temples and buildings from the 8th to 15th century. People spend many days exploring the area so we brought a 3 day ticket and decided to check out some of the other Temples as we were waiting for Daisy to arrive before we went to Angkor Wat.

Cycling past Angkor Wat's busy looking entrance we head further North and enter the Southern Gate of the large walls that enclose lots of ruins - with the Bayon Temple standing in the centre. Walking around the ruins was amazing. So many of the bricks had collapsed and a slow restoration project was underway but seeing the intricate carvings from hundreds of years ago around the maze like hallways was so interesting to see. Heading up and around the enclosed walls, there were loads of other ruins to see like Baphuon (a very cool pyramid), Phimeanakas (a slightly less cool but still cool pyramid), Terrace of the Elephants (honestly just a platform), and Tep Pranam & Prasat Preah Palilay (ruins enveloped by the jungle).

Eventually all of the cycling in the sweltering heat and made us hungry and very thirsty, so we stopped in a restaurant where the vibe of Cambodia (or atleast the touristy areas) was cemented. From about 100m outside the restaurant, a lady basically runs after us to ask us to eat at her restaurant. Showing us a menu with items $7 a pop I was happy to say no but in an instant it became $4 with a drink included. We were back to the old Turkish haggling ways and I wasn't too happy about it. After a gargantuan meal which made us both feel as full as we ever had we decided to slowly make our way to the next temple.

We headed North toward Prasat Preah Khan, another square micro city with a big moat and a big wall around it. This one had some information at the entrance which was really interesting to read about the history, the architecture, the decorations, and the restoration efforts. This place was even more maze like than the other, with hundreds of doorways and hallways linking together. Most had been blocked by rubble but it was still cool, with 4 main hallways leading to a small pillar right in the centre. Cambodia had apparently gone through different religious phases, with this temple being built in the brief Hindu phase by the King, meaning there was alot of different statues and decorations than there were in other Temples. We head out the West side and sit by a large square lake with a small square island in the centre. After cooling down a tad and appreciating the Cambodian love of squares, we head back to our bikes and cycle back to Siem Reap.

Alfie returns his bike and I lock my bike to a brick wall outside the hostel and I go for a swim in the pool to cool down. Immediately I feel so much better without the sweat and suncream and I probably spend about an hour chilling, listening to the group of British holiday makers sitting by the pool. Eventually I dry off and we head to the night market for some food, where Alfie goes for a classic 2 mains as 1 just wasn't enough for his huge appetite. This time we were lucky enough to sit on normal size chairs. After, I try and find something sweet but it seems that the Cambodians don't really eat dessert. After passing an ice cream place for being too expensive, I went for a pancake with chocolate, expecting a similar roti to Koh Tao. I was wrong and definitely got what I paid for. I miss sticky mango rice.

We head back (running into a small group of very enthusiastic happy ending massagers trying to sell us a good time), shower, and head to sleep. As Daisy was arriving tomorrow, we were doing completely separate things so I had nothing to wake up for.Read more