The amazing Angkor Wat

Despite the high price entry cost we couldn't come to Cambodia without visiting Angkor wat archaeological site, a complex made up of a loads of temples and sacred ruins. We hired a tuktuk driver for the day and set off after breakfast for the site. Unfortunately we had a bed bug in our bed this morning, we'd thought we'd escaped them, so the staff are letting us move rooms which is great especially when we still have 3 more nights here. Upon setting off and having stopped at the ticket office to buy our tickets we went to the main temple Angkor wat first. It seems to be the main and iconic temple of this site and indeed what the place is named after because of its grand silhouette and size. It was incredible exploring the winding elaborately engraved corridors and rooms of this temple. Many people stuck to a route but we strayed from the path and explored every inch of the place and found our own path. It's so impressive to think that every inch of this place was built and carved by hand and how many years and men that must of taken to complete just this one temple on the site. It's a shame this level of craftsmanship isn't used to the same high ornate detail in today's buildings. After spending a good 3 hours exploring we headed to the next temple, Bayon. A more compact temple it boasted grand tall towers featuring faces on each side. The temple was made even more magical by the weathering of the stone and the pale lichen that had taken over leaving a beautiful effect on the stone work. We found many different levels and small alleyways that we explored to see more beautiful carvings in the stone. We discovered that there were other temples and small ruins near by hidden in the forest so we set off exploring these. It was so nice getting off the beaten track and stumbling across beautiful temples, ruins and gates scattered throughout the trees. After a quick drink and toilet stop it was time for the Ta Prohm temple where a tomb raider scene was filmed. This temple was the most worn down and they have rebuilt a lot of the sections but what is most incredible is it has been taken over by huge grand trees. They were growing all over the stone work, on top of walls and their roots spread out weaving through cracks in the bricks and tumbling down walls like a waterfall. It is a truly remarkable place where nature has decided to take back the forest that was once their own. After a while of just taking in the sheer amazement of this place we headed to our last temple stop, Phnom Bakheng, to watch the sunset. We arrived super early but this meant we got a great stop at the top of the temple right on the edge looking out over the jungle where the sun would set. It was a cloudy day so that hindered the sight a little but it was still amazing to see and the sunset illuminated the temple behind us in a gorgeous orange glow. It was the perfect way to end our first day at Angkor Wat before we return for sunrise either tomorrow or the next day.Leggi altro