The Temples of Angkor

Siem Reap is the town and gateway to the historic temples of the Khmer empire. We used two of our days here, to explore as many of the incredible buildings as we could.

Day one was an a hot and overwhelming experience. Two reasons ; the vastness of the workmanship of a time before and the sheet influx of over eager people desperate to get their perfect shot. There is no denying Angkor Wat is stunning and a place to be behold. However, the magic is diminished by the lack of respect and sheer opportunism of the human race.

We moved on to Angkor Thom, my favourite. The calming but authoritative faces looking down on me, made me feel safe yet humbled. Humbled by the fact that nearly a thousand years ago, the people who constructed this temple, took time and effort to fit each jigsaw stone in place to create the face of Jayavarman VII. Incredible.

We finished our day at the temple of Ta Prohm, where the "Spung" trees have claimed the temples of centuries before. Mother nature again triumphing over man.

Day two was an EARLY start. 4am to be precise!! We were picked up by our Tuk Tuk driver Seymour, who I call "see more Temples".
He ran out out of petrol on the way to Angkor- he had one job! Ha! But we couldn't be miffed, he was just so sweet and smiley.
Eventually after two break downs and a couple of spits in the petrol tank, we reached Angkor Wat. Cloaked in darkness we made our approach, finding a spot to sit and take in the show that was about to begin. As the sun rose, the silhouette of the temple grew in hight, reflecting in the pools that lay the feet of Apsaras.

The day finished with a dip in our hotel pool. £6 a night for a luxury experience.
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