Siem Reap & Angkor temples

Yesterday we made the 7 hour bus journey from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap - after not looking forward to it, the bus was actually OK and the journey was smooth. Best of all, the hotel waiting for us at the end of it (Mulberry Boutique Hotel, in case anyone wants to make a note) is amazing. Laura's many hours of searching paid off when she found an online special offer and we have a family suite here, with 2 bedrooms over 2 floors, plus 2 bathrooms and a sitting area, all for only £20 per night for 2 nights! It is normally $150 per night, so unsurprisingly we were unable to negotiate the same deal to stay for a 3rd night but they did offer us it for $60, so as it is so lovely we've decided to stay an extra night as a pre-birthday treat. It is by far the best room we've had on our trip so far (and almost certainly will remain so - given the expense of our next destinations!).

Today we hired a tuk-tuk and driver to take us to see some of the temples. This morning we went to the Angkor Thom complex. We started with Bayon, the large temple you see in photos #3 & #4, with many very large faces carved into the stone. We then walked around as much of the rest of this massive temple complex as Solana, and the heat of the day (temp in mid-30s C and sunny - too hot for sightseeing in the middle of the day). It was amazing to think how they built the temples so tall and precisely, with no machinery to help (most of them were built in the 1100s) - something we've said again and again at ancient temple sites across the world. The rock carvings here were impressive too, with many including elephants and people carved into the rock faces, some repeated dozens of times over. After a well-earned ice lolly, we came back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and lunch, before heading out again this afternoon.Read more