Angkor Wat and more

Breakfast at the Muffin Man - ham and cheese toastie - nothing like what we sell on the plane. Got a tuc-tuc - Tracy had pre-booked it with a lady driver - very few of them. She gave us both a scarf to wear. We also had a guide who gave us lots of interesting information. Incident - a car drove straight into the side of the tuc-tuc, no damage to the tuc-tuc but his bumper was dented. First stop Angkor Wat - a Hindu-Buddhist temple, the largest religious structure in the world, constructed in 1150 and took 35 years with 35,000 people working on it.
It is surrounded by a moat more than 5 km long and 2 metres deep. It has Hindu motifs covering most of it - the story of the Churning of the Ocean of Milk was explained - from the carvings in the sandstone. It was built as the king's state temple in the capital city but when the capital was moved to Phnom Penh the temple was abandoned. Had a good explore.
Next stop was the Bayon temple 54 towers each decorated with smiling faces. There were many huge carved panels depicting scenes of war. Next was the Baphuon temple - dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. I climbed to the top to get the best views. We walked past Phimeanakas temple the king's private temple. The king’s house would have been near by but it was moved to Phnom Penh when that became capital. All that’s left are his fish ponds. We were then dropped off at a restaurant for lunch - I had sweet and sour chicken. Last stop was the Tomb Raider Temple - Ta Prohm - several scenes from the film were shot there. A lot of the temple is crumbling because it’s been taken over by the jungle and the roots of the trees are destroying it. The tuc-tuc driver was so kind, cold towels every time we returned, chilled bottled water, a coconut to drink and fresh mango and pineapple to eat. Tracy’s booked her again for our day out on Thursday.
When we returned to the hotel I took advantage of the swimming pool and 3 for 2 cocktails. Walked into town - the Water Festival was in full flow! It was like Ibiza - banging music, heaving with people, lights and lasers.Read more