Day 16

Neither of us slept well last night, due to kids running around in the room above us! When the 4am alarm sounded we both dutifully got up, got dressed, and got ready for the day ahead. Since the buffet breakfast wouldn’t have commenced until 6am, we’d arranged for a breakfast box to take with us on the tour, and were pleasantly surprised at the wonderful offering the hotel provided, which consisted of fruit, eggs and pastries. We felt bad through as the poor staff were sleeping behind their desks when we came down and we didn’t realise until we walked in,

Our pick up came on time, and transferred us to another bus with other tourists. Our guides name was Bun, and he was a very kind and happy elder Cambodian man. We were first driven to the entrance where our temple passes were checked before disembarking and walking through the dark. We crossed a floating bridge before being brought to the edge of a pond in complete darkness.

Bun told us we were in the perfect spot to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat before the sun rose (quite true considering the number of tourists who turned up behind us) but there sure was a lot of waiting! I took at least fifty photos, each with different hues and varying degrees of light (I ended up keeping less than five pics!) but everyone else was doing the same.

Once the sun rose, the novelty was starting to wear off so Ted and I wandered around and got some different pics before our group of about 12 rejoined and Bun led us around the temple. It was impressive, although since ancient history has never been my favourite subject, a lot of the information was probably lost on me. I did however love the bas-relief carvings which were very intricate, as well as the architecture. The towers were the most impressive features of the structure.

In the centre were the “Stairs to Heaven” which was an extremely steep staircase leading towards one of the higher temples. Ted wasn’t keen but I braved them for the view over Angkor Wat. I hadn’t been feeling the heat until then! One thing Bun speaks about regularly is Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider, the former having established a non-profit charity organization dedicated to environmental security and improving health; and the latter which has promoted Cambodia as a popular tourist destination.

We were then taken to a local Cambodian restaurant where we could eat our breakfast boxes or purchase food. The food the hotel gave us was plentiful, so I only ordered an iced coffee to try and beat the heat. We spoke to a British couple on their honeymoon who are doing a similar holiday to us, only in reverse. They also said staying in Siem Reap longer was preferable to too much time in Phnom Penh.

We next visited the Southern Gate of Angkor Thom, flanked by a row of 54 stone figures on each side - gods to the left and demons to the right – and the fortified city of Angkor Thom. At the 12th century Bayon temple, we saw its beautifully crafted central towers, covered in more than 200 enormous faces.

The most famous temple of the tour was the jungle-covered Ta Prohm, mainly because it’s the one people remember from the “Tomb Raider” movie. This was probably the temple we enjoyed the most - very atmospheric and it was a real example of what happens when the jungle reclaims a man made structure.

All of the tourists were struggling by this stage because, even though the tour driver handed our regular water and cool towels, the midday heat was oppressive. Fortunately the tour had finished by this stage so we were returned to our hotels, giving us an opportunity to see more of the city - we are definitely staying in the nicest part.

We walked to a local restaurant for lunch which was wonderfully cool, and with amazing food. The real great thing about Cambodia is the kind and friendly service of the people too. After lunch, we exchanged some of the clothes that Ted bought yesterday (more hassle than it should have been!), as well as collecting our much needed laundry before heading back to our hotel.

For dinner, we headed back down to Pub Street, where we ate at a westernised restaurant, mainly because it had fans and air conditioning! There was even a dog that wandered into the restaurant. We then had a walk around the street which fortunately had a cool breeze blowing at this stage. I donated some money to a group of amputees who were victims of land mines - we had also seen them at one of the temples, and they play music in a band to encourage people to donate money.

I bought some ice cream rolls for dessert which are made on the street, before Ted suggested we should go to the local Rendezvous Bar again. It was definitely more popular than last time, although it did feel a tad awkward sitting in seats in everyone’s view! We only spoke to one American who introduced himself but we didn’t stay long since Ted was being ogled by the locals for wearing shorty shorts. Tomorrow we head to a new destination - Phnom Penh!Read more