Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

We got an overnight bus from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap and arrived at 5:30 am. We decided to splash out a little and book a hotel as it each was the last location Caoimhe was travelling along with us. The hotel, Okay 1 Villa was only around the corner so we were able to walk there and relax for the morning. After breakfast and checking in we took full advantage of the pool area which was located on the roof of the hotel. It was very nice and fancy. That evening we walked down Pub street, which as the name suggests has a lot of pubs and restaurants. There was also a very pretty hanging lights running down the street.

The following morning we had organised for a tuktuk driver to pick us up at 4:30am to bring us to buy our one day tickets for Angkor Wat. After buying our tickets we arrived to Angkor Wat at 5:40am and got our spot where we wanted to watch the sunrise. We stood there watching as the sky light changed and revealed where the Angkor Wat Temple stood. It was beautiful to see the different colours of the sky as the sun started to rise and was definitely worth getting up early to see this natural event.

We had read blogs that told us to see the temples in reverse order to what the tour groups do so we left Angkor Wat for now and headed to another temple, Ta Phrom. This temple was the one that is famous for being the location where Lara Croft Tomb Raider film was set. It has trees growing up through the walls of the aincent temple. The roots of the trees were so thick and old and had started to cause part of walls to fall so there was a bit of reconstruction work being done to try and stablise the temple. Next we went to the temple Wat Bayron which is the temple that had faces on the stones of the temples walls. It was a very grand temple and I can imagine what a spectacular view it must have been when it was first built. Finally we returned back to Angkor Wat to explore the inside of the temple. There is a lot of art on the walls of the temple representing Buddha stories. At the top of the temple there is a lovely view over the countryside and you can see the other temples in the distance.

The rest of our time in Siem Reap we enjoyed using the pool and relaxing before having to say goodbye to Caoimhe who is sadly heading home. It will be strange not having her with us. I really enjoyed visiting Angor Wat temples it was fascinating seeing how structures that are hundreds of years old still stand. It was also beautiful to watch the sun gradually light up Angkor Wat during the sunrise. Cambodia has been great and I think that I will be back.Read more