Angkor Wat

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We were up this morning before the sun @ 4.45am. Today was our much awaited adventure to the renowned Temples of Angkor. It didn't start so well, our goal to see the sun rise thwarted by heavy rain from morning until noon.
Aside from that, it was a memorable day. These temples were built at the height of the Khmer Empire between the 10th-12th centuries. It wasn't all about the Angkor Wat itself either. Many of the other temples we visited were equally or even more as inspiring and stunning. Arguably my favorite was the Ta Phrom. We arrived here at around 6.30am, before the hordes of tourists, and pretty much had this temple all to ourselves. Nicknamed the 'Tomb Raider Temple' after being used for the relatively recent Lara Croft movie, this was a place to behold. The long ruined temple is engulfed by the jungle, covered in trees, roots, vines and lost in time.

Overcome by excitement, I ran off on my own, and before I knew it I was alone. No voices, no sounds, nothing but me and the temple. Half ruined, the temple is now like a maze. Doorways are collapsed and appear to lead nowhere, and other openings caused by decay, provide oppertunities for adventurous passage. Aside from the main temple itself, we visited a total of four others, the day involving about 10 hours of walking, a large portion of it in torrential rain.
It was everything I might have hoped for, and different to many of the other amazing places of the world I've seen. Its not hard to understand why its considered a wonder of the world.
Its mystifying to consider how this place must have looked at its prime. How the people would have been, lived and behaved. Wandering through such remarkable feats of craftsmanship and engineering really provided an encapsulating snapshot of a lost civilization.
The final stop of the day was the Angkor Wat itself. A little too crowded for my liking, and a little rushed. What the other temples gave in terms of wonder and intricacy, the main event, the Angkor Wat made up for in sheer size and dimensions. It towers over everything else, and was a grand site indeed.

By the days end, exhausted, feet soaked, Natalie and I grabbed a few hours rest in our new room before dinner and drinks at the nicknamed, Pub Street, finishing at the Temple Bar.
What a day. Only one remains before our journey to Bangkok.Read more