Sightseeing in Siem Reap

18/3/18

The next morning we left Bangkok bright and early and headed towards Cambodia. After a few hours we reached the border and passed through Thai and Cambodian immigration with no problems. We had one further stop before reaching Siem Reap in the afternoon.

After a refreshing swim we walked to Pub Street, had dinner and had a look around some of the markets.

19/3/18

This morning we went and got photos for cour Angkor temple passes, and then set off to explore some of the temples.

Our first stop was Angkor Wat itself, a massive complex with amazing architecture. We entered from the back, at the East entrance, and spent a few hours there, learning about different stories associated with some of the carvings and statues. The line to climb to the top level was very long, so we skipped that and spent some extra time exploring the massive grounds (while attempting to stay in the shade as much as possible).

Then we headed to Angkor Thom, the city which is spread over an even larger area, although because it is so spread out it is difficult to appreciate that it is one large city. We entered through one the South Gate, and saw the statues of gods and demons pulling snakes. Once we were in Angkor Thom we went to the temple Bayon, which has 216 massive faces, four on each of its 54 towers. The way the faces were put together from multiple massive blocks was a real testament to the builders.

Our final temple stop for the day was Ta Prohm (the tomb raider temple). There are still several trees growing over the ruins, which really adds to the perception of age.

Then we headed back to Siem Reap, before heading back into town for dinner, a massage and some ice cream.

20/3/18

We had a very early start this morning to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was the day before the equinox, so the sun rose very close to the central tower of Angkor Wat, and the sillhouetted reflections in the pools were stunning. We had a yoga teacher with us, and while we were waiting for dawn she took us through some stretches in the ruins.

Once the sun was up we went back to Angkor Thom and visited the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King, both of which had some amazing intricate carvings.

The next temple we visited was Preah Khan, which was a maze of corridors and intricate carvings.

Then we headed back to our hotel for some breakfast, before grabbing a tuk tuk to take us to some more temples. The next temple we visited was Prasat Kravan. This was a small temple, made from rose coloured bricks rather than massive stone blocks like the other temples we had visited, and we even got the place to ourselves for 30 seconds or so.

Our next stop was Pre Rup, one of the taller temples we visited. We climbed the stairs to the top, which was worth it for the views of the complex.

Then we went to the East Mebon temple which was a bit flatter, but still felt very large.

Following that we went to Ta Som. This temple still has a number of trees within the walls, and felt very peaceful and serene, as well as having a bit more shade!

Finally we went to Neak Pean. We had to walk across a long boardwalk to reach the temple, which consisted of a large pool surrounded by four smaller pools, with a large temple in the central pool. Not what we were expecting, as it was quite different from the other temples, but definitely worth the visit!

Then we tuk tuk’d back into town and visited a Cambodian handicrafts market which had some beautiful creations, before grabbing a delicious lunch.

After lunch we tried out a fish pedicure, which was a relaxing way to spend half an hour once you got over the initial ticklishness!

After a break and dinner we headed to Phare, the Cambodian Circus. It was an animal free circus, and the performers were very skilled. One thing I particularly loved, was how simple the props and costumes were, using brooms and coconuts, leaving the emphasis very much on the performances.