Cambodia Day 6

Siem Reap

We did sunrise at Angkor Wat, which meant meeting our driver and guide, and leaving from the hotel at 5am! The hotel gave us a breakfast box to take with us, which was a nice thought. It was still full dark on the ride to the temple. Sarah and I were a little bit sleepy still but the guide was talking the whole way. We both secretly wished he would just be quiet for a bit, but of course, that's not what he's employed to do. There were masses of tuk-tuks, motorbikes, bicycles and cars heading in for sunrise, and then masses of people gathered around the lake. We reached the lake just after 5:30am, then stood watching the sky lighten for the next hour and a quarter.

As the sky slowly lightened, all the people of the world raised their cameras in supplication to the gods of Angkor Wat. It turns out the best time to watch the sunrise is at the equinox in March. Although I also took some photos, I think the experience would have been much better if everyone was forced to leave their cameras and phones at the entrance. The intermittent but constant flashes were both distracting and blinding in the dark.

The crowds

Our guide was very knowledgeable, but he was also kind of racist! He made comments about Vietnamese, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese. Goodness knows what he says about Australians when he is guiding someone else around. We suspect he is actually an under employed intellectual. He was a bit mean to other guides and workers around the temple. He also kept trying to tell us when to take photos, and was disappointed when we actually made our own decisions about what we would like to photograph.

Bridge into the temple. You can ride an elephant in.

Apparatus for polishing blocks to ensure proper alignment.

Today we saw Angkor Wat, and Ta Prohm, the temple where they filmed Tomb Raider and one of the Indiana Jones movies. There are a lot of trees swallowing up the buildings, which was fascinating to see. One thing about yesterday and today that we hadn't really come across in our readings was the amount of super steep stairs at some of the temples. In either the Hindu or Buddhist religion, it is respectful to bow your head while approaching the King or deities, so they deliberately build them so steep that you are forced to look down while climbing.

Detailed carvings

As yesterday, we were dusty after the tramping and tuk-tuk driving - it is the dry season, and we are smeared in anti-mozzie and sunscreen which attracts the dust. When we got to our new, last hotel, Sarah and I both wiped our faces and created our own Shrouds of Turin!

Fallen blocks waiting for restoration

We had an early dinner at the hotel, along with cocktails by the pool (again!) and met an older couple from Guernsey, just starting their journey. They are doing a Mekong River cruise, and Vietnam/Cambodia were the last on their bucket list.

After all of the walking and learning and admiring, we are very tired, and quite looking forward to coming home. We leave tomorrow night, so have decided that tomorrow morning will be spent lazing by the pool, relaxing. This will be the last post, only one more day before we'll be back.