Siem Reap

Everyone seems to visit this town for one reason; it is the gateway to Angkor.

We arrived in Siem Reap at around 4pm and as advised we headed straight to Angkor and the temple to watch the sunset. We were racing against time as the sun seems to go down so quick in Asia, all of a sudden at around 17:45 it is dark. We were told to head to Phnom Bakheng a magnificent temple which stood at the top of a high heel (the highest point in Angkor) and it faced west, prefect spot for a sunset. We along with hundreds of other were rushing up the hill, feeling things getting darker made us start running, but we eventually got there. We got to the temple and queue to climb to the top of the temple seemed impossibly long. With a bit of positive thinking we stayed in the queue and were one of the last few to be allowed to climb the extremely steep stairs and watch the sky turn pink, orange and eventually black.

We were to have a very early start the next day to make the most of our time. We wanted to see the famous sunrise over Angkor Wat. To ensure we were there in plenty of time our driver picked us up at 4:45. Our tuctuc driver was fabulous, he charged us just $12 and spent the whole day with us, from sunrise to sunset, taking us miles to see what we wanted to see, explaining so well what we were looking at. We arrived at Angkor Wat in darkness and in our excitement we forgot a torch, so finding somewhere to sit to take it all in was challenging. We found a perfect spot to sit down with plenty of time to spare. There really was the strangest atmosphere, we both felt butterflies and amazements as we sat waiting, sipping our coffees and watching the sun reveal the temples beauty. The feeling is unlike any other and trying to explain it just won’t do it justice. It is the kind of place that just needs to be seen to be understood, we really felt like we had experienced something wonderful.

The other benefit of being up stupidly early was beating the crowds. We got to wonder around the largest religious structure in the world and at times we felt completely alone, like we had one of the wonders of the world all to our selves, it was just magical. The calm didn’t last too long as more and more people began to arrive at a more human hour.

We were next taken to Bayon which we remember as the temple with the faces. The temple is held up by 54 towers which at the time represented the 54 provinces of Cambodia, since then the number of provinces has reduced as they merge into fewer bigger areas, and some land taken by neighboring countries. Each of the towers was decorated with smiling faces that we are told bare a resemblance to the king who built it. There are an incredible 11,000 faces in total.

Next was Baphuon, which we remember as the "puzzle" temple. This temple was taken to pieces before civil war broke out by archeologist. During the war and the Khmer Rouge the plans of how to put Baphuon were destroyed and putting it back together seemed impossible. However after years of research in 2008 it was completed and back open to the public. Some pieces of the "puzzle" can still be seen lying around the grounds, we think it maybe a working process for some time.

We saw many more temples throughout the day, each having a different unique quality from the last. One of our favorites was Ta Prohm which has to be seen to be believed (Hope our photos do it some justice). This temple was built in 1186 and it would seem it was been abandoned since then. It is an example of the force of nature as the jungle has taken over it. Years ago birds and animals must have dropped seeds into the grounds and over the years a jungle has formed. The trees have literally grown between the walls, the roots of the trees so strong and deep, the walls of the temple are left crumbling. Feeling like Lara Croft wasn’t out of place as we later found out it was used as a set for Tomb Rader.

Siem Reap did have other things to offer, they hosted a lovely market which we loved and grabbed a few bargains. They also had "Pub Street" Siem Reaps answer to Bangkok’s" Kho San Road", we felt very at home enjoying many a happy hour cocktail and beer.

No trip to Asia is complete without watching the sun rise over the Angkor Wat. There is no doubt in our minds that we were extremely lucky to witness one of the 7 wonders of the world. It has left us hungry to see the other 6 if this is anything to go by, we won’t be disappointed.