Temples and tuk tuks

Wednesday February 5th

Today was a day of firsts. I had my first ever Pina Colada (but didn’t get caught in the rain), John bought his first manbag (hooray – no more carting his keys, wallet, glasses and phone in my bag!) and we had our first experience of visiting the most amazing temples we’re ever likely to see.

 

High on the list of 'nice places to eat breakfast'

Our transport for the day

After breakfast by the pool, our tuk tuk driver arrived and explained the route for the day.  We set off to our first stop, Angkor Wat.  It’s difficult to describe the magnificence of this 12^th century temple, so I’ll just let the pictures talk.

Angkor Wat

 

One of the many bas reliefs that adorn the walls

Baths maybe?

Standing at the centre point of the temple, feeling the power

View from on high

Busman's holiday - Kate in the Angkor Wat library building

Tourist or local?

Almost looks like a black and white photo, but this is how it is

Another bas relief

Our next stop was Ta Prohm, the temple that was taken over by trees and used as a setting in Tomb Raider.  A huge restoration project is underway, with a long way to go

 

It sure looks like a movie set!

Preservation work includes preserving the trees

Before and after pictures of a section that has been restored

 By the time we’d finished our exploration of Ta Prohm, it was time for lunch.  Our driver took us to a restaurant which was obviously aimed at the tourists, but that was fine with us.  It had a nice view over the lake and we watched the world go by from the balcony.

 

He's got a lovely bunch of coconuts

It's a hard life

Then we were off again, this time to Bayon.  This temple was constructed in bits and pieces over a long period of time, so seems a bit ‘higgledy-piggeldy’ but the giant Buddha faces are amazing

 

The 'towers' from a distance

...and close up

After Bayon, we walked to the nearby temple of Baphuon.  My legs decided they’d had enough but John still had some energy left so up the steps he went while I sat and rested in the shade.

Our driver, as always, was ready and waiting for us (we never worked out how he always managed to see us coming as we emerged from each site and had his tuk tuk ready for us to hop in by the time we reached the roadway).  We made our way back to Siem Reap and headed straight for the pool.  Although the temperature is not particularly high, the humidity is quite draining so the pool is a welcome relief.

Once we felt human again, we set off to find something for dinner.  We strolled through the market area and that’s where John found his manbag and emptied my bag of all of his possessions. 

 

Lively Siem Reap in the evening

We found a nice restaurant for dinner and had an interesting musical experience.  Our restaurant had recorded music playing and the restaurant directly across the street had a live band.  All of the restaurants here open onto the street so we had an even balance of our music and their music which didn’t combine terribly well at all.  But the food more than made up for it, as did my first ever Pina Colada.  I could make a habit of this, but I'm guessing I couldn't get one for $3.50 at home.

I was so tired that I almost dozed off in the restaurant, despite the mismatched music, so we made our way ‘home’ and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Tomorrow we’re off to a Cambodian cooking class.  Yum!