Escape to Siem Reap

Angkor Wat is 5 miles out of town. We have a guide, San and a tuk tuk with driver and decided not to get up at 4:30 for sunrise but have a more leisurely 9am start. You pass through town and on to a brand new road before turning off to buy tickets at a big reception centre. A 1 day pass is $37 whereas a 3 day pass is $62, it’s a no brainer.

Passing through heavily forested roads, the roads dusty and dry. Family groups of long tailed macaques ambling slowly across the roads staring as we pass in the cooler morning air. A constant hum of insects and birdsong as a backdrop, the woody, resinous aromas of the forest …getting excited now. The tuk tuk driver dropped us off.

It’s the first time we have had a guide. It’s $35 for the day and we are looking forward to understanding and getting much more information than you can get from a guide book.

We enter the site from the East side. It’s impressive and best of all very quiet almost feeling we are the only ones admiring it’s sheer majesty, silhouetted against the jungle and clear blue sky. Amazing. We both felt a little emotional….

Angkor Wat is surrounded by a moat and an exterior wall. The causeway made of sandstone is 250m long. It’s a long hot walk.

One of the most celebrated features is the bas-relief frieze that lines the inner walls of the outer gallery and is 520m long.

The classic of Hindu mythology ‘The churning of the sea of milk’ shows Vishnu atop a tortoise with 92 gods and 88 demons using a serpent to churn up the sea to release the elixir of life. It’s easy to tell them apart, the devas (gods) look tranquil and serene holding the head of the serpent and the asuras (demons) holding the tail look ugly, angry and downright miserable. Its like a tug of war, it’s an interesting story.

There are carvings everywhere, lots of apsaras, celestial beings, all different. In doorways, ceilings everywhere you look.

After spending a few hours looking round we moved to the entrance of Angkor Thom which was the name of the entire city, that was built later, next to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Thom was the capital of the Khmer empire. Within it’s immense, fortified walls were the Royal palace, the Royal terraces, the King’s private temple and other temples. The entrance to the city on the South Gate is my favourite.

Researchers have determined the city’s population at its zenith in the 13th century, and the number is impressive: some 700,000 to 900,000 people likely called the Angkor region home, making it one of the world’s largest pre-modern cities

Again God’s and Demons on the bridge.

The Bayon temple with 216 carved smiling faces is centred inside the city walls.

We were a little disappointed as now it is very regimented where you can and cannot go. When we first came 15 years ago you could go everywhere, up inside the faces, there were no restrictions we were very lucky you could clamber anywhere you wanted. I can understand why they needed to stop people and restrict access. Just delighted we came many years ago.

There is another long frieze telling the story of the city. The war with the Cham people who were from what is now Vietnam and tales from the lake, work and it’s people. Carved animals, fish, crocodiles tell stories of the life of the city. It was abandoned in the 1600’s

We are going to revisit Ta Prohm the overgrown ‘Tomb Raider‘ temple as we didn’t get very long to look around with the guide, it’s worth a longer look. To be continued…