We woke at the rather early time of 4.00am to be ready to head for sunrise at Angkor Wat. Our guide Mr Rat was late. We found a spot on the moat and drank in the view. It really is a special place. After sunrise we had breakfast at a nearby stall. Brekky was pretty average and slow but we did see a lady making rice milk in a rather laborious way with grinding stones. It's a lot of work. After that we came through Angkor Wat through the east gate so less tourists to start with but gradually building as we worked our way to the west gate. It is extraordinary. You really have to come see for yourselves as it is so hard to describe. The ancient temples, beautiful carvings on the stone - if only the walls could talk.
After walking through, Mr Rat led the group around the side
. By this time Mr Rat was wearing a bit thin as he'd made some racial comments. Mike and I were hanging back because we were wondering why we weren't walking down the central walkway. Mr Rat was just ahead of us so we asked why we weren't going on the entry bridge. He said he thought it would be too hot for us. Seriously, it's a 200m or five or six minute walk and that's taking it slow, enjoying the amazing privilege of being in this stunning place. We said well, we're walking the bridge. And we did.
The main difference that we noticed from 2008 (apart from the sheer numbers of people) was the stairs that had been constructed leading into the central tower - unfortunately necessary due to several deaths. After exploring the site Mike and I had a blessing and our bad karma taken away by a saffron robed monk. His blessing was amazing, his lips moved so fast. He'd have made a great auctioneer. We had to sit in a respectful and prayerful manner while he prayed and flicked water on us. Mike's blessing went for a long time so we figured he must have had a lot of bad karma
. He is OK with that and now that he's been cleansed the bad karma bank is now open for business! It was actually quite a lovely experience. The blessing ended with a little red cotton bracelet tied around our wrist.
Next we went to Bayon temple. I love this place - it's a peaceful serene place with all those benign faces smiling their serene smiles down on you. Certainly a bit of a challenge with so many more people around but it's still my favourite temple.
Ta Prohm (made famous by Tomb Raider) was next. It was sooo busy, practically invaded by tourists. Only a handful of other people were there when we were there in 2008. There was no access to some areas and some supporting poles and walkways had been built - necessary for the protection of the site but a bit disappointing for us after having such free access last time. It was hot and tiring. We saw a couple of other places - the elephant terrace and the victory gate. We returned to Siem Reap and had lunch at the Red Piano Bar. The afternoon was free and we needed it, to recover from the early morning and temple exploration in the heat. We had a swim and a nap to recharge before dinner. Dinner was an elegant meal and there may have been a few cocktails too - "Templed Out" was a lovely refreshing green concoction. We played some pool, had a few laughs and headed back to Pub Street for some more drinks. Nicola and I caught a tuk tuk back whilst Mike, Bec, Ryan and Sam continued on. Mike came home a couple hours later, surprisingly in an ok state!
Temples, Karma and Play
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Krong Siem Reap, Siem Reap, Cambodia
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2025-02-15