Cambodia: discovering the ancient temples of Angkor Wat

After a month of constant traffic and noise in Vietnam, Cambodia's streets felt like a calming tonic for our ears. We flew into Siem Reap airport from a very small propeller plane and the airport is relatively new and therefore has very limited but good facilities visas were only $20 dollars each, which wasn't too bad and the process was easy too.

We were greeted by the tuk-tuk driver recommended by our hotel, whom we had booked for airport transfers as well as to take us around Angkor Wat, so it was nice to have a really friendly and personal service.

Siem Reap itself was gearing up for their new year celebrations so the place was looking close to its best with cute lights adorning the riverside to give the place a really romantic feel. We had dinner at a place by the river and I had something called Luk Lak - with beef - that was absolutely incredible, whilst also taking the chance to sample yet another new local brew in the Anchor beer (as well as Angkor beer).

The next day we headed to the temples of Angkor Wat - the whole reason we had come here - at 5am as had been recommended by anyone who'd been before so that we could watch the sun rise.

The early start was certainly worth it though as the view of the sun rising over the stunning towers of the famous old temple was a real piece of beauty to behold, whilst hundreds of people jostled for positions by a little pond to get a perfect reflection picture, we sat away from them determined to keep the focus of the view with our eyes rather than our lens.

The temple at sunrise - an amazing sight.

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon visiting all of the temples of the site, climbing high over crumbling stairs and through collapsed doorways. Each temple seemed to have something different about it whether in its structure or its surroundings (the place was built over many years), but each one continues to attract your gaze.

We both drew similarities from our trips to ancient temples in Egypt and Mexico due to the symmetry in the architecture and the way that you could tell that they were all colourful at one point before the elements stripped them of it - which only piques my interest further to contemplate how they must've looked when they were in use.

Some temples had beautiful lakes beside them, some had been overgrown with mighty trees that only served to make them look even more impressive and wondrous (these bits were used in the first tomb raider film).

This awesome looking section was used in Tomb Raider

The heat was staggering so we both drank every complimentary bottle of water our driver gave us, in all neither of us could recall drinking so much water in one day. You certainly need a driver to take you around the temples as they are quite spaced out.
Along the way we saw elephants being used as rides between temples which once again made us a little sad as they're clearly being exploited (although they are dressed magnificently) and those animals should be treated better, so although Claire really wants to ride an elephant, we both agreed only to ever do it if they are well treated.

There was also a hairy moment as at one temple Claire wasn't allowed in unless she wore trousers instead of a skirt - luckily the hotel owner had warned us of this and we'd packed accordingly - and when she went to change by a nearby tree, the second she showed any skin she seemed to be attacked by a hoard of massive red ants! She got a couple of bites (she's fine by the way) but they clung onto her clothes like nothing I've ever seen, so it was a scary moment trying to keep them off her as they were everywhere!

After spending the whole day in the sun, clambering around and waiting for other tourists to take pictures (Japanese and Koreans particularly taking FOREVER) we were worn out upon our return around 4pm having been there since 5am so we just chilled at our hotel and took stock of everything we'd witnessed.
The next day we were on the plane to Bangkok having had a very short, but brilliant stay in Cambodia. I personally think that once we'd seen the temples there was not a lot else to stay for in Cambodia and I was glad to leave with that thought rather than staying longer and getting bored.

But the temples really are one of those few places in the world that has the ability to leave you in awe at their splendour, and it's for that reason in particular that it really is one of those places to visit before you die.