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Day 10 Siem Reap.
Up before dawn at 4.45 am, our guide was waiting in reception to take us to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat. After collecting our breakfast boxes we were underway to the temple site just outside Siem Reap.
Any thoughts of a solitary yet romantic sight of the sun rising over the towers of Angkor Wat were soon dispelled as we joined a solid stream of bicycles, motorbikes, tuk-tuks and cars all heading to that same spot for their idea of a solitary yet romantic sunrise.
Nevertheless we ensconced ourselves in a prime spot and awaited the main event. At 6.30am the sun began to rise spreading its golden rays, at first tentatively but then more confidently and majestically, spreading its golden aura of the promise of a new day.Unfortunately this was not what we saw as heavy cloud gave only the hint of an orange smudge in the sky.
Never mind, the temples awaited, they would not disappoint. First up was Angkor Wat, the most iconic of the temples. The impact of this temple is probably the greatest as you view this temple for the first time, whilst at your freshest. Nonetheless you can't fail to be amazed at the scale of the building and the intricacies of its carving. Wall after wall are decorated by carvings of Shiva or scenes of battle or some alluring and big busted dancers, called Apsaras, that resemble some ancient Katie Price. Blimey they must have had some lively discos in those days.
After Angkor Wat came its big brother Angkor Thom. By now the clouds had been burnt away and the 'gas mark on the oven' had been turned up. I now know how that piece of beef feels when the recipe says 'sear the outside of the meat to seal the flavour'. Ankgor Thom is more extensive than Angkor Wat so we roasted nicely in temperatures of 100 degrees as the heat built as the sun was reflected back off the stone. Nevertheless we continued to be amazed at each temple site within the bounds of Angkor Thom, from the smiling faces on the Baphuon temple to the sheer rudeness of the japanese tourists who seemed to think that some omnipotent power was going to swoop down and snatch away the sight before they had chance to frame the picture on their Nikon cameras and therefore it was perfectly acceptable to elbow anybody in their way to the side. I think there is a business opportunity here in teaching temple etiquette''.
By now we were flagging. We had sunk enough water to fill a camel for a trip across the Sahara, so we agreed to make our next temple our last one. Thankfully our next temple was Ta Prohm. This temple was made famous by the Lara Croft tomb raider films. The temple is in the process of being strangled by the jungle, as once abandoned by its owners, trees have began the long process of swallowing the buildings. Initially deposited as seeds on top of roofs or walls, these trees have thrust their roots into every nook and cranny like some elongated python. In many ways, this temple was the most impressive, certainly the most atmospheric, showing first the ingenuity of its builders then the power of nature as its stones were thrust awry by the mere power of a tree root.
Now, quite exhausted we returned to our hotel and after a quick shower to freshen up (in vain I would add) we had lunch before falling asleep in the afternoon to dreams of a 'sweating tee shirt cladded Angelina Jolie' swinging through the jungle....come on now that's enough of that!
Despite our afternoon nap we both felt a little jaded, when we awoke, so we decided that something simple and western was needed for dinner.
After rejecting 'The Hard Rock cafe', we ended up back at the 'Blue Pumpkin' who provided a simple 'spag bol' (and Carbonara). Offered a seat indoors we followed our waitress upstairs to what can only be described as an oasis of cool and calm, called (funny enough) 'The Cool Lounge'. To describe it, picture a glass observatory with sofa beds all around the outside to lounge on, bed trays to eat your food off and a four-sided face of buddha to meditate whilst you ruminate. If you can't imagine it, check out the link
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/06/16/1e/6e/king-s-road-angkor.jpg
It was just what the doc ordered and we were home in bed by 8.30pm. We leave Siem Reap tomorrow on a short 45 minute flight. They won't need to wind the rubber band on the propeller -shaft plane quite so much.
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