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Day 16
6th August 2012
Up at 4:00 for a shower and off to Angkor Wat temple to watch the sun rise. When we get there is still pretty dark and all that is visible is a dark outline of the massive towers of the temple. We walk through the main gate and down to the pond in front of the main temple complex. The area is swamped with tourists all waiting to see the sun rise. As it get lighter you can see the magnificence of the mighty temple complex. The reason we have all been told to stand in front of the pond is that we will get the reflection of the temple on the water as the sun creeps up over the temple. After sun rise our guild takes us around the temple for a couple of hours until we return back at the hotel at 09:00 for breakfast. We have an hour and a half to eat and sort ourselves out before heading back out to see more temples and the next one is nick named "Tomb Raider" temple as this is where the film was shot. This temple is beautiful with the trees and plants growing over the structure the massive roots of the trees engulfing the walls. We continue visiting other temples through the afternoon and the plan is to watch the sunset from a temple built on top of a high hill but because of the weather it is decided that we will do this tomorrow. We arrive back at the hotel around 15:00 given us time to relax before going out for Russell's birthday meal tonight. I get a couple of hours sleep and then we head out. Bond has arranged a birthday cake for Russell which I give him $25 towards and at the end of the meal the cake is brought out and we all sing happy birthday. Once we are done we all head to the temple bar that we were at last night for a night of drinking and dancing. I order 2 jäger bombs one for me and one for Bond as I owe him a shot as I lost a bet with him earlier in the day. The evening continues with us all drinking and dancing and then I spot a little girl in the street selling roses. I jump out of my seat and over the seats below us and purchase 4 roses one for each of the girls with us. We watch the little girl as she stands on the street dancing to the music from our bar which pretty much drowns out the music from all the other bars in the street. The little girl who I guess is about 9 is such an amazing dancer and by now has drawn a small crowd I'm the street. Being a little merry by now I jump back down into the street and start dancing along side her for a while and then give her my Cambodian notes (about $2). We all carry on dancing and singing and then I spot Simon on the street and he's now dancing with the little girl. I go down and join him and then pull Gill up to dance. By now the is a fairly big crowd here and I start grabbing the arms of random people (mainly girls) to dance with us. Before long we have a mini street party in front of our bar. We return to our seats and I order a few more drinks for people. I grab the waiter and ask for the bill and when I get it I'm shocked by how cheap the night has been, $90 for all the drinks ordered which compared to my normal £150 back home is amazing. Before we leave the bar I ask the manager for a free T shirt for Russell as we have spent a fair bit and to my surprise not only does he give me the T shirt but also 2 free sex on the beach cocktails. We leave the bar all fairly merry from a good night and are mobbed by Tuk Tuk drivers all wanting to take us back to the hotel. We grab 2 and head off. I have Russell, Sharon and Emme in the Tuk Tuk with me and before long we are all singing you've lost that loving feeling as we whizz through the streets.
Notes:
Angkor Wat (Khmer) is the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. The temple was built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer: present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian Architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor , which comes from the Sanskrit word nagar Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds", derived from the Pali word "vatta".
Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit), after the posthumous title of its founder.
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