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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
This morning we are going to Angkor Thom. Angkor means big and Thom means city. Angkor Thom is the last capital if the Khmers. We enter the city through the South Gate. The city is surrounded by a 12 km man made moat which is 3 km long on each side. Unlike Angkor Wat this is not a religious area, it was where the monks and kings lived. We visited the Terrace of the Leper King and the Terrace of the Elephants which was ornately carved with elephants. The terrace was used as a viewing platform for the King to watch passing parades or sports. Angkor Thom was abandoned by the Khmers and the jungle took over the land and many of the temples and buildings were looted and destroyed. Fortunately there is much documentation which was discovered which is enabling the structures to be preserved and restoration work carried out. The Baphuon was once a beautiful temple dating from the reign of Uditayavarman 1 in the 11th century and this temple has just completed renovation by the French. The funds for renovation and restoration is provided by other countries but the workmanship is mostly carried out by Cambodians.We spend an hour going through the temple of the Banyan. It is in the centre of Angkor Thom and it is here that you get a sense of what life was like. The carvings on the walls all around the structure depict the life of the people from soldiers to fishermen, feasts and even child birth. It's so detailed and interesting.
The last temple we visit is Ta Prohm. This temple has been left in its natural state since it was rediscovered by French explorers. Surrounded by jungle it's stone hallways have been overgrown with roots and limbs of massive banyan trees. It is one the largest temples at Angkor and it was dedicated in 1186. This temple was thrown into the spotlight when parts of the movie Tomb Raiders was filmed here. It's so amazing to see these huge trees penetrating and strangling this structure .
This has been a very interesting tour. As we get back on our coach we are ambushed by a dozen small children asking for one dollar. The guide said that they come out to do this all the time as this is where the tourist buses park. As cute as they are we can't give them anything.
Lunch is provided for us today at the hotel and it's an amazing array of fresh salads, cold meats, sushi,curries, stir fries, bread, rice, fruit and then to finish off a table of beautifully presented desserts and house made ice cream.
To our excitement our washing has been returned and is very neatly folded and smells beautiful and fresh. It's so easy just to pack it straight into the cases.
This afternoon we have the option of going to visit some more temples or have free time. As interesting as the temples have been we chose the free time and head to the pool for a swim. The water in the pool would be easily 28 degrees if not more so refreshing it is not. After a cooler shower we head into town to finalize our accommodation arrangements for our return visit and we also stop for a beer and G&T, a trip to the markets and the supermarket and then back to the hotel. These tuk tuks are a fantastic mode of transport,cheap, efficient and always readily available.
After another swim and I finish my packing for the morning, we go on another tuk tuk adventure. This time we ask to go into the Pub Street area but the driver thinks he might take us to a different restaurant, we will like it, has good food! OK so we travel into the back blocks, no idea where we are and after a good 15 minutes up and down dusty streets he stops out the front of a huge complex with lots of tables, but no one inside! We suggest that was a nice try but let's go down town!
We eat pizza of all things and return to the hotel. Tomorrow we have a 6 hour bus ride to get to our boat and we are leaving at 8am.
Thanks for a great time Siem Reap. We are coming back!
The last temple we visit is Ta Prohm. This temple has been left in its natural state since it was rediscovered by French explorers. Surrounded by jungle it's stone hallways have been overgrown with roots and limbs of massive banyan trees. It is one the largest temples at Angkor and it was dedicated in 1186. This temple was thrown into the spotlight when parts of the movie Tomb Raiders was filmed here. It's so amazing to see these huge trees penetrating and strangling this structure .
This has been a very interesting tour. As we get back on our coach we are ambushed by a dozen small children asking for one dollar. The guide said that they come out to do this all the time as this is where the tourist buses park. As cute as they are we can't give them anything.
Lunch is provided for us today at the hotel and it's an amazing array of fresh salads, cold meats, sushi,curries, stir fries, bread, rice, fruit and then to finish off a table of beautifully presented desserts and house made ice cream.
To our excitement our washing has been returned and is very neatly folded and smells beautiful and fresh. It's so easy just to pack it straight into the cases.
This afternoon we have the option of going to visit some more temples or have free time. As interesting as the temples have been we chose the free time and head to the pool for a swim. The water in the pool would be easily 28 degrees if not more so refreshing it is not. After a cooler shower we head into town to finalize our accommodation arrangements for our return visit and we also stop for a beer and G&T, a trip to the markets and the supermarket and then back to the hotel. These tuk tuks are a fantastic mode of transport,cheap, efficient and always readily available.
After another swim and I finish my packing for the morning, we go on another tuk tuk adventure. This time we ask to go into the Pub Street area but the driver thinks he might take us to a different restaurant, we will like it, has good food! OK so we travel into the back blocks, no idea where we are and after a good 15 minutes up and down dusty streets he stops out the front of a huge complex with lots of tables, but no one inside! We suggest that was a nice try but let's go down town!
We eat pizza of all things and return to the hotel. Tomorrow we have a 6 hour bus ride to get to our boat and we are leaving at 8am.
Thanks for a great time Siem Reap. We are coming back!
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