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After meeting up with Jo and Maria on Sunday, we have spent the first three days of our trip at the magical Angkor Wat. Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South East Asia. Stretching over 400km2, including forested areas, Angkor Archaeological Park (a UNESCO site) contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th century. Angkor's most famous temple dates back to the early 12th century when it was built for King Suryavarman II. It has remained a functional religious centre since its foundation originally Hindu now Buddist.
The vast scale of the temples of Angkor is a mind blowing experience in itself, so we were glad of a few days to explore. Starting Sunday we headed out late afternoon sunset in mind. We energetically climbed to one of the highest points in the complex but the clouds rolled in all too quickly so we ended up scaling back down some rather vertical steps to avoid the impending lightening storm and back to our base in Siem Reap (Shadow of Angkor - thanks for the tip Danny) for a slap up Khmer curry.
Day two was a full day exploring the most famous and best restored temples, made easier by our tuk tuk man Russell who ferried us from temple to temple in the 40 (100+) degre heat. His name isn't really Russell but after several failed attempts to pronounce and remember his name Jo decided that it would be easier all round to call him Russell. His English wasn't too hot, but bless him, he did a great job over the three days as our personal driver always smiling and frantically waiving as we came out of a temple, ready to take us to the next. It's impossible to put into words the wonder of this place so hopefully the photos will do it some justice and for anyone who has the chance it really is a magical your waiting to take you away.
Not to take from the temples, but the most rewarding experience of our time here was something very different. On Monday we strayed off the beaten track in search of a bathroom and some shade from the mid afternoon sun. Spotting some young monks with a football through some trees, Maria and I headed off to make some new friends. Camera firmly hidden away we wondered into an opening where two newer buildings stood. The first was signed as an orphanage and we think it was a classroom. The second we found out to be a living area kitchen and pagoda housed in one large structure which looked a bit like a giant yoga studio. The monks seemed shy at first and we were about to retreat fearing we were intruding on their free time, when an older boy greeted us and ushered us up the steps into the pagoda. In the far back Grandma, as she was later introduced to us, was cleaning a collection of pots and pans with the help of a couple of young girls. To one side were piles of mats and bedding and on our near side was a shrine to Buddha. A couple of boys followed us into the pagoda and then an older monk, clad in the traditional orange robes appeared and beckoned us over. One of the boys helped him mix flower petals into a bowl of water, which the monk then proceeded to use to perform some sort of blessing on us. We felt a little ignorant of the whole processwhich basically included the monk chanting and clicking a considerable amount of water at us. When this was over, Grandma came over to say hello and one of the young girls who spoke English, explained a little about the orphanage and the teaching of the children.
Yesterday saw us get up at 4.30am to get to watch the sunrise over Angkor, another experience that once again, words fail to capture. Then, at our request, Russell hit the road and the we journeyed out to the lesser known Bantarey Srei. Through beautiful country roads lined with lush rice fields and small vibrant communities going about their day to day business, we merrily chatted about our trip and plans for the coming weeks. Considering it was only 6.30 we were pretty lively!
We are now in Phnom Phen the capital, which is even hotter than Siem Riep, virtually impossibly hot. We found a new tuk tuk driver for our one day here - Boral - who gave us a whistle stop tour of the Grand Palace and Silver Pagoda, and told us stories of the War.I am now off in search of a bar showing Man U, Arsenal game tonight. It's not yet a given that I can watch it but you all know I will try.
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