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Trailor on Tour
Firstly I would like to apologise for the gap since the last postcard and also the fact that as a result of this, this may be a long one!
We spent 3 days discovering the Temples of Angkor, which were built between the 9th and the 13th centuries by a succession of Khmer devaraja (god-kings). We had a little moto (motorcycle with tuk tuk type thing attached to the back) and were driven around the temples by a very nice man called Set.
Day 1 - Woke up at 0445 to be taken to see Angkor Wat at sunrise, along with hundreds of other insane people. Got there very bleary eyed and was expecting something close to divine inspiration, only to be greeted by a very lacklustre sun and thousands of other tourists. Maybe I've been spoilt by the Taj Mahal and all the Mexican pyramids! Ok, so now the sun was up and having wandered around for a bit and it still only being 0700, decided to get some food. This ended up being a tomato and onion omelette in a baguette with laughing cow cheese spread on it - no wrinkled noses please, it was delightful and may well make it into my very limited cooking repertoire!
Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building and was built in the 11th century to honour Vishnu, as for the 1st 3 centuries it was a Hindu place of worship, until it was taken over by Buddhists and has remained that way ever since. The temple is surrounded by a vast moat which forms a 1.5km by 1.3km rectangle.
From here we went to Angkor Thom and the Bayon, on which there are 216 gargantuan faces of Avalokitesvara watching over you. The exterior is covered with vivid scenes of life in 12th century Cambodia, including cockfighting and kick boxing.
At this point it was about 1100 and I was not only extremely tired, but also leaking from every pore in my body due to the intense heat and extreme humidity. So we decided to head on back to our air conditioned room for some much needed sleep and cool air.
At about 1500 we headed back in as the blistering heat had subsided slightly and went to visit, in my opinion at least, the most impressive temple in the complex, Ta Prohm. This 12th century Mahayana Buddhist temple has been abandoned to the forces of nature and the interior is a maze of narrow corridors and crumbling stone. The ancient trees have been left to grow on the structure and their roots look like giant tentacles clinging to the stone, as can be seen in the picture. It has recently been used for shooting Tomb Raider and as such there is a local cocktail named for the film - yes, it would have been rude not to try it!
Days 2 and 3 - These were spent visiting the Baphuon, the Terrace of the Elephants, the Terrace of the Leper King, Banteay Srei and various other structures in the complex. Needless to say we did not make sunrise again as those of you who know me will know that I'm really not a morning person.
A wonderful three days, but I think we were all agreed that we were all templed out by the end of it!!
Sherry xx
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