Bangkok to Siem Reap journey began with a 6 hour train journey & a 5 minute Tuk Tuk ride to the boarder crossing at Poi Pet. After clearing immigration on the Thailand side we then walked across the boarder to Cambodia where we had to clear immigration. It was then a 10 minute bus ride to a taxi point, then a 2 hour taxi ride to our beautiful hotel.
Our beautiful hotel Pavillon D'Orient. Such a lovely little piece of quiet in the hustle & bustle of Siem Reap. It had two pools, spa, restaurant and bar. The staff were all very friendly & helpful and the whole place was very well looked after. You even got a traditional Cambodian story/tale delivered to your room before bedtime. The room came with our very own Tuk Tuk driver who was ours for the duration of our stay. We were just required to give half hour notice if he was required. Although we usually organised our plans the night before. Ours was called Mr Buffalo who was super friendly and very helpful in guiding us around the temples and other sights Siem Reap had to offer. He even joined us for a game of golf around a temples themed course.
Angkor Wat
Our first experience of the city of Angkor & what a fantastic start to our 7 days of temples in Angkor. It truly is a special place. The architecture, carvings & scale are just jaw dropping. So beautifully preserved in time with a helping hand from many archieologists & preservation teams. It is hard to believe some are more than 700 years old. Angkor Wat is one of the only temples to be completed from start to finish in one kings lifetime. One day we even got up at 4.30am to get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. It was super busy but well worth the early rise!
Truly worth the early rise!
After a shower & some breakfast it was back to Angkor Wat to explore.
No kids or skirts allowed up these steep, steep steps so Josh & I got left at the bottom.
Where's Josh?
The wall on the left is a beautifully detailed carved story of an ancient battle.
Even the roof tiles had beautiful detail.
Our last visit to Angkor Wat was to watch the sun set! Beautiful!
There was a sense of sadness in us all as we walked out for the last time. Angkor Wat will always have a little piece of my heart & our visit here will never be forgotten. It just encapsulates you the moment your Tuk Tuk stops, and as you venture over the moat & through the first arch..... We were all blown away!!!
Angkor Thom
Another spectacular example of fantastic architecture in Angkor. Our buildings are just so,
\so dull these days & we have the tools that would enable the process with ease.
As you can see there is still so much renovation required here!
Elephant Terrace
A taste of some of the many many other temples to visit!! Way too many to name but all very special in their own way!
The trees seem to be claiming this one back!!!
There are many temples that have many stairs to climb, some of which are very steep, high and some worn away so great care, comfy shoes & plenty of energy & water is required!
The view is always spectacular and worth every step!
HELLO up there!
Some reconstruction work being carried out in earlier years.
You have to admire the bamboo scaffolding.
Below is the finished work. Complete restoration using all the original stone.
Truly magnificent!!!!!
Our Mr Buffalo
Josh having a go in Mr Buffalo's hammock. Mr Buffalo would chill out in this when we were off exploring.
Shops come in all different shapes and sizes in Cabodia.
Coconuts!
No seatbelt rules here, in fact you don't even need to be inside!!!
No matter how big your shopping is it 'will' fit on the bike!!!!
They also have no issue with kids of any age on bikes without a helmet!?!?
Cambodians answer to the ice cream van!
A wee roadside cafe. These pop up everywhere throughout Cambodia.
We saw many kids cycling to and from school on very busy roads. There were even kids as young as 5/6 walking home alone alongside the busy traffic.
Cafe on the move. There were many of these mobile shops/cafes.
We took a trip to the Siem Reap War Museum where we were given a complimentary tour by a war veteran. He told us of how he had lost all of his family in the war and about all the mines still out in the country just waiting to destroy someone's life within seconds.
He himself had lost a leg to one. He told us about the work Princess Diana had done
In helping clear the mines and how it had all stopped once she died.
We also visited a butterfly garden and one night we went to a Cambodian Circus where children from the streets and disadvantaged homes are taught circus skills amongst some regular education in a bid to help them make a better life for themselves and their families.
We even saw some butterflies come out of their cocoons.
The circus was spectacular and you could see in the eyes and on the faces the performers were extremely proud of their achievements and we're loving every minute of the performance.
Siem Reap was a great city to visit and Angkor was a truly special place.
We bought a 7 day ticket for the temples and used them all thoroughly.
We saw so many temples none of which disappointed. Siem Reap is a fantastic
place to visit. Cambodia has such sad history and they are still struggling to find their
way after such horrific atrocities in the years of the Khmer Regime but there is light at
the end of the tunnel I'm sure. The people are just lovely & thoroughly enjoy having
tourists to share their personal story with.
No comments:
Post a Comment