Ankgor Watt- The Ruins of the Jungle

Today we begin with our delightful traditional breakfast of toast, rice, and eggs, with some type of sausage as well. Soon after we head out and to our delight our "Tour Guide" is our driver from the airport! He gives us a low down on the itinerary for the day, saving THE Angkor Watt for our last temple visit and then rounding out the day watching the Sunset. (good, right??)

 Ankgor Watt

Made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1992

It was first a Hindu Temple, but later when Buddhism took over, 

many of the wall murals were changed so the Hindu gods became Buddha

We began with Bayon Temple, our tour guide (I should really start writing down their names as they say them) dropped us off and let us go explore the complex.  As we were staring up at the massive temple, trying to take it all in, a young man approached me and asked if I wanted to climb to to top of one of the towers.

The front face of it had worn steep stairs, (and for someone with a fear of stairs, it was not at all a pleasant sight, but the adventurous side of me won..) but the back had stairs that were still just as steep, but were slightly more intact.

So up I went, with the thought that I am going to hate coming down these. The view was worth it, there was many smiling Buddha and my friend even caught just the right angle so I could be nose to nose with Buddha.

Jamie found us eventually and came up to enjoy the view, which was beautiful, did I mention how gorgeous it is here??  PS no touch up, just raw photograph!

Then came the dreaded part of going down. You have to go down with your foot turned to the side, and even then only half your foot is on the step... I wish it was one of those things you could just close your eyes and be done with it, but that seemed a little to risky for obvious reasons.

From there our new found friend gave us the complete tour of the temple and all its highlights. At the end, he gave us his shpill on how he was a student at the school for tour guides (who knew they had a school like that??) and asked for a donation to help his friends in the Orphanage. Being skeptical but kind, I gave him some money. He seemed disappointed at the amount, not because it was small but because I am American and we are "loaded with money". I suppose that is my cross to bear in exchange for the privilege of traveling.


From their we went to the next temple across the way, however this one was a working(??) temple so unless you had pants/skirt that covered the knees*, you weren't allowed in. I was wearing shorts that day, so I waited outside while Jamie went exploring. While she was in the temple, I did check out some of the royal palace that was situated right next to the temple.

We headed with our driver to Angkor Thom, once again he dropped us off as we went on our way. Both of these places are very cool, and I would suggest seeing them as well as Ankgor Wat. There is a lot more opportunity for exploring in these temples as there aren't as many tourists. The Cambodian gov't is working on restoring these places so there are some places that you can't enter, but I didn't feel like I missed out on anything.  We did find this very cool Tree...

Lunch was a grand occasion, we stopped at one of the local tourist restaurants and were seated in the AC portion. Like all of Asia, the bathroom is an adventure, just don't plan on clean bathrooms or TP outside of your hotel and you'll be just fine. This place was better then most, with your choice of Western toilets or squatters. But it is mandatory (by my decree) that you try a squatter at least once.
After lunch we went to Angkor Wat. What an amazing temple, with a gorgeous reflection in the pond in front, and a small tourist market to the side. There are monks that still practice back behind the market, and there is a small graveyard back there as well, with the massive memorials.

To end our day we went for a hike up this hill that had a great view, due to language barrier/accent, we misheard our tour guides instructions that we were watching the sunset up there. It was a great view of the area, but with signs that said "close at 5:30" we assumed everyone had to be off the hill. But apparently that just means no more admittance after 5:30. So we tragically had to watch the sunset from in front of Ankgor Wat.. Hard life I know.

We returned to the hotel for dinner, and finally got our Margherita pizza with our ever favorite smoothie. MMMMmmmm So good!! Jamie and I decided to go exploring down the street, and found the night market. At first glance it was a small market, but it's a TRICK! It has alleys of stalls that just keep leading you further and further down. The one time I decide I want something, there is no one around.. Typical.  But we have some great finds, including a painting of cambodian fisherman, coconut bowls, and a cute dress for Jamie. And with that we decided to call it a night.

*When Traveling thru the world, especially Asia, I have found it convenient to carry a scarf to cover the arms/head, and a back-up skirt/pants. As I don't understand Asian culture, I might not have prepared as well as I should have, AKA not dressed appropriately. In the Western world, and even a little bit in the Middle East, I understand the general dress code protocol.

All in all I loved our stay at Tanei Guesthouse in Seim Reap and will stay there again if I'm ever in the area, which I hope to be.