At 8 am sharp, our guide is in the foyer ready to take us for our morning visit to Angkor Wat. It is only about a 15 minute drive in the bus, and we are let out reasonably close to the main entrance.
Angkor Wat looking towards the main entrance
The moat surrounding the walled city of Angkor Wat
Walking along the causeway (over the moat) towards the entrance
The sheer scale of Angkor Wat is difficult to come to grips with. it is roughly 1 km from the Western entrance which we entered to the eastern gate at the rear. There are lots of buildings in the compound, the most stunning of which is the main temple, built on three levels.
Looking back at the Eastern Gate once inside the compound
There are two libraries, one either side of the central path leading to the temple
There is not a lot of restrictions on access to the old buildings
The main temple is too large to capture in any single photograph
The precision of construction is astounding. Everything lines up perfectly and joins in the stonework are almost invisible in some areas
Inside there are huge open areas. This was a pool
Some of the carvings are in remarkable condition
The second level has wide corridors around the central towers
The climb to the third level is steep, only Mike, Carole and I go up
Views from the third level
Looking back to the Western Gate
One of the towers
Group photo looking at Angkor Wat from the East
Next we are off to the jungle enveloped Ta Prohm Temple. It is another short drive from Angkor Wat and is a single level temple , so not quite as taxing to get around. The temple has been badly damaged by the jungle encroaching on the building, and trees growing through the stone structure. It was discovered in the 1850's by French explorer Henry Mouhot.
The forest is still quite thick along the entrance to Ta Prohm Temple
Soon the Temple appears amongst the trees
The trees have literally engulfed the temple in a number of areas.
The rear of the temple near the exit
It is now lunch time and it is very hot. We decide to eat at a local restaurant and then continue on to our final temple visit after lunch. We agreed that if we went back to the hotel for lunch. once everyone got inside with air conditioning there was a strong chance they wouldn't come back out.
Lunch was good, and the cold beer very welcome. Whilst we we having our lunch the six Germans who were on our river cruise walked in, so we had a quick talk to them before heading back out to go to our last visit, Preah Khan Temple (known as the temple of the sacred sword).
When it comes time to get off the bus , only Mike, Carole and I are starters. The other three are happy to sit on the bus. After a short walk through the forest we come to the temple. It is another single level temple, filled with passageways and little chambers off passages everywhere.
A feature of the outer wall, is it is decorated with a number of carvings of the Garuda.
This temple has also suffered some encroachment from the forest
But still has a number of buildings that are not damaged
And some carvings that are in remarkable condition
After about 40 mins we head back to the bus, reunite with the girls who waited in the bus. The driver had turned off the air conditioned and wandered off and had a rest in a nearby hammock.
Here is a couple of his mates waiting for their clients.
Tonight it is off to dinner again at 7pm. We had a few drinks in the hotel bar whilst waiting for our guide.
Dinner was at another Cambodian restaurant, not far from where we dined last night. After dinner we were driven back to our hotel, and said farewell to our guide and driver, as we fly out to Laos tomorrow afternoon.
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