Monday, February 18, 2013
Day 10: Siem Reap
Meals included: 1 breakfast
Activities:
We
spend a full-day visiting the amazing temples of Angkor on a guided
tour. Angkor Thom, the 'Great Royal City', is famous for its series of
colossal human faces carved in stone. The impressive Bayon temple is the
centrepiece of all this. Angkor Wat is the largest and most complete
structure. It is the only one of Angkor's temples with its entrance
facing to the west (the others face east), the reason being that it was
constructed as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II and a westerly
countenance was seen to represent a sunset. Ta Prohm temple is an
incredible sight, with large trees embedding themselves in the stone
foundations of the structure, giving the impression of man's creation
being reclaimed by the powerful forces of nature. We can end the day
with a sunset view of Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakheng.
*******
Siem
Reap means Death by Siam. Cambodia's greatest kingdom of Angkor Thom
built in the 12th century was over taken and destoryed before the
building of the temple was completed. Cambodians worked on the temple
for 30 years under their king, but when he died the work stopped. The
temple was raided and looted many times over the years and today stands
in ruins which the government tries to keep minimally preserved.
Angkor
Wat is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Cambodia. The place
has been packed with tourists, many if whom are Chinese celebrating
Chinese New Years. It is quite the international city. Here are some
photos of Angkor Wat during the day and at Sunrise.
 |
| Families of monkeys greet us, and try to steal any food or water we carry |
After our visit during the day, we revisit the following morning to catch the sunrise:
Next we visit the Temple Ta Prohm which was the movie set for Tomb Raiders. Looks like something you wold see in a movie set. It is quite lovely and has more colors than the monochromatic sandstone of Angkor Wat.
We finish our first day at sunset at Phnom Bakheng:
All is Well With the Worrall Travelers
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