Our last day at Angkor! By this point we were a bit 'templed-out'... so we only went out for the morning and then came back in time for the Hotel's free buffet breakfast ;)
We went back to Ta Prohm for the sunrise again, seeing as the first time, the batteries ran out on Steve's good camera and we had to settle for my 'point&shoot' camera which really is nothing compared to the quality of the photos from the other camera. Getting there before sunrise was still very eerie, despite having done it before!
Afterwards, we decided to end our temple-exploring with Angkor Wat. We got our tuk-tuk driver to drop us off around the back of the temple instead, as it's impossible to get a good shot with the hundreds of tourists and the renovation scaffolding covering the front. It was a lot nicer visit this time; the temperature was cooler and there were less crowds. We witnessed a very strange group of people... one of which decided to take her skirt off and walk around in her undies, impersonating the monkies... which was a bit odd (this is a 20-something woman I'm talking about, not a child!). Somewhat entertaining, although very innapropriate considering we were in a temple. Good thing the monks didn't see her.
Last night in Siem Reap tonight, heading to Stung Treng tomorrow!
Showing posts with label Siem Reap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Siem Reap. Show all posts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Angkor Day2
Today we were up before dawn again, this time to watch the sunrise at the Bayon temple (the one with all the faces) at Angkor Thom. We were happy to find that yet again, we had the place to ourselves for a while, apart from a few hundred bats zipping around above us (they live in temple towers)!
After exploring Central Angkor Thom for a few hours, we checked out the famous Angkor Wat. By that point in the morning, though, it was getting very hot and the lighting wasn't any good for photos (the sun made it all look very 'washed out). So tomorrow we're going to go for a proper visit in the early morning. Unfortunately the central tower is currently under restoration (and has been for a while!) and the scaffolding and green shade cloth they have covering part of it makes Angkor Wat not so photogenic! It's also sad that you can no longer climb the very steep stairs to the top of the central tower; it's closed off to tourists because people kept slipping and hurting themselves!
We are really enjoying Siem Reap; it's the most beautiful place we've been in Cambodia, probably because it's the biggest tourist spot. We are lucky enough to be staying in an actual hotel here as a Christmas present from Mum, and upon arrival we were upgraded to an executive suite; very flash indeed! It's going to be hard to go back to our usual $5-$10/night accommodation!
Adding a separate slideshow on the left for our Angkor photos (you can click the slideshow to be taken to the actual albums, where you can see the photos in full size).
Amiee x
After exploring Central Angkor Thom for a few hours, we checked out the famous Angkor Wat. By that point in the morning, though, it was getting very hot and the lighting wasn't any good for photos (the sun made it all look very 'washed out). So tomorrow we're going to go for a proper visit in the early morning. Unfortunately the central tower is currently under restoration (and has been for a while!) and the scaffolding and green shade cloth they have covering part of it makes Angkor Wat not so photogenic! It's also sad that you can no longer climb the very steep stairs to the top of the central tower; it's closed off to tourists because people kept slipping and hurting themselves!
We are really enjoying Siem Reap; it's the most beautiful place we've been in Cambodia, probably because it's the biggest tourist spot. We are lucky enough to be staying in an actual hotel here as a Christmas present from Mum, and upon arrival we were upgraded to an executive suite; very flash indeed! It's going to be hard to go back to our usual $5-$10/night accommodation!
Adding a separate slideshow on the left for our Angkor photos (you can click the slideshow to be taken to the actual albums, where you can see the photos in full size).
Amiee x
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Angkor Day1
I can't believe we are actually in Siem Reap!! I have wanted to come and visit the Angkor temples for quite literally the last 10 years. Why does a 10 year old decide she wants to go to Angkor? Tomb Raider of course!! I loved the film, and it is what sparked my interest in Cambodia way back then.
Yesterday we bought our 3day Angkor passes at 5pm so we got to see a free sunset. We went to the most popular site to watch the sunset, Phnom Bakheng. Hundreds of people scramble over the hilltop temple to try and get the best spot and best photos of the sunset; it looks like a total circus. I really wasn't that impressed by the spot but Steve took a couple of photos anyway.
This morning is when the fun began!! We decided to visit Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple) for the sunrise because I'd read that the ambience of the temple is pretty much ruined by the constant and unavoidable crowd, and I thought that there'd be less people willing to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise there. We organised for our tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 4:30am.. we were there at 5am.. not realising that the sun doesn't rise til just before 6! The temple was completely dark except for the light of the moon, and it was only the 2 of us there! It was an incredibly eerie experience to say the least!! We had Ta Prohm all to ourselves until a bit after sunrise when 3 people showed up, and we barely knew they were there.
Afterwards we visited Pre Rup, Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah Khan. Pre Rup is a pyramid-type structure, and not really anything THAT spectacular. Ta Som had a good feel to it, and it was small, but interesting (and we had the place to ourselves, except for a few monks!). Neak Pean is an interesting little temple in the middle of a big (man-made) pond, with 4 other ponds around it. Preah Khan was pretty much Ta Prohm on a massive scale!
More temples tomorrow, uploading photos now.
Amiee x
Yesterday we bought our 3day Angkor passes at 5pm so we got to see a free sunset. We went to the most popular site to watch the sunset, Phnom Bakheng. Hundreds of people scramble over the hilltop temple to try and get the best spot and best photos of the sunset; it looks like a total circus. I really wasn't that impressed by the spot but Steve took a couple of photos anyway.
This morning is when the fun began!! We decided to visit Ta Prohm (the Tomb Raider temple) for the sunrise because I'd read that the ambience of the temple is pretty much ruined by the constant and unavoidable crowd, and I thought that there'd be less people willing to wake up early enough to watch the sunrise there. We organised for our tuk-tuk driver to pick us up at 4:30am.. we were there at 5am.. not realising that the sun doesn't rise til just before 6! The temple was completely dark except for the light of the moon, and it was only the 2 of us there! It was an incredibly eerie experience to say the least!! We had Ta Prohm all to ourselves until a bit after sunrise when 3 people showed up, and we barely knew they were there.
Afterwards we visited Pre Rup, Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah Khan. Pre Rup is a pyramid-type structure, and not really anything THAT spectacular. Ta Som had a good feel to it, and it was small, but interesting (and we had the place to ourselves, except for a few monks!). Neak Pean is an interesting little temple in the middle of a big (man-made) pond, with 4 other ponds around it. Preah Khan was pretty much Ta Prohm on a massive scale!
More temples tomorrow, uploading photos now.
Amiee x
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