FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Temples & Dances

Statues lining the bridge crossing the moat of Angkor Thom. 54 on each side

A 0450 am start surely couldn't be good for anyone...luckily the body still hasn't quite adjusted to the new time zone which made it a little less painful. The early morning start was to view sunrise at Angkor Wat, Cambodia's iconic temple, and a site on many people's bucket list including ours!

Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire from the 9th to the 15th century and covers a big area. At its peak it had over 1 million residents compared to a paltry 8000 in London. The modern archeological site of over 400km2 was now protected by UNESCO and contains the remains of temples such as Angkor Wat, the Bayon at Angkor Thom, and Ta Prohm made famous by Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider.

It was pitch black as we made our way over the original bridge crossing the moat to the West Gate of the Temple Complex. We were given so much detail about Angkor Wat, I won't even try to replicate the information...other than everything was incredible in so many respects -architecturally, archaeologically and artistically just to name a few. It was hard not to be in awe. Our exploration started with the simple viewing of sunrise just inside the West Gate before exploring all 3 levels of the nearly 900 year old structure. As a word of warning, the steps leading up to the 3rd level was very steep and children under 12 were not allowed up presumably for safety reasons.

It was great to have a private guide as a small group as he could direct us away from the throngs. Mr. Makara also happened to be excellent at phone photography! Little did we know that we would also have a lot of fun having our photos taken. He tried his best to direct us but our posing and facial expressions were sadly not quite instagram worthy. However, we did get many many great photos of ourselves! There would never be any doubt that Belinda, Serena, Heather and Fiona visited Cambodia together!

The hotel had packed a "breakfast box" for us ready for pick up at the lobby by 0450

Our chariot awaits

Ticket Office. Ah...the early start was to not be too far behind the other 2000 people also wanting to see sunrise

Almost like Indiana Jones

Mr Makara found a great spot where we could sit with unobstructed views

The sky turning from black, to purple then to orange

Lights are on! Let's go

But first let's take a funky shot with the palm trees

The sun rising

Incredibly detailed carvings

Gallery of Bas Reliefs

Level 1 of 3

Steps up to Level 3 Central Tower. Steep

A group photo not taken by Mr Makara

View out from level 3

All the guides waiting below...as numbers are capped climbing up

A recreation of what the original wooden roofs would have looked like

Exiting the East Gate

We are at the most important part of the day...breakfast. We had a "picnic" breakfast organised in the garden of one of the local families which was a lovely touch. The breakfast was simple but tasty. Hot coffee, pastries and fruit. We donated half the hotel breakfast to the family and driver and ate the other half as the hotel had packed some eggs!

Our breakfast table

Our driver had prepared cold towels for us! What a champion!

Such a pretty set up

The all important Cambodian coffee

The hotel packed breakfast

What was inside...

One Temple down. Two to go. While Angkor Wat was a state Hindu/Buddhist temple, Ta Prohm was a Buddhist ancestral temple. Ta Prohm was a temple dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII, the King (we shall call him J7 from here on) who oversaw the completion of Angkor Wat (started by his father). It was made famous by the filming of Tomb Raider, which saw Angelina Jolie climbing and running over the ruins which had been reclaimed back by nature. This was actually a pleasant site to explore as the big trees provided much needed shade.

One of the scenes was filmed here. There was a long line for photos so cropped the people out!

Very typical to see the tree hugging or "growing" out of the ruins

Some fun photo moments thanks to Mr Makara!

Belinda, Fiona, Heather and Serena were in da house!

There probably was a movie scene shot here too but I truly can't remember because they were all starting to look the same by now...blasphemy!

A little bit of fun and silliness

The cover photo used in some guide books!

Last but not least, we visited Angkor Thom, the last capital city of the Khmer Empire. We visited the very quiet Death Gate first. Surprisingly there was NO ONE else there for a good 15 minutes. Naturally we took the time to practice taking good videos. We received instructions on how to walk, how to film and how to pose. What better setting than a nearly 8m high ancient Khmer structure?

The Bayon Temple was the last place on our to do list. Bayon temple was famous for the many smiling faces of Buddha, 216 to be exact. Although the face was said to be that of none other than J7, the only King I can remember from the Khmer Empire. The only other fact I could retain was that J7 married 2 sisters, albeit one at a time. Energy levels were flagging. The heat was getting oppressive. Mr Makara kept the visit efficient. He did the spiel in the comfort of the van a/c and we sprinted across the structure within 20 minutes, stopping only to take magnificent photos in Apsara dancer poses. It was then time to seek respite from the heat in the hotel.

Death Gate. The pose seems rather inappropriate...

Bayon Temple

King J7

One of the King's wives. Is that Louis Vuitton?!

One of the 5 bridges into Angkor Thom

The awesome Mr Makara

One last photo of us taking a photo of us

A late lunch but a yummy lunch. Most importantly a lunch in A/C

Today's choices

After a good nap, it was time for our Apsara Dinner Show. It was a buffet dinner with 5 dances. The buffet dinner was surprisingly excellent! And the cocktails cheap! The dances were similar to other SE Asian native dances but enjoyable nonetheless. We liked how they broke up the dances, so we could keep going back to the buffet. It was a great way to finish yet another jam packed day!