Last day in Cambodia

Our last day in Siem Riep started early for me as I got up to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat again. It was a bit cloudy so the colours weren't as good as before, I explored the parts of the temple I missed the first time through then headed quickly to Bayon before all the people turned up. Someone was flying a quadcopter over parts of it with a camera, I found it amusing but it was quite noisy.

I still prefer the Bayon carvings to Angkor Wat's, there are more and they're in better condition comparatively. Also large parts of the Angkor were cordoned off as there was a German restoration team working. I wandered out of the Bayon complex and passed through some of the smaller areas within Angkor Thom; like The elephant and leper terrace which had some lovely carvings 

After that I heard back to the hostel. Had a late breakfast, then Nicola and I went and found a local geocash site before heading to the airport for our flight Ho Chi Minh. The hotel we're staying at is really nice, we're in a dorm room again but it's all girls this time and breakfast is complimentary. But we decided after we had dinner to meet some of Nicola's friends from KOTO and go to the flower street as part the Tet festival which ends tomorrow. One of the girls, Ngoc (Nee-ow) invited us to her home for dinner tomorrow (monday) and to the beach on Tuesday. It was a good evening we saw all the different displays, it reminded me of the exhibition hall at the Royal Easter show in Sydney. And ate sweet pancakes (coconut, sesame seeds and sugar sheets) which were really tasty. Nicola and I had dinner in Cafe Ciao, it was busy but the waiters were friendly and helpful. Catching up on sleep and blog posts is now my main priority.

Angkor Day 4: Beang Meala, Rolous group & Floating villiage

An early start for a 2hr drive to Beang Meala, this is a remote mountain temple that has been badly damaged and partially reclaimed by the forest.

It was absolutely amazing, we got there early and had an individual guide so she took us all over the complex, which meant that we were climbing over collapsed roof stones, through windows/doors and over rooftops with some areas having boardwalks or planks to walk over. Multiple doorways and windows had roots growing over them which made for some great photos. We were almost finished as a few coach loads of Chinese tourists starting filing through and the basic tour. Some of the stairs were so steep you wondered about your footing but they are sturdy. I wish I has a gopro on myself so you could see first hand what I mean.

From there we started to long drive back to Siem Reip via the Rolous group. These temples weren't in the best of condition we saw Preah Ko (which was mostly rubble with the towers standing) and Bakong which was in much better condition, it's a very tall building and the stairs aren't in the good a condition as well as being quite steep. 

The floating village was all right. It's nothing spectacular and I'm pretty sure it's a bit if a scam when they try and get you to buy food for the local school. It was at the end of a long day so a quick dinner and an early night was called for 

Angkor Day 2: Angkor Wat, Bayon, Ta Prohm

Today we did, what's called the short circuit. It includes Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Keo, Ta Prohm, Banteay Kdei and Prasat Kravan. 

We started by watching the sunrise over the pools in Angkor Wat, there were lots of people by the left lake and not as many by the right. I got some lovely pictures that I will consider having made into prints to hang at home. After the sun had risen we joined the crowds in exploring the architecture around us. The crowds made it less enjoyable and harder to take photo's, while the site itself is huge so were the numbers of tourists. I would suggest going mid morning to avoid the rush.

Onto Angkor and the Bayon, this another large complex and is a popular photo choice as it has hundreds of stone faces carved into the buildings in honor of Vishnu but but based off of the face of the Khmer king. While dodging the tourists was still an issue, it was completely worth it. The facades and carvings were wondrous and camera draining.

Ta Keo and Ta Prohm were full of tourists as well (there's a pattern emerging) and they were not in good shape. Many boulders and broken ruins stood around which did allow us to explore the majority of the complexes rooms with relative ease. It was still hauntingly beautiful but not in the same league as others we have seen.

Banteay Srei and Prasat Kravan were nice albeit smaller, still made from red stones and in fairly good condition but much simpler than their counter parts. I found out that Prasat Kravan was built by a nobleman not a king hence the simpler design and being on one one level. 

After getting back and having a refreshing swim in the hostel's pool (comparatively freezing to air temperature) we freshened up had an early dinner and wandered the markets for a bit before returning and relaxing before sleeping.