Thailand





10 Jan: Travelling to Siem Reap

This morning we left Bangkok and headed by plane to Siem Reap; a 1 hour flight. A taxi service picked us up from the airport and drove us to our hotel, the Lotus Lodge which is on the outskirts of the town, down a gravel road. It's the nicest hotel we've had to date ! We've got two adjacent rooms and as the hotel is small, secure and child friendly we have decided to let the kids sleep together in one room; they were thrilled about the idea of gaining their independence, but a little hesitant when bedtime came around ! We made good use of the swimming pool in the afternoon, did the girls school work and then headed into Siem Reap for a quick walk around and dinner. The streets are similar to those in Bangkok, but a bit quieter and colonial in style, full of tuk-tuks, market stalls and street vendors selling rice, noodle dishes and fruit. We negotiated a tuk-tuk for the next three days to take us around the temples. Fingers crossed it'll will turn up as planned tomorrow morning at 8:00 am ! 

Swimming in the pool at Lotus Lodge Dinner on the streets in Siem Reap

11 Jan: First day in Angkor

The tuk-tuk (a motorbike with a trailer) arrived on time and took us to the oldest part of Angkor, the Roluos dating from the 9th century, so that we could visit the temples in chronological order, saving Angkor Wat, the best, to last. The temples are beautiful, in a splendid jungle setting and spaced out by several kilometres. They have many architectural similarities but also many differences, giving each temple a character of its own. They remind us a bit of the Maya pyramids and temples in Yucatan, Mexico. There are lovely carved sculptures of gods, elephants, lions and snakes (with 7 heads) adorning the temples, as well as inscriptions. Next we visited a few of the temples to the north east of Angkor Thom. The 5 basin fountain temple of Neak Pean  particularly held our attention as it's very different from the others which are often surrounded by a moat of water. We also enjoyed the temple complex of Pre Rup, with its many tower, at the end of the afternoon.

Everybody enjoyed the day. The girls had fun running around the temple complexes, climbing us the temple steps, on the elephant statues and around the ruins and of course riding in the tuk-tuk !

We returned into town in the evening for a typical Kmer dinner (local Cambodian food, tasty but no hot spices), nicely presented in banana leaves, before retiring for the night to dream of Kmer temples...

Tuk-tuk from temple to temple South Gate of Angkor Thom Pre Rup

12 Jan: Second day in Angkor

Today we visited four temples in the morning, including the romantic temple of Ta Phron. Trees took over the Ta Phron temple when it was abandoned and have grown in and around the ancient temple stonework, holding up certain walls and slowly knocking down others. Archaeologists have deliberately left these trees of several hundred years in-situ, which gives the complex a magical charm.

We then headed 20 kms north of Siem Reap to an isolated but extremely beautiful temple, Banteay Srei. The journey took us nearly an hour in the tuk-tuk, passing C ambodian villages of stilled wooden houses. Banteay Srei is surprisingly compact, but stunning with its intricate carvings, covering nearly the whole complex. It was well worth the trip as it's the most beautifully decorated  temple that we've seen to date. We're now waiting in anticipation to see Angkor Wat and Thom tomorrow !

We returned in the early afternoon back to the hotel to give the girls a chance to rest a bit and take advantage of the pool and sunshine.

Trees entwined with Ta Phron Ta Phron Banteay Srei

13 Jan: Third day in Angkor

Our third and final day visiting he temples in Angkor and we have saved the best to last ! Today our programme is Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. Angkor Wat is just spectacular. This pyramid temple with four enclosures was built in the 12th century, is surrounded by a massive moat, covers over 1 square kilometre and soars skywards, reaching 55 m above ground level. It is magnificently decorated with bas-relief sculptures which cover most walls and columns - just the shear amount of work that went into building it is mind-boggling !

Then after lunch in a street vendors café overlooking Bayon (the main temple in Angkor Thom), we visited the ancient town of Angkor Thom founded in the 12th century and covering nine square kilometres. The most important and impressive structure in the town is the Bayon temple; its large faces adorn majestically  the towers and its narrow corriders are enchanting.

We dined in a restaurant in Siem Reap "The Temple" which has a very enjoyable Kmer dance show in the evening. Gaelle was in awe of t he dancers in their beautiful costumes !

Siem Reap and Angkor have been a great experience. The people are really friendly and you feel secure. The local money is hardly used; the US dollar is the preferred currency which inevitably inflates the prices. Don't hesitate to negotiate dishes for half price in the street cafes around the temples ! Plus the price of laundry was much more expensive than Thailand ( 1$ a T-shirt and 0.75$ for a pair of socks !), so Jenny was back to hand washing...!

Angkor temple from inside the 2nd enclosure Dancing with the celestial dansers Lunch overlooking Bayon Temple
Faces in Bayon Temple A B uddha in Bayon Temple


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