The Angkor TemplesThe last three days we have had a fabulous time exploring the truly amazing temples of Angkor.
This huge complex has temples built from the 8th century, and are some of the most amazing pieces of architecture we have ever seen, an experience definitely on par with the Taj Mahal.
In Siem Riep tourists are not allowed to hire mopeds, and as its too far to walk or cycle generally, we had to have a tuktuk driven called Paul! On the second day we did cycle though to the nearest temples and that was tough in the heat, we covered at least 20km.
So we will tell you about our four favourite temples, okay here goes.
Our top one must be Bayon in a complex called Angkor Thom. This is a massive series of 54 towers, carved from sandstone, with each pyramid tower containing a giant face carved on each of the 4 sides. These were mesmerising, and the faces looked down at the small alleyways and passages beneath. We took plenty of photos and enjoyed every minute, Sophia also had her Vibe t-shirt on to try and win the photo competition her agency (called Vibe) has!
The second favourite on our list is one of the oldest ruins in the region, known as the Rolous temples, built in the 8th and 9th century. The one we saw consisted of 6 large towers made from small bricks, and remarkable condition for its age. Each side had a door but only the west door was open (has some significance) , and inside used to be a place of worship. The aura of these large towers could be felt and to think we saw and touches something built 1200 years ago was quite special!
Our next favourite must be Ta Prom, the famous Tomb Raider temple where Angelia Jolie was filmed. The complex of temples was a real maize full of small openings, pathways and doors. Amongst all of this was reminence of the jungle going wild with many roofs, doors and walls being totally consumed by giant tree roots supporting trees hundreds of years old. This gave a really magical feel to the area. It took us a while to find the Tomb Raider tree, as the tourism thing is only in its infancy, which means we can explore and climb around almost freely. Eventually we did find it after asking some workers who were repairing parts of the temple complex. The tree was very impressive, with giant tree roots spiralling vertically around a doorway and disappearing high up into a mammoth tree-trunk overlooking the whole complex. Unfortunately this was one of the few areas cordoned off by a rope, which obviously didn't stop us from climbing over it and getting some closeups!
My final favourite ancient complex was called Bantrey Srie, 40km north of the famous Angkor Wat temple (although not in our top four is still very impressive), and here lays a complex with some of the most amazing stone carvings in the world, and without doubt the most amazing we have ever seen. We got there very early in the morning to miss the crowds, and on the way our tutkuk driver Paul stopped at a temple lake to watch sunrise.
The carvings were truly remarkable, the detail and intricacy of the arches and pillars were spectacular, and I could only think of the thousands of hours it would have taken to carve. Incredibly after so many years the carvings are mostly in excellent condition, and I can only assume the stone used was not sandstone, as on other temples many carvings have faded significantly. Anyhow we wondered around on our own, and approach three police officers guarding another fenced off area, and was surprised when one of them said "3 dollar go inside". I quickly realised the guys wanted to make a quick buck and let us cross the clearly roped off area, obviously for conservation purposes. I giggled, then jumped on my high horse to quickly accuse the lot of them for being corrupt and that what they were doing was wrong.... Why? I don't know! But they got the message, and we still took great photos.
All the other temples had their own uniqueness and overall one of the best experiences of our trip away so far and one we shall remember for ever!!
