Another quick post on our quick but wonderful trip through Cambodia. First we need to add to our Vietnam post... Our last day in Vietnam had one hiccup when Bunny twisted her ankle walking down the street. Typical. The Vietnamese Police were very nice in helping, icing her ankle, and keeping the crowds away. Sara had no idea what was going on as she was inside a store shopping away and came out to find Bunny nursing a swollen cankle! It was a minor set back as we stilled enjoyed our last night there after a few hours of intense icing.
We arrived in Cambodia and the people were SO refreshingly nice! They just laugh at everything and make you feel very comfortable. We had to take a grueling 16 hour bus ride to Cambodia complete with 2 crying babies and someone puking on the bus. It was pretty miserable.
None of that mattered as we woke up on the first day in Siem Reap and set off with our Tuk Tuk driver, Kosal, for Angkor (Ankle) Wat. We were not sure what to expect, but knew these ruins date as far back as the 7th or 8th century Khmer people and are one of the 7 Man-made Wonders of the World. We also knew Tomb Raider had been filmed in one of the 100 temples and Angelina Jolie is a legend in the area! We were a bit concerned about climbing up steep staircases of ancient stone ruins with Megan's ankle, but we conquered the ruins swifter than Lara Croft herself (eat it, Angie!).
Our first look at Angkor Wat (the biggest temple) as we drove by took our breath away. It was so massive and hard to put into words. We had a full day visiting quite a few of the older and some smaller temples and were just amazed at some of the intricacies of carvings and design of the temples. We really hope the pictures come out well because unless you see this in person it is hard to describe the majesty, size, and grandeur of these ruins. We ended our first day with the sunset on top of one of the mountain temples, Pre Kup. Bunny asked how a sunset works and Sara explained, "The sun goes down, then we all leave."
The next day we set off again with Kosal to bang out some of the big temples of Angor Thom, Ta Phrom (the Tomb Raider temple), and the grand finale at Angkor Wat. All were impressive and again we can't wait for the 1,000 pictures we took. We walked all the way up to the top of Angkor Wat, which is said to be the holiest place in the world (according to people here) and were told we could not go in because our shorts were too short! LOVELY. Thanks Kosal for informing us we were not properly dressed. This is a huge complex! I mean HUMONGOUS, not to mention it was 100 degrees and we were covered in dirt and sweat for the second day of tomb raiding. We hiked all the way down and instead of going home to change into more appropriate clothing, we bought some amazing outfits from the street vendors. Megan was rocking hippie pants complete with jingle bells, so Sara could always find her in the temple. Sara had on a Cambodian T-shirt and a proper sarong (NOT a tourist). CLASSIC. At least it got us to the holiest part at the top by sunset... it was totally worth it.
SIDE NOTE: the first morning in Siem Reap, Sara went up and down the 5 flights of stairs at our hotel since Bunny was injured. On the way, she discoved there was a surprise in the backyard of the hotel and wanted to share it with Bunny. Out the back window was a pool full of................................................................................... 50 CROCODILES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! They were sunbathing and super smelly. Why they were in our backyard--no idea--but we had no clue they were there when we checked in late the night before!
Angkor Wat was insanely impressive and probably one of the most incredible things we have seen with our own eyes. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, you must!
Now we are back in Bangkok and off to the beaches of Southern Thailand tomorrow. We cannot wait for some much needed sun and R&R.
Until we blog again,
Bunny and Boots
