SE Asia - Siem Reap, Cambodia - 3

Cambodia, Day 5, January 31, 2014

Siem Reap, Cambodia

The big day has finally arrived to visit Angkor Wat. This was probably the most famous of the temples in the large complex of temples (about 96 square miles) built in the early 12th century and added to over time. There was a large moat around much of the complex and the soil taken from it was used to build up the level of the inner area. It started out as a Hindu temple and later the monks turned it into a Buddhist temple.

After returning to town for lunch, and the hotel for a short break, we went back out to visit three more temples in the Angkor area. The Boyon Temple features many carved faces. 

The most spectacular, in my opinion, is the Ta Prohm Temple with large kapok trees, hundreds of years old, which have grown upon through and around the collapsing temple buildings. It was featured in the movie “Tomb Raider.”

We returned to the edge of the moat in front of Angkor Wat (Wat means temple) for a "Sundowner." The late afternoon sun put a nice golden glow on the buildings. We enjoyed a sample of Cambodian wine and some local delicacies for snacks; buffalo jerky, snake jerky, grilled frogs legs and peanuts. The buffalo jerky was tasty but stringy and the peanuts were good. The wine was like weak liquor. The glow was waning as we headed back to the bus. Dinner was on our own and I decided to join some others and attend a puppet and dance show with a buffet dinner and then go to the night market. All of this was by Tuk Tuk. Paul stayed back at the hotel to dine with Erika and then get off his leg.

We leave in the late morning to fly back to Bangkok. 

That's it for now. Grace and Paul