siem reap day 3

Title: Siem Reap Episode Three
Starring: Sylviaorange, Lucyriver and Wee
Camera: Lucyriver and Sylviaorange
Director: Lucyriver

Just like yesterday we woke up at 0500 to watch sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was truly cold in the tuk tuk. All the way to the temple, there were other tuk tuks racing with us as well to the same destination.

We were hoping that the sun was kind enough to greet us a morning today after his refusal to meet us yesterday. As usual, we marked a strategic spot to the left of the lotus pond so that the five 'corns' would be visible from that point of view.

Reflection of the Angkor Wat on the lotus pond, a city underwater.

Breaking the morning was a woman scooping pail of water from the pond.

A girl sketching the majestic temple onto her modest canvas.


The awaken lotus in the peaceful morning.

Baby lotus swaying to the far away Angkor Wat.

Sylviaorange aiming a shot of the baby lotus above.

The sun was still stubbornly hiding behind the thick cloud. Too bad, we couldn't manage to get an Angkor Wat sunrise though twice the try. Perhaps, it wanted us to come back again?

A pair of horses teasing each other at the field in front of the temple.



Bicycle is a very common mean of transport here. We saw tourists riding bicycles to visit the temples. Some motorcycles have no licence plate. We were told that they have applied for it but the process took a long time. Occasionally, we could see three of four persons riding a motorcycle. Helmets are only worn when going into the town area.

The french bread stall in front of the road to our guesthouse. It was there every morning we passed by. Too bad we didn't get the initiation of tasting the bread that sandwiches some kind of meat and veggies. Something like 'roti john'. We just stared at the stall cabinet of the stacks of french bread each time we passed by. None of the three of us voiced out that we wanted to have a taste. Now Lucyriver am left with the wonder what it could have taste like.

The path leading to the guesthouse on the left.

Pretty Cambodian ladies in front of the guesthouse getting ready for an outing.

The beautifully decorated outdoor where we have our breakfast.

Bread with cheese.

Break with omelette.

'Kidnapping' the princess of the guesthouse to have a shot with. She started to cry after that. We had no choice but to release her without able to demand any ransom.

After breakfast, Pilot brought us to Angkor Thom, the five entrance gates - east, south, west, north abd victory gate - each crowned by the four giant faces. Angkor Thom is like a big city which houses the Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, the Terraces and etc.

Lining the walkway to the south gate are the asuras(demon) on the right (picture above) and the gods on the left (picture below). A river flows beneath it. Pilot let us off there and waited for us inside the gate.


The feet of the asuras.

The moat on the right of the south gate....

and the left.

It was packed with tourists in the morning. Don't even think of taking a picture with just YOU in it unless you come in the late morning. Vehicles like car and van were also passing the south gate. Besides being careful of the vehicles, we also watched out for the elephants ridden by tourists entering the Angkor Thom.

The four giant faces of the south gate.

After entering Angkor Thom, we went for the Bayon, the temples of smiling faces. The faces are believed to be the faces of either Buddha or Jayarvarman VII or perhaps both. Or perhaps shall we say that the faces are Bayons? It needed a bit climbing to go up to the top. Everywhere we turned, it is the massive faces smiling down on us. Bayon is definitly amazing and different.





The hollow Bayons.

Now, this is the must have picture - kissing the Bayon.



Finding a perfect Bayon to kiss is also an headache as the most popular and ideal one is always full in the waiting line. So got to settle for others. Therefore, we scouted around for other Bayons to kiss. It was not easy to find a perfect Bayon, as well as the right angle and the right light.

Stepping down from the Bayon, we headed over to Baphuon, which we just walked till the entrance as it was closed for restoration.



We moved on passing the Phimeneakas and cornering the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper Kings. The carvings on the Terrace of the Leper Kings were so impressive no matter the inner wall or the outer wall. It is almost like a three-tier carvings where the figures are living in a three-storey house. When we walked along the wall, it seemed like the figure would jump out anytime. They are too real, more than just a carving on the stones.




All the places mentioned above are just within a walking distance.

The Prasats Suor Prat as seen from the Terraces.

Loads of vehicles and tuk tuk under the tree waiting.


Ta Keo is a climbing mountain. It is almost a 90 degrees climbing. We felt nothing when we climbed up. It was when we wanted to come down. One look to the ground from above of the stairs is enough to turn Lucyriver legs into jelly. It didn't look that high when we came up just now. Looking up from downstairs and looking down from upstairs is two different perspectives. As the result, we hunted around for stairs that we considered safe enough for us to get down in one piece.



We bought this colourful hanging ornaments from the girl, USD 2.

After lunch, we continue to Ta Prohm, the filming location of the 'Tomb Raider'. The distintive landmark of Ta Prohm is the giant trees (either the cotton-silk tree or the strangler fig tree) intermingle with the temple as one.

Rising to touch the sky.

Weezilla running wild in the forest.







Opposite the temple, across the road is Srah Srang. We found that Pilot was resting so we sneaked over there quietly since the time was still early to go to Pre-Rup.

Upon stepping up to the platform of the supposed to be 'royal bath', it was guarded by two lions. Stepping down from the platform to the edge of the water, there were the nagas (serpent like creatures). We took a rest by sitting at the edge of the lake taking in the afternoon scenery. Occasionally, voices of children persuading tourists to buy souvenirs could be heard from the food stalls.

We were sitting at the lake and when Lucyriver turned to left, this Cambodian dog was suddenly there.

We were almost dozing off in the cool breeze of the lake when we noticed that Pilot was looking for us. Perhaps he was worried that we were lost in Ta Phrom since we had broken our record staying for quite a long time in one temple.

Previously when we told him that we needed only an hour to cover the Bayon things, he was like very, very surprised. He might be thinking that we were running around the temples. Then he told us we needed at least two hours for that. What were we thinking at that time, Lucyriver wonder.

Pilot said we could make it to Banteay Samre if we move now. We were so jubilant as we thought we wouldn't be able to cover it anymore.

Bamteay Samre is like a very very old modern monastery. It required a bit of climbing though after going up the first stairs you could reach the buildings behind by just going around the edges of the temple inside. We climbed the stairs first and then discovered about it.




A linga for worship in the temple.

It was still early when we reached Pre-Rup. Pilot dropped us at the east entrance and said he would meet us at the west. The moment we reached the top, our butts were dying to kiss the stairs. From where we sat, we could even see Pilot down there, relaxing himself in his tuk tuk. He too discovered us, hahaha.

The lalang in Pre Rup. From faraway, the lalangs looked like hair of the temple.

It wasn't long before people started to come up. We quickly booked ourselves a strategic spot at the stairs facing the west. Half an hour more before the sunrise. We whipped out Mickey umbrella to shade from the sun. Children were also climbing up the stairs to sell souvenirs.

And we bought this AGAIN from a handsome boy, USD 1.

He gave sylviaorange a take of his picture. The children selling souvenirs here are pretty amazing. They are mutilingual where they could have easily whipped out a series of English, Mandarin, Japanese and even Korean. Surrounding us watching the sunset were the Japanese tourists. The boy was speaking Japanese to them and the moment he turned to us, out come the English. They are too, very good at guessing where you come from.

The golden ball getting ready to sink.

It was a real terrifying moment too as both lucyriver and sylviaorange's camera were low batteries at Pre Rup. Fortunately, we still managed to take a few shots before they went comletely dead.

Lesson learnt - do not shot like it's the end of the world when watching sunrise in Angkor Wat.

Let the picture tell you the beauty of the sunset in Pre Rup.

Today was the fullest day as we had managed to cover what we had not been able to go to yesterday; Srah Srang, Banteay Samre and Pre Rup.

Thanks must be given to our tuk tuk driver for aiding us to cover what we could have missed.

If only we could also watch sunrise in Srah Srang. That would be perfect!!